A few thoughts on 2011…a few plans for 2012

January 19, 2012

For the past several years, Chris Brogan has defined his goals/resolutions for each year with a series of words. I follow a lot of Chris’ writing via his blog and upon reading about his method for setting his annual goals last year, I thought I’d give it a try.

I liked his method. (You can read more about it here.) Correction, we liked his method. So sometime shortly after the calendar changed from 2010 to 2011, Hubz and I sat down to define the handful of words that we wanted our 2011 to swirl around. Like Chris, we wanted these words to be a constant base to be used to launch the more specific goals we set for ourselves, in addition to helping us to refocus or make decisions about priorities, if the need arose.

We defined 2011 as the year of: Freedom, Family, Property, Discipline.

We typed out the words in ultra-large font, printed out the page, and taped it up multiple places around the house. And then we promptly ignored them.

It was interesting and fun and scary and reassuring to look back on those words come December 31st. Like many goals that are defined and then written down, it was thrilling to prove to ourselves once again how rarely you have to consciously think about a goal to still make significant progress towards making it a reality.

I love that about them. Goals.

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Freedom This was the foundation of everything we wanted 2011 to be for us. I have my time freedom. Hubz does not. Together we’ve both moving towards more financial freedom. Building our residual income via rental properties, building and strengthening the income coming in via our Vemma business, and being open to additional opportunities was what we wanted this goal to reflect. Gaining our freedoms was to be the underlying priority in everything we did.

“Does this help us get closer to those freedoms?” we would ask ourselves. If the answer was no, we didn’t want to be doing it.

We did pretty well with this goal. It’d be a lie if we said we didn’t have hopes to be able to obtain the time freedom for Hubz by the time the calendar ran out on 2011. We didn’t make it. At least not to the level that we felt comfortable with. But we made significant progress on several fronts, and that was definitely a success. The feeling that this word evoked in us will carry into our 2012 plans, for sure.

Family The most personal of our defining words for the year. January 1, we were struggling with several months of frustration over starting a family. Turns out two Type A personalities can’t control the timing for everything in their lives. Harumph. That struggle, however, ended up being a blessing in disguise. Especially for me.

There was a lot I knew about myself at the end of December 2011 that I wasn’t anywhere near knowing in January. Personally, professionally, physically, even spiritually. Every area of my life was strengthened because of that journey. Everything from accupuncture to journaling to self-reflection to travel helped me get there. But I wouldn’t have even come close if I hadn’t forced myself to take a step back and work on things. To make Family become a reality.

By August, it was. And come late April 2012, it really will be.

Defining Family as one of our words related strongly to Freedom, too. We wanted one to help support the other. We wanted the other to experience the one.

Basing the transformation of our year from January to December in regards to Family? A success a million times over.

Property Nothing abstract about this one. We wanted more properties. More than that though, we wanted to make sure that every financial decision we made in 2011 was measured up against our ability to increase our property portfolio. We wanted to be smart and calculating, yet agressive.

Property, obviously so, tied right in with the larger goal of Freedom and indirectly to Family. All a big circle.

January 1st we owned one property in cash that was in the midst of a massive renovation. December 31st we had sufficiently leveraged that property, had it rented and cashflow positive, a significant cash cushion built up in the LLC that we owned it with, and a second property purchased and renovated using Other People’s Money, just added to the rental market. Not too shabby.

Discipline If Freedom was the base that everything our 2011 swirled around, Discipline was what was going to keep that swirling in motion. This was also a more personal goal. Quite simply, we wanted to step up our discipline.

Remember the kill the snake mentality? Yeah. That.

Discipline would remind us to take care of the little things, and to take care of them now. To make the phone call now. To research the new idea now. To take a small step every day a bit beyond the necessary. We hoped that, over the 365 days of the year, those tiny changes would add up to a big deal. (A la The Compound Effect and The Slight Edge.)

It’s hard to measure, but I think they did. I think they could have even more, though. So, if I had to pick, I’d say we succeeded the least (like that wording?) in defining our 2011 by this word, especially compared to all the others.

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And that was our 2011! Chock full of growth professionally, educationally (is that a word?), spiritually, personally, and financially.

2012 will be one for the record books.

