36. Dare To Dream Big

I honestly don't know how people can live without goals. How do you know where you're going? How do you know when you've arrived? Goals help you focus your time, your energy and attention. Goals are like the GPS. They lead the way so you have a map to know where to go next. 

When you reflect on the year, you'll be amazed at everything you did, all the things that you weren't expecting but you figured out, and all the ways you were stretched.

In this episode, I share a series of questions and journaling prompts to help you get started on your goal-setting journey. 

If you're ready to dream big, join me in the new version of my popular workshop, Dare to Dream 2024.

Grab your planner, fancy gel pens, highlighters, and let's go! 

Join us in THE GROWTH SUMMIT 2024 using my discount code "VISION" and get $30 OFF! Click HERE to learn more.

What You'll Learn From this Episode:

• How to create goals and set your commitment in motion for achieving success in 2024.

• How to not give up on your New Year's resolutions early.

• How to use reflection and intention-setting to plan the year ahead.

• Guidance on creating a 90-day action plan to start the year off with focus and direction.

Featured on the Episode:

• The Growth Summit

If you want to find out more about how coaching with me will help you get in touch with your dreams and start living them, here are some resources for you.

Book a Free Strategy Call  Click here to book a call with me

Get my Free Course  Click Here to learn How to Get 10 Hours Back a Week

Get my Free Workbook Click here to download  How to Coach Yourself

Listen to the Full Episode:

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Full Episode Transcript:

📍You're listening to The Success Minded Woman with Deidrea Kiesling, episode 36. I'm recording this right before the end of 2023. We're getting ready for the new year 2024, but if you're listening to this later, it still applies because every day can be a new year. But I love this quote, that is such a great summary of where we are. It's by Melody Beattie, and she says, "The new year stands before us like a chapter in a book waiting to be written, and we can help write that story by setting goals." If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know I love a goal, so stay tuned and let's make 2024 your best year yet.

Hi. I am Deidrea, wife and mom to three teenagers, coffee snob and certified life and business coach. If you're a high-achieving goal-oriented woman and you know were meant for more, then you are a Success Minded Woman and you're in the right place. I'm here to help you make the money and the impact you've been dreaming of, to step into your confidence, create habits and systems to support you, ditch that imposter syndrome and harness the power of your mind. If you're ready to create a life and business you love, then let's go. I'm so glad you're here.

Hello and welcome back to the podcast. This is a special one because it is the last one of 2023. So happy new year for those who are listening to this around the time of New Year. And for those who are listening to it later when it's not the beginning of a new year, happy New Year to you too because everything that I'm going to say in the episode today, you can do it today, you can make today the beginning of a new year. So I love a new year. I love the planning, the goal setting, the visioning, the reflecting on the previous year, all of it. I love those cheesy shows on TV for those who still watch TV that come out at the end of the year with the year in review with the hosts, sharing about the things that happened to them, what they loved about the year. A lot of times it's a lot about pop culture. They're drinking fake champagne on what is clearly a set made to look like a party. They're streamers, they have those little New Year's hats and glasses dressed in cocktail dresses.

I think you know what I'm talking about, but I love it because it helps me remember what all happened in the year, what we collectively went through as a country and around the world. And this year has had a lot, good times and really bad times. This year in 2023, we've had the war in Ukraine, the horrific events and war in the Middle East, mass shootings, many parts of our country. I don't even know how many there have been, but there's been a lot. And as a country and as a global citizen, we have to acknowledge it all. I really don't have any words of wisdom or guidance on that, but I felt it's important to say that. We can't just focus on the good and the achievements. We also have to focus on the bad. So we can do what we can in whatever way feels appropriate for you and for me.

So now back to what I can talk about and share some things about what I know, and that is about goal setting, about visioning and about planning. This is what I know and that is what I'm an expert in, and that is what I can help you with. I remember even as a little girl on New Year's Eve and we're talking about elementary school and pretty much every year since then, I would get out a spiral notebook or some planner and I would set my goals and my resolutions. I would dream about the possibility for my future. The hope made me feel better. The dreaming inspired me, made me feel more confident and in control of my destiny. It made me excited about my future. That was how I knew I was a natural project planner and goal setter my whole life. And no wonder I ended up being a consultant and a project manager for most of my career. It really came naturally to me.

