A few months ago on a coaching call we made a huge shift in my thinking. I kept saying how "this happened" then "this happened", and of course "this happened".

I was mentally disconnected from the results I was seeing in my business.

The shift we made was to take responsibility for those results I was getting in my life. These things didn't "just happen", they were the results of the actions I took and the time and effort and focus.

Today, we'll help you make the same shift at the start of this new year.

It looks like this:

• Identify your big goals
• Support them big enough reasons
• Take massive action

Let's dive in...

"The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible." ~Joel Brown

Identify Your Big Goals

The first step in shifting from "that happened" to "I did that!" is to decide on the big goals you want to accomplish this year.

Big goals should excite you, thrill you, fill you with anticipation and joy. If you're not getting that from your current goals, try rephrasing them with better language, or just thinking bigger.

Instead of "lose five pounds", what about "become filled with energy, tone my body, and feel great naked!"?

Rather than "make more money", how about "I will help 1,000 creators build successful, bespoke creative businesses!"?

(That one's mine, no stealing! 😉)

If you haven't yet decided your big goals for this year, use this framework:

• turn on some awesome music to get the juices flowing (I like Brain.fm)
• stand up, breathe deep, stretch, jump around. Get into a mental and physical state that will help you think BIG
• start writing down every single thing you'd ever like to accomplish in your life. Don't edit or question your answers. They don't have to be reasonable, just write them down!
• Once you've done that (take 5-10 minutes at least!), then go in and circle every single one of those big outcomes that could potentially be done in the next year
• (The rest you can capture for later, but we're going to leave them for now)
• If your list is longer than 3 or 4 big outcomes, then identify the three biggest outcomes on your list that can be accomplished this year, and then prioritize them 1 through 3
• These are your BIG GOALS for the year, the things that if you got them you'd feel extremely proud of the progress you made this year

Support Them With Big Enough Reasons

Now, a goal without a plan is just a dream, and a goal without a reason is merely a hope. If you don't support your goals with the reasons you want to achieve them, you'll soon forget that they were ever important to you.

The difference between someone who grows to 100,000 followers in a year and someone stuck at 1,000 since they joined a decade ago is reasons. Purpose. Focus.

It's rarely the tactics they used (unless they went out and bought followers. Don't do that...)

It's mindset.

Mindset accounts for 80% of our success. The tactics and strategy are only 20%.

If you're wondering why you haven't achieved the things you said you wanted in the past, take a good hard look at the reasons you supported your goals with.

The times I grew my businesses the most is when I raised my standards. I was no longer ok making $3,000 per month with a wife, three boys, a house, and two cars (not to mention $15k in debt from a failed business...)

The year after that I doubled my income, then doubled it again the year after that. I had reasons to grow my income - to take care of my family, get out of debt, and be "a financial wizard" (remember language matters).

When you match your goals with big reasons, you begin to see that you are responsible for the things you achieve. You can take pride knowing that your hard work and focus and investment of time and money paid off.

You're creating a connection between your actions and your outcomes.

Take Massive Action

Your business is perfectly optimized to get the results you're currently getting.

That may be rough to hear, but it's true.

So, how do we get different results? We change the system that is our business, and the way we interact with it.

There are two things you can implement starting today:

1. Scheduling and Time Blocking
2. Compounding

As you plan out your week, think in terms of the big outcomes you want to accomplish over the next five days, not the never-ending todo list of tasks that are strewn across your desk.

Schedule those big outcomes in chunks throughout your week. Test if this works for you (no system is for everyone).

I'm lucky to work full-time in my own businesses, so I have near-complete control over my weekly schedule. (I am married, have three kids, and a church responsibility that does dictate some of what ends up on my calendar).

But every day from 5-7am and 8am-3pm is mine to schedule!

I like to get my main creative work done in the first few hours of the day, generally 9-12 each morning.

I create a block called "Craftsman Time" and each day I decide on the main project that I'll focus on. I like to string a few days together rather than ping-ponging back and forth between projects each day.

Now, for compounding.

The goal with any creative work is to do it consistently for a long-enough period of time that it inevitably works.

This might mean sending 100 weekly newsletters (I'm only 13 weeks away!), or posting to social media every day for months (or years...), or writing a thousand words a day for your book, or practicing your hand lettering every day.

Research shows that it takes anywhere from 18 months to 3 years for creative businesses to start paying the owner a full-time salary. So that's 18 to 36 months of daily or weekly consistent creative output, much of it without any visible results like new clients or revenue.

But if you keep it up, and use the opportunity to "put in the reps" and do more of what works and less of what doesn't, over time things start to align and the results start to show up. And then, they take off...

My big hope for you this year is to help you shift your mindset to one of belief, of possibility, of alignment, of progress and growth and mastery. That you'll connect your outcomes to your actions and realize all of the incredible results you're capable of.

I know that if I can help you do this, you're capable of anything. Your potential is unlimited. I'll do everything I can this year to prove that to you.