From dreams to actionThere is an art to taking an idea, a dream and then turning it into reality. It isn't a science, otherwise we would all be driving round in Lamborghinis with supermodels (male or female) draped over our arms. Whilst it is an art, there is a process that we can guide you through from collecting idea, choosing them to making progress to getting going. This is what week 5 is all about. Let's turn your dreams into reality.
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Goals: excite or repulse?
If I say the word goal to you, how do you feel? Do you get pumped to do something or do you think "they never work?" For years I learnt about goals from the self-development world and set about creating goals, making a direction, and going out to achieve them. The only challenge was that I would never hit them, I would get despondent and give up feeling like a failure and further beat myself up.
This was a repeating pattern for years!
This was a repeating pattern for years!
Have you ever set new year's resolutions?
So many people get excited at this time of the year to write goals and make changes in the new year. ~
Do these goals ever stick?
Most people set goals and then give up early in January. The 14th of January is National Quitters' Day and is when most people give up on their 'dreams'. This thought fills me with sadness thinking of the masses of people that give up, stop making progress and return to trudging through their existence.
This is what we will help you avoid through this final session of the Extraordinary Life Course. Let's get you going. Get you making progress and help you to sustain it over time.
The session this week was in two halves. The first, Alan's goal setting process. The second, how to turn those goals into reality.
So many people get excited at this time of the year to write goals and make changes in the new year. ~
Do these goals ever stick?
Most people set goals and then give up early in January. The 14th of January is National Quitters' Day and is when most people give up on their 'dreams'. This thought fills me with sadness thinking of the masses of people that give up, stop making progress and return to trudging through their existence.
This is what we will help you avoid through this final session of the Extraordinary Life Course. Let's get you going. Get you making progress and help you to sustain it over time.
The session this week was in two halves. The first, Alan's goal setting process. The second, how to turn those goals into reality.
Goal setting myths
The goal setting process has 8 simple steps to go through. It is a lot of fun and whenever Katie and I do this we get so excited about the things we can create and the possibilities! Before we start though, let's look at some of the reasons this process fails, some of the myths about goals and make sure we make it through positively.
Having a goal doesn't mean something is wrong
Imagine a potential conversation with your partner:
"I would love to do a course to work on our relationship! :D"
"Why? What's wrong with our relationship?"
"Nothing, I just want to communicate better"
"Are you saying I don't communicate well?"
"Forget it"
Human nature (especially in the UK) tends to view any attempt to improve things as a sign that things are currently bad, and then to get defensive, which kills progress. Wanting to work on our relationship doesn't mean it is bad now, it means I want to make it EVEN better. Working to improve my business doesn't mean it is failing now, it means I want to make it EVEN better (by my definition of better). Wanting to improve my health doesn't have to mean I am at death's door, it can mean I want to get stronger, healthier and have more energy.
The MOST important thing for us all to realise as we do this process is that having a goal doesn't mean something is wrong. It is just a positive direction to move in. It is making things better. It is working to create more, improve and even if you think things are perfect right now there is always another level if you are willing to look for it!
Imagine a potential conversation with your partner:
"I would love to do a course to work on our relationship! :D"
"Why? What's wrong with our relationship?"
"Nothing, I just want to communicate better"
"Are you saying I don't communicate well?"
"Forget it"
Human nature (especially in the UK) tends to view any attempt to improve things as a sign that things are currently bad, and then to get defensive, which kills progress. Wanting to work on our relationship doesn't mean it is bad now, it means I want to make it EVEN better. Working to improve my business doesn't mean it is failing now, it means I want to make it EVEN better (by my definition of better). Wanting to improve my health doesn't have to mean I am at death's door, it can mean I want to get stronger, healthier and have more energy.
The MOST important thing for us all to realise as we do this process is that having a goal doesn't mean something is wrong. It is just a positive direction to move in. It is making things better. It is working to create more, improve and even if you think things are perfect right now there is always another level if you are willing to look for it!
A few more goal myths to bust, and then let's get going:
- I'll be happy when................ This just doesn't exist. People think that when they have build their business, achieved financial independence or lost weight their lives will be filled with unicorns, rainbows and constant pleasure. The world doesn't work like that. If you believe this, you end up on the achievement treadmill where you must go immediately to the next achievement to try and get that next fix. Don't expect getting to the goal to lead to happiness. The happiness is in the journey, not in achieving the goal.
