That PESKY Goal setting....ugh...Finance.

First let me say I am no financial genius.  Just ask my husband...no don't.

I'm not going to preach or suggest that I know any more than you do about finance.  What I will tell you is that setting financial goals is very important.  Duh.  You know that.

Finance is a very personal issue.  We tend to get in a bit of debt when we're young, don't we?  For whatever reason, some crazy-ass bank sent me a credit card when I was only 18.  It was pretty much down hill from there for me.  For a while anyway.  Now, I am an honest person so I'll admit that I carry a bit of credit card debt.  It's so easy to get what you want that way!!  I am working on it!

It's super important that you pay attention to this and not let it get too far away from you.  Here's why: 

 Imagine that you have one card that is maxed out.  Then you need something else so you open an instant account at a department store.  Next thing you know, that one is maxed out.  Then another.  Then another.  The next thing you know, you can only afford to pay the minimum payments on all of those maxed out cards.  The interest rate will really hurt.  You'll pay and pay and pay and those bills will seem to never go away.  If this is you, then you have dug yourself under.  And it is going to take some hard work to get out.

So how can you avoid this nightmare?  Set yourself a few fabulous, exciting, sparkly goals, my diva!

Goal one:  If you do have a balance on a card, get that bitch paid off!  You are going to have to find something to do with yourself other than shopping.  How about cleaning your place?  Reading?  Babysitting?  How about spending a few months with family.  Or maybe with a friend who wants to eliminate some debt herself!  A buddy system!  How about learning something?  There are a million things you can learn just by getting on the Internet.  There are a million movies you can watch on Netflix!  Get a good book.  Start a journal to write down how all of this feels!

I know, I know.  None of these ideas are as much fun as spending the day at Nordstrom Rack or Neimans Last Call.  But once you set the goal of getting out of debt, you absolutely MUST find something to do other than spending.  Believe me, it's worth it.

This short term pain for long term gain will be the best thing you ever did for yourself.   For several reasons:

1.  You can say you did it!  And take pride in that!
2.  You'll have the freedom of using your money to enjoy a great quality of life, rather than making painful payments to some nasty bank!
3.  You will have learned your lesson!
4.  You won't have the worry of what will happen if you have an emergency and no money to take care of it.
5.  The biggest thing you'll get out of this process is this:  You will learn to be alone.  You'll learn to find ways to amuse yourself.  You'll learn what you love and what you don't.  You will be empowered by knowing that you accomplished this on your own.

So about those goals...

1.  Savings account.  Get 6 months salary in the bank as your emergency fund.
2.  What do you want/need?  Do you want to buy a house? A sexy condo?  Save up a down payment!
3.  Do you want to take a fabulous vacation?  Bora Bora?  Maui?  Paris?  Go get the brochures!  Put them by your bed or in your kitchen, or somewhere you'll see them every day.  Keep them nearby so when you are tempted to throw your hard earned money away on some red soled shoes, or a sparkly ring, you can remind yourself of what you're giving up by making that purchase.

It's truly all about priorities.  What is really important to you?  If you're smart - and sister, we both know you are - what you want, need and dream about is the S-word.  SECURITY.   Yes, you may find Mr. Right, and he may have just inherited billions of dollars, and he may want to worship the ground you walk on....but really, how often does that happen?  Christian "50 Shades" Grey is FICTION.

We all need to be able to provide for ourselves.  Even if you do find Mr. Superwealth,  you need to know that you can do it yourself.  There is nothing better for our self-esteem than knowing that WE call the shots, and WE get to choose.  If something changes in your life and you have to make it on your own, you can do it!

YOU have the power to get in control of everything financial in your life.  Once that happens, you get to make smart, healthy choices.  Not desperate ones.  Not needy ones.

Get a grip on your life and your finances and BECOME THE POWERFUL, IN-CONTROL, CONFIDENT, BRILLIANT WOMAN YOU WERE BORN TO BE.

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

And more.....

That PESKY Goal setting! Let's talk CAREER!

So.  What do you do for a living?  Is is your dream job or is it just a paycheck?

We have all had those times during our lives where our jobs were just to pay the rent.  Believe me, I've had a bunch of them!  There's nothing wrong with that, either.  Even if you do have a great job that you love, I always say this:  Some days it's a dream job, some days it's a paycheck.  

Any job you have, whether it's your dream job or not, can't be all sunshine, rainbows and butterflies every day.  Think about that.  

If your job is too easy, you probably should be working towards some kind of promotion, or maybe you aren't making as much money as you'd like because you're doing a job that's easy to do.  Also, remember that your job is, and should feel like work.  If a job is fun every day, we wouldn't get paid to do it!  They wouldn't call it work, they'd call it fun!

