August Goals Update

One of the challenges I've been facing with my goals is that I set a bunch at the beginning of the month and then I focus super hard on one or two, and kind of leave the others on the back burner until it's almost too late (recently I had to read 3 books in ONE DAY because of this issue, haha!).

So to keep myself focused and accountable, here is an update on the progress of my goals this month so far.

🔥 Put out a YouTube video every week (and start a video release “day”)

I've put out one and I'm filming today so my next video will be ready to go out this Friday. I set Friday as my official day videos will go out now (see the proof on my YouTube banner!), so I'm accountable to the world to always get them out by Friday.

Helpful thought: I am the kind of person who always does what she says she will do.

🔥 Run 2x a week

I've been doing this. 3x last week, 1x this week already. I'm actually super impressed that this hasn't required much mental effort (I think because I'm loving listening to Podcasts at the moment and it's always an opportunity to listen to a podcast!).

Helpful thought: Running is becoming one of my favourite activities. Michael Jordan would do it.

🔥 Show up every day in my Facebook Group with value

I'm doing this, but my goal is to make this group THE best place on the internet. Let me know – if you’re in the group, let me know: how can I serve you more? What would you LOVE in this group?

Helpful thought: This group filled with supportive women helping each other crush our goals!

🔥 Learn the YouTube Algorithm

I've begun my YouTube course and I'm keen to dive in deeper about SEO and keywords and all of that jazz!

Helpful thought: Every day I get better and better at YouTube.

🔥 Create a way to make my work more environmental/sustainable/contributing to climate action

This one I've been thinking about a lot, and I've got some really fun ideas, but I haven't discovered something that I am ready to take action on yet. I will continue to work on this.

Helpful thought: There is always a way to make an impact, I just have to find it.

How have your August goals been going? Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear!

2200 Members

Okay. This is kind of crazy, but we’re at 2200 members in my Impossible Girls Facebook Group. Whaaaat?!

I’m so excited about how quickly this group has grown. I started it on April 1st, 2020.

So in four months, we’re at 2200 members.

Even though I am kind of surprised, this was not an accident.

This was very deliberate.

It was a hustle.

It was a grind.

For the first 12 days, I didn’t have anyone join at all.

Zero people.

I was too afraid to invite people because I thought I wasn’t “ready”.

And in June, when I didn’t invite anyone the whole month because I was focused on other things, we might have got about 10 new members.

This is a massive learning lesson for me:

Facebook groups don’t grow themselves.

Goals don’t hit themselves.

You get to make your goals happen.

Friendship Goals

Behind everything I do, I have the most incredible support team.

My family, my partner, my friends, my coaches.

But there is one person who makes the biggest difference in my life.

My best friend, Georgia.

She was the one who forced me to press publish on my first ever blog post in 2017.

She is the one who risks her safety to get bizarre shots of me for Instagram.

She is the one who helped me write a viral post of 31k likes this week.

And she is the one who I can share anything with, and never feel judged.

You know when people say “I wouldn’t be where I am right now without you”?

That’s an understatement for how I feel about Georgia.

I can’t thank her enough.

#friendshipgoals

August 2020 Goals

It’s time for August Goal Setting!

1. Run 2x a week

2. Put out a YouTube video every week (and start a video release “day”)

3. Show up every day in my Facebook Group with mega value

4. Learn the YouTube Algorithm

5. Create a way to make my work more environmental/sustainable/contributing to climate action

What are your August goals?

Let me know!

July 2020 Goals: Review

This month was crazy. There were so many times throughout it when I didn’t think I was going to hit my goals. But every time I had that thought, I decided to believe that I would instead. I decided to ask myself, "how can I commit to this like I have no choice but to succeed?”

As a result, I hit every single one of my goals. And seriously – there was a point when I didn’t think I was going to hit ANY of them!

1. Continue to put out a video on YouTube every week – and work on creating a better experience for myself while doing it.
   DONE! Initially, I didn’t make this happen. Several weeks had gone by and I hadn’t put out a video. But I refused to get to the end of the month and not have put out 4 videos. So – even though it was last-minute, I compelled myself to put four videos out. Many times I thought “no one cares if I do or don’t get these videos out by the deadline.” But I decided that it matters to me, to my integrity. That I do the things I say I’m going to do.

2. Hit 600 Subscribers on YouTube.
   DONE! I started at 487 at the beginning of the month, and this was by far the goal I got the most creative with. I emailed old friends. I joined YouTube engagement groups on Facebook. I went to the mall and I asked strangers if they were interested in subscribing. I decided I was going to do it, no matter what.

3. Walk/run 3x a week.
   DONE! This one was one of the easiest because I love to go for lovely long walks and listen to podcasts. Easy. Next month to go to the next level with my fitness, I’m going to set pure running goals.

4. Hit 1500 members in my Impossible Girls Facebook Group.
   DONE! This was the most challenging of my goals. On the 27th of July, we were still at 1100. So every morning in the shower, I would hype myself up with a pep talk. Michael Jordan would do it. I can do this. It doesn’t matter how, all that matters is my willingness to do anything to make it happen. And you know what was crazy? Out of that determination came a viral post that gained over 30,000 likes! Over 800 people joined my group. I surpassed 2000 members! The biggest lesson from this is that things can happen last minute – so believe and commit until the last moment.

5. Get my Photography done.
   DONE! I did a photoshoot with the gorgeous @aimeejulesphotography and I can’t wait to share the images with you!

6. Join YT4B.
   DONE! I joined the program! I’m super excited to get into learning all about the YouTube algorithm, SEO and keywords in August.

Look out for my August 2020 Goals to come!

365 Days of Blogging

Here’s an image of what my blog looks like today, 21st of July, 2020.