- Comparison is the thief of joy. Don't compare your goals to other people's, don't compare your progress to other people's you are running your own race towards your own goals. Whatever ends up on your list is for you. I don't care if it is a new table to have dinner round with the family, a trip to Nintendo world in Japan or a Spa Thai in Chiang Mai, Thailand, an afternoon reading in the park with your loved one, making cakes with your kids or investing a million. Your goal is yours. Stop comparing and do what is right for you.
Alan's goal setting process
The 8 steps of my goal setting process. This might take you a couple of hours or even less time. Do, set aside some quite time to do it. Maybe go to a café for your favourite drink for an hour and work on it, after the kids go to bed or first thing in the morning before anyone else gets up!
Katie and I often do this over a couple of sittings. Sometimes you just aren't in the space to produce ideas and sometimes the ideas flow easier than you could have imaged. Be easy on yourself and if the ideas dry up go for a walk round the block and come back to it!
Katie and I often do this over a couple of sittings. Sometimes you just aren't in the space to produce ideas and sometimes the ideas flow easier than you could have imaged. Be easy on yourself and if the ideas dry up go for a walk round the block and come back to it!
1. 5 things you are proud of
The first step to the full process is getting into the right headspace to do it. The way to do this is to write down 5 things you are proud of. Doesn't have to be big, they can be small. Are you proud of your kids? the home you live in? the fact you have made it to the last week of the course? It doesn't matter and we certainly don't want to compare what we are proud / grateful with other people's achievements. Just write your own and whatever comes to you.
2. 50+ goal ideas
This is the idea generation phase and there are some important bits here. This is the area that most people get stuck and stop. What we are looking for is 50+ ideas.
The reason it is 50 plus ideas is that the first 10 will usually be the same ones you already say, and we need to get more than that to find the ones that are going to be juicy for you! Here are the key concepts for this section followed by questions and ideas for inspiration:
The reason it is 50 plus ideas is that the first 10 will usually be the same ones you already say, and we need to get more than that to find the ones that are going to be juicy for you! Here are the key concepts for this section followed by questions and ideas for inspiration:
- Volume is the most important thing - No judging the ideas, just write what comes to you and get it out on paper
- Doesn't have to be "worthy" - So many people (me included) judge their goals before writing down. STOP. it doesn't have to be worthy, if you want to own a N64 games console put it on the list, if you want a new hair dryer put it on the list, if you want to climb Everest put it on the list! This is not the time for the critic or the realist to be involved. Put down all the ideas and let's see what happens from there!
- Small to large - You are going to have small ones, large ones and some that build. Maybe, you have written financial independence on your list and there are smaller steppingstones like "get out of debt", "get first £100 invested" or "watch Rebel Finance School"
- Borrow relentlessly - You don't have to produce all the ideas yourself you can borrow them! Borrow ideas from friends, borrow ideas from online articles, look at people you admire and say "I want that!" Borrowing ideas and putting your twist on them is the way to go! Katie and I love to look up bucket list articles and more for inspiration for our goals.
- Ask the questions - Who do I want to meet? Where do I want to go? What do I want to own? What do I want to give? Who do I want to travel with? What could I create? The more questions you ask the more ideas you will have!
- You aren't committing to any of this - this is the idea generation phase so just get those ideas out on paper and then we will choose in step 4!
Come up with as many as you can and write a huge list for yourself. For inspiration here are some of mine:
Start writing now!
- New lightweight laptop for travelling
- Stay in the Avengers NYC Hotel at Disneyland Paris
- Write my first book
- Hire a book editor
- Create a YouTube Series on how to create an extraordinary life
- Help Simon get to FI
- Wake up hugging Katie every morning
- Build a Lego City
- Write an FI book with Katie
- Travel to Vietnam
- Travel to Japan
- Go to Nintendo world in Japan
- Get a Thai Massage in Thailand three times a week for a month
Start writing now!
3. Time Frame
Step 3 is to put some time frames on each of the goal. A number, in years. Is this a 1-year goal, a 3-year goal, 5 or 10?? How long do you think this goal will take. Remember that people vastly overestimate what they can achieve in a year and vastly underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!
