Dream Big, Plan Small

August 24, 2019 By DeanaFarrell Leave a Comment

We all have a big dream. Maybe even several depending on the season we find ourselves.

Some may have a clearer picture than others. Some may seem closer than others. And yet, some may have just thrown in the towel on their once was big dream.

How about you? Where’s your dream right now?

Is it on the forefront of your mind all. the. time. and you can’t stop thinking about it?

Maybe it’s just “somebody that you used to know” because you no longer believe it’s even possible or relevant to your life anymore. (well, that’s sad)

Well, I for one am a BIG DREAMER.

Some days I feel like my big dream is so close I could taste it and others you may as well call me Charlie Brown…

No matter where you find yourself on this Big Dream spectrum, there is one universal tip I can offer that will help you get closer and that is –

Plan Small.

Yep, that easy and that difficult at the same time.

Think about it, can you eat a whole cake in one bite, paint a ceiling in one stroke, wash, dry and fold your laundry all at once…get the picture?

Here are three things you can do right now to plan small when it comes to your big dream:

Begin with the end in mind
This means that you take time visualize what that Big Dream looks like as accomplished.
Write it down
What things need to happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd…keep making that list in order to map out your plan.
Choose one area of focus
If you suffer from S.O.S. this is not going to be easy, but just look at what you can get serious about for 30 days at a time.

No matter what your big dream is, know that without taking steps to make progress, it will just remain a dream!

Working on making progress on my Big Dream right there with ya,

Psst! This could be a huge help in getting you started on finally getting serious about your big dream.
I’m cheering for you and will continue to share resources, tips and helps as I myself discover and implement the ones that work for real life peeps like us! Keep going & growing friend 😉

Find your purpose or follow your passion?

August 10, 2019 By DeanaFarrell Leave a Comment

Raise your hand if you get confused when it comes to the difference between finding your purpose and following your passion.

(I see you, and you, and you…)

When it comes to the pursuit of happiness so many of us have been given the advice to just...find your purpose or follow your passion. Apparently we are to believe if we do this, we will not only find happiness, but success too. (woo! hoo! I’m in!)

Hmmm, then why are so many of us still unhappy and not measuring up to our picture of success?

So many of us are unhappy, unsuccessful and still can’t find our purpose or follow our passion because we’ve defined them wrong.

You don’t find happiness, it’s a state of mind. (and a D.O.S.E.)

Success is a journey and a process that is different for everyone. Newsflash, there is no exact formula, but there is one main ingredient and it’s called work.

Here’s what I found when it comes to the differences between purpose and passion.

Purpose

the reason for meaningful work
the result benefits others
has a focused aim
gives significance

Passion

the result of meaningful work
is about YOU (not necessarily selfish, but about you and what energizes you)
can change (one day you’re into painting, the next gardening)
gives satisfaction

Are we getting clearer or is there still some confusion?

Maybe you have the question…“Can my passion be my purpose?” because that is such a popular “success strategy” isn’t it?

Well, here’s how I would sum it up for you and then you decide.

Your purpose is not about your worldly goals – career, wealth, or recognition, but about having an impact.

Your passion can be a vehicle, but it’s not a destination – it’s the color behind your dreams.

We can use our passions in order to energize and refuel us in order to do the things necessary to become the person we need to be in order to achieve our purpose.

Our passions are personal and colorful and keep us from getting bored and giving up. Our purpose sets us apart from each other, yet for the benefit of each other.

Untangling the difference between passion and purpose right there with ya,

No matter your pursuit, something is always going to be in the way distracting you!
FREE printable – the 3 Steps to Defeat Distraction (every time, no matter what’s pulling at you)

How do I find the time to pursue my dream?

July 17, 2019 By DeanaFarrell Leave a Comment

Not only pursuing our dream, but someday living it is, well, a dream we all have.

The problem for most of us is in the quest to pursue our dream is that we are short on TIME & ATTENTION.

Let’s start with the first problem: time.

Where do you spend most of your time?

The average person spends the most time at work. About 13 years of their lifetime AND will have had about 12 different jobs!

Now let’s talk about that other problem: attention.

Did you know that the average attention span is now just 8 seconds?! That’s less than that of a goldfish! (who is 9 seconds, by the way)

Here’s two things that we know about our dreams, one, they are BIG and two, they are scary.

Big – why else would it be a dream of ours instead of an achievement of ours?

Scary – mostly because we overthink the entire process of getting there and overwhelm ourselves to the point we can’t even get started!

Okay, enough of the depressing reality of what we already know. What can we do about it?

Glad you asked (she types sarcastically).

