Tag: goals

life curation

My Book is Done!!!

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I finally finished my first book!!! This is the how-to book that I’d been revising for some time, and there was just a little work left to be done on it. If you all recall in my most recent Goals Update post,  I had to complete the supplemental/resource material section of the how-to book, and then the text would be pretty much done. I had done the bulk of the work a while ago (as in, over three years ago) but I had been dragging my feet when it came to finishing it.

book

However, a few weeks ago, a friend expressed interest in the book, and just a few days ago, a different friend brought up a topic that confirmed the need for this book. So, after getting those very CLEAR signs that it was time to finish, I spent a little time pounding out the last few pages, and then I whipped up a cover using some copyright-free images. I converted everything to PDF and sent it out for my friends to read.

Sure, this book still needs the critical eye of a professional editor, as well as some spectacular cover art that doesn’t involve my rudimentary photo editing skills. I want it to be GREAT before I offer it on this blog or anywhere else. But that’s neither here nor there, because the book is DONE. My book is DONE, DONE, DONE! I’m so excited that I’m ready to get to work on the next one!

life curation

2018 Goals – Next Round of Updates

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Happy Monday, friends! I was due for another 2018 goal update, so I figured that I’d do it now, before the end of the month.

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My last goal update post reiterated my three overall goals to accomplish during this year, as well as steps I intended to take to bring me closer to those goals.

For those that don’t remember, my goals are as follows:

  • Publish some of my writing
  • Travel more
  • Dabble in an art career

Here are the updates as promised! I’ll also share my next round of tasks for each goal.

Goal 1: Publish some of my writing

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I intended to take 3 different actions before the end of the month of April. Those actions were:

  • Start on the 2nd round of edits for my novel
  • Complete 1st round of edits for my how-to book
  • Purchase a MasterClass membership to get additional writing assistance

So, I’m happy to say that I finished my 2nd round of novel edits (go me!) and did my first round of edits for the how-to book (yay!). I opted out of purchasing the MasterClass membership in April because I determined that I would be taking several online classes during the next few months. However, I’ll revisit the MasterClass purchase in September.

My new writing goals are as follows:

  • Finish writing out supplemental/resource material for the how-to book
  • Allow my friends to read a draft of my novel for feedback
  • Resume work on novel # 2

Goal 2: More travel

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My travel goals were simple: mostly decisions and research. Those goals were:

  • Make a decision on my London travel: whether I will do one or two trips this year
  • Start pricing my London and New York airfare and hotel stays
  • Reserve rooms for weekend trips in May

 

Due to some changing priorities at work, I had to reassess my travel plans for later this year. However, I did the weekend trip that I planned to do in May (my embassy weekend). Now that I’m halfway through the year, I’ve got another set of goals. These are:

  • Finalize details for birthday trip in August
  • Finish paying off October cruise balance
  • Start budgeting for international trip in December

Goal 3: Dabble in an art career

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As you all recall from previous posts, my art career goals involve working in the art world as opposed to creating art. My last round of goals were a bit more ambiguous, but funny enough, I made progress just the same. Those goals were:

  • Reserve my space in the Christie’s course(s) I plan to take in New York this summer
  • Begin another online art course
  • Narrow down the opportunities I’ve listed to those most advantageous for the path

I opted out of taking a Christie’s course this summer due to those previously mentioned changes at work. I’ve had my hands full with the Cultures and Identities in Europe and Inside Opera courses, so I put a hold on my ALISON art course (Color Theory for Artists and Designers). Once those two FutureLearn courses wrap up, I’ll see if there are any more suitable art courses that I want to take: if not, I’ll resume my ALISON course. I also got a great idea for dabbling in an art career on my terms, and I’m really excited about that (I’ll share more as I finish ironing out the details).

Now, my goals for my art related career is as follows:

  • Complete an art course
  • Create a website for art career “secret project”
  • Read “Institutional Time – A Critique of Studio Art Education” by Judy Chicago

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My timeframe for completing these tasks is August 15th. So, look out for updates to my new incremental goals in the next few weeks.

Thanks everyone, for stopping through and for keeping me accountable. I truly appreciate it. Talk to you all soon!

art · life curation

The Next Art Course On My List

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I had such a positive experience with my previous ALISON course (Great Artists and Their Works) that I decided to try another. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be diving into Color Theory for Artists and Designers on ALISON.com. I’m neither an artist nor a designer, but increasing my knowledge on the subject would be extremely advantageous.

Untitled design (2)

I reviewed the modules that comprise this lesson and I was impressed with the variety of color-related topics that will be discussed. This seems like a really good, brief “in-between” class to take while I figure out the rest of my educational plans as respects my future art-related career (I wrote about my short-term art career goals here).  Besides, I like makeup too much not to get a better grasp on certain color concepts.

Yeah, today is a brief post. I’m working on the edits for the novel, as well as the art career stuff, so I’m keeping this short so I can pour my energy into those other things on my to-do list. That’s it for today – chat with you all tomorrow!

life curation · Uncategorized

Taking Time for Me

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One of the gifts I’ll give myself for 2018 is a social media fast. I’ll still maintain the Instagram account related to this blog, and I’ll also be sure to continue doing my daily posts (as I have for months now).