I use this part of the exercise in two ways. The first is how long I think it will take to do it and the second is to put things in order. Sometimes I put 3 years or 5 years on my goals because I know I don't want to do them this year and there is other stuff to do first.
You can do everything just not all at once!
Action: put a number, in years against each goal
I use this part of the exercise in two ways. The first is how long I think it will take to do it and the second is to put things in order. Sometimes I put 3 years or 5 years on my goals because I know I don't want to do them this year and there is other stuff to do first.
You can do everything just not all at once!
Action: put a number, in years against each goal
4. Choose your top 4
The next part of the process is where you choose the four goals you are going to make active. Which ones are you going to bring to life first. You have plenty of time to do all the others later, but these are the four that you want to get started on now! Let's make them happen.
Remember, there are no right answers, and it is not binary. You can't choose the right goal, doesn't exist, pick one and make progress. And by picking one goal you are not say no forever to another one. It isn't binary as Katie likes to remind us!
To help you choose which four to go for here are some useful frames:
Remember, there are no right answers, and it is not binary. You can't choose the right goal, doesn't exist, pick one and make progress. And by picking one goal you are not say no forever to another one. It isn't binary as Katie likes to remind us!
To help you choose which four to go for here are some useful frames:
- The no-brainer - this is the goal that when you look at it you go "OF COURSE!" let's make that shit happen
- Just for you - those of you that put everyone else first (you know who you are!) this frame is useful to help you chose at least one goal that is specifically for you and not for anyone else!
- The moon-shot - what's the big one? The one that scares you a little bit, the one that makes you think "I don't know if I can do this?!" They didn't know they could land on the moon when they set the goal, they just set the goal and made it happen. What's the big one you really want to have a go at?
- Quick Win - this is the one that you can just do. Have you lived with a shitty fridge for years and just need to buy a new one? How about take your partner on a date? Or if you don't have a partner, join a dating app or go to a meetup.com group? What's the quick win you can just do now to get the confidence going and act?
- Outside my comfort zone - Another one that scares you a little bit. Remember, everything you want is outside your comfort zone; otherwise, you would already have it
- What would XXXX tell me to do? Quite often we don't know where to start so I use the mini-Simon in my head to tell me what to do. I ask, "What would Simon tell me to do?" and the answer quite often surprises me. Ask what would someone you respect, or trust, tell you to do and see if it unlocks progress! If you are feeling adventurous ask "What would Alan/Katie tell me to do!?"
- Wild card - this is your wild card. The goal doesn't have to be related to anything, connected to anything or worthy it can just be your wild card choice. Look down your list of 50+ goals and just pick the wild card!
Action: Choose your top four goals and write them out on the next page
5. The big why
Why the flip are you doing this? That is the question. Why are you setting this goal? What does it give you? How are you better off doing it? The size of your WHY is critical in finding motivation. If you don't have a big why you aren't going to follow through when the going inevitably gets tough!
Simon and Katie like to ask, "How juicy is your why?" If you have a goal of writing a book and your why is "it will be nice to be a published author" are you going to follow through the rejections from publishers, difficulties that might come up writing and more to get to your goal?
If your why is "I have a message burning inside me that I need to get out, I want to share my story, I think I could truly help people and make a difference in the world. Also, writing a book will give me the credibility to achieve other goals, I can hold my head up high that I did this, and I will feel on top of the world when I get my first letter from a reader!"
If your why gets you out of bed in the morning, then you are more likely to push through and work out how to do the goal than if you don't have a big why. The size of your why matters. Connect with your why, juice it up, use powerful language. Get yourself motivated. FIND THE REASON WHY we want to do this.
Action: write a paragraph about why this goal is important to you for each of the top four goals.
Simon and Katie like to ask, "How juicy is your why?" If you have a goal of writing a book and your why is "it will be nice to be a published author" are you going to follow through the rejections from publishers, difficulties that might come up writing and more to get to your goal?
If your why is "I have a message burning inside me that I need to get out, I want to share my story, I think I could truly help people and make a difference in the world. Also, writing a book will give me the credibility to achieve other goals, I can hold my head up high that I did this, and I will feel on top of the world when I get my first letter from a reader!"