Today is my birthday, and officially my 365th day of blogging! It seems kind of fitting that as I complete my 24th year around the sun, my blog completes it’s first.

My writing voice is clearer now than it was before. I’m more succinct. I know how to enjoy my own writing and not cringe when I read my posts the next day. And I’ve still got a long way to go with my writing.

I’m so grateful I committed to this journey because although I value the habit of creating a post every day, I value the habit of persistence and endurance even more.

Here’s what will change in the next 365 days:

• More video content – I’m ready to commit to video with the same tenacity and grit as I have with my written content. I know video will take me to the next level. It’s non-negotiable. All I have to do now is press go.

• Better images – I’ve said this before, and this is something I’ve wanted to address properly for a while. It won’t be immediate, and I plan to wait to work on this. But I want my content to be visually appealing to me as the words.

• More distribution – one of the reasons I decided to blog daily for two years in a row is because I knew that blogging occasionally would never bring a readership. Even now – hang on a minute, let me check the stats – I’m seeing about 40 people visit my blog per day (wow, that number is higher than I was expecting – when I first started, that number was about 2). Of course, 40 visitors a day isn’t groundbreaking, and that’s exactly why I committed to two years of blogging. This next year of blogging, I will be sharing my blog in many more places.

This is a time for celebration! But it’s not a victory yet. I committed to blogging every single day for 730 days and I’m not stopping now.

Embrace The Hot Mess

My success philosophy is not about a perfectly executed plan, but about embracing being a total hot mess.

For example, one of my goals in July is to hit 600 subscribers (and I started on 487 at the beginning of the month).

Yesterday I had 92 left to go, with 13 days left of July. That means I need just over 7 people per day.

I could have thought about SEO, and click-through rate, and hashtags, and other technical jargon.

But I realized that since I don’t have any of those skills right now (and I don’t have a clue how I’ve got any of my previous subscribers), I would have to get creative.

I made an epipahny list (a game where I keep coming up with solutions until I have an epiphany).

1. Go knocking door to door in my neighborhood and just ask people to subscribe

2. Post on my private Facebook profile asking for subscribers

3. Message all of my friends individually and ask them to subscribe

4. Go out in public, like to the mall, and straight-up ask people to subscribe

5. Offer a promotion exchange (you share my channel, I’ll share yours)

6. Pay for ads

7. Make my own YouTube support group on Facebook

8. Ask my sister to share with her Snapchat following

9. Reach out to our local newspaper and get a story printed

10. Go to a networking event and connect with lots of new people

I decided to start with number 3, then number 5 and now number 8.

So far, in the last 24 hours, I’m up by 8 subscribers. Not bad, considering my goal was to hit 7 per day.

These solutions aren’t long term solutions to growing my YouTube channel. But what they are, is a creative way for me to solve my problem right now. As my channel grows, I will likely use more traditional, effective methods of growth. But I’m not there yet. So for now, just doing something is good enough.

That’s got to be one of the biggest mental shifts that I’ve made when it comes to achieving my goals: that in the beginning, you just have to fly by the seat of your pants and be a total hot mess.

You can do all the fancy techniques later.

Right now, you just have to get out there and DO SOMETHING.

(P.S. help me be the hot mess & subscribe to my channel here!)

Sacrifice

Yesterday I got invited to do something impossible: canoe across Canada.

• 7000 Kilometres.

• 5 months.

• 4 people.

• 2 canoes.

• Filming a documentary.

How epic would that actually be?! Can you imagine how hard I would have to push myself? The feeling of completing something that far out of my comfort zone would be amazing.

I almost said yes. I mean, come on. Canoeing across Canada would be epic, and definitely give me some street cred. The FOMO is real.

But you know what the real fear of missing out is?

The fear of missing out on the goals I have already set for myself.

I would have to put my own impossible goals on the back burner.

And I committed to my goals no matter what.

✅ Climb Kilimanjaro

✅ Meditate daily for 365 days

✅ Become my own boss

➡️ 100 push ups (50 currently)

➡️ 100k on YouTube (500 currently)

➡️ TED talk

➡️ Run a tropical retreat

➡️ Blog for 730 days in a row

➡️ Do a breakdancing Windmill (I can do half)

➡️ Build a million dollar business

➡️ Start a video interview series

So while the canoeing team meet today to plan their adventure, I took tiny action towards my impossible list.

Because my goals are non-negotiable.

I hit 500 YouTube Subscribers!

One of my Impossible Goals is to hit 100k on Youtube, and I just hit 500 today, woohoo! 

Only 200x that and I'm at my goal. I can do that, right?

What result do I want?

• 100k on YouTube

Who do I need to BE to get that result?

• The most valuable content creator ever

Now that I am the most valuable content creator ever, what do I do?

• I constantly ask myself, "How could I add more value?" and "How can I add more value than anyone else?"

• I spend time understanding the YouTube algorithm

• I join YouTube courses to improve my content

• I listen to the feedback I get from viewers & really listen

• I think outside the box and come up with creative ways to get more viewers & subscribers

• I post videos CONSISTENTLY every week, sometimes twice or three times a week

Who do you need to be to get the result you want? ️

P.S. Subscribe to my channel here!

We Hit 1000!

Woohoo! After 3.5 months, we hit 1000 members in my Impossible Girls Facebook Group! I’m so excited and incredibly grateful for the community that we girls have built together.

Every single day, I connect with like-minded, motivated women, going after their goals and dreams with massive strength. Some of the conversations that happen in this group are WILDLY motivating. We’re solving each other’s challenges, sharing our wins, and standing strong together when things are tough.

I couldn’t be prouder of this amazing community.

10,000, we’re coming for you.