Why Needle Movers Matter

I used to think breakthroughs came by waking up with a genius idea at 3am or meditating for four hours and hearing the exact words from a higher power.

I’ve recently discovered that real breakthroughs come from taking action.

But not just any old action: Needle-moving action.

What is a Needle Mover?

I googled it, and apparently the phrase “needle-mover” refers to the needle on a car speedometer.

So when you “move the needle” you’re accelerating your car forward in the direction you want to go.

Essentially, what I’m trying to say is, breakthroughs will come when you consistently work on the things that will actually move your forward, instead of actions that keep you stuck exactly where you are.

My needle movers for my business:

1. Grow my audience

2. Add a ton of value to their lives

3. Make offers to help them

These are all non-negotiable actions that I take every single day to move my business forward.

And they work.

A year ago, I wasn’t doing any of them. And I’m thinking “Why am I so stuck?”

Um, hello?! Changing the wording in my instagram bio won’t make my business take off.

But these needle movers have made all the difference.

What are the needle movers for your goal?

Goals Before Feelings

If I’m honest, I’m having a bad day today.

Sometimes people ask me “don’t you ever have bad days and feel like you don’t want to work towards your goals?” and I’m like, of course I do!

I just refuse to let how I FEEL dictate whether or not I achieve my goals.

It might be controversial, but I put my goals before my feelings.

My long term goals are more important to me than how I feel on this one day.

This feeling will pass. Maybe in a few minutes, or hours, or days.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not forcing a fake smile or pretending I don’t feel bad, or being horribly harsh on myself. I’m still taking care of myself. But the best way I know how to take care of myself isn’t to just have a a long hot shower and cry and eat chocolate (although, I did all of those things today too). The best way I know how to love myself is to still show up for my dreams.

So I’m here, blogging.
And I will meet with a potential coaching client in a few hours.
And I will plan my next YouTube video.

And I will keep calm and carry on.

Nearly at 1000 Members

We’re nearly at 1000 members inside my Facebook Group, Impossible Girls!

I’m so excited about it because we’ve grown to this size in such a short amount of time.

Every day, I’m inspired by the women in the group, sharing their stories and goals and dreams.

My goal is to make it the most epic place on the internet. And to be honest, it kind of already feels like it is – I would rather hang out in the group than anywhere else!

Click here to join!

Building The Dream

Image: me in 2011, a few hours from the summit of Kilimanjaro

I didn’t climb Kilimanjaro to get to the top.

I climbed Kilimanjaro to climb.

And it was the most effort I’ve ever exerted in my entire life. And i nearly turned around just before the summit from altitude sickness. I nearly didn’t make it.

But I kept going because I wanted to show myself I could do it. I didn’t just want to be dropped by a helicopter at the top of a mountain - I wanted to do the work.

This is totally the same with my current goals:

I don’t want 100k subscribers on YouTube.

I want to GROW to 100k subscribers.

I actually have a fear of waking up one day in my dream life, married to my ideal partner, kids all grown up and business a huge success – and realised I’ve missed out on creating it all.

It’s not fun to just wake up and have my dream life. I want to BUILD my dream life.

When you want the process of achieving the goal even more than you want the end goal, you’ll wake up with motivation every single day.

Doing What I Said I'd Do

Here’s the truth: I do what I say I’m going to do, 95% of the time.

But there’s still that 5% where I procrastinate or make excuses or just simply don’t do it.

It drives me wild. Because I know that last 5% is the difference between being good and being great.

I want to be the kind of person who follows through on what she says she is going to do, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the time.

I’m working on commitment intensely at the moment. It’s my number one thing with myself, and it’s my number one thing with my clients.

Doing the thing you said you’d do. No matter what.

Today, I saw a website tab open on my computer from two weeks ago.

I’ve been saying I wanted to buy this posture trainer device for ages to help heal my shoulder from my injury (you stick it to your back every day and it vibrates when you slump or sit badly to remind you to sit up straight!).

But I haven’t bought it. It’s just been on the backburner. “I’ll get around to it.”

So today I opened the tab and bought it. Not because I even want it that much.

But because I damn well said I would buy it, and I am stepping into the version of me that commits 100% of the time, even with the tiniest, smallest, seemingly unnecessary commitments.

I’m committing like no one else – to see results like no one else.

Choosing to Trust Your Own Judgment

It’s so easy to feel like we should do what other people think we should do.

But one of my clients made a big decision today, and I just had to share her thoughts about it:

She said:

• What if my judgment IS good enough?

• What if I don't need to be deferring to other people's judgments to make decisions?