If your why gets you out of bed in the morning, then you are more likely to push through and work out how to do the goal than if you don't have a big why. The size of your why matters. Connect with your why, juice it up, use powerful language. Get yourself motivated. FIND THE REASON WHY we want to do this.
Action: write a paragraph about why this goal is important to you for each of the top four goals.
6. Who do I have to become?
This is the killer self-development question which I learnt from the fabulous Jim Rohn. He always asked the question "Who do you have to become to achieve this goal?"
One of my big goals a few years ago was to build Rebel Business School and when I asked this question the answer that came back was "A world class marketeer and salesperson". I was shocked at my own answer, I had not thought this way before, but it was obvious. If I wanted to build the business, I had to up my skills. This set me on a self-development path going on sales courses, reading marketing books, and studying strategies on YouTube.
The more I learnt about sales and marketing the more my business grow. Who do you have to become to achieve your goal and let's set to work gaining those skills and creating that identity for you!
This might be the difference between sticking to the goal and making it happen and not. You can become anything you want to in life so why not chose consciously and make it happen?
Action: Write out a paragraph about who you need to become to achieve this goal
One of my big goals a few years ago was to build Rebel Business School and when I asked this question the answer that came back was "A world class marketeer and salesperson". I was shocked at my own answer, I had not thought this way before, but it was obvious. If I wanted to build the business, I had to up my skills. This set me on a self-development path going on sales courses, reading marketing books, and studying strategies on YouTube.
The more I learnt about sales and marketing the more my business grow. Who do you have to become to achieve your goal and let's set to work gaining those skills and creating that identity for you!
- Want to write a book? Become a great pitcher so you can get that book contract
- Want to improve your relationships? - become a confident happy person
- Want to lose weight? - become a student of healthy food
This might be the difference between sticking to the goal and making it happen and not. You can become anything you want to in life so why not chose consciously and make it happen?
Action: Write out a paragraph about who you need to become to achieve this goal
7. What's the next action
Nothing happens unless you make it happen. I repeat to myself "if it is to be, it is up to me!" You are the spark, you are the driving force, you are the creator so let's make this shit happen. It all starts with a small step.
For each of your top four goals you should now have the goal, a paragraph about why you want it, an answer for who do you need to become to achieve it and now, we will create a next action for what you can do to get going.
The key is to take a big goal and break it down into the next step and then do it NOW! Vote for your identity as someone who makes shit happen by taking the next step right now. Here is an example:
Never leave the scene of a decision to do something without taking the first action. Send the first email, make the first call, book in the time to research the next steps. Let's make this happen.
Don't let your dreams die through inaction. Start and make them real.
For each of your top four goals you should now have the goal, a paragraph about why you want it, an answer for who do you need to become to achieve it and now, we will create a next action for what you can do to get going.
The key is to take a big goal and break it down into the next step and then do it NOW! Vote for your identity as someone who makes shit happen by taking the next step right now. Here is an example:
- Goal: Become financially independent
- Why: This will be a game changer, give me time to spend with my family, free me from a job I don't love and create a sense of happiness for me and my whole family
- Become: I need to become a conscious spender, a good saver, an investor, a good money manager and a higher earner
- Action: Put £10 into your emergency fund savings, and sign up for (then attend) Rebel Finance School to learn the keys to financial independence from Katie and Alan
Never leave the scene of a decision to do something without taking the first action. Send the first email, make the first call, book in the time to research the next steps. Let's make this happen.
Don't let your dreams die through inaction. Start and make them real.
8. Congruency check
The final part of the process is a quick congruency check. We need to make sure the goal is congruent with our values, our life, our beliefs. If we don't do this step, we might be setting ourselves up for trouble ahead. All you need to do is check the goal you have set against your values, identity, beliefs, skills, behaviours, and environment.
If your goal is to take the family to NYC does this line up with your identity? Is it something you value? Do you believe it is possible, do you believe they want to come with you? Do you have the skills to make it happen, if not that is ok, notice the gap and you can learn the skills! Are your behaviours (saving for the trip) lining up? Does your environment support you (do you have a picture of NYC on the fridge to inspire you each day?)
