At the beginning of each year, I examine everything in my life. I get real about what went well, what didn’t go as planned, and what sucked. Then I plan what I want to achieve that year and set goals for myself and my business. I want you to spend some time setting honest goals for your 2021.
When we set clear goals, we are more likely to accomplish those goals. So many people put their lives on autopilot and wonder why things aren’t improving. Before you move forward in your business or your life, make a plan of what you want to achieve. Here are six things to do this month that will make your 2021 amazing.
#1 Create a Vision Board
A vision board is a visual representation of your dream life. It is a collage of images and words that inspire you to be your best self. You can make your vision board on a piece of poster board, a canvas, or even in photoshop. I want you to fill your board with your wildest dreams and most intimidating goals. When you dream big, amazing things can happen.
#2 Quantify Your Goals
What gets measured, gets improved. Examine all of your goals and make them quantifiable. How much money do you want to make? How many days off do you want to take? How much money or time do you want to donate? How many steps do you want to walk each day? Measuring your goals is important because you need numbers in order to track your progress.
#3 Empower Yourself Through Self-Talk
When you see other photographers succeeding, switch your jealousy into something that inspires you. For example, if you think, “They’re taking all the good clients,” instead say, “That’s cool! Someone is succeeding in this economy. If they can do it, I can do it too.” If you see another talented photographer and think, “Wow, they’re so good, I’m not good enough.” Tell yourself, “I bet when they started, they weren’t good, but they kept learning and improving. I can do that too.” Commit to empowering yourself through your self-talk.
#4 Celebrate Your Wins
Celebrating your wins is hard, especially when you run your own business. It’s easy to get caught up in what you haven’t done yet, that you forget about everything you have accomplished. If we celebrate little wins, it makes such a difference in the morale of your business. At my event last year, Go Boutique Live, we celebrated our students that had accomplished certain goals. We celebrate thousand dollar orders. We bring people on stage if they gave a thousand dollars to charity, or made over $10,000, $50,000, or $100,000 annually.
As photographers and business owners, we’re getting beat down every day. I want to keep celebrating you, so you can bring out your best self into 2021. Celebrating is so important.
#5 Live a Life of Meaning and Impact
What’s cool about building your own own business is that you can build a life that has meaning and impact. You can spend more time with your kids and you can work with charities that you’re passionate about. It’s an amazing feeling. At the Photography Business Institute, one of our core values is to lift as we climb. We can not wait until we’ve got all the money in the world to give back, we have to start now. When you live a life that helps others, it changes how you feel about accepting success into your life.
#6 Make Decisions
Most people stay stuck in their business because they avoid making decisions. It’s much easier to stay in a safe and comfortable place than to move to an unknown uncomfortable place of growth. When you’re in debt and living paycheck to paycheck, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s safe because you’ve navigated it before. You know what you need to do. But having to take loans and invest in education and enter into an uncomfortable place, is so much scarier. It’s hard, but you will end up so much happier outside of your comfort zone.
Make decisions and stick to them. It is better to make a decision and take action than it is to stay stuck and miserable where you’re at. Doing hard things gives you confidence to do the next hard thing. Make the decision that in 2021 that you will go for your dreams.
If you’re going to achieve your goals this year, you’ve got to be an action taker. Go do hard things! Is it hard to set goals and put in the work to achieve them? Yes! Will it be uncomfortable at times while working to reach these goals? Yes! But if you commit to yourself and work hard, a year from now, we’ll be celebrating the goals you reached.