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Truly carefree : this is how I’m living (photo from Shutterstock)

But I’ve grown weary of people “living” on social media and not taking advantage of life OFFLINE. Worst, I don’t want to become one of those people.

I’m excited to spend this self-imposed hiatus taking care of all of the things that I want ticked and tied before I jump headfirst into my big goals. This break is overdue and much needed.

Don’t forget to take time for YOU as this new year begins.

Love and blessings to you all!

life curation

Preparing for 2018: The Advantage of Setting Impossible Goals

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2018 is almost here and I’ve got a final “Preparing for 2018” post for you all. I saved this one for last, not just because it’s my favorite (though it is), but because I truly feel that doing this is key to great goal setting.

Here’s the thing: goals that are easy to attain tend to feel “flat” when accomplished. Realistic goals may be great for boosting confidence but they don’t offer you any inspiration.

That’s why you should always have some impossible goals on your list.

Now, all of your goals shouldn’t be impossible. After all, how long will you continue shooting for those goals if you feel like you can’t reach any of them? Your fire and zeal won’t last long if you feel like you keep failing. You do, however, need some goals that light you up and put some pep in your step.

You can’t let your energy get cold, which is where those impossible goals come in. Impossible goals have FIRE, and FIRE keeps your energy from going cold.

I set an impossible goal in 2016. What made it impossible, you ask? Well, I wasn’t 100% on where it would take me, or even that I was ready for it. All I knew was that I know how I wanted to feel when that goal was accomplished.

My goal was to land in my dream job. I wrote out my goal in April 2016. I had my dream job by August 2016. Now a “job” may not feel impossible for most people, but this is the job I’ve wanted since 2008. It took nearly a decade to get it, but it happened only four months after I did the steps I mentioned in previous Preparing for 2018 posts.

Setting “impossible” goals can work for you. And if you need help in accomplishing your goal, just click on the “Preparing for 2018” tag below, and you’ll see all of the other posts I’ve written that can help you on your journey.

I have more to say about goals in general, but this is it for the Preparing for 2018 series. I hope you all enjoyed it!

 

life curation

Preparing for 2018: Before Setting Your Goals …

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Hello friends! Thanks for stopping by. In a previous post, I discussed the fact that I prepared for the things that I wanted during 2016 and 2017. I also touched on the fact that things don’t have to already be perfect in order to create a better reality in the year to come.

Today, I’m talking about goals. If you’re expecting the same kind of chatter that you would get from your average Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat “life coach”/”guru”, I’m going to disappoint you. I don’t repeat the words and sentiments of charlatans that make their living spouting off cliches and charging $97/$197/$997/any figure ending in “7” for exclusive “workshops” to tell you what you’ve already heard. I also have no interest in positioning myself as an “expert” in anything but how I choose to live my life.

Goals are as personal as fingerprints: no two people desire the exact same things. Because of this, I can only give you some general advice on setting goals for 2018. But this is the advice I’ve followed, and it worked for me, so take it for what it’s worth.

-It’s okay to start out vague. Most of the time, we are told that our goals must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Results-Focused, Time Bound). The truth is, our biggest dreams are usually fuzzy and not very specific at all. That’s because our big dreams often are some general emotion that we want to feel (happiness, joy, love, contentment and satisfaction, secure, confident, etc.,). The problem with SMART goals is that the concept disregards the WHY behind the goal. Every goal is rooted in how it will make us FEEL. So it’s far more important to understand the desired FEELING than to have a SMART goal.

Improvisation News

(plucked from @ImprovUpdates on Twitter)

-It’s important to be honest about how you feel while aiming for particular goals. As the phrase goes, “Happy endings do not come from unhappy journeys”. To the greatest degree possible, avoid taking “unhappy” journeys in an attempt to “justify” your success. In other words, you don’t have to be uncomfortable in order to deserve good things. We often take to heart the phrase “no pain, no gain”. Yes, we can learn a lot from our pain and missteps, and yes, there are often sacrifices that must be made when going for our big dreams. But don’t torture yourself on the path to reaching your goals, simply because you *think* that the only way to get to the goal is to do it the “hard way”. The “hard way” isn’t always the best way. Personally, taking uncomfortable actions doesn’t work for me: the action must either feel neutral (doesn’t make me feel happy but doesn’t cause discomfort) or feel good to me. If the action doesn’t feel good, then it doesn’t serve me in the accomplishment of my goals.

-Get very acquainted with how you want to feel when you reach your goal, and tap into that feeling regularly. What I found is that regularly activating a particular emotion can reveal the fact that I’m much closer to my goal than I initially thought. Some emotions are harder to activate than others: activating a feeling isn’t always a clear, easy-to-do task. How can you feel “secure” when you don’t know if you will have a job next week? How can you feel “love” if you’ve never had a nurturing, satisfying romantic relationship? In cases where it’s hard to generate certain feelings, your best bet is to find someone that easily exhibits that emotion and emulate them and associate with them. Birds of a feather …

If the previous points resonate with you, try putting them into action before you get specific about what you want to realize during the upcoming year. Getting clear on your feelings prior to pinpointing your goal will help you get much closer to what it is that you really want.

 

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