This is just a short check at the end of the process for each of your top 4 goals to make sure that you line up and won't set a goal and then get stuck in purgatory. We went through the alignment levels in week 3 so if you can't remember them re-watch that video again.
Action: Check your top 4 goals are congruent with the other areas of your life
If your goal is to take the family to NYC does this line up with your identity? Is it something you value? Do you believe it is possible, do you believe they want to come with you? Do you have the skills to make it happen, if not that is ok, notice the gap and you can learn the skills! Are your behaviours (saving for the trip) lining up? Does your environment support you (do you have a picture of NYC on the fridge to inspire you each day?)
This is just a short check at the end of the process for each of your top 4 goals to make sure that you line up and won't set a goal and then get stuck in purgatory. We went through the alignment levels in week 3 so if you can't remember them re-watch that video again.
Action: Check your top 4 goals are congruent with the other areas of your life
The final thing you might be thinking is "What happens to all the other goals on my list". They are their waiting for you once you have completed one of the first four! You can go back to the list and activate any of the others at any point. I LOVE it when I get something done and experience it and then I go back to my 50 + ideas and find another exciting goal to work on. Treat this as your someday maybe list that you can keep adding to!
Getting things done section
The power to get things done, make progress, create and deliver is an exceedingly rare power. So many people get stuck and trapped in their day-to-day lives and lose their power to do things.
This is what makes the difference between making your dreams come true and not. There are people that dream and there are others that dream and then do. We want to help you become the type of person that makes dreams happen. In my early days I was not this type of person, I struggled to make things happen, I felt like I was at the whim of other people, and I didn't have the personal power that I have now.
All of this changed through self-development and then a HUGE breakthrough moment for me was being asked to run a course on time management for a housing association. I suddenly had a reason beyond myself to learn this stuff. I immediately went and downloaded 21 audio programs on time management and getting things done and started to absorb everything I could.
Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Tony Robins and eventually onto David Allen who wrote Getting Things Done. They all had a tremendous impact on me, and I love their content. David Allen's book took me to a WHOLE new level in my ability to get things done, stay organised and build. His principles are so simple and so effective.
I was lucky enough to interview him on my podcast in 2021, talking about his principles and I recorded a whole series of podcasts about getting things done. Part of your homework this week is to listen to his episode. Here it is on Spotify:
This is what makes the difference between making your dreams come true and not. There are people that dream and there are others that dream and then do. We want to help you become the type of person that makes dreams happen. In my early days I was not this type of person, I struggled to make things happen, I felt like I was at the whim of other people, and I didn't have the personal power that I have now.
All of this changed through self-development and then a HUGE breakthrough moment for me was being asked to run a course on time management for a housing association. I suddenly had a reason beyond myself to learn this stuff. I immediately went and downloaded 21 audio programs on time management and getting things done and started to absorb everything I could.
Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Tony Robins and eventually onto David Allen who wrote Getting Things Done. They all had a tremendous impact on me, and I love their content. David Allen's book took me to a WHOLE new level in my ability to get things done, stay organised and build. His principles are so simple and so effective.
I was lucky enough to interview him on my podcast in 2021, talking about his principles and I recorded a whole series of podcasts about getting things done. Part of your homework this week is to listen to his episode. Here it is on Spotify:
Your ability to turn the goals, ideas and dreams into reality is the key thing to focus on from this point. The clearer your vision is, the simpler you describe it and then break it down into actionable steps the easier it will be for us to make progress.
So, let's get going!
So, let's get going!
Projects, actions, reminders, ideas
Do you have a to-do list? If so, what do you have on it? Get car serviced, build business, buy milk? Reminder to get present for Jimmy?
Most people have so much more than just to-dos on their to-do list. They store EVERYTHING there. They store mighty projects, reminders, next actions, someday maybe ideas and more.
Then when they look at their list, they get this sinking feeling of overwhelm and not knowing where to start! This happened to me for years until I learnt the following principles.
Most people have so much more than just to-dos on their to-do list. They store EVERYTHING there. They store mighty projects, reminders, next actions, someday maybe ideas and more.
Then when they look at their list, they get this sinking feeling of overwhelm and not knowing where to start! This happened to me for years until I learnt the following principles.