5 things you can do NOW to pursue your dream even if you are short on time and attention:

#1 Unsubscribe

Yep, sounds basic, but if I were to ask you how many unread emails were sitting in your inbox right now, would there be less than 10? I can hear you laughing…

If it’s not something you are going to ACT on in the next 24 hours…DELETE.

Odds are the emails sitting there are because you gave your e-mail for a reason. Maybe it was a free printable of how to clean out your inbox, an e-book How-To clean out your inbox, a weekly newsletter with a blog of how to clean out your in box, a discount code for the e-course, etc. (getting the picture?)

Those may have captured your attention at the time and you got what you needed when you signed up, but is it still relevant now?

If it’s something you repeatedly delete, leave unopened or tell yourself you’re going to go back to it later (and do not)…UNSUBSCRIBE.

Seriously, stop getting the offers you KNOW you are not ready or going to act on or are helping you pursue your dream. It served it’s purpose at the time…move on.

#2 Find a mentor

Cliche’ I know, but hear me out on this one. We all need people in our corner to inspire, encourage, support and teach us, but for most of us – all of those “ingredients” do not all come wrapped up in the same person for each of the “categories” of our lives.

Can you think of different people that you find inspiring, encouraging, supportive and that you love to learn from for different areas of you life? How about ones that point you to the pursuit of your BIG & SCARY dream?

I know for me, a lot of those people are ones that I have never even met in person. Yet, they inspire, encourage, support and teach me through their writing, their speaking, their videos, conferences and even emails.

Yep, I subscribe to the emails that I know I will open each and every time because it will either inspire, encourage, support what I’m trying to accomplish and/or teach me how to do it!

#3 Read, watch, listen.

This goes hand in hand with the above tip.

There are countless books, blogs and articles can you read about whatever topic you can think of! So imagine reading one that is specific to your particular need right now. When you see the words, you remember them better. (just sayin’)

What podcasts or audio courses can you be listening to instead of the radio or your playlist while you are commuting, cleaning or working out?

Are there YouTube videos you can watch instead of another Netflix binge?

How about a conference, seminar or workshop? Face to face interaction and hearing from the person who’s passionate about the topic is so helpful, not to mention, refreshing!

Do you see how all of these can propel you toward progress in pursing your dream?

#4 Create a “happy place”.

Not everyone can hop a jet to a luxurious locale that ends with feet propped up, a tasty beverage in hand and a breathtaking view to post on social.

However, you can create a space that you can retreat to in order to refresh, refuel or just relax. (even if it’s super short-lived)

A hot bath with the door locked and earbuds to drown out the knocking. (’cause your peeps will come knocking)

A small part of your closet with cushy pillows where you can pretend you’re E.T. hidden behind the clothes, but with a Tervis cup filled with something adultish with a lid and straw. (don’t want to get thirsty or spill wine on that dress that’s two sizes too small)

Listen, even if it’s a corner of the couch with a cozy blanket, lit candle and a tasty hot beverage.

Not gonna lie, sometimes a cold drink in my car in the garage with the radio on is a sweet spot for a few, til I’m discovered.

I’m just saying, do what you have to do in order to find the space and place that allows you to exhale. (even if it’s just for a few minutes)

#5 Have a good ‘ol Brain Dump

I’m not even going to elaborate on this one because I wrote a whole article about it here. (go check it out) Besides, I’m waaay past your 8 second attention span!

Congrats if you have read this far – you have exceeded the average person’s 8 second attention span!
So proud of you!! You really are a goal-getter!

Listen, pursuing any dream is not easy, especially these days when time and attention is so very short! But I hope with tips like these YOU will be making progress!

Making progress toward pursuing my dream with steps like this right there with ya,

Still not sure you’ll have the time? Here’s a 3 Step “filter” to be sure you DO!

Is there JOY in your planning?

June 30, 2019 By DeanaFarrell Leave a Comment

Planning and JOY are not typical pairings.

Well, unless of course we are starting to plan a bridal/baby shower, birthday/anniversary/graduation party [ insert type of exciting, anticipated celebration here] there’s plenty of joy to go around.

Notice I said starting…often times the JOY can wear off in the minutia of details and deadlines!

On the other hand, when it comes to the thought of planning our weekly and daily tasks, most of us will gravitate toward feelings of “have to”, “I’d better” and maybe even a bit of dread. [insert procrastination tactics here]

Recently, I spent some time reviewing my own goals in an effort to get to the root of why some are making progress toward achievement and others, not so much.

Keeping true to my typical response, I went on the hunt for helpful resources. Books, blogs, articles, old journals, notes, trainings,etc. and the “answer” came by way of an old note I had written in a VERY old book – my Bible.

Listen, no matter where you are on the faith scale, there’s no disputing the depth of lessons and wisdom in one of the oldest and best selling non-fiction books of all time. Which is why it is usually my #1 go-to resource.

