One Single Priority

Priority used to be a singular word. It means the prior thing. The first thing.

Until the 1900’s, you could only have ONE priority – one MOST important thing.

Then sometime in the last 100 years, we pluralized it.

Nowadays, we claim to have five or six or seven priorities.

As if changing the word alters our level of productivity. If we can have more priorities, surely we can get more done? But usually, the opposite happens. We have too many priorities, and then ironically, the most important things don’t get done.

In truth, we can only have one priority. One thing that is more important than anything else.

One thing that would come out on top if we were forced to choose.

Work. Sleep. Health. Leisure. Family. Friends. Netflix. Facebook.

What is your singular priority?

My 2021 Goals

Happy 2021, everyone! This is my absolute favourite time of the year – we get to set impossible, crazy goals and have a fresh start to hit them. I have categorized my goals this year into different areas, to make sure I don’t get to the end of the year having crushed it in one area of life and have neglected another.

My Top 3 Impossible Goals for 2021:

1. Business:
   I will easily start (and continue) a successful podcast

2. Business:
   I will easily create an impossible video series

3. Health
   I will easily heal my shoulder completely so I can get back to doing 20 perfect-form push-ups in a row

These are my top three, non-negotiable goals. These ones are absolutely happening. I also have a list of other goals, but they fall only as extras – they will not be prioritized over my top 3 goals.

Complete List of My Goals for 2021:

Business

• I will easily start and continue a podcast
  I’ve been considering this for a while, but it hasn’t felt right. But I recently got coached on what kind of impact I want to have going forward, and it became crystal clear that I need to start a podcast.
  

• I will easily create an impossible video series
  Last year, I set myself the goal to make YouTube videos every week. What I discovered, was that I was putting out videos I wasn’t happy with, just because I had to have one out every week. So instead, this year, I’m committing to putting out a video series that I am proud of – no particular number of videos, no particular dates. Just doing it.

• I will easily create a beautiful office space to work in
  When I first started my business, I worked sitting on my bed in my bedroom. It was all I needed, and I recommend it to anyone. You don’t need fancy ANYTHING to begin. Now I have my own office, but it’s not set up how I’d like it to be (and I’ll be moving to a new office soon). So now that my business is full time and I’m working in my office a lot, I’m excited to create something that reflects that.

• I will easily uplevel my photos and graphics
  I’ve done everything myself in my business so far – and like I said above, that’s the best way to begin! Now as my business scales, I’m ready to take my business branding to the next level and have someone else help me create the vision I have in my head.

Relationships

• I will easily start and complete Tony Robbins’ Ultimate Relationship Program
  In 2021, Daniel and I will celebrate 6 years together. We continually talk about what makes a relationship great, and we agreed that the world’s happiest couples work on their relationship BEFORE there are any big issues. So yesterday we bought Tony’s program and we’ve already been listening to it together while doing the dishes and driving.
  

• I will easily do weekly classes (art, singing, languages, sport) with Daniel
  Another thing we agreed on was that we want to do an activity that we are both beginners at, so we can grow together. We decided to start with a pottery sculpting class – and then next, we’re going to take up singing lessons.
  

Health

• I will easily heal my shoulder completely
  Last year, I injured my shoulder and it’s been a looooong journey to heal. I know there is still a long way to go, but it is an absolute priority for me.
  

• I will easily do 20 perfect-form push-ups in a row
  Last year I set myself the goal to do 100 push-ups in a row – and I got to 50! But they weren’t great form (hence the injury), so this time around, I’m allowing myself more time to hit 100, but ensuring that my form is excellent before progressing to the next level.
  

Finances 

• I will easily donate at least 1% of my income to a charity I care about each month
  I read an article that said something along the lines of “We all think we’re going to donate more when we have more. If you’re not willing to donate $1 out of every $100 you make, you’re kidding yourself if you think you’ll donate $100,000 out of $10 million.” Oh, good point. I know I can certainly donate more than 1%, but I want to ALWAYS make sure I donate at least 1%, so I am in the habit of donating.
  

• I will easily double the size of my emergency fund
  If you haven’t heard of an Emergency Fund or Dave Ramsey – run to YouTube, now. Having an emergency fund has totally changed my outlook on money – and I’m keen to have an even bigger safety net in 2021.
  

Personal development

• I will easily go to a Tony Robbins event (virtual or in-person)
  I’ve been DREAMING of going to a live Tony Robbins’ event for about the last 10 years. Regardless of if it’s virtual or in-person, this year is the year!
  