Project or next action
There is a HUGE difference between a project and a next action. A project is something with more than one step, something you can't just do. A next action is something you could do now, right now if you wanted.
So, which of these do you think are projects or next actions?
You get the idea. You need to use your brain to break the project down into the simplest next action and then take it. If you do this, it will unlock you on projects that have been stuck on your list for years!
So, which of these do you think are projects or next actions?
- Build a business - this is not a simple action; it is a HUGE project and needs breaking down into separate projects and then actions to take. You can't just start building a business. You need to break it down
- Make sales calls - this depends on if you know what you are selling and who you are selling to. If you already have a list of people to call and know what you are selling, then this is a next action. If you don't then the next action might be making a list of potential customers through google research or it might be defining a sales offer.
- Call Geoff about... - if you know what you are calling Geoff about and have his number then this is a next action. You can just pick up the phone and do it!
- Invest £100 - project or action? Could be either. If you already have a vanguard investment account and know what index fund you are going to buy into then it might be a next action. For me I would log into my account, put the money in and buy the FTSE Developed World Ex UK index fund. But if you don't have an open account, if you don't know what you are investing in then this is a project and potentially, the next action is watch the Rebel Finance School investment weeks
You get the idea. You need to use your brain to break the project down into the simplest next action and then take it. If you do this, it will unlock you on projects that have been stuck on your list for years!
The quickest way to make progress on anything is to define the outcome and project, figure out the next action and take it, then check in each week to maintain progress. That is, it. We make this stuff WAY to complex at times.
Katie and I use OneNote to manage our projects and make progress. We have a simple table as you can see in the third picture above with three columns. The three columns are
Here are some live examples of how this simple system works from the current Donegan project list
Katie and I use OneNote to manage our projects and make progress. We have a simple table as you can see in the third picture above with three columns. The three columns are
- Project - this is the title of the project
- Notes - this might be a bit about why we are doing it and what it actually is
- Next actions - this is the 1 simple next action that we can take to move it forwards!
Here are some live examples of how this simple system works from the current Donegan project list
The key to making things happen is defining the outcome and then working out the next action at a granular level. The simple next action you can take RIGHT NOW to move towards your goals.
If you combine this with the weekly check-in you will make so much progress. Define your top four goals using the goal setting approach above, write them out in this format of project, notes, and actions and then every single week take an action towards the project you will drive forwards with a level of energy and excitement you probably haven't felt for a while.
You can make this happen.
If you combine this with the weekly check-in you will make so much progress. Define your top four goals using the goal setting approach above, write them out in this format of project, notes, and actions and then every single week take an action towards the project you will drive forwards with a level of energy and excitement you probably haven't felt for a while.
You can make this happen.
Four getting things done principles:
- Think on paper - don't think in your head - don't keep all your to-dos in your head, get them out on a piece of paper so you can see it, focus on it and use your brain for what it is actually good at which is working out how to make this thing real. The more you store in your head the less brain power you have left to work on your dreams. GET IT OUT
- Write down decisions - when you have decided, write down what you have decided so you don't have to re-think it again and again. In the past Katie and I would make a decision like "We don't need to do anything about XXXX until the new tax year". Then we would forget about the decision and a week or so later I would ask, what did we decide on that tax subject? And we would have to re-think it all again. Stop re-thinking decisions again and again and again and get your thoughts on paper, decide what to do and then move on confidently.
- Someday maybe list - you can do everything you want in life just not all at once. You might have 60 projects, but you can't do them all at once. Shift everything except your top 2-5 projects onto a someday maybe list and focus on getting the cool shit done first. The someday maybe list is a list of things you will do someday, maybe - for example Katie wants to learn Polish and for months that has gone round in her head, and she has beaten herself up for not taking action. Instead, she needs to pop it on the someday, maybe I will learn Polish, and we can come back to it when we are ready to travel to Poland and make it happen. Put nearly everything on the someday maybe list and focus on the most important things for you.
- The calendar is your friend for future actions you want to take at a certain time. For example, Katie and I have an annual reminder at the beginning of each tax year to make sure we are using our tax allowances for SIPP and ISA. This doesn't need to be on our project list as we can't do anything about it till next April so we put it in the calendar. Use the calendar to define when things will happen, put dates in to see people, organise future actions. I know nothing will happen unless I get a date and put it in the calendar to make it happen. Good calendar habits will save you so much time and make things happen more efficiently.
