At the start of 2018 I set myself 4 goals to accomplish this year. Here’s a run down of what they are, and how I’ve been getting on with them…
1. Grow my book publishing and digital marketing business to achieve £4,000 profit this year
I planned to do this through a combination of activities such as publishing, blogging, podcasting or any other income generating activities which presented themselves throughout the year.
How I’ve Got On:
If you’ve been following along with my Income & Profit reports you’ll already know how I’m doing toward this primary goal. At the end of October my overall profit for the year was standing at £2,694.65, leaving £1,305.35 still to be made in the remaining 2 months of the year. As I mentioned in my October update that would mean I’d need to make a profit of £653 in both November and December. The year isn’t over yet, but sadly it’s looking like I won’t quite manage my £4,000 profit target. Boo!
Not to worry, I’ll be setting myself a whole new set of goals for 2019 and I’m optimistic with the positive trends in my profit over the past few months that I’ll be able to achieve a bigger figure next year.
2. Continue Learning
I planned to do this through participating in any courses or events offering learning opportunities, which presented themselves throughout the year. Also by reading at least 6 books, watching TED talks, educational films, YouTube and listening to podcasts.
How I’ve Got On:
I feel like I’ve had mixed results with this goal. I started the year with lots of momentum, but over the second half of the year my focus moved onto other things, leaving me less time to spend on learning.
Having said that I have done a lot to expand my knowledge this year.
I attended:
- Tony Robbins’ Unleash The Power Within (affiliate link) event as a crew member
- My first TEDx event in Coventry
- The UK Money Blogger’s Annual Conference
I have also carried out several courses & online Learning:
- Turn Your Dreams Into Money blogging course (affiliate link)
- MyBlogMyBusiness subscription
- How To Smash Affiliate Marketing As A UK Blogger (affiliate link) course
- Reiki first degree healing course
In terms of reading books, I’ve finished 3 and started several others:
- Headstrong - by Dave Asprey
- Unshakeable - by Tony Robbins
- Conversations With God Book 1 - by Neale Donald Walsch
- Conversations With God Book 2 - by Neale Donald Walsch (in progress!)
- Tools of Titans - by Tim Ferris (currently in progress!)
- Our Iceberg Is Melting - by John Kotter & Holger Rathgeber (currently in progress!)
- Money Master The Game - by Tony Robbins (in progress!)
I’ve also enjoyed listening to various different entrepreneurial podcasts including:
- JLD interviews Entrepreneurs on FIRE
- The Stacking Benjamins Show
- The Tony Robbins Podcast
This year I’ve really delved into YouTube for the first time, and I’ve been devouring YouTube channels such as:
- Casey Neistat
- Gillian Perkins
- Mikkelsen Twins
- Not to mention numerous Disney YouTube channels, which I love to watch!
3. Focus on my well being to achieve optimal health this year
To be achieved by:
- Being happy with the diet I am following, and with my fitness and relaxation levels
- Eating an organic diet
- Taking quality supplements.
- Having regular treatments such as chiropractor, massage and reiki
- Using meditation and yoga to keep me relaxed/in touch with my spirituality
How I’ve Got On:
Overall I’m comfortable with how I’ve done with this goal so far.
At the start of the year I was having neck pains which I knew that I desperately needed to find a new chiropractor for. I’ve previously seen chiropractors, but my last had moved away earlier in 2017 so it was time to find a new practitioner. I’m pleased to say I found a great McTimoney chiropractor in Leamington, which is only a 20 minute drive away from my home. I’ve been going to see her every couple of months this year. My neck has been feeling so much better! If you have any aches or pains which you’ve been quietly suffering with for years, I would highly recommend finding a McTimoney chiropractor near to you. This is a gentle, whole-body chiropractic approach which realigns your bones, particulary good if you have a bad posture environment (like working at an office desk) day to day.
As luck would have it, my chiropractor Judith also practices Reiki. I signed up for a couple of treatments with her, which were wonderful. Judith put me in touch with her Reiki Master and this summer I became a first degree Reiki practitioner myself. I would never have guessed at the start of the year when I set my goal that I would learn so much about this wonderful art of healing.
With regards to my diet, I have continued to eat a mostly organic diet (it is harder to maintain this when dining out), and we order grass fed meat deliveries about every 3-4 weeks. I have continued to take supplements such as Krill Oil, CoQ10 and multi-vitamins every day. At times I also have collagen in my coffee or a smoothie - I’ve heard it’s great for your skin (as is the Krill Oil by the way).
One area that I have not done so well in is around meditation and exercise. I would say that I have been inconsistent with this throughout the year. At different times I have done yoga, jogging, walking and meditation, but sometimes I find I can go weeks without doing any of these. Over the past month I have got back into walking, trying to go out every day for a short walk after dinner. I also keep a close eye on the rings on my apple watch. There are 3 rings which slowly fill up throughout the day one each for:
- Movement (calories burned - I have my daily goal set to 280 calories)
- Exercise (my goal is set to 30 minutes per day)
- Standing up (goal is 12 times per day)
I find that I nearly always close my move ring. I close my stand ring about 60% of the time, and I hardly ever close my exercise ring! So this clearly shows I need to be doing more movement/exercise I think!
4. Create a philanthropic strategy for this year and implement it
To be achieved by deciding upon my charity giving strategy for 2018 and beyond. I would like to have a charitable target to save toward which could be something like funding a new school or providing sanitation/toilet blocks or helping a homeless person get off the streets.
How I’ve Got On:
I confess that I have not given this goal the attention it requires. I am keen to find a charity project which I can fund in its entirety over a year or several years of saving. Suitable charity project costs vary massively. I’ve seen options ranging from £60 for funding a much-needed toilet (like Weenie at Quietly Saving has been doing), all the way through to £20,000 needed for funding a school (like Huw at Financially Free By 40 is saving for).
I have not yet taken the time to properly investigate what charitable project donations are available to me. I could opt for one of the two aforementioned projects, or perhaps there is an alternative project out there. Most charity websites don’t tend to state goals which you can fund, instead they ask for donations toward the charity as a whole. This is fine, and I have been doing these kind of donations for a number of years, but I really want a goal with a target to get stuck into.
In terms of charity donations, this year I have continued to make regular donations to the charities which I supported in 2017 (and for many years prior to that). I also support my family and friends with ad hoc requests for sponsorships or donations as they arise throughout the year. I have donated over £450 so far this year, and my end of year donations are likely to be about £480.
Charities I have supported include:
- Cancer Research UK
- Starlight Children’s Foundation
- Aquinoe Learning Centre
- Pet Care
- Myton Hospice
- The Royal British Legion
So in terms of my 2018 philanthropic strategy, it has ended up being “continue the same as last year”. However, I am going to roll forward my intention to pick a big charity project to next year, so that I can give it some proper thought when I’m not quite as busy (the Christmas rush is upon us).
So that’s my progress update for my four goals up to the end of November. Did you set any goals in 2018? If yes, how have you been getting on with them? Do let me know in the comments below…
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