Hello everyone and thank you for joining me for this month-end episode on goals. Can you believe this is the 8^th monthly update on goals? We are 2/3 of the way through 2018!

Here in the US we’ve also got Labor Day next week which is our unofficial end to summer. This is also when all the kids go back to school, if they haven’t already.

September is also known as “the other New Year” so this is great time to set new goals or recommit to the goals you’ve been working on.

Times of transition are great times to make changes or start something new. Our brains have an easier time accepting change during transition so take advantage of this if you been meaning to change some habits or take up anything new!

Okay, on to what I’ve been up to in the month of August in regards to my goals. I have four focus areas and each area has a specific goal assigned to it.

Focus area #1 Increase profitability in my business

Goal: have a net income (earnings minus expenses) of $80,000 minimum this year.

With the help of my mastermind group and going through my goals review back in June I have created 4 sub-goals for this goal. These sub-goals are, by year end:

1. Have had 12 new Executive Leadership Coaching clients. This is coaching that focuses on leaders within organizations to help them with their performance and happiness at work. Since setting this sub-goal I have gained two new clients who fall in this category, have one more starting in September and I am having ongoing conversations with 5 other individuals with varying degrees of potential for the immediate future.
2. Do 10 corporate workshops. I have done 4 thus far this year and at this point have 4 potential workshops coming up but still no movement. I am within a week or two of launching my postal mail campaign to businesses in Maine so I’ll be looking for movement in this area in the next couple of months.
3. Promote the DIY products that are on the website. I just met with my Virtual Assistant last week to put together a marketing plan and now we are beginning to execute on this plan. Again, I’m hoping to have some more results-driven progress to share with you next month.
4. Do two more group programs by the end of the year. I’m planning to do a virtual group program in the fall and will also be doing a live workshop that will likely occur late November after Thanksgiving or the first week in December.

Now, June’s Profit and Loss report showed an abysmal net profit of $922.38, way far off from the average $6700/month required to see a net profit of $80,000. However, July’s Profit and Loss report showed a net profit of $5,788.76. Still $1000 away from the $6700 I’m shooting for but I will take it. This is the closest I’ve gotten to goal and I am pleased with the progress.

Focus area #2 Build more strength and endurance

Goal: do 1000 Spartan-regulation burpees in good form within one workout by the end of October. Separately, do an unassisted pull-up before the end of this year.

Two Fridays ago I did 800 burpees in 3:02:31.

The Monday after my 800 burpee workout I also began training with Alex. Alex is the Personal Trainer in my BNI group. He is certified as a Person Trainer and Nutrition Coach and has experience working with endurance athletes. That first workout was eye opening and as Alex put it, “you’re strong enough to do 1000 burpees but you are working way too hard.”

I really haven’t had to change what I’m eating too much but I’ve changed the frequency in which I consume food. I was eating 3 meals and 3 snacks a day (consumed about every 2-3 hours) and now I’m eating 4 meals every 3-5 hours. In one week I’ve already lost .7% body fat and gained .8 lbs. in muscle mass. Not too shabby.

Alex also recommended, in an effort to save my joints from wear and tear, changing up the burpee workout I do once a week. He suggested doing my burpee workout quicker rather than trying to do more burpees.

For instance, last week rather than striving to do 850 burpees I’ll did 500 burpees striving to beat the time of my last 500 burpee workout. This I did. The last time I did 500 burpees was in April and it took me 1:43:49. This time it took me 1:36:15, shaving 7 minutes and 34 seconds off my original time.

Focus are #3 Romantic Partnership

Goal: Be in a committed monogamous relationship with a man.

I have to laugh a little bit at this goal because while sometimes it is the most enjoyable goal to work towards it also challenges my Type A, need to know, need a plan, need to be in control tendencies. They are getting a workout, for sure.

And they are at odds with the qualities I identified that would take me toward my goal; namely, being aligned, feminine, social, focused, disciplined and committed.

When I feel uncertain and like I don’t have control it takes work for me to feel and exude those qualities.