Four tips to maintain energy over time:
- Whenever you start a project you have good energy, it is exciting, and you charge at it. That energy invariably wears off if it is a longer project and you hit a zone in the middle where you need to keep going to make it happen. Simon and I call this "the dip" in the middle. Know it is coming and then have tools to deal with it. Reconnect with your juicy WHY you are doing this. Find someone to hold you accountable. Have a break for a day and then come back at it.
- Decide what you are going to do tomorrow, today. This is an incredibly powerful thing to do. Decide what you need to do to move your top project forwards and do it FIRST thing tomorrow morning and don't stop till it is done. Deciding what you need to do the night before and the carrying it out first thing the next day can help you make so much progress. It doesn't have to be a big thing, it can be a simple action like do 15 minutes research, call Dave about XX or do 10 push-ups. Decide the night before and then do them before ANYTHING the next day showing you are committed to your top goal.
- Weekly check-in - this is huge. I cannot underscore the importance of this one. This is how I make shite happen. I weekly or more regularly check the status of my big projects and work out the next action to making it happen. Then I take those actions straight away. The simple action of checking in on the project and asking, where am I now with this? Why is this important to me and what's the next action? will keep you focused on your project and making progress.
- Put yourself first - the quadrant 2 things such as investing, looking after your health and making proactive moves for your business always fall down the list and take a back seat to other urgent but less important things like checking emails, replying to messages or answering the phone. Put your top quadrant 2 projects first! Don't know what quadrant 2 is? Go back to week 4 of the course and watch's Katie's explanation in the video.
It's up to you
No one else is going to make your dreams happen for you. It is up to you. If you really want it, then figure out how to get it and make it happen. I truly believe you can have anything you want in life if you are willing to pay the price up front and in full. The price is never money, it is time, energy, commitment, and focus.
Decide what you want. Work out the price. Commit to making it happen and take relentless action.
We believe in you, and we believe you can do this. Now it is up to you. take what you have learnt here and go out there and make your version of extraordinary happen!
Decide what you want. Work out the price. Commit to making it happen and take relentless action.
We believe in you, and we believe you can do this. Now it is up to you. take what you have learnt here and go out there and make your version of extraordinary happen!
Traditional Success
What's the traditional measure of success? Good degree, good job, nice house, 2.4 kids and an Audi? (Don't forget the dog, unless you are allergic) How do you know if someone is successful? This seems to be the measure that the world has put on people, and we like to check it by asking or seeing what car do you drive? What job do you have? What neighbourhood do you live in?
We love to judge other people against this barometer of success and ourselves. We say "I am not successful because I only earn £XXX. I am not successful because I don't own my house, I only rent. I am not successful because I only work for a small company!"
By any traditional measures of success Katie and I are some of the least successful people in the world:
But we are the happiest we have ever been, and we are living our dream life!
Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to choose your own version of extraordinary. I want you to choose you own measure of success. Stop trying to please other people and choose your own goals, your own measure of success and have fun with it.
Maybe your aim in life is to be unemployed like Katie and I! We won't judge, in fact we will cheer and support as you work towards it. Choose your own version of success and go for it, screw what traditional culture says. They don't actually know what leads to success and happiness.
We love to judge other people against this barometer of success and ourselves. We say "I am not successful because I only earn £XXX. I am not successful because I don't own my house, I only rent. I am not successful because I only work for a small company!"
By any traditional measures of success Katie and I are some of the least successful people in the world:
- We are unemployed - we don't have jobs
- We don't own our own home we rent (and not even long term - by the day!)
- We don't own a car - in fact, we own nothing with keys
- We are homeless, unemployed, and unemployable!
But we are the happiest we have ever been, and we are living our dream life!
Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to choose your own version of extraordinary. I want you to choose you own measure of success. Stop trying to please other people and choose your own goals, your own measure of success and have fun with it.
Maybe your aim in life is to be unemployed like Katie and I! We won't judge, in fact we will cheer and support as you work towards it. Choose your own version of success and go for it, screw what traditional culture says. They don't actually know what leads to success and happiness.
Homework
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This weeks' homework for you:
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