This blog entry is a little more directive than I usually use, and that’s because I feel so strongly about the process of goal-setting and life-building. So I invite you to buckle up, and think carefully about your future!
The Wealth Design Process can be the most powerful element of the ChartYourcousetowealth.com — IF you let it. This is where you can select and design your own wealth future. This is where you activate your vision and your power.
The best way to predict your future is to create it.
– Abraham Lincoln
First: Elevate your story.
I invite you to ask yourself, What kind of story are you living right now? Is it a comedy, a tragedy, an adventure? or is it a great romance with you and life, in the starring roles?
And here’s a question: what’s your role in the story? Are you the hero, male or female, of your own life?
Are you the hero of your own life?
So if not, I want you to do some thinking. If you really want to be the hero, if you really want your story to be a great adventure to a bigger, richer life, then now is the time to commit to being your own hero. And you know what, you are worth it.
Select a One-Year Wealth Goal.
What do you want, from wealth? If I were to ask you right now, what is your one year wealth goal, what would you say? What changes do you want to see one year from now?
Now this might be a no-brainer for you.
- One year from now, I want to be half-way to my goal of debt-free!
- I want $10,000 saved towards our new home.
- I want to increase my income by 30%.
- I want a side business bringing in $500 a month to start.
Or, maybe it’s not a no-brainer. Maybe you’re not so sure what you want. In that case I’m going to ask that you pick a one year goal anyway. You can always change or adjust it if you want. Sometimes the process of making a declaration is what gets the creative juices flowing.
So, your first Wealth Design Process assignment is to pick a one year goal, whatever resonates with you. You can always edit it later on, but for now, I encourage you to go big! What do you dream that you can accomplish in one year? What pulls you? If you’re not sure between several choices, just pick one for now and we can change it later.
So if you don’t know by now, I encourage all Chart Your Course to Wealth course members to keep a wealth journal, and your challenge assignment is to select an initial one-year goal, and write it down in your wealth journal. I am a huge believer in the power of the written word, so I encourage you to write this down in your wealth journal and check it on a regular basis, editing and revising if you wish, to be sure it aligns with where you want to be.
SMART Goals or Heart Goals?
As a wealth builder, I encourage you to keep an open mind and experiment with different goal-setting options. As time goes by, you’ll get a sense of the most powerful goal-setting tools, that work most powerfully for you personally.
Traditional SMART Goals
Traditional advice on this is to frame a “SMART” goal:
- Specific
- Measureable
- Achievable
- Realistic, and
- Timely
So your goal might look like this:
- “I increase my income by 50% in the coming year.”
- “I save $1200 a month in a high-interest savings account, towards my goal of buying a new home,” or
- “I gain 10 new clients in the coming year.”
SMART goals have the advantage of being clear and easy to evaluate over time.
Try Heart Goals
Personally, I like to start with what I call a “Heart Goal”. A Heart goal is about the feeling you want to achieve. Ask yourself this:
What words most clearly evoke the feeling you want to gain, from your goal achievement?
Some of the Heart goals I have used over the years include:
- “I have a world-class physique.” I used this one after I gained weight during COVID lockdown. The struggle is real!
- “We give generously and easily, every month, to our favorite animal welfare causes.” This goal brings us ongoing enjoyment.
- “I launch a lucrative and enjoyable business.” I used this in 2014 to inspire me to purchase and rent out my first real estate rental unit.
Notice that Heart goals are written in the present tense, simple and clear, to pull you towards where you want to be.
While “Smart goals” may change your circumstances, you’ll find that “Heart goals” actually change you, and make you more of who you need to be.
For sheer inspiration, and motivation, Heart goals are by far the most powerful goal-setting tool in my personal arsenal.
START goals
More recently I’ve been experimenting with “START goals”.
If Smart goals change our circumstances over time, and Heart goals change who we are . . . then Start goals launch you on your way . . . starting right away.
The purpose of a START goal is to become, on a daily basis, the person who achieves what you want to achieve.
One of my current Start goals is:
“By the end of the year, I am getting a fitness workout, or active recovery, (almost) every single day.” (This is for 2023. I’ll keep you posted!)
Start goals let me know instantly, every day, how I am doing. And, they change me, to become the kind of person who does the things I am wanting to do.
The point is to find what works for you. What pulls you towards where you want to be? What re-creates you to be the person you need to become, to attract this into your life?
Now is the time to sit down with your wealth journal and write it down. Remember you can always tweak your goals as you go on! The Wealth Process is always open.
Stand on the shoulders of giants.
I talk a lot about the impact of other people in “Seven Steps to Get Back on Track”, which is part of the Wealth-Builders Masterclass. Your job is to begin to build your support community.