Resolutions/Habits

• I will easily delete and never use social media on my phone
  Hands up if you’re addicted to your phone. ***Only puts one hand up because the other one is still scrolling important memes*** I’m addicted. Enough said.
  

• I will easily do all of my content creation on Fridays
  Until now, I’ve been creating content every single day, but in 2021, I have decided to spend a whole day just to batch create my content (posts, videos, podcasts) for the whole week, so my assistant can schedule them ahead of time. I’m really excited about this one, I can feel the stress melting away.
  

• I will easily finish working at 6 pm at the latest every day
  I turned my hobby into my full-time business, so I’m a terrible workaholic. Working IS the most fun thing I can do. But it also means I miss out on other important things in my life – like family and friends. So this year, I commit to stopping working at 6 pm at the latest.
  

• I will easily be 5 minutes early for everything
  I’ve got a terrible habit of being JUST on time. I’m not late often, but I usually have to rush to get everything done at the last minute, and I don’t like that. So this year, I commit to adding 5 minutes onto my mental “this is how long this activity will take” clock.

Have you set your 2021 goals yet?

2020 Year In Review

Last night I watched Death to 2020 on Netflix. It’s a comedy about how bizarre this year has been, and I can certainly agree. But it’s also been one of the best years of my life. I had opportunities that I would never have had the world not turned to mush. I’m incredibly grateful for the people in my life who made it possible for my business to take off.

Here’s a quick monthly rundown of 2020:

• January: I am running my business part time, and working for other people’s businesses part time. I have 2 clients. I hit 50 push ups in a row and injure my shoulder.

• February: I get a personal trainer, who pushes me beyond my limit and makes the shoulder injury much worse.

• March: I join a gym that I never, ever (not even once) go to. Coronavirus hits the UK. Saturday 14th, life feels normal. People are “overreacting”. Sunday 15th, we actually take it seriously. Life suddenly feels anything but normal. People are under-reacting. We make the decision to move back to New Zealand on the first flight we can get. Tuesday 22nd, we arrive into New Zealand and go into quarantine for two weeks inside a closed-off part of Daniel’s parents house. Nationwide lockdown.

• April: I realise how much time I have now. I start a Facebook Group called Impossible Girls, and we get 500 members in the first month. I joined Stacey Boehman’s 2k for 2k business program.

• May: I sign 2 clients for my membership site. I make the decision (on Stacey’s recommendation) to stop offering the membership site to new members, and only offer 1:1 coaching.

• June: After more than two years of coaching, the sales process finally clicks. I sign 3 clients in a week. I hire a team member – but she decides to take a promotion at her job and leaves. I can’t make a decision about who to hire next.

• July: My Facebook group hits 1000 members and I run a giveaway. We go to live with my mum and sister to enjoy the time with them before my sister heads off to University. I asked strangers at the mall to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I made a viral post that got 31k likes. 900 people joined my Facebook Group in one day.

• August: I sign 1 client. I make the decision to apply for Stacey Boehman’s 200k mastermind (I have none of the year-long entry requirements, but I decide to create them in two months).

• September: I sign 8 clients. I watch Michael Jordan’s docu-series The Last Dance every night.

• October: I sign 8 clients. I realise I won’t have to go back to working for other people part time. I delete my CV.

• November: I am fully booked with 20 clients. I get accepted into Stacey Boehman’s 200k Mastermind. I learn the importance of having a solid back-end of business.

• December: We hit 3400 members in the Impossible Girls Facebook Group. I close my membership site. I hire a Personal Assistant to run the back end of my business so I can focus on coaching and creating content.

Here’s where my thoughts are at:

I’m currently listening to the audiobook “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown, and it has totally opened my mind to how unconsidered many things in my life are. Things like:

• Working Monday to Friday (Are these really the best days? Do I want to do all of them?)

• Working 9am-5pm (When do I enjoy working the most?)

• Downloading apps on my phone (How will downloading/using this app steal time from my life?)

• Hour-long meetings (Not every meeting needs a whole hour, why not 15 or 30?)

• Reading books (I’ve discovered I get through so many more books if I listen to them on audio)

Changes I’m making in 2021:

• I’m going to create all of my content on Fridays, and have it scheduled throughout the week by my Personal Assistant.

• No admin or client work in the evenings past 6pm (I love to work, because I turned my hobby into my business, so it’s easy for me to work from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep!).

• I am investing in all the equipment I need. For a long time, I’ve been making do with broken laptops, and working at a kitchen table with no office, coaching from my bedroom. But now I have an office and it’s amazing how much more efficient and productive I am. I’m completely sold on investing when I have the right tools. I’m making it a priority to update my computer software, and buy the technology I need to run my business at optimum power.

