Last night, I got some good work in on my Secret Sisters cookbook. I'm sorry to say, the healthy cookbook has been a bit ignored so far this challenge, but I'll rectify that. In the meantime, I have three X's in a row on my calendar, and I have no intention of breaking the chain! It feels too good to be successful.
Today I've been thinking about the changes my life has undergone in the last year, and believe me, there have been a ton. I've gone from being a Coke-guzzling, sugar-scarfing computer addict to a carrot-munching, water-drinking computer addict. :) I've gotten my author services company off the ground in a major way - I sometimes have to refer potential clients to other companies, I'm so busy. I also published three books last year, and will be publishing four or five this year. I stopped to think for a minute - why have I been able to be so productive lately? It's not that I necessarily feel productive - since the car accident, I feel like a complete slug - but when I compare my accomplishments in 2011 to those I've had in the past, things have really picked up for me. I'd like to share with you what happened.
Near the beginning of 2011, I read a blog post by Karlene Browning where she talked about a goal-setting/organization challenge she was taking. It sounded too good to be true. It sounded awesome. I signed up for the next month, not really sure what I was getting into, and I have to tell you, from the first day, I saw huge changes in my life. It wasn't a magic potion to be swallowed or some thing where you burn incense and chant. No - this program teaches you how to set goals, set priorities, and then work toward them. I was absolutely amazed at the end of the first day to see how much I accomplished, how good I felt about it, and how motivated I was to do it all over again the next day. That was the real beginning of my company. I had clients before, maybe two a month, but on that first day, I got two clients, and ever since then, I've had at least four editing clients and two virtual book tour clients every month, and often more.
I would really like to encourage each of you to take this same challenge (click this link). It's broken down into really simple steps. The teacher, Chalene Johnson, shows you how to think about your life in terms of what is most important to you, and what things you would not sacrifice for anything. Then she shows you how to keep those things at the forefront of all you do, as your motivation for success. She breaks it all down into little chunks that take maybe five minutes a day, and at the end of the month, you know how to make an awesome to-do list that only shows what you must do that day - and you don't worry about the rest until tomorrow. It's simple, easy, burden-lifting ... and it's how I've been able to do what I do. The amazing thing is that it's free. Absolutely free.
Give it a try. It's only a couple of minutes a day for a month, and if you do what she says, you will see amazing results in your own life.
So, that's what's up over here. I'm getting ready to head out to the doctor/physical therapist, but I should be able to update my progress before I go to bed tonight. I forgot to post last night, though, so I wanted to talk to you this morning and let you know I'm still here. :)
5 comments:
Thanks for sharing that, Tristi. It sounds like something I could definitely use in my own life. I have also got 3 Xs on my chart and when I'm done here, I'll go earn my 4th.
The good news is that when I pulled out and dusted off my old manuscript that I'm working on this month, I discovered that I had already done a lot of outlining on it. I knew I had done some, but I didn't realize just how much. Since then, I've done a major overhaul on the first chapter. I've just finished re-outlining that. So in the next couple of days, I'm going to look over the other 17 chapters or so and make sure my previous outline is good to go. Then it's on to the new material. Ooo... shiny!
This week I've edited the last thirty pages of my novella, critiqued three chapters for others (for my online group), edited a chapter to take to critique and did my posters for my signing next week, wrote 2500 words on one of my stories, and figured out how to fix that story (because it had some plotting issues). Yeah, I'm not supposed to work on that one--I have several others that need attention, but it's picking at me, so I'll allow myself a detour for a few days and then veer back to my main goals by Monday morning. Promise!
At least it's still productive!
That sounds like a great program, Tristi. I figure two pages per day will get me to my goal, and I've done two pages every day this week. So far, so good!
I have written something every day this month so far. The chain continues unbroken! Right now I'm working on a short story for a Christmas anthology and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
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