While being on a dating app can be compared to being on a rollercoaster the experience I had last month has continued. I am making more quality connections and overall enjoying myself more. Every man I’ve had the fortune of getting to know briefly has helped me to be clearer on what I’m looking for at this stage of my life from a romantic partnership.

And oddly enough each month I meet a new man who is closer to what I’m looking for.

That being said I don’t want to sugarcoat this either. I get more feedback and commentary on my burpee goal than any of the others. To most people that is the goal that is the most challenging on my list.

But for me dating is more challenging because there’s only so much I have control over, pretty much just myself: who I’m being, how I show up, how I communicate, my appearance, my boundaries, etc. Nearly every other aspect of dating is out of my control.

Through the dating app I recently met a very handsome man who has intelligence, wit and a similar sense humor – which means in my world he has a great sense of humor. He is very close with his family, devoted to his teenage son and in a profession that contributes to the community. All pluses. All awesome.

The caveat is that we met while he was vacationing in Maine and he lives about 700 miles away. Queue the wah-wah. If we were local to each other this would be a no-brainer but we don’t live local to each other.

The other thing is we have different perspectives on this. I have 7 siblings, 5 of whom have gotten married thus far. Of those 5 marriages 3 of them started as long distance relationships where they didn’t live together until after they were married. And to give you some perspective on the distances, one couple lived in Texas and Florida, another lived in Toronto and Cuba, and the last was Washington State and the Philippines. We’re talking long, long distances.

In my paradigm distance is a challenge but not an obstacle. My handsome new friend, however, does not have the same paradigm as I so he is taking some time to mull it over and decide if he believes long-distance relationships are possible and if this is worth a try.

And I, little Miss Type A, am practicing patience in the face of the unknown, uncertainty, no decision, no plan, and no deadline.

I’ll end with this coach-like thought because in my heart of hearts I am a coach. This is an amazing opportunity to have a mirror held up for me to see how much my need to be in control and to have all the answers holds me back and keeps me from being at my best. Luckily I sorted my way through and am feeling more peaceful than I was at first.

Focus area #4 Live Events

Goal: Do a live workshop in the 4^th quarter of this year.

This goal is on the back-burner as I am focusing on the mail campaign that is coming up and then I’ll be working on the virtual group program which will start in October.

I am committed to doing a workshop in the Portland area the last week of November or first week of December and I will keep you posted on how that is coming about.

How are your goals coming along? If you’re not 100% happy with your goals or your progress I’m going to suggest doing my goals mini-course. You can find out more about it at womentakingthelead.com/goals. And as a thank you for being a listener of this podcast you can use coupon code goals10 to get $10 off.

Update on my Mom

I shared in the last month-end episode that my Mom had been diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. She had the surgery to remove the cancer and take lymph nodes to rule out stage 2 breast cancer.

Overall she is recovering very well from her surgery. Everything has been routine thus far and she didn’t need to take anything to manage pain afterward, not even an Advil. But this is also a woman who delivered 6 of 8 children via natural child birth.

However, they did find cancer in one of the lymph nodes taken and so her diagnosis has been changed to stage 2 breast cancer. Also, her hormone test indicated she has an aggressive form of cancer so she will be taking Herceptin, will have chemo followed by radiation treatments.

My entire family is rallying to keep everyone updated, update plans for the holidays, and we are choosing treatment dates to keep my Mom company while she gets the Herceptin and chemo treatments.

I asked my Mom if she wanted to share anything and she wanted you to know that prayer is important. She is counting on it like medicine so please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

She also wanted to thank family and friends who have been important and have provided tremendous support.

I asked her last week how she was doing and she said that while this is upsetting overall she feels relaxed because she is getting so much support and being well taken care of.

I wish for all of us that no matter what life throws at us that we can stay relaxed through it all because we are so supported by those around us.

As always I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!

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Resources

Create Goals that are Worthy of you: If you are done with either pursuing vanilla goals, suffering through the struggle of goals that are not aligned with your strengths, or dealing with heartbreak of an unattainable goal this course is for you!

Private Facebook Community: Chat, share and collaborate with other women listening to the podcast!

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.