But let's get back to the point.  Do you LOVE your job?  Are you doing the type of work you always dreamed of doing?  If not, don't be discouraged.  You're just going through one of those 'just a paycheck' times.

Let me ask you a question.  What do you love to do so much that you would do it for free?  I'm sure you've heard that question before.  I just want you to know that it is an extremely important question and if you not love what you do, you need to give this some serious thought.  

One of the goals we all need to have set for ourselves is a career goal.  Even if you do have your dream job, what is your next step?  Is it to get promoted?  Is it to break out on your own and do that job for yourself, independently?  Scary?  Not everyone is comfortable being self-employed and that is just fine.  If you know that about yourself, then think about what your next step in your chosen field should be.  Is it more education?  More self-confidence?  A promotion within your company?  A move to a bigger company?  You must always know your next step.  

Once you know the next step up in your company, you must ask yourself what you need to do to get there.  So many people just keep swimming along, hoping that their boss will recognize them and come to them to offer a promotion.  It happens occasionally, but honestly, the bad news is unless you put yourself out there and let the right people know that you want more, most likely you'll just stay where you are.  Trust me on this.  Been there, done that, got disappointed, will not wear the T- shirt.

Set a goal for yourself to get all of the information you can find about the position you'd like to have next.  See if there are specific things you need to learn, and go get that information, too!  Once you are armed with the information on what you want and need, you can get yourself working towards that job.  You can talk to your supervisor about it.  Every employer wants self motivated, forward thinking people.  Be that person.  Know what is next for you and GO AFTER IT!

Now let's say you are wanting to build your own brand or business.  Who do you have mentoring you?  Who do you know, or know of, who has already made the move you're thinking about?  Have you reached out to that person?  Don't think of yourself as a competitor of theirs.  Think of yourself as someone with a common goal!  And just like the individual I was addressing before you, have you spent time researching what would be required for you to step on out??  This information is vital if you are going to be in a business similar to your current employer.  Set a goal for yourself to learn the parts of the business you don't already know.  This way you will be prepared to discuss your goals with your boss.

Now what if neither of these people are you?  Maybe you have a dream!  Maybe you have a business idea that you've always wanted to explore.  Do the research, but give yourself a deadline!  There are people out there who have million dollar ideas, but can't seem to get started.  The more you learn, the easier it will be for you to make it happen.  

Don't have that brilliant idea yet but want one?  Keep searching your heart.  When trying to come up with YOUR business idea, don't start out looking for big money.  Look for something that you are passionate about.  Look for something that will make you bounce out of bed in the morning.  Look for something you really, really love...and probably would do for free.  Once you figure that out, then you need to put your thinking cap on and find a way to make money doing it.  

I'm sure you've heard people say, "Do what you love and the money will follow."  I love that quote, but...and a BIG OL' BUT...I want it mapped out.  I want to know HOW the money will follow.  And WHEN it will follow.  That's part of the research.  You need all the facts before you walk away from your current job. (Unless you are independently wealthy, or 100% debt free!). You'll need your job to keep the bills paid and provide you with an income while you get your plans into place, and your company up and running.

So I say again, set some goals for yourself.  A deadline to get your research done.  How about a deadline to actually get the research started?  Learn how the money will be made, calculate how long it will take you to replace your current income.  

You should examine your goals often.  At least weekly to be sure you are on track.  If you're not on track, you need to ask yourself what it is that's holding you back.  You may need to revisit your goal and make some changes.  Also ok!  Your goals are not cast in concrete!  You can change them as you need to change them.  Just don't let yourself off the hook too easily.  

Set some career goals.  You need to be moving forward in one way or another.  Don't settle for the status quo.  But we know you would NEVER settle for less than your potential!  You're planning and setting goals for your own 365 Brilliant Days!!

Love and blinding brilliance,

Donna

That PESKY Goal Setting! Let's talk RELATIONSHIPS!

I know that setting goals can difficult.  I left you with a few areas to think carefully about.  It can be overwhelming to examine these areas all at one.  So give yourself a break!  Maybe you need to spend a week on each area.  Maybe you need to spend an hour.  Honestly, even if you think you need only a few minutes in each area, I challenge you to spend a good hour or so on each one.

The more time you spend thinking about the categories and questions I've suggested, the more ideas you'll have about what you want your life to look like, and what you need to change to get there.

So let's visit those areas once again, one at a time this time, and see what we can accomplish together.

We will start with....

RELATIONSHIPS:  I asked you to pretend you're in a perfect world.  YOUR perfect world.  That can be really difficult because most people feel as though they have no control over the people in their lives.  But not you, my fabulous one.  YOU know that you can manage outside influences, right?

