Things don’t get real until you write them down.

Last week I went out to get some last-minute Christmas presents.

And a few bits and pieces from Waitrose including some toothpaste and loo paper.

It was cold and wet outside but I needed these things so off I went.

Got back – happy with my Clarins (if you haven’t tried it the lip comfort oil do… it’s fabulous), the perfect cashmere shawl for my Mum, some delicious chocolates.

And no toothpaste or loo paper.

Which were, of course, the things we needed the most.

I had made a rookie error. I didn’t write them down so I wasn’t focussed on the ultimate goal.

A lot of people are like my unsuccessful shopping spree when it comes to their plans for their future.

Take the idea of creating your own online course.

You know it makes sense but for some reason, you haven’t started or perhaps you’ve started but not got very far.

It’s natural to react emotionally, in the moment, grabbing the next manual that comes along… doing tasks in the wrong order… launching into an idea that you’ve just had…. missing out steps…. not doing research.

Which is precisely why you need a plan.

Because without one, it’s like going into shopping without a list of what you need to get in order to make the meals you want.

Which brings me to you…

Have you made your 2020 plan yet?

In my last postl I talked about how the turn of a new decade was a brilliant chance to start completely from scratch with new goals.

It’s what I called BAG – a Big Audacious Goal.

Bold and meaningful…ways that your life could become better, or significantly changed.

Examples included retiring early, emigrating, living mortgage-free, paying for your kids’ private education, giving up the day job to paint or write novels.

As I said in that email, the only way achieving a BAG can be possible is if you make a proper plan.

Whether it’s a one year, three year, five year or ten year plan, that’s up to you.

But it needs to be a set time frame in which you can work towards that goal.

I also recommended that you carefully cost out your BAGs, based on research, so you know how much income you would need to achieve them.

Ok, so that’s the first phase.

In this email, I want to talk about phase two…

SAG – ‘Small Achievable Goals’

The problem with having a big audacious goal is that it seems so daunting, so huge in scale, that you don’t quite know how to get started.

It’s a bit like standing at the foot of Everest, gazing up at the enormous mountain, knowing that your goal is somewhere up there in the clouds.

It’s enough to make you run away in terror…

Which is what a lot of people do, and why so many don’t even get started on the path to changing their lives.

However, there is a technique you can use to break through this fear.

Kaizen is a Japanese success technique, described as “continual improvement”. You may have heard me discuss it before.

It teaches that you should tackle a big, intimidating task by breaking it down into tiny, logical steps.

Ask yourself: “What’s the smallest step I can take towards that goal today?”

Once you work that out, you take a small, easy action to achieve it.

Even if you only spend 10, 20, 30 minutes on that task, then switch off your computer, you’re on your way.

Then you take the next step…

Then the next step…

Then the next…

And before you realise it, you’re progressing slowly, but surely, towards that big goal.

The more tasks you get behind you, the more confident you’ll get.

So for the next phase of your plan, you need to break down your ultimate goal into small, achievable goals.

How are you going to reach your BAG?

Well, one way could be by creating your own online course 🙂

Starting with one, then doing another and another, growing your business over time to reach that amount of income you need to change your life.

But that’s not a plan on its own. You need to beak it into steps.

For instance..

• Step One – watch Heloise’s free online workshop at: recommended.heloiselaight.com/freeworkshop
• Step Two- Plan an hour of research, in which you dig into your life to find those skills and interests you can turn into a course.
• Step Three – now research the potential for each of the options to become a course, looking at how much competition there is, how much demand there is and what you can charge (if you are doing this with me I’ll show you how to do this in my Course Creation Academy).
• Step Four – now set a time frame in which you can follow my course creation academy – and then break even that into steps.Use a Calendar (paper or online) to schedule in your sessions each week, making sure to write down what goal each session will achieve, for instance – ‘email a question to Heloise, ‘work on a title’ etc.

The beauty of the Kaizen approach is that you only need to set aside 30 minutes for a task. Don’t give yourself massive targets.

Each time you achieve even something small, you will feel a jolt of satisfaction that you’re actually heading somewhere.

This is how Kaizen keeps you going even when you get tired, run out of enthusiasm or become distracted.

Get that small task done, tick it off, then allow yourself to do something else entirely.

Treat yourself.

Fall down an internet rabbit hole.

Whatever you like – as long as you DO something every day.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly small tasks take you forward!

I’ve created a workbook to help you plan and stick to your SAG’s (I really need a new name for those don’t I!)

Just visit heloiselaight.com/UltimatePlanningWorkbook and please do let me know how you get on!