Anywhooo…

What I found that helped me gain a NEW perspective when it comes to planning and ultimately achieving my goals comes from Philippians 3:12-16. (you can check it out here if you’d like)

Plan with JOY to gain traction on the ACTION needed toward achieving your biggest, scariest, seemingly out of reach goals!

J –> Jet

I don’t have to have it ALL figured out in order to “press on” toward my goal. So with that weight of not having to know it all first, I can have the confidence to GO…literally JET towards my goal (with joy) and the more I DO, the more I will learn! Awesome!

O –> Omit

In order to move forward, toward my goal – in FRONT of me, I have to leave the past behind. Learning to let go of yesterday in order to reach for tomorrow is not easy, but so worth it! Deal with your past so that it no longer defines your future. YES that’ll put some joy in your step(s)!

Y –> Yet

Yield to the process, commit to the work and embrace the anticipation of YET. Learn to find satisfaction (ahem, JOY) in the progress you are making. Adopt the mindset of “I CAN & I WILL” when it comes to what you’re learning with the intent to APPLY!

If you’ve been with me for any amount of time, you know my love and excitement for a good acronym to encourage doable action taking for our biggest goals!! And I hope you agree that J.O.Y. does not disappoint.

Simple, yet not necessarily easy. Memorable, yet easy to skip the process. Doable, yet tempting to make it more complicated. Trust me, I know – I can overthink and over complicate things like it was my job!

Keep it about JOY and you will make progress!

The best part – you may actually begin to FEEL joy in your life. I don’t know about you, but progress toward my goals and feeling joy…WIN!

Learning to keep the JOY in my plans for the sake of my goals right there with ya,

Is DiSrAcTion the biggest factor to when it comes to your ability to focus on your goals?

If you said yes, (like the rest of us) go ahead and grab this freebie!

DUMB goals are awesome!

June 19, 2019 By DeanaFarrell Leave a Comment

We’ve all been encouraged to create SMART goals, but have you ever been taught how to focus on a DUMB one?

AND that it’s GOOD to create DUMB goals?!

I’m about to share with you what I hope is a game changer for you – I know it was for me. Anyone else get tired of hearing the same “strategy” for goal setting? Yes, it works, but is it the ONLY way to a goal?

Nope.

When I heard the comparison between SMART and DUMB goals by Brendon Burchard, I thought it was brilliant!

In case you have no idea what a SMART goal is here’s a post-it note version. Identify your goal and work it through this matrix in order to achieve it:
S – specific
M – measurable
A – attainable
R – reasonable
T – timely

Burchard pointed out that a SMART goal is nothing more than a to-do list and can even be a big distraction that just keeps us busy! This got me thinking…

How many times have we heard to plan out a goal using this SMART strategy? I don’t know about you, but I have – countless times. Did you have as many internal questions as I did?

How specific? Define measurable?? Well, if I could attain it, wouldn’t I have already? What exactly is reasonable? Umm, timely – ok…who’s time are we on, yours or mine? Shhh! Don’t tell anyone, but I don’t think I’ve ever achieved a goal via this method – sure, I’ve used parts, like maybe SMA. Definitely not reasonable and don’t even ask me the time-frame it took!

Achieving your dreams should be inspiring, motivating and exciting!!

For most of us the pursuit to our dreams can definitely be inspiring…for awhile.

We can get all hyped up and motivated…for awhile.

Then the excitement usually wears off shortly after the inspiring motivation. [sigh]

Then what? We either hit the internet over again to get inspired.

Buy a new planner in order to make another plan.

Dig down deep for the motivation to even pursue another goal OR…we just give up. (for now…hey, we could just be a social media post away from being inspired again, right? [insert sarcastic voice here])

Here’s where the light bulb comes on and you see how your goals can get FUN…

…learn to set DUMB goals!

Sounds totally counter intuitive I know, but I think that when you learn how, you’ll not only enjoy the process, but actually make progress!

Here’s what it means to go for a DUMB goal:

D.ream driven –> this has meaning to you personally and it’s a big scary goal with the potential for huge impact

U.plifting –> it should focus on what you will gain by achieving your goal and worded in a way that connects you as well as compels you

M.ethod friendly –> create practices that make it easy for you to be consistent

B.ehavior driven –> coming up with triggers to keep you disciplined.
Example: Every time I ________ I will __________.

I’m really excited about sharing this with you because it really is at the core of what I aspire to inspire. And I’m especially geeking out over the fact that it’s an acronym! (and slightly jealous I did not think of this myself)

Working SMARTer on my DUMB goals right there with ya,

Need some help Prioritizing Focus on your goals? Start with this Goal Setting Cheat Sheet!