Late last December I sat down to make my goals for 2015, just like I had for the past three years. I wrote a few similar to ones I had in years past: have one date night each month, go on a family outing each month, and watch 12 movies from the AFI Top 100.
And then, I began to dream bigger. Earlier that month I had heard of a blogger who read 100 books each year, and I thought, “Why not?” So I wrote down: Read 100 Books. Wow. Just writing that crazy big goal began to give me courage. If I could read 100 books in a year, what else could I do?
Quickly, so I wouldn’t lose my courage, I wrote: Publish one piece of writing. I sat back, almost shocked at what I had done. Could I really write something worth publishing?
Later that evening I shared my goals with my husband, and I was actually embarrassed to read that goal aloud. What if he laughed? (He didn’t.) What if he thought that was too big of a goal? (He didn’t.) Instead, he said, “I always thought you could publish something.” His quiet confidence inspired me.
So, I wrote a guest post for my favorite blog, Money Saving Mom. And….it was rejected. I tried again. This time I wrote a post for another favorite blog, Living Well Spending Less. Also rejected. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I tried again and wrote a new article for Money Saving Mom. To my surprise, it was accepted! I had my first guest post published in early March (you can read it here). I had done it! I reached my goal! I had also been bitten by the blogging bug.
So, I purchased Ruth Soukup’s How to Blog for Profit Without Losing Your Soul and Abby Lawson’s Building a Framework: How I Turned My Hobby Blog Into a Six-Figure Income. And, The Orthodox Mama launched at the end of March.
Now, not only had I reached my writing goal, but I was also writing for an audience of hundreds on a daily basis! All within three months of that simple act of writing a goal onto a piece of paper.
This week, I will take another step beyond that goal. This week I am submitting a manuscript of a children’s book I have written to a publisher. Yikes. Even saying that sounds surreal. I have absolutely no idea if it will be accepted or not, but I do know that one year ago I could not have dreamed that I would even be trying.
So, as we approach a new year, I want to challenge you to dream big. Set a goal for yourself that scares you a bit. And then, who knows where you could be this time next year. I can’t wait to see.
Last Week’s Goals
Spiritual
1. Pray prayers together as a family each day (We struggled this week. Somehow it took us awhile to get back into a regular routine after Thanksgiving break. Can anyone else relate?)
2. Read I John
Professional
3. Grade 70 essays (Sigh. I love teaching, but grading essays is my least favorite part of the job!)
4. Start Unit 4 of Elite Blog Academy (This is a great unit all about increasing blog traffic!)
Family/ Homemaking
5. Catch up on laundry after guests
6. Play a game as a family (Sister has been enjoying Crazy Eights lately!)
7. Celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas (Check out my post on Ways to Celebrate Saint Nicholas Day.)
Personal
8. Run 2 times
9. Read 2 books
10. Have one technology-free evening (I did not get to this. It was a pretty busy week for work and for blogging. I’ll try again this week!)
This Week’s Goals
Spiritual
1. Pray Morning Prayers together 4 Days
2. Read II John, III John, and Jude
Professional
3. Turn in my Benchmark Data to my administrator (oh, the paperwork of teaching)
4. Submit the Manuscript for My Children’s Book to the publisher (Eeeek!)
Family/ Homemaking
5. Watch a Christmas movie as a family
6. Make paper snowflakes and snowflake tortillas as a family
7. Have Little Brother’s godparents over for his birthday dinner
Personal
8. Run 2 times (a total of 5 miles)
9. Read 2 books (I have The Girl on The Train and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King on my nightstand.)
10. Have a technology free night
What are your goals for the week?
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