Listen Now
First of all, the thing I’m just bursting to tell you is that the 2018 Brilliant Life Planner will drop in the shop this week, Friday, November 3rd @ 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern. Make sure you’re following @brilliantlifeplanner on Instagram because that’s where the planner fun will happen.
There will be so much going on for those of you who can join the launch live, and also for our early-bird purchasers. Pencil this date into your planner and come hang out!
It’s been absolutely amazing to hear from so many ladies who are excited for this year’s planners. It gives me all kinds of warm fuzzies to hear how you love it, how much you’ve used it this year, and how much you’re looking forward to 2018! I just want to say thank you for loving and cherishing The Brilliant Life Planner as much as I do!
And since we’re talking all things planners, I want to share a few insights into what I’ve been learning about time management, intentional living, and goal setting this year since I had a baby in April. I hope to give you some perspective, some encouragement, and maybe even some wisdom (maybe!)
The phrase that has guided my year is, “You don’t want to miss this.”
One thing I’ve been so grateful to not have missed is all the moments with my baby and all the moments our family has had together. I’ve been able to slow down quite a bit and spend the majority of my time with little Levi.
This new pace has caused me to stop a minute and think, “What do I remember most, and what brought me the most joy this year?” And to add perspective, I’ve been asking myself, “What do I regret the most and what bummed me out this year?” Both of these questions guide me as I plan for my year ahead and keep first things first.
At the top of my list of what brought me the most joy are the people in my life and the memories I create with them, and I know that people will always trump other goals.
People Matter More than Productivity
When I sit down to write my great big goals, my family goals come first. Keeping this perspective is so important because crushing all the great big goals in the world at the expense of missing out on life with my family isn’t worth it to me.
Some of my goals this year include helping my son Holden accomplish his personal goals (like joining a basketball team, honing his skills, and starting his own online business!) and the ones I have for him, like helping him to become a kind, compassionate, hard-working person who loves God and others well.
So as you start to plan for 2018, make sure you ask yourself, “What do you not want to miss? And how can you help others reach their great big dreams?” It’s just as fulfilling as working towards your own goals!
You Can Do More Than You Think You Can
Even though I’ve slowed down a lot this year, I’ve realized that I can do more than I think I can. That doesn’t mean filling up a to-do list with 100 things a day. But the goal you’d like to accomplish most this year (from business growth to personal health or whatever it may be!) even if it feels overwhelming at the start, is something you can do.
You can do more than you think you’re capable of. If you stretch yourself a little bit every day, you’ll be amazed at what you can do.
In 2017, running on the sleep deprivation that comes with having a baby, I still accomplished a lot! I’ve launched new mini-courses, worked on the 2018 planner, helped develop new physical products (coming soon!) led a team of many talented women, and had plenty of time for my family in the process.
I can do much more than I think I can, and unless I push and stretch myself a little bit more, I’ll never know what I’m capable of.
I know at the end of the year I’ll regret too much time on the couch with my feet up, but I won’t regret time spent with family or time spent growing my business in a meaningful way.
(There’s a little BBM confession in here too that you’ll have to listen to about facing challenges head-on and tackling them! I’ve been urging my team to do more than they think they can too!)
You Can't Do Everything
When it comes to stretching yourself and taking on new challenges, though, you’ve got to remember you can’t do everything. It might not be helpful to take on ten huge new challenges this year! So, how do you pick and choose? How do you decide which challenges to face head-on and which ones are too much and not worth it?
I find the best way to on the few goals I’ll tackle in a year is by starting with the end picture in mind.
Start with the End Picture in Mind
I like to picture what my dream life would look like at the end of 2018. I map out what my family, my friendships, my business, my health, my faith, and every piece of my life’s puzzle would ideally look like at the end of next year.
Then I work backward to figure out if each challenge or task along the way is going to get me to that end goal.
In the past, I set goals like, ‘I want to have 1,000 new students in my ads course’ so I can help 1,000 ladies grow their businesses! (And in pursuing that goal, I actually discovered this year I’d rather dig deep with a smaller number of students and really make an impact.)
Or, I’ve set goals like, ‘ I want to have a 7-figure business.’ when in reality, increasing profits is more impactful than increasing revenue.
Impact Over Fancy Numbers
So even if my great big goal involves big numbers, both in business and in my personal life I keep in mind that the impact I make on someone’s life matters more than that big, fancy number.
For example, rather than set a big fancy number goal for my business, like having 7 figures in sales this year, it’s much better to look for the impact my team and I can have on the women we serve and having the profits in the business to do things like adopt again and build an orphanage, than to reach that number and be stressed out and overwhelmed.
And I see that playing out in my personal life too. We just hired a babysitter to watch Levi for 3 hours, 3 times a week, and when I picked him up the other day, he looked at me and just started laughing! He grabbed my face to give me great big kisses.
I realized in that moment, I am this sweet little guy’s best buddy right now, and that doesn’t last forever. It’s so precious to me to have that, and that’s the impact that counts. I get to spend my days with this little guy, which I didn’t have with Holden. He came home at two-and-half years old, so we missed those sweet baby moments with him.
The impact I get to have by being Levi’s best buddy for now matters so much more than any fancy numbers or tracking milestones and dates for him. It’s the day-to-day relationship that matters most to me.
How will you use your planner for 2018 so you don’t miss all the amazing moments, all those incredible things you can do, and the people you can invest in?
Make sure you’re following @brilliantlifeplanner on Instagram so you don’t miss all the excitement of the Brilliant Life Planner coming Friday, November 3rd.
And of course, now it’s your turn to head out there and Be Brilliant!
~ Beth Anne
