Look at that! Another year has flown by, did you get done what you set out to accomplish in 2017? I hope you did but if not, let’s make 2018 your year!
Now, I know many people mention “New Years Resolutions”, but does anyone really take those seriously? My challenge for you is to take things a step further and actually plan on reaching your goals in 2018. Imagine where you’d like to be a year from now and work consistently to make your vision a reality.
2017 in Review
First off, how was 2017, did you succeed with anything you set out to accomplish? If so, it’s important to reflect on what worked and what didn’t while achieving those goals. What kept you motivated, what slowed you down, where did you have the most trouble, and what made things the most fun? After making these realizations, one can make the necessary changes to make 2018 even more successful!
Make SMART Goals for 2018
If you caught my article a couple months ago entitled, Setting Goals and How to Achieve Them, you would have learned about SMART goals. Smart goals help you plan in such a way that increases success. To recap, Smart goals are as follows:
- Specific (Clearly defined specific goals – not broad or vague)
- Measurable (Give your goals measurable feedback to see if you’re on track)
- Attainable (Keep your goals realistic)
- Relevant (Make sure it’s in-line with your with your purpose)
- Time bound (Give yourself a deadline)
What are Your Goals?
Here is the big question, what are your goals for 2018? This may be an overwhelming question, so I suggest writing a list of all the goals that you’d like to achieve. From there, check to see what goals fall under Smart goals. Whittle them down to your core goals for the year and focus on those.
Write them in your daily planner, write them on a white board, set up calendar alerts, anything to keep your goals at the forefront of your mind. The more you see them, the more they are a part of your daily life.
Create a Plan to Achieve Your Goals
Many people imagine goals they’d like to achieve, but where most go wrong is by not creating a plan of action. You wouldn’t drive across the country without a roadmap or GPS, so why would you create a goal without a plan?
To stick with the driving analogy, imagine a cross country road-trip. You would most likely book hotels ahead of time, buy tickets online to any events you’d like to see, get a tune-up on your car, mark areas of site-seeing to plan along the way, and more. When it comes to achieving your goals, it takes the same kind of planning and execution to succeed.
To accomplish this, I suggest breaking down your larger goals into bite-sized manageable chunks. It doesn’t matter how small a task may be, just break things down into what you are most comfortable with. From there, you can start chipping away at those tasks. Write out a list, add them to your calendar, use project management software, whatever you need to remain organized and productive.
With your list of goals broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks, you’ll be seeing success in no time!
Persistence Achieves Goals
Persistence is key to achieving your goals. You will get tired, burned out, bored, and a whole host of other emotions, but you must stick it out.
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” – Jim Watkins
It’s the outcome that makes it worth all the while. Although, that does not mean you have to wait to celebrate until you’ve reached your goal. What’s great about breaking your goals up into more manageable sizes is that you can celebrate your smaller victories along the way. This keeps you motivated and excited to press on!
My Accomplishments for 2017
Wow, it has been a crazy year and 2018 is shaping up to be one of the busiest years of my life! I didn’t create an actual list of goals for 2017, but I did make a few mental notes and I managed to accomplish quite a bit. Here’s a breakdown of what I accomplished:
- Move to Austin, Texas. This was a huge one. After months of weighing the pros and cons, I decided to leave California to pursue a better life, in Austin Texas. I do miss my family and friends, but there’s so much more to gain out here. To briefly name a few, there’s no state income tax, housing is way cheaper, it has a great music scene, warm weather, great outdoor activities, good dating, great food, nice people, good schools, and plenty more.
- Become comfortable trading stocks. I put this off for the longest time because the stock market intimidated me. I didn’t understand how it worked, how to trade, and was afraid of losing all my money. Well, I’m now able to buy/short stocks with limits and stops, recognize a number of chart patterns, realize opportunity in the market, and feel confident taking conservative action when I see fit.
- Learn about real estate investing. Living in California, I never gave a second thought to real estate because everything is so expensive. The bay area is one of the most expensive places to live in America. Moving to Texas opened this door of opportunity. I began following BiggerPockets.com, joined my local real estate investors association, found a realtor, and am now looking to purchase my first duplex. Home ownership was a dream in California (a nightmare of payments), but here in Texas, investing in a multifamily property is becoming my reality.
- Create an online guitar course. I’ve played electric guitar for many years, spending most of my teens and early 20s playing for hours a day. With my growing desire for passive income, I decided to create my own guitar instructional video course. It took a couple weeks to plan, record, and edit, but I’m glad I did it. I’ve only made about $100 so far over the last few months, but it’s completely passive at this point. I’m just happy I created it and that it’s helpful for those looking to take their skill to the next level.
- Create a passion project (marcterribilini.com). For the longest time I’ve wanted to work on something, but couldn’t decide on a direction. This year, I finally decided to document my journey and help others towards a life of financial freedom. It serves as a creative outlet for me that lets me share my experiences with real estate, online business, investing, and general wealth creation.
My Goals for 2018
I feel like I accomplished a lot in 2017, but I’m looking to accomplish even more in 2018. I’ve realized how important it is to set goals along with a plan to achieve those goals. I haven’t quite created my detailed plan of action, but here are a few things I’d like to accomplish over this next year.
- Create at least 3 free download incentives. I’m looking to create a few free products next year (1 now in the works!), which will help build my community. The more followers I get, the more feedback I get, and the more problems I can help my readers resolve.
- Learn about free & paid advertising options. I have not advertised my website at all yet. I’m currently completely happy just creating good content and getting my website prepared for a big advertising push in 2018. I’ll most likely be using Pinterest, Facebook ads, and maybe even Youtube….excited to see how this goes!
- Grow my subscribers list to over 1,000 people. I’m looking to help as many people as I can, find success. The larger my community grows, the easier it will be to see what people are looking for.
- Create an online course. I already have an idea for an online course and will be providing as much value in that course as I possibly can. More details to come, very exciting!
- Start adding more affiliate links. I have already started including some affiliate links to services I use and recommend, but I’d like to start using these more regularly. Working on this website takes time and money, so making a little income would help offset some of the cost. With that said, I will not be stuffing my website full of ads, as I find that distasteful and untrustworthy. I will only be mentioning products/services I use and trust because I only want the best for the community.
- Start interviewing successful people. I love hearing other people’s stories, so I’d like to start reaching out to fellow entrepreneurs for interviews. This may be in text format, audio, or video depending on a few things, but I’d love to get this going and further motivate the community to succeed!
- Purchase a multifamily property. This is a big one; I’m looking to buy, most likely, a duplex. My goal is to rent out the other side, get a couple roommates and live as close to free as possible. This will allow me to save more of my paycheck and start hacking away at my student loan debt. In the process, I’ll be learning about how to manage a rental property, so stay tuned for that!
So there you have it, my goals for 2018! It’s hard to say if I will accomplish every single one, but I’m excited to see how things unfold. I will be breaking each goal down into multiple tasks that I can achieve over time and chip away towards the final goal. Next year is going to be crazy busy, so stay tuned, subscribe to the community, and I’ll see you in 2018!
How are your 2018 goals coming along, ready for the new year!?