Four to five months in, parenthood and all it entails will hit us. Rental property #2 will hopefully, quickly, very soon-ish be rented and supporting itself, plus adding to our real estate business’s cashflow. We hope to add a property #3 to the ledger. We have several huge, personal financial goals related to both parenthood and properties. With the launch of an enormous new product line three days into the new year, I have ambitious goals for our Vemma business this year, too. Simply keeping volunteering a focus would be a huge goal on its own. Growing this site, its readership, and its offerings, venturing into ebooks and information products, is an ambition as well. Oh, and have I mentioned my new post at Silicon Prairie News? Doing whatever I can to support and help grow their mission will also get a part of my focus.

2012. It’s already tiring me out just thinking about it. But in the greatest way.

If I haven’t lost you and you’re still reading, first of all, thank you. You’re my hero! And why I occasionally share more with you in this public space than I would if we were face to face. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to do so.

And for not laughing. Too hard.

Stay tuned for more specifics on my plans for 2012! In the mean time, I would be honored to hear about what you’re working towards this year.

How are you going to define your 2012? Have you set any specific goals? Made any resolutions? Defined a few words to set you on the right path?

Do share.

Cheers to ya’ll,
AS

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A List of If’s

January 5, 2012

If I wouldn’t have ever suggested it, would they have ever offered me the opportunity?

If I hadn’t followed up, would they have forgotten? Would it have ever happened?

Did my one email, my one phone call, make a difference?

Will my one email, my one phone call, make a difference?

If I hadn’t given in to the bestseller, would I not be so sleepy right now?
Stupid Hunger Games.

If I never asked for specifically what I wanted, would I have ever received it? Would I have received something else entirely?

If I had never defined specifically what I wanted, would I have thought to ask for it?

If she pops out hating books, will I survive?
Nah. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Because I wouldn’t.
Maybe.

I think.

If I make one more call, to ask one more person, every day, what will happen?

If I write one more paragraph, what would it all add up to?

If I share it, will they laugh?

If I ignore the dust bunnies, will they just disappear?
They will. Right?
Hello?

If we keep up this pace of development, if we keep up this pace of learning and experiencing and growing, will we get tired? Annoying?
Will we still have any stinkin friends?

If what that lady said was true, and if I went after it, would it work?

If I had never written 29 years old on the list, would it have taken me until 39 years to accomplish? 49? 59?!

If I build it, will he come?

Hehee. Just kidding.

Drowning in if’s,
AS

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Christmas Loot

December 29, 2011

Books books books! That’s what Santa brought me for Christmas this year.

I mean, how did he know? Such a smartypants, that guy.

Babygirl pulled in an impressive percentage of the sixteen total books that the man in red brought me (she’s off to a good start), so here are the newest additions to my To-Read shelf:

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink

Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way, by Richard Branson

Becoming a Dad: The First Three Years, by John C Gaff

Wait, how’d that get in there? I must have a talk with Hubz about keeping better track of his books.

Continuing on.

Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen

It’s Rising Time!: What it Really Takes to Reach Your Financial Dreams, by Kim Kiyosaki

Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

Every Thing On It, by Shel Silverstein

I’m excited about each and every one of these. For business reasons and fun reasons and feel-good reasons and nostalgic reasons.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there are new paperbacks in the house that have yet to be sniffed.

Yours in Book Geekiness,
AS

What about you? Pick up any good reads over the holidays? Any must-reads on your list for 2012? Do share!

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“What should I invest my $$$ in?”

December 19, 2011

I recently read Kiyosaki’s Unfair Advantage, one of the bestselling author’s newest releases. It was a fabulous read, and one that dove much deeper into Robert’s personal experience and business dealings than any of his previous books.

Here, very briefly, is what I thought was one of the juiciest tidbits of the whole book:

Question:
What should I invest my money in?

Answer:
1) Do nothing and hope things work out. “Hope is for the hopeless.”
2) Turn your money over to an expert for the long term, and “buy, hold, and pray.”
3) Invest in your financial education. Invest your time before you invest your money.

Interesting how ‘common sense’ #1 and #2 are, yet how often you hear them happening. That education piece, though? I’ll never stop trying.

You?

(Have you read Unfair Advantage? Heard of it? Have you read any of Kiyosaki’s books? Do tell!)