I love goals. I honestly don't know how people can live without goals. How do you know where you're going? How do you know when you've arrived? For me without goals, how do you focus your time? They help you focus your time. Your energy and attention and goals are like the GPS. You are telling it where you want to go, but goals won't get you there. You have to drive. There's this saying that you can't drive a parked car. You have to take action. You have to start the car, you have to pack your bag. And then that's where most people fizzle out. They make a decision, they get in the car, they set a goal, but then they don't make a commitment and they don't know where they're going.

And this is where most people fizzle out. They make a decision, set a goal, but then they don't make a commitment. And a commitment is the attitude of failure is not an option. The only way to fail is to quit. And when I was, again, like in elementary school and probably through the rest of my life, whatever I was involved in, I wanted to be running the show. I wanted to be in charge. If there was a play or some type of performance, I was the lead or the director or I didn't want to do it at all. A lot of times there was no middle ground. It was all or nothing or I would quit and I still have to catch myself in this all or nothing thinking. It's an ongoing thing for me. I have to really catch myself and remind myself that there's a middle way. It doesn't have to be perfect.

And I think a lot of New Year's resolutions end up like that, all or nothing. And most people end up with nothing. If they start out strong and then they fizzle out and then they give up. There's this thing called quitters day. Have you heard of this? I think it's around early February or maybe a few weeks into January. It's this day where most of the new gym memberships where people have stopped going. It's when most people give up on their resolutions. And why is that? It's because they made a decision, a resolution, set a goal, but they didn't decide to be committed. And there is a difference between making a decision to achieve something, a goal, a resolution to give up something or to start doing something. Lose weight, go to the gym, get up early, stop smoking, stop drinking, get more friends, start a hobby. So many things that people set resolutions on at the beginning of the year, but what most people miss is the commitment.

Commitment is what keeps you going when it gets hard. Commitment is what gets you out of bed when the alarm goes off and you don't want to go to the gym or in my case, I don't want to get up early and do this podcast, but I do it because I'm committed. Commitment is what keeps you out of the I'll start tomorrow, next week, next month. It's what you say to yourself to do it now and you do it. Commitment is what you lean on when you're full of doubt, fear, anxiety, confusion when you're tired and you do it anyway. Commitment is when you focus on what you can do, not what you can't do, and what you do have, not what you don't have.

When you are committed, you are resourceful, creative, collaborative, disciplined, responsible. So what helps you drive commitment? It's your vision. Your vision for the life you would absolutely love living, but your vision is not enough. You all know I love a vision. I talk a lot about it, but you need more than the vision. You need to implement it. It's the next steps. It's breaking your vision into goals. Things you can track and measure and assess. You need to have goals to have something to focus your energy, your attention, your time, something worthy of you. And the new year this year, 2024, that will never come again. So for this year, I want you to focus not just on your resolutions, but turn them into goals that you can focus on, that you can take action on, that you can track and assess.

And to do this, I like to start with the process. I do this most years where I look at both reflecting on the past year and creating a vision and a plan for the new year. And there's really two parts of this and they work together that makes this such a rich and powerful exercise to do this reflection and visioning and planning. When you reflect on the year, you'll be amazed at everything you did, all the things that you weren't expecting, but you handled it. All the ways you were stretched and you grew. All the fun things you didn't plan and the ones you did. Things that you're proud of that you didn't even know you were going to do. All the lessons you learned and the ones you were still learning. How you showed up for yourself and for others, and maybe some tender things that happened to you where your heart hurt, where you felt sad, where you felt grief, where unexpected things really hurt you and things you did that you wish you'd done differently.

Things you said that you wish you hadn't said or things you didn't say or do and you wish you had. It's all part of life, of the life we live and the year we had. But it's all a gift when you reflect on it and acknowledge it, you learn from it and you learn how strong and capable you are. And you'll have a better idea when you go through reflecting on the year of your longings and your discontent, what you would love more of and what you would like less of. And to do this exercise of reflecting and visioning, there's a little booklet that comes out each year called Compass, and then it has the year. So this year it's called Compass 2023-2024. It's a process that helps you go through this exercise of journaling and planning. So I found out about this last year and I did it for the first time last year and I just was reading through it and I love it.

