#bemoredomore

Holy Shit it’s 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣‼️⁣

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Quite honestly as the time got closer and closer to midnight last night I got nervous. Happy and scared AF. I even told Rob(my hubby) that I was. The only thing he said was... “WHY”?⁣

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And here it is ————>⁣

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I’m not scared as in a bad thing. Truthfully I’m excited 💁🏻‍♀️ for this year! I nervous AF because I have set some big goals & big standards for myself and my business. All tangible but nerve racking nonetheless. ⁣

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Have you ever set goals and are scared of what you will do once there? Yup! That’s me right now. So trust me I feel you. ⁣

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I’ve learned over time though that running in the opposite direction doesn’t make the goals go away. It instead gives you the sense of regret & makes room for negative feelings to place upon yourself. ⁣

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Babe don’t go there. Goals don’t have end dates. They aren’t a New Years resolution. They are things that we can take that were once our quote unquote “failures” and turn them into positive lessons and move forward. ⁣

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Strategize. Plan. Focus. Be intentional. Be scared AF. Be excited. But don’t fucking give up!!! Shoot then Aim! ⁣

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Trust me, once you get going you will understand what I mean with that last one!⁣

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Hey hey! It is that time. For many, especially in the USA, we “just gained an hour.” Well, what are you going to do with that hour?

Too many simply see “fall back” as a time to catch up on rest. Maybe that is what you need in your situation.

However, I challenge you to make that extra hour productive!

I challenge you to wake up to your “old school” alarm (you know, that one clock that does not automatically set itself back an hour) BEFORE setting it back an hour. That “extra” hour could add a lifetime of productivity to your life. Whether it be an extra hour to exercise, an extra hour to organize your business day, an extra hour to get ready for school, an extra hour to meditate, an extra hour to chill with warm coffee (or with your morning beverage of choice). Here are a few other ways to make the extra hour more productive:

Add an extra mile to your jog or a couple of extra miles to your bike ride

Proactively reach out to family and friends and build on those relationships you “normally don’t have time for.”

Respond earlier to your clients’ emails to make them feel that much more special

Take half the extra hour for extra prayer and the other half to meditate

Proactively reach out to team members to iterate your support and provide your feedback to them. Let them know you are there for them.

Work on “that new project” that you never seem to have time for

Whatever it is for you, I challenge you to make this “extra hour” more productive for you, your life, your health, your family, your team.

If you’ve lived on this planet for even a short time interacting with those who undertake greater than normal endeavors, you may have heard the phrase, “Keep your eye on the prize.” Most cultures seem to have a notion of focus leading to success. For some, it is closing a big sales deal. For others, it is making it on time to every soccer practice. Whatever your goal, focus gets you there.

Thing is...what is focus? It’s more than a direction. It’s more than just action. It is a clearly defined vision with a plan to get there. When you are truly focused, your vision is clear, and you plot your path; then your vision becomes an attainable goal. It also becomes something you can share. Others may come onboard to help you achieve the goal, too. 

Vision and direction give you a heading. Action gets you on your course. And once on your course your clear goal gives you bearings as you navigate the path towards it. There will be twists and turns. That’s what happens to everyone. It is difficult to plan on every bump on the road, every twist and turn. However, a clear goal, a clear vision allows you to know where next to change your heading so that you are always moving forward and making progress towards it.

For example, let’s say you have a sales goal (a small goal compared to other larger ones, indeed...but this example is relatable to most businesses). Say the goal is an extra $12,000 revenue sales in two weeks. That goal may involve a sales team effort. Say you have three sales team members, including your lead sales manager. That’s $4,000 each sales person extra revenue. That’s a reasonable expectation in many industries. Then, you find out that your lead sales manager will no longer be available. (Let’s say that the sales manager has moved on to a better opportunity...as opposed to graver circumstances.) With the sales goal clearly defined at a certain value, the sales manager moving on simply modifies your path, it doesn’t diminish the sales goal. Instead of attaining the goal with three sales people, it will be achieved with two sales people. Hence, $6,000 per sales person. That looks like a 50% larger goal for each rep than originally expected, indeed. However, it is very doable. The clearly defined sales goal provided the answer to the changing circumstance of the sales manager moving on. Now, the answer of who replaces the sales manager is a business decision well outside the scope of this conversation. There may be a blog later about the subject of team dynamics and human resources for more information.

As things happen every day, you may become distracted from the goal sometimes. That is OK. Following the advice discussed here, your goal(s) is/are clearly defined and so is the path to get there. As things happen and get in your way; poke your head up, look around, get your bearings (that’s...look to see where you are), find your next heading (that’s...which way to point to get to your destination), and keep going! Without a clear vision / goal, the new heading is much more difficult to determine when you poke your head out of whatever it is that is clouding your vision “in the trenches.” 

Keeping focus is a process that you undertake as you traverse the path towards your goal. You will find that you will be correcting your course of action many times. That’s fine. We may have a vision, plot a course, set sail on a particular heading, then (all of a sudden) discover that the current is flowing in a completely different direction than we originally thought. That’s OK. We have a clear vision. We have a clearly defined goal...a clear destination. We simply turn the rudder, adjust the sails, catch the wind just right, and we can turn our ship to sail in the direction of those goal(s). Otherwise, we may find ourselves adrift and at the mercy of the current as we exhaust our energy to simply sail against what we feel are winds against our progress. With a clear destination and a course laid out towards it, we will notice when the winds and the current are in our favor. And, we will know which way to turn, what to do with the sails, when things are less than favorable. 

There are sailing techniques that allow you to bring your ship to shore even when the current and wind are blowing against your bow. But, the techniques only work when you are clear about your destination. Without clarity, there can be no safe return to shore...no safe arrival at your destination. Keeping focus is the process to maintain that clarity.

Be more. Do more.