What about my husband, wife, parents, siblings?  Yes, you are stuck with them - to a point.  I'm going to introduce you to a word that you've heard and used before, but I'm going to yell it at you because it's so important.  Ready?

BOUNDARIES!!!

We all have people in our lives that are simply going to be there no matter what we do.  This sister, that cousin, this aunt, that in-law.  Do you have people in your life who are making you unhappy every time you speak with them or see them?  Of course.  We all do.  The way powerful, accomplished, successful individuals deal with this type of person, is to limit the energy they give them.  They set boundaries, and so can you.  You can limit the time you spend with people.  You can limit phone calls to just a few minutes.

REMEMBER:  YOU are creating your best life!  YOU are creating your dream life!  YOUR TIME IS LIMITED.  Believe me, we ALL have that "special" relative that we don't talk about.  We deal with him or her at holidays and weddings.  But honestly, YOU get to choose who you spend your time and energy with.  Now that you're setting goals for yourself, you MUST to choose who you spend time with.

I know a true story about the wonderful Mary Kay Ash.  You remember her, right?  She was the founder and creator of Mary Kay Cosmetics.  She was very active in her business up until the very end.  She was a strong woman, born years ahead of her time.  She spoke to her Consultants all the time.  Before the company became too large to manage this, she would call every Consultant on her Birthday!  How many times has your boss done that???  As you can imagine, some of the women she called would get so excited to hear from her that they'd try to keep her on the phone for ages!!  What did this amazing, powerful, successful woman do to manage that?  She had a doorbell installed in her office.  If a call was going on too long, she would press the doorbell and the person on the phone would hear the sound.  Mary Kay would apologize and tell the consultant how sorry she was that she need to go.  BRILLIANT, right???   WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT!!???  Now THAT is how you handle a phone call!

You are allowed to be busy!  There is nothing wrong with telling someone who calls you that you need to call them back!  You are responsible for how you spend your time and if you are going to accomplish your goals, you need to learn how to manage it.

We all have wonderful friends we want to hear from, and that is great.  Just make sure you're not spending so much time chatting about your new Louboutin's that you forget what you had on your schedule for that day.

Do you have friends who just show up at your door?  Talk about an interruption!  Get a grip on that, girl.  You have priorities and things to do.  If she can join you in painting the living room, or join you for your grocery shopping trip or join you for whatever YOU chose to do at that time, then great!  Hand her a paint brush.  If not, then you need to schedule a date!  Meet for coffee at 10:00am.  Meet for lunch or breakfast.  Scheduling a shopping trip would be fun!  Key word:  SCHEDULING.  That 365 Brilliant Days Planner is going to come in very handy now, isn't it?

I know this is a long rant about managing the people you allow into your perfect world.  The bottom line is that you must choose who you spend your time with.  Do you have ENERGY VAMPIRES in your world?  You know, the friend who keeps telling you all about her horrible life and wants to drag you right down with her?  We'll get into the ENERGY VAMPIRES at another time.  For now, you just need to recognize that it's happening.

Here is an easy step you can take toward managing your time:   Let the call go to voicemail!  God created Caller ID for YOU!   USE IT!

So who should you spend your time with?  I always think it's a good idea to be around people who know more than I do.  I want to be around people who are honest and people I can learn from.  I want to be around people who are ALSO setting goals and managing who they allow into their lives.
Spend time with people who are going to lift you up and share that celebratory glass of champagne!  Allow people into your life who are growing and bettering themselves.  Positive, uplifting, cheerleaders!  That's who I want, baby.  That's who I AM for my friends and those are the relationships I want to nurture.

Whether you're "stuck with" someone or not, anyone in your life who defeats you, makes you feel inferior, makes you feel tired, is not supportive of what you are doing, makes fun of you and your goals, or makes you question your decisions, cannot celebrate a win with you, destroys your confidence....NEEDS TO GO.  Or at least be well-managed.  And YOU, sweet one, are going to be the MASTER of this!

Now, I hear the wheels turning in your head.  You're thinking:  Picking and choosing the people in my life??  Managing my time with various people??  Doesn't that make me a bad person??
I have a nice, friendly, uplifting, cheerful, honest, two word answer for you:  HELL NO!   Recognizing how people effect your life and your happiness makes you is a SMART person.  Doing something about it makes you BRILLIANT!

Feel free to contact me if you have more questions about this topic.  But now that you've read this sweet little love letter from me, take that hour I challenged you to take.  Think about the people whom you've allowed into your life.  Think about the time and energy you're giving to all of the people in your life.  And the most important question to answer is this:  Are you giving all of that energy to positive, encouraging people?  Are you limiting the influence that the negative people in your life have on you?

Please think about all of this.  Make some notes.

Chat with you later, beautiful...