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I Ran Into an Old Version of My Resume

December 8, 2011

I ran into an old version of my resume last weekend. I was cleaning out a storage container from the basement, one mostly full of electronics from at least a decade ago.

Quality use of storage space, Annie! Not.

Amongst the ZIP disk and the TI-85 was a lovely, leather resume holder. And inside – gasp! – were a bundle of my old resumes. As in, old old. As in, from 9 years ago when I was a senior in college and searching for that elusive full-time job.

I was a senior in college 9 years ago.

9 years ago? Yup, that was my last year of college.

Excuse me while I go puke.

—

I ran into an old version of my resume, and it made me want to puke.

That would have been a much shorter story, don’t you think?

—

I ran into an old version of my resume. I read it over. It included such things as a “current” and “permanent” address section. Aww. Back in the day when ‘ole Mom and Dad’s was the only permanent address you had. Remember those days? How lovely.

And speaking of lovely, it also included an objective statement. Want to hear it? Brace yourself:

To obtain a demanding, hands-on, full-time position in information systems, consulting, or programming.

HAHA. HA! HAHAHAHAA. Ahem.

Sorry. I’m done now.

—

I ran into an old version of my resume. It included an objective statement that made me laugh.

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I ran into an old version of my resume. It included an objective statement that I accomplished to the letter. Little did I know, 9 years after I wrote it, the crazy, non-conforming, resume-laughing-at adult I would quickly become.

How does one person morph into something so completely different over the course of less than a decade? How is that possible? I’m still the same person, I think. Just…different.

What’s that quote? Something about “You will be the same person in 5 years, aside from the books you read and the people you meet,” I think? Yeah, that.

The books you read, you say? I guess that explains it.

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I ran into an old version of my resume. It made me laugh. And gasp. And reminisce.

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I ran into an old version of my resume, and it included a line under Activities that said I was involved in a club called Greeks Against Rape.

Huh? I was? I mean, I was a part of the greek system, that I most definitely remember. And as a student I would of course considered myself someone against rape in any way, shape, or form. But a member of a club? Specifically for greek system members against rape? Did we, umm, meet at all? Ever?

Why don’t I recall a single, lone detail about this activity from my college days?

Wait. Don’t answer that.

—

I ran into an old version of my resume. It was…awesome.

Its featured applicant enjoyed reflecting on its words, its meaning, and the growth made since it was created.

And then she promptly sent it to the shredder.

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Planning Your No-Plan Time

November 28, 2011

It’s kind of cheating to create a blog post entirely out of someone else’s writing, but this one was too good to keep to myself.

Jonathan Fields, author, wellness entrepreneur, and speaker on such things as book marketing, embracing creativity, and easing fear and uncertainty in business, posted the excerpt below on his site at the end of October. I subscribe to his posts, received this one in my inbox when he published it, and loved it. Love love lurrved it. As in, I kept it in my inbox for – gasp! – several days, eventually printed it on actual papery paper, and it now resides stapled onto a page in my notebook.

I’m not exactly sure why I like it so much. Perhaps it’s because it makes me think about life, and how I hope that I am living and treating mine day to day. (Hope being the key word there.)

Maybe because it makes me smile. Or maybe I like that it makes a powerful impression with a simple, halfway-oxymoronic statement.

Did I just say oxymoronic? Sorry.

Perhaps I just liked the post so much because it made me think, period.

Anyway, here is Jonathan and his thoughts on planning your down time:

Scheduling Spontaneity

Scheduling spontaneity. It sounds counterintuitive.

But, the deeper you get into life, the more you’ve got going on, the more you need to schedule time to not have anything scheduled.

Ritual is important. So is routine. They help create certainty anchors in your day, moments where you know what’s coming next and you can get into a rhythm that allows creativity and productivity to flow.

But, without fail, the biggest ideas, the most endearing connections, the world-changing insights come not when you’re engaged in the process of trying to make them happen, but when you step away and give your mind a bit of space. When you let your brain breath.

That’s when data coalesces into genius. Conversations blossom into love. And the playful side of life swirls through you.

The busier you get, the more important it is for you to exalt and even schedule time to be unscheduled. To pause.

As John Lennon once shared-

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Schedule spontaneity and plan to live.

To see the full post on Jonathan’s site, click here.

Pretty good, huh? Let me know what you think.

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