Have you ever heard of Quitters Day? I learned about this phenomenon last week. Quitters Day this year was January 14, which marked the date when most folks abandoned their New Year's resolutions. This doesn't apply to me because I start my diet EVERY Monday!
Seriously, if you are like most folks (and aren't most folks like most folks?), you have BIG ideas and then get overwhelmed with life. I also learned that when we set a goal, we really have only 10% control over that goal. What jumps at me is how BIG and SMALL, as concepts, play together, or don't. Here's the bottom line: Set a big goal but focus on the tiniest steps. I heard a marketing coach tell a student who suffers with ADHD, "Do the thing that is right in front of you." Amen! As a business owner and mother, I can so easily get overwhelmed with all the BIG and SMALL things that are piling up or facing me in the near future. I don't have ADHD, but I do follow that coach's advice. I do the small pieces of the big projects.
Here's how I get started ... drum roll ... I commit and put the first tiny step on my calendar. That's it! I might lay out, generally, a whole project, but I don't obsess over perfection, I don't hem and haw, and I don't beat myself up when I make a mistake. I reflect, revise, refine, and keep moving. Thankfully, there's plenty of creative license, a.k.a., grace, in our industry. We don't operate on bodies, and we don't handle nuclear weapons. We can always adjust.
What is your big goal for 2022? I hope you haven't given up on it.
What tiny steps are you taking every day that lead you to your end goal?
I challenge you to map out the general steps and schedule each step on your real calendar.
I challenge you to BEGIN or, in some cases, begin again.
If your big goal is to write a book in 2022, consider joining my in-person writing group INKLINGS 865.
I'm forming the group as we speak, and we may begin as early as March. I set the date, but I may extend it to April. The group and I are decided now between one meeting per month or two meetings per month. These are in-person meetings in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you aren't local, you can always schedule private sessions with me on Zoom/phone. Open the attachment below for detailed (but not set in stone) information: Inklings 865 Invitation 2.14.2022.docx
If your big goal is to START a book in 2022, join my live classroom experience in April and November in Knoxville.
With the University of Tennessee Center for Professional Education and Lifelong Learning, I will host a four-week (4 classes) course called Write that book! Take a look HERE or copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://aceweb.professionaled.utk.edu/wconnect/ace/CourseStatus.awp?&course=22SP1231
If your big goal is to MARKET your book(s) in 2022, consider joining my online course: Market Your Way to Readers and Royalties.
The first module will be delivered via email on MONDAY, February 22. As long as you register and pay by Monday, you get access and can start any time from Monday forward. The cost is $387, but you can set up four monthly payments of $107. I am keeping this "beta group" of "founding members" really small, but I do have room for up to 4 more people. I'm keeping the group small so I can actually talk to you one-on-one, get valuable feedback, and personally help you through the course. The next time I teach the course, the price will go up and the one-on-one components will be fewer. I expect a big crowd the second time around:) Open the .pdf for detailed information: Market Your Way to Readers and Royalties CB Publishing February 2022.pdf
Whatever your goal is for 2022, forget about quitting, forget about the enormity of your mission. Simply begin. Schedule those tiny steps, just 10% at a time, so that this time next year you can look back and say, "Wow. I actually stuck to my plan and did 100% of something BIG!" If you are ready to start and want my help, let's go! Email or call me (865-414-4017) with questions. If you'd like an overview of the FOUR phases of the book business (writing, editing, publishing, marketing), CLICK HERE to download my guide.
xoxoxoxo
Jody