So you print it out and then you fold it. It turns out into this little booklet. There's actually decision directions of how to fold it. I don't know, it's complicated for me. Those kinds of things are really, I don't know, challenging. I don't follow instructions well, and I'm not very spatially oriented, so it's all a bit of a challenge. So I felt accomplished just printing out the booklet and putting it together, but if I did it, you can do it. But what I love about this is really the journaling exercises that it prompts you through. So I'll give you a little bit of what's in there. So here are a few of the questions and journaling prompts for 2023 for the year that you're reflecting on. So there's a lot more to this process, and I'm going to tell you more about it later. But I just wanted to give you a taste of what it's like.

So there's this section for 2023 where you write out the answers to these six sentences or statements or questions that you ask yourself. So here they are. The wisest decision that I made was? You write the answers to all of these. The biggest lesson that I learned. The biggest risk I took. The biggest surprise of the year. The most important thing I did for others. The biggest thing I completed. And as I say those statements, you can start thinking about your answers to those questions. These are prompts to help you with this reflecting on this past year.

And similarly, here are some of the prompts and questions for 2024, for the new year. This year I will not procrastinate anymore on, that's a big one for me. This year I will draw the most energy from. This year I will be the bravest win. This year I will say yes, win. And I would add to this one this year. I will say no win when, but that's not in the booklet. This year I advise myself to, and this year will be special for me because, and like I said, there's a lot more to this little booklet and so you can Google it and download it. So just Google Compass 2024 and you'll find it and it's totally free.

And there is such power in looking back and reflecting. And there is power in being intentional for the upcoming year. And I love the way this little booklet lays it out. You have this beautiful gift in front of you, the gift of the new year, 2024 or whenever you're listening to this, what will you do with it? Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? What do you want to have to create to give? Being intentional with your life, being responsible with this precious gift, that is how to make 2024 your best year yet.

I have been doing this process or some version of this process of visioning and reflecting, like I said, really for most of my life. But it's been more about goal setting and planning than reflecting, which I think is the part for me that was missing and what I love about that little booklet. But what I love about what I've done for the last four years is done it in a more formal process with the workbook. And then I did the booklet or the workbook, some I created and some I got from other people or other programs. But I formally did this process and I put it in a folder where I know the folder is right in the filing cabinet right next to my desk. So I know where it is and I can easily access it. And I love the process of pulling them out and looking at the years, looking at each of the years and my reflecting and my visioning and my goal setting. I have it all in one place.

So I've done this over the years. I've so many journals and workbooks from all the past years, but I don't know what part of my journal I had this part in. So I love that I have this separate and distinct, this process where I can find it and reflect on it and review it. And now I have them all in one place. So it's easy to pull them out and reflect on them and see how far I've come and to see how many goals and dreams I still have. The ones that I wrote about in 2020, I still have a lot of those.

I'm further along and I've achieved some of them, but some of them I'm still going. That vision that I created, I'm still living into. And I know that those are important to me because I've written them out every year. And there's something about this ritual of reviewing the past year and even the years before that. It reminds me of how far I've come. How strong I am. What I've been through, and how I overcame it and the lessons that I learned and things that I would do differently if I could. And this reflecting and planning process, it really can be your compass for 2024.

So I have used, like I said, a lot of different planners and workbooks, including ones that I created for this process of reflecting, visioning and goal setting. And all of them have pros and cons. Things I love, things that didn't work for me. And what I've done is I've pulled all the best pieces and I put them together along with the training on how to actually achieve your goals. So I think that this workbook that I've created, I think it's terrific and I'm so excited to use it this year. Because like I said, I pulled all the best pieces of all the different processes that I've created and that I've gone through.

So for the last three years, I've done a webinar called Best Year yet, and the feedback that I've received every year has always been that they loved it and people love starting the year off with their goals and their vision and learning some new skills about how to achieve them. Each year that I've done this, that I've led this webinar workshop has gotten better and better. I will tell you that this year will be the best. It's everything I know about visioning and goal setting for the year, for reflecting on the past year. It's the best of the best of all the processes and planners and journals that I've used over the years. And I put it all together, the best parts that I have used, putting it all together in one place, in one workbook, in one webinar and workshop. And I want to share it with you. I would love for you to join me and other like-minded women for this new version of the best year yet workshop. And it has a new name, Dare to Dream.