• What if I am the most qualified person to make a decision about my life?

SO. GOOD, right?!

I will definitely be borrowing these thoughts next time the jury shows up in my mind.

I choose to trust my own judgment! 

My July 2020 Goals

Can you believe it’s July already?! So crazy! Also, why do I feel this way every single month?

Here are my goals for July:

1. Continue to put out a video on YouTube every week – and work on creating a better experience for myself while doing it.
   I did this in June and even though it took a LOT of effort, I’m super happy that I actually did it. However, in July I want to make it a more pleasant, enjoyable experience instead of one that takes all my energy out of me. So I will work specifically on feeling good while doing it.

2. Hit 600 Subscribers on YouTube.
   I’m currently on 487. I’m not sure exactly how to make this one work yet. But where there’s a will, there’s a way! Time for a brainstorm. (Plus, as you guys know, my impossible goal is 100,000, so 600 can’t stand in my way!)

3. Walk/run 3x a week.
   I used to be totally into it, and then I got lost when the weather started getting colder in NZ. I need to remind myself that I AM A RUNNER. It is who I am.

4. Hit 1500 members in my Impossible Girls Facebook Group.
   This one has been a challenge the last few months, but we’ve been gaining amazing traction and a lot of super positive feedback. Plus I’m doing a massive giveaway when we hit 1000 members (only 44 to go!).

5. Get my Photography done.
   I actually already booked a photographer but I had to reschedule. This month, I am COMMITTED to making it happen.

6. Join YT4B.
   It’s a YouTube growth program I’ve wanted to join for ages but have never got around to. But I’m ready. I’m committed. July it is.

What are your July Goals?

Let me know in the comments!

Journal With Me

One of my favourite goal-setting activities is mindset journaling. It's a really great way to step into the ideal version of yourself and start creating your life from the version of you who already has it.

I’m super happy that I got this video up JUST in time to complete my goal of getting 4 videos out in June.

Even though it’s not perfect, it’s done. I’m working on making my videos better, and I can tell that there are lots of elements I’d like to change, but I’m definitely seeing progress in my videos (I only did one take this time, instead of the usual five!).

Let me know if you like these kinds of videos and what you’d like to see next.

MY JUNE 2020 GOALS REVIEW

This month I made a deliberate effort to check my goals every few days to stay on track to hit all of them, and I’m super stoked to say that I did!

✅ Put out 1x YouTube video every week (4x videos in June). Done! I cut it sooo close. I had like 2 hours left to upload the last one 🙈

✅ Get made up every morning in makeup & clothes I feel good in. Done! This was the first time in a long time that I felt really confident every day. I don't wear a lot of makeup but even just a little concealer and mascara makes a huge difference to my desire to get on camera.

✅ Post value inside my Impossible Girls Facebook Group daily.

Done! I'm on a mission to make this group the most supportive, motivational corner of the internet. Thank you all for your fab posts, I love reading them!

✅ Get into 'morning vibes' every morning.

Done! Honestly, letting go of my elaborate morning routine in exchange for whatever gets me in a motivated mood that day is so much better! Some days I went for a walk, sometimes I listened to a Podcast, sometimes I did some journaling.

✅ Hire a social media growth manager! Done! I did this super early on in June, and she was amazing. However, she actually got a promotion at her 9-5 job and decided to focus on that – so I'm currently back to managing it myself and I'm happy doing that for now BUT I will be hiring someone again in the future...

Did you hit your June goals? Leave your June Goals review below!

"Show Up Every Day" Totally Applies to You

Sometimes I think people assume the “show up every day” advice doesn’t apply to their goal.

So your dream is to get married? 

You can't complain about not having a boyfriend or girlfriend when you've only met 2 new people in the last 6 months (and one of them was your friend's Grandma...).

Go out and meet 100 new people every week. In-person or online, it doesn’t matter. Decide to say yes to every single social invitation you receive for the next year.

Go to online Zoom speed dating events every night of the week for three months. Ask your friend to set you up on a blind date. Ask the cute barista “if he knows anyone single”. Introduce yourself to the check-out chick.

In order to meet the love of your life, you have to actually give yourself a chance to meet them.

Show up to meet the love of your life, every single day.

Or maybe your dream is to be the Editor of Vogue 

How many articles have you sent to vogue contributors this week? How many local magazines have you offered to intern for free at this year?

Buy every issue of vogue from the past year and make a list of 50 people who have written featured articles. Email one person each day. Ask how they got their break. Ask how you can help them. Ask them to introduce you to someone.

Show up for your dream, every single day, no matter what it is.

This is the magic pill.