It has been a way to hold myself accountable, keep track of my successes (and failures), enjoy life more fully than some do in a lifetime and to inspire others to do the same.

Today, I’m pointing to consistent Goal Setting as THE single biggest change agent in my life.  It is also my Secret to Happiness.

Goal setting has allowed me to step away from jobs I don’t love, charge what I’m worth and take chances on new ventures.

If we hadn’t started setting some Family Financial Goals back in 2013, I don’t think I would have as many opportunities and options as I do today.  We’d still be “paying interest and not ATTENTION” in the words of Dave Ramsey.

In fact, we’ve been using a combination of Mint, Betterment and the notepad app on my phone consistently since 2014 to successfully nearly double our SAVINGS AND EARNINGS rates.

Some of those goals and achievements include:

• Buying and selling a rental property
• Paying off $75K in student loans in under 5  years
• Maxing out IRAs every year
• 3 months salary in emergency fund
• Purchase hunting land
• Renovating every inch of our home purchased in 2011
• Save on insurance by price comparing/bundling
• Setting a monthly budget in Mint.com
• Traveling the world
• Having a beautiful family we can afford to spend  time with

Check out my 2016 Goals and my first year in Online Business here.
Check out my 2017 Goals and my second year in Online Business here.

And for this year, with a brand new family member to love, we’ve got even more to be excited about!

In the spirit of growth and abundance, I would like to invite you to go through the following goal-setting exercise with me in order to set your goals for 2018.

First, Lets Review My 2017 Goals:

1. Double the number of pharmacists in the Community
2. Reach 10,000 pharmacists with my message
3. Get board certified
4. Hire a Spanish tutor and build proficiency by listening to daily Spanish conversations
5. Audible one new business book per month
6. Visit two new countries
7. Sell rental property

My 2017 goal results:

1. ACCOMPLISHED!  We welcomed 52 NEW MEMBERS into the Academy this year and have grown the e-Course to 11 Amazing Lessons.  It is one of the most unique Communities that exist for pharmacists!
2. Through the ElevatePharmacySummit.com, in person conferences and social media, I think we can call this one – ACCOMPLISHED!
3. Actually, I have to mark this one as FAILED!  I decided to not focus my efforts here as my business was growing in other directions so I never signed up to set for the boards.
4. I started off the year very strong with motivation to listen to daily Spanish podcasts until we left for Chile.  After that trip, I am sad to say that I’ve lost that habit again…FAILED!
5. ACCOMPLISHED!  (and probably more based on my Mint book budget)
6. SEMI-ACCOMPLISHED – While my husband and I were in Chile I found out I was pregnant with our son.  So even though I missed my opportunity to go to on a girls trip to Belize, I got so much more in return!
7. ACCOMPLISHED!

I’ve grown a lot this year and I hope you have too…

I usually share my personal goal-setting spreadsheet in the Community Forums at the Pharmapreneur Academy, because who doesn’t love a Goal Setting Spreadsheet?

But here I’d like to share some basic goal-setting tips to help you get started.

This is just barely scratching the surface of goal-setting so I also highly recommend the book The 12 Week Year for more specific information on this process.

My basic goal-setting process:

1. Set a goal based on your BIG LIFE VISION (this is what you’ll need the book for)
2. Ask yourself what will achieving this goal MEAN to you?
3. Break the project down into sub-projects WITH DEADLINES
4. Take each sub-project and break it down into tasks WITH DEADLINES
5. Now take those tasks and assign them to specific weeks PER DEADLINE
6. Plan out your weekly plan according to deadlines

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If you haven’t yet, now is the time to start planning out and setting your goals for 2018.  

“You must plan ahead to achieve anything great. ” – Blair

Now, I am using a Trello board to help me keep track of my 2018 Goals.

I’ve split my 2018 Goal Board up into Lists for Health, Business Goals/Professional Success, Financial Success and Ideas.

Then using a combination of the 12-Week-Year technique and a few new things I’ve learned, I’ve broken my business goals down in Trello a bit differently.

I’m using a Three-Cycle Year to plan my Strategic Objectives instead of a Four Quarter Year.

My Three-Cycle Year breakdown is now:

1. Cycle 1: January – May
2. Cycle 2: June – August
3. Cycle 3: September – December

During these Cycles my focus will shift from Growth to Sustainability to New Products to Hiring and back to Growth.

I’m using a Strategic Objectives framework to focus my efforts during each of these three cycles.

Then I also have my overarching goals, which as I mentioned, include Personal, Financial, Health and Business Goals.

So, now for accountability and transparency’s sake, here’s a small sample of my 2018 goals.

NOTE: I’m writing them today in the past tense (a technique recommended by Grant Cardone) as if it were December 2018.
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My Top Ten 2018 Goals:

1. I have doubled the number of members in the PharmapreneurAcademy.com by meeting over 10,000 pharmacists and sharing my message
2. We registered over 5,000 pharmacists for the 2018 ElevatePharmacySummit.com and helped add millions of dollars in revenue for pharmacy owners
3. We went on a big family on vacation to Hawaii where we enjoyed the islands on our own time and never felt “rushed”
4. I hosted an AMAZING in-person Workshop/Business Retreat for female pharmacy owners to connect
5. My husband and I worked up 1 Year’s Salary in Cash/Taxable Investing Account so we have attained the First Pillar of Financial Independence
6. We also paid down our land loan by 30% because we want to be out of debt and able to build a cabin on the land in 2020
7. I lost all the “baby weight” and then some to get back to my goal weight through exercise and low carb nutrition
8. My company worked with 2 amazing organizations to produce new opportunities for pharmacists
9. I built a new skill (not sure what this will be??? OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS!)
10. We chose someone to hugely and unexpectedly BLESS who really needed and appreciated the gesture

Will you join me in setting your 2018 goals TODAY?

No matter your goals, I encourage you to choose them, write them down and share them with someone.  Feel free to email me and I will gladly hold the intention for you.

I thank you for reading and for a wonderful year.
I hope your Holidays are safe and happy.
See you in the New Year!