So this year, Dare to Dream 2024, the new version of my really popular workshop that I've done in the past, this one's even better. And I can't think of anything else, no better way to kick off the new year, your best year than this, Dare to Dream 2024. It's a workshop with a workbook that you will use to design your life for 2024. So it's Tuesday, January 9th, it's at 10:00 to 11:30 Central Time. And it's an online workshop that we will do on Zoom. We'll get together and I will guide you through a journaling and goal setting and visioning process. You'll use this all new, brand new Dare to Dream workbook and the process that I've created for you from all the best of the workshops and the process and the planners that I've done over the years.

So if you are someone who's done your goals and plans at the beginning of the year, you will love this. Or if you're someone who's never done something like this, but you've heard about it and thought about it or maybe just curious about it, maybe you've dabbled at in the past but you haven't been consistent, now is your time. And you really can make 2024 your best year yet and I know that this will help you. Kick off this new year with clarity and focus on what you want to achieve, on who you want to be and what you want to do. And reflect on this past year, 2023 and all that you did, all that you accomplished, all the lessons that you learned.

And this workshop, it's an active participation workshop. And when you leave, you're going to have a completed workbook, which will be your guide for 2024. And you can be on with your camera so everyone else can see you in the group and you can see them or you can be off camera, whatever feels best for you. But when you join live, you will feel the excitement of this group. And when you play full out, be an active participant doing the exercises that I will guide you through. And for some of you that are willing, you can share some of your answers with the group and there will be time for some Q&A and some coaching at the end.

And for me, for many years where I've done workshops and webinars, oftentimes I would watch, I would listen, I would be inspired, but I wouldn't actually do the work. I wouldn't actually go through the process and the exercises. I would be observing and listening and I did enjoy them. And sometimes I would feel inspired and get excited about the content, but when I did that, I didn't do much after the workshop. My enthusiasm would fizzle out and I didn't hold myself accountable and I wasn't as engaged with the content. So I want to encourage you, and studies have shown that the more you connect with other, the more that you are active in participating, you see others and you're seen by others, it creates an experience. A mastermind where together, where the group is more powerful than the individuals and being in the energy of like-minded women sharing and participating together.

And the more that you actually put pen to paper and get those creative juices flowing and open up to listening to your own intuition and guidance and writing it down, the more likely you will be to follow through after the workshop. So don't let 2024 be another year where you start off with the bang and then fizzle out. Don't be one of those quitters on quitters day. Join us. Be part of this experience. You will thank yourself. Be proud of yourself next year. This time next year, you can pull out this workbook and see all the things you said you would do and you did them. The goals you set for yourself and you achieve them. Don't let 2024 be another year with the same goals you had in 2020, in 2021, in 2022, in 2023 and didn't achieve them or didn't follow through and stay consistent. Because it's one thing to not achieve them if you didn't try or you quit. It's another thing that you didn't achieve them, but you made progress, you stayed in the game.

And I want to encourage you that 2024 can be your best year yet 2024 can be your year of breakthrough. 2024 can be the year it all comes together. You do the things you've been dreaming of, you know where you're going. You have your. And in the Dare to Dream workshop, you will leave with your reflections and lessons learned from 2023 and your vision and your goals for 2024. And I will take you through an exercise and you will have a process and you'll have your top four goals for the year, one in each of the four domains of life. So you'll have a health and well-being goal. You'll have a love and relationships goal, you'll have a vocation or creative expression goal, and you'll have a time and money freedom goal. And you'll have a 90 day plan for Q1, 2024, and you will know what you need to do each day.

You'll have your recipe for success. So you won't want to miss this workshop and you can bring a friend to join you, share this invitation with them and they will thank you. And you could even get together after the workshop and share your experience or share a goal and ask for accountability. There are so many ways you can get really creative on how you want to implement this, but there is nothing more powerful I believe, in terms of achievement and creating this vision of the life that you would absolutely love living than to have your goals, to have a plan, to have a way to assess and track and re-evaluate and learn and grow and repeat. That is how you achieve your goals. And you have to have a vision. You have to be able to imagine it, to experience it, to close your eyes and put yourself there at the end of 2024. It's December 31st, 2024, and it all worked out.