• I am deleting all social media, email apps and even messenger from my phone. For a long time, I thought I needed it for my work as a coach. And I do – but I don’t need 24/7 access. So now, I am only accessing them from a computer in my office when I am officially at work – not when I’m in bed, or eating dinner, or outside.

• I’m hiring people to do the things I’m not good at. For almost 3 years, I’ve been running my business totally solo, and it’s been fantastic. But now, I’ve got to a point where trying to do everything myself means I’m so busy doing admin, there’s no time to grow (or rest!). I’m excited to work with more photographers, assistants and designers.

Thank you to everyone who supported me in 2020, this is a year I will never forget! <3

December 2020 Goals Review

We are finally here, at the end of the month. When I wrote these goals, the only one that I felt sure I could do was number 4: walk/run 2x a week. But I decided I was going to make the rest happen somehow. Here is my review:

1. Find my Donna.
   Done. After quite a bit of searching, I found her. She is exactly what I need – someone who is experienced at running the back-end of other people’s businesses, so I can show up and coach at my best, and create content without distraction. We begin in January. As you’ll read in my 2020 Year in Review, I’m changing up a lot of things for 2021, and this is one of the ones I’m most excited about.
   

2. Grow my Facebook group to 3000 members.
   Done. We actually hit 3400! That’s 1000 new members in December. I’m so grateful for the incredible support from all the Impossible Girls – so many of you added members without me even asking! Thank you, thank you!
   

3. Batch-create my content once per week.
   Done. Batching my content has revolutionised the way my week looks. Instead of having to quickly write something in between my coaching calls (or in the middle of my weekend), I just write content once per week and then I don’t have to worry about it at all for another week. Why did nobody tell me about this?! (Oh wait, they did, I just never tried it). However, this system does have one flaw – if you miss the content-creation day for any reason, suddenly you’re an entire week behind on content. So in 2021, I’m going to protect my content-creation time like a lioness protects her cub.
   

4. Walk/run 2x a week.
   Done. This one was totally automatic. As it turns out, my body tells me when I should do this, and most of the weeks in December I went more than 2x a week. Clearly, I should have set a harder goal!
   

5. Make the process of achieving all of these goals enjoyable.
   Done. I specifically made this month as stress-free as possible. I said no to things that would get in the way, I thought outside the box for options that would be more fun, and I didn’t let myself worry about if I would hit them or not. Oh, and I listened to a lot of music which got me pumped up to go after these goals!

How did you go with your December Goals? Let me know in the comments!

It's Not Over Till It’s Over

You wouldn’t turn a movie off 10 minutes from the end.

So don’t give up on your goals now.

There are still 3 days left of 2020.

And a lot can happen in 36 hours.

Nothing important happens until the last minute, anyway.

Frodo didn’t take the ring to Mordor in the first film.

He took the ring to Mordor right at the end of 11 excruciating hours of extended screenplay.

So if you haven’t hit your 2020 goal yet, it’s because you’re currently sitting through your own painfully extended edition of Lord of the Rings.

It might feel like all hope is lost.

But when you give up before it’s over, you’re missing out on the very best, most important time there is. The last minute holds magic.

This is the best bit.

The final three days of 2020 are yours for the taking.

And if you’re willing to give up showers, sleeping, and cooking, you’ve just bought yourself a bunch more time.

Kidding. Almost.

Make it happen.

It's not over till it’s over.

Today I Woke Up As Serena Williams

Even though I teach changing your identity on a daily basis with my clients, it still surprises me how effective it is.

Last night, as I was looking my schedule over for the morning, I realised I was going to have to get up earlier than usual (and if you know me – I don’t love to get up early). 

Current identity: I’m not a morning person

Okay – so who IS a morning person? 

I had just been watching a documentary about Serena Williams on Netflix, and although I can’t know for sure – I bet she is a morning person. 

You don’t become a 23-time Grand Slam champion by sleeping in.

So I decided that when I woke up this morning, I wasn’t going to wake up as Sarah – I was going to wake up as Serena.

And you know what? When my alarm went off extra early this morning, the first thought that came into my head was “Serena would get up.”

Suddenly, like MAGIC, my feet were on the floor.

It doesn’t need to be Serena. It could have been anyone.

But the most important thing is that it wasn’t the version of me that likes to hit the snooze button. 

This is a game-changer.

How to Turn Your Weaknesses into Strengths

Sometimes I set a goal and I don’t have a clue how to achieve it. Actually, most of the time that’s the case.

