today i want to talk about goals. setting goals, achieving them, and finding your window of inspiration. “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” ~ Earl Nightingale

setting goals. “Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines”. ~ Brian Tracy

i have always been a huge fan of setting goals. my parents always really stressed it when we were younger, we set goals for everything… sports, school, music lessons, money…. a couple days ago, my father-in-law gave me a book called “Double Double” by Cameron Herold, an extremely successful entrepreneur who now runs a business coaching company called Backpocket COO. if any of you are entrepreneurs yourself, know someone who is or if you are looking expand in some area of life or business, you should definitely look this book up (click here to read more about it). i am only on chapter 3, but already it has given me my window of inspiration.

how many of you are continually setting goals for yourselves? like reallly setting goals, consciously saying them out-loud or writing them down. not only for large milestones, but for little things too. to eat healthier next week, to exercise 15 times a month, to spend an hour a day doing something you love. i am just as guilty as most people probably are. i will be the first to admit i have been slacking on the goal setting over the last year. life get’s busy, and looking back on my year now, i feel like i was in a phase where i felt i only had time to focus and think about where i am at, and not where i am going….. “Begin with the end in mind.” ~ Stephen Covey. thinking back, i could think of only one goal i had set all year (Click here to see more), and that was to reach 1000 facebook fans by my one-year of business. this was the only goal i had really set for myself in a year. THAT’S IT! after reading the first couple chapters of this book, watching some inspirational videos, and some big dreaming, i decided that this wasn’t going to do for next year. for me, next year is going to be BIG. amazing things are about to unfold and dreams are about to come true. and you know why? because i am setting goals.

“Reduce your plan to writing… The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.”  ~ Napoleon Hill

one of the main points i have learned from “Double Double” so far is “painting your picture“. the book discusses doubling your profit and your success over a time period of 3 years. the first step in making a change that big requires not only a set of goals, but a complete vision. “paint your picture” ~ physically sit down in a quiet spot with no computers, no cell phones, no t.v., no music ~ just you, a pen and a piece of paper, and write who you want to be, what you want to see, feel and achieve in 3 years. in 3 years from now, what will you feel like? what will your core values be? what will your job description be? what will your company be known for? what are people saying about you and your business? what is your income? how do you feel? how is your family life? what happens in a normal day?… 5 pages later, i had written down absolutely everything in my 3 year painted picture for my business. now i have a goal. i have focus. i can plainly see the areas of my business that i need to work on and the areas i need to expand. i can see the skills i need to acquire and improve. i am consciously thinking and working to achieve my painted picture, and because of this, i will.

“Go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will see farther.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

after the painting my picture, the next step was to share my painted picture with as many people as possible. this 1. makes you accountable for your goals, and 2. opens windows of opportunities for others to help you achieve your vision. for example, one of the components of my vision is to get published in a destination wedding magazine, so the more people i share that with the more likely i will come across someone with a connection or an idea on how to do so, or someone having a destination wedding! ha ha..  with this being said, this blog post would be much to long to include my painted picture, but i am going to share it in another post, so click here if you want to read it. (eek!). in some ways this idea scares me, the idea of sharing my most sincere hopes and dreams with so many people, but i guess that goes back to being held accountable. and if i put my mind to everything i say, then i believe i can achieve it and there should be no fear about accountability … right? 😉

“If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings.” ~ Brian Tracy. Thank you for this mom and dad <3

so lastly, i challenge all of you to sit down in the next couple days. paint your picture. whether it be for your life, your relationships, your health, or your business. be specific and as detailed as you can. set goals. write them down. share them with others and be held accountable for them. make a change for the better. now is the time. find your window of inspiration and achieve your vision.

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be.” Mark Victor Hansen

my painted picture… blog post coming soon