So join me for Dare to Dream 2024, and this is entirely free. It's my gift from me to you. The only investment I am asking from you and the biggest investment you can ever make is to make an investment on you, your time, your energy, your intention, your attention, invest in you, and make a down payment on making 2024 the best year, the year that it all comes together. So when you register, and you can register by going to thedreamacademy.com/daretodream, and I'll put the link in the show notes, thedreamacademy.com/daretodream. So right after you register, I will send you an email with some journaling questions and a special video for you to help you get started. And the only way to get this video message and you will love it is to register.

And then a few days before the workshop, I'm going to send you the workbook that we'll be using for the workshop so you can go ahead and print it out and be ready to play full out. There is so much possibility for you in 2024, and for me, I've decided it's my year of breakthrough. I'm breaking through everything that's been holding me back, all the things I have worked through, grown and evolved through over the last four years. And I want this for you. It's your time, it's your year, and everything you want is possible for you. And you get to decide, and you get to commit and you get to take action and achieve your goals and you will become the next version of yourself. The woman who achieves her goals. The woman who does what she says she will do.

When it's December 31st, 2024, and you look back at the year, you will say thank you to you. Thank you for showing up, for playing full out, for going after your dreams, for taking massive action and being willing to fail. For failing a lot on purpose because you know that failing is learning and failing means you are in the game and the only real failure is quitting. So don't be a part of that quitters day statistic. Set yourself up for success. So for the new year, what would you love? What if you could? What if it was easy? I hope you'll join me for this Dare to Dream workshop. We are going to work together to vision, to journal, to create a plan, to set goals, and you'll leave inspired, confident, proud of yourself for all you did in 2023 and determined and committed for 2024 and all that you want to be, do and have.

You'll dare to dream big and you'll have your goals and a plan to make it happen. So as you say goodbye at the end of 2024 or whatever your new year is for you, that when you're listening to this, you will say thank you to you and all that you did, and say yes to this new year, this book called 2024 with 365 blank pages. And you get to decide what you write in each of those pages. You can decide now how you want to feel on December 31st, 2024. It's all up to you. That's the good news and the bad news.

No matter what happens, no matter what you did or did not do, you will know that you did your best because you had a vision. You set your goals, you made a plan, and you did what you could with what you had every day. Even if it's five minutes a day, every action, every step takes you closer to your dreams and Dare to Dream 2024, the workshop will help you with this. So join me and let's dare to dream big together. So go to thedreamacademy.com/daretodream and get registered. And I can't wait to see you there.

I have a special invitation for you. Join me at the Growth Summit on January 26th 2024. This is an all-day event where you will connect with other women. We will spend a full day nurturing and loving on you while giving you tools to create wild success in 2024. I am excited and honored to be a featured speaker and I would love to see you there. This isn't just a regular old business conference. We are after the heart of women and we want to reach you on a soul level and have you walk out feeling uplifted, encouraged, equipped to joyfully face your new year. And we will help you fully embrace your value so you can dream big, have flourishing relationships, and leave an abundant life of impact. When you leave the Growth Summit, your heart will feel like it has been wrapped up in a big warm hug.

So give yourself this day to pause, be treasured, pour into an equipped to thrive in your new year. So go to thegrowthsummit.info and use your special discount code that I have for you and get $30 off with the code VISION, all capital letters, V-I-S-I-O-N. So go ahead and sign up, use your discount code, and there's also a payment plan available. We don't want anyone to miss out on this. So the regular price is $229, but you get a $30 discount with the code and there's also a payment plan available.

And if you would love more hands-on support and actionable plan to implement what you've learned, then connect with us on the second day, which is an in-person, intimate group of women where we will really go deep on what we've learned in the Growth Summit. I would love to see you there. Thanks for joining me this week on The Success Minded Woman Podcast. If you like what you heard on the podcast and you want to know more, then head on over to thedreamacademy.com where you can sign up for my weekly success and mindset tips to help you create your dream come true life. Talk to next week. Bye.