But just because I’ve never done something before, doesn’t mean I can’t do it.

In fact, it could be an advantage, right?

Recently, I’ve been looking for evidence for why my weaknesses are actually my greatest advantages:

• Why is it a good thing that I’ve never done it before?

• Why is it a good thing that I don’t know how yet?

• Why is it a good thing that I’m not strong in this area yet?

Possible answers:

• Because I’m not bogged down with all the rules.

• Because I might be able to see things from a different perceptive.

• Because I’ll be able to compensate with my other strengths and bring a whole new twist to the way it can be done.
  

What if your weakness is actually your greatest strength?

How I Hit 3000 Members in My Facebook Group

Ahhh we hit 3000 members in the Impossible Girls Facebook Group! (3200, actually!!)

Three nights ago we were on 2700 members and I was feeling anxious about it. What if I’ve just told everyone I’m going to hit this goal of 3000, and I don’t?

But it happened.

800 new members in less than 25 days.

Here’s how it happened:

Short answer: Mindset

I used to get SO sick of people saying “it’s just mindset” when I asked how people did something.

I’m like GIVE ME SOME TANGIBLE ADVICE! (Anyone else feel like this?!)

So, the Tangible answer is:

1. I decided to believe it was 100% in my control.
   If it was in my control, then I could make it happen. As soon as we decide it’s based on luck or chance, we give our power away. I decided I was going to make it happen. A done deal.
   
   

2. I didn’t sit around waiting. I invited people from EVERYWHERE. I took risks by sharing content in other Facebook groups that I felt nervous to share in case I was judged (ironically, it’s always the posts I’m most scared to post that get the best reaction!).
   
   

3. I didn’t DM strangers asking them to join. I didn’t make people feel like they HAD to join. Instead of “please please please join my group!” I showed up with an energy of “We’ve got the best thing ever going on over here… but hey, if it’s not your vibe, that’s cool too.” Zero desperate energy. I learned this lesson from past mistakes (in relationships and in business!).
   
   

4. Anytime I got worried it wouldn’t happen (because those sneaky thoughts sometimes came in), I made a list of why it WOULD happen. Not just why thought it might happen, but an actual fool-proof plan of exactly WHY it was definitely going to happen. A list of steps.
   – Because I’m willing to do whatever it takes
   – Because there is ALWAYS a way
   – Because I’m going to do X, Y and Z to make it happen.
   
   

5. I thought outside the box. What would I do if I were Michael Jordan? How would Sara Blakely solve this? If I had 24 hours to make it happen, what would I do? I just kept asking myself, “It is already done – so how did it happen?”
   
   

6. I didn’t try to do it alone. I shared that I wanted to hit the goal in this group, with other groups, on my blog and to people offline (and you girls came forward like a badass army, heaps of you added your friends without me even asking you to!).

We DID it. Thank you!

There are still 5 more days in December. What goals are you deciding you’re going to hit before 2021?

The Second Kind of Time

I recently learned that the ancient Greeks perceived two different kinds of time:

1. Chronos: The time we’re used to; forward-propelling time that goes in chronological order. Time is measured quantitatively.

2. Kairos: The time we experience when we’re in “flow”. Time stands still. We’re totally present and involved in what we’re doing. We forget time exists. Time is measured qualitatively.

I love the idea of Kairos, and I want to experience more of it. I most frequently experience it when I’m dancing, chatting with friends, and particularly during the holiday season where normal to-dos are long forgotten and I can just be in the moment.

One of the ways I’m attempting to experience more Kairos is to detach myself physically from my phone – and all the apps in it. I just deleted nearly every app from my phone, and I’m LOVING it. That means any time I want to spend working needs to be on my computer, in my office. Anytime not there, I can’t work.

What could you do to experience more Kairos?

Should You Work On More Than One Goal at Once?

In my Impossible Goal Setting Workshop the other day, I got asked – should you work on more than one goal at once or focus all your energy on one goal?

Of course, like with anything goal-related, there is no right answer – you get to choose. But here’s my take:

1. Create a big vision, and go wild setting goals without a timeline. Dream up everything you want to do – the most impossible things you can imagine.

2. Create a 1-year plan. Choose 3 impossible goals you’re going to hit. Work on them like crazy – all at once. But when it comes down to the crux of a goal, where it requires more of your energy to cross the finish line, drop everything and focus on just that one goal. Eat, sleep, breathe that one goal – for a short, sustainable period. Once you’ve hit that goal, go back to the other two.

Do you like working on lots of goals at once or just one at a time? Let me know in the comments by clicking the title of this post.