I encourage you to be a bit selective. Carefully consider who you might want to discuss your plans with, and get help from. Your partner, your friends, your family are a great place to start, but be a bit discerning about what you share initially, because sometimes people might turn out not to be that helpful. I include lots of tips on how to deal with sabotage in the Master Class, but remember that it does happen so be careful that you are connecting with people who truly have your interests at heart.
Next, consider how to build your tribe outside of your normal connections.
Consider specific types of people: a resume review professional, a solicitor or real estate agent, an accountant or a business coach.
Also consider supportive communities. What rooms do you need to be in, what type of energy do you need to connect with, what kind of education might you need, to build you up to a point where your goal comes swimming normally and naturally into your life?
The important thing is to get the process started, and get that energy going.
Let the magic begin to work.
There is a sort of strange alchemy about the Dream Design process. You may start with no ideas, no inspiration, and no sense of direction at all.
The truth is, you don’t need that stuff! Not to start. All you need is the desire to make it happen.
There is a sort of strange alchemy about the Dream Design process.
Right now, commit to sit down with your wealth journal on a regular basis. Take out your calendar and make a note, right now, that every day you will spend a few minutes looking over your wealth journal. Follow our classes if you wish, have a pencil handy or a pen, and take a note or two. Review what you’ve done so far, and scribble in the margins.
Continue with this process every day, or most days, and you will find that ideas will start to come to you. People will float into your mind that you can talk to, and concepts will pop into your head that will move you towards your goal. That is the power of the process.
Feeling skeptical? At the Wealth Salon, we’re about results, not theory. That’s why I run a full wealth mindset lab course for Wealth Salon Members, to put principles to the test in the most important laboratory of all, the laboratory of your own life.
Be a scientist. Test the process. Add it to your calendar. Review your notes every day or most days. Give it a few days, or a few weeks or months, and you will be very surprised by the results.
Begin to design systems.
I am a huge believer in the power of systems, or habits, to get you where you want to go. Systems will guide you gently along the right path, when you are filled with energy and motivation — and systems will support you and hold you up, when you are too tired to think about anything.
The power of good systems will transform your life.
What can you do daily, to keep yourself on track? What can you do weekly to pull yourself where you are going? What can you do on a monthly basis, to ensure you’re going where you want to go?
So, you’re already reviewing your wealth journal notes every evening or morning for a few minutes before you go to sleep. Keep a pen or pencil on hand and make a few notes. And, keep your calendar handy, because this is where you really start to design the systems that will lead you where you want to go.
Good systems will transform your life.
Your calendar is your friend. Keep it handy as you decide who to talk to and where to be, and be sure to book your systems in as a commitment to yourself.
You may want to start to design systems for:
Completing daily sales calls, library research, education updates, or writing book chapters.
Booking weekly informational interviews, social media updates, or professional networking activities
Planning a monthly budget review, marketing evaluation or results analysis.
You might even want to book regular exercise, healthy preparation, and family time to support yourself and the people you love as you go through this process.
Whatever you decide to work towards, be sure to add it to your calendar, and follow through. The first few times might feel awkward and weird, but that’s okay. Keep easing yourself into the process and eventually it will become second nature for you, and you’ll get to a point where you won’t feel good until you’ve accomplished your regular task.
And that, my friend, is how you become the kind of person who attracts this goal into your life.
Practice being that person.
Okay, so you’ve goaled yourself to launch a business. How does a business owner act, dress, plan their day, react to others?
Upgrading your career prospects? Imagine the new job title, and ask yourself, as the newest Vice President, how do I act? How do I carry myself, and how do I talk to others?
Are you launching an investment portfolio, paying off your debt, building your income streams? How does that person, the person you are becoming, walk and talk and act and speak? Start acting before you see the outcome.
This is where you imagine where you plan to be, and this is how you start to follow those behaviors that will take you there.
Go back and review your progress three months, six months, nine months and twelve months from now . . . and celebrate!
This step is lots of fun. Because you are filling out your wealth journal on a regular (daily) basis, you can go back and see all that amazing progress, and you’ll see how you faced up to difficulties as well. As well as being fun, this is an important step, because it keeps you focused on where you’re going, so stick with the process.
Graduation Day . . . EVERY day!
So how does it look? How does it feel? As you work through your wealth journal over the next few weeks and months, ask yourself some questions.
What is changing for you?
Is your mind changing, with new ideas, new patterns, new opportunities that you maybe weren’t seeing before?
Is your environment changing, with new systems, new habits, perhaps new connections and networks you hadn’t keyed into before?
Are your outcomes changing? Are you building up that savings account, launching that investment portfolio, inching down that debt load?
The Wealth Design Process is a nod to the experimental nature of this process. Every great masterpiece requires time, energy, devotion by a great Master — that’s you! — to create something of beauty and inestimable value.
If you follow this process, one year from now, your life will both surprise and delight you.
May it be so, my dear Friend.
Christine Williams
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