Warning: This post is all about me. I had to write it. No one made me. I wrote this of my own free will.
I getting excited about things, so I decided to share some of them with you. Even the things that will take awhile to come to fruition. Even the things I’m working towards. If I write my goals down and share them with you, they have to be met, right? 😉
Blogging
So, I’ve been blogging over at Thirty-One:10 as one of their featured bloggers and I love it. They’re a great group of ladies and it lets me publish more blatantly faith-based posts. Not that I can’t here, but here I keep it more universal. I’ve done quite a few posts, and if you haven’t seen them yet, you should totally check them out. Some of my favorites were a Mother’s Day post, a post on Infertility, and this post on Confidence. Of course, I can’t leave out my cupcake post. 🙂 There are others of course, but these stand out to me the most as ones you’d want to read. Goal: Continue to be a prominent blogger on their site and add something of value with every post.
My newest blogging gig will be over at How Do You Do It – a blog for moms of multiples. I’ll be featured starting in mid-June, so stay tuned for that. This should be fun, as I’m their first mom who’s experienced loss that will blog on their site, and this will give a voice to moms of multiples who are dealing with the unique loss of one (or more) of a set. Goal: Bring awareness and a voice to moms who have lost a multiple.
And, of course, my blog. You know all about it because you’re here. Goals: Blog at least once a week, but make sure it’s of value. Connect with and engage my readers and grow the readership. Create a calendar and start writing on more of a schedule and ahead of time with more of a purpose. I’m sure there’s more. LOL.
Book Writing
Obviously, this is the big one. I’m currently working on my first eBook (about how non-loss parents can love on and support a parent who has lost a child). Goal: I want it to be out by the end of the summer.
I’m building up to my ‘big’ book that will be about faith during tragedy and the story of my babies. I would like to find a traditional publisher for this and have a print book. Not for fame. Not for money. To tell the story. To bring awareness. To bring comfort. Goal: Do something every week that will bring me closer to completing this process.
I’ve got a lot of other books in the works, but these come first. The rest will be eBooks and come at various times. Goal: Don’t let these push the others out of the way. Be patient.
Business
I have a business (sort of) that is (sort of) making a little money on the side when I (somehow, but rarely) find the time to fit it in. I do want to continue to do my freelance work, but I also need to be serious about my goals and what comes first. So, I have to limit this. Take on only work that I can handle (says the girl who just signed a HUGE editing project contract and now has her plate full) and be honest with myself about time constraints. I also need to get real about my free time and decide if I’m going to bite the bullet and get some childcare help and go back to work ‘full time’ (from home of course). Goal: Figure this out before I go too crazy trying to figure it all out.
Platform Building
Ah, the kicker of it all. Getting my name out there. Establishing myself as an expert in my niche. Building my platform so that when the books do come out, I have an audience who cares. You care, right? 😉 I’m glad for all of you – be it 5 or 500 or 500,000 who read my blog. But this part if important, and in goal setting, I have to look at every angle of the situation. Build Twitter followers. Facebook fans. Pinterest pinners and repinners. Blog commenters. Oy. Book speaking engagements. Gather a following and build a tribe. Yep. To whom much is given, much is required. Here’s what I’ve done and what’s coming…
I’ve got two big speaking engagements! This is big! I already did one this year, back in January, to an audience of Christian women on faith during tragedy, and now I’ll get even more experience when I speak at a special event to honor children gone too soon and a week later at the Niche Parenting Conference in Florida. My topic for that one will be ‘Writing Your Truth’. Exciting, but scary. This is the big time folks. The stuff that helps establish me as an expert. It just got real. Goal: Book at least one speaking engagement for 2014.
I just finished one radio show (topic: faith during tragedy and Carter’s story of course) and taped another one that will be airing sometime in July. I’ll post more details on that when I have them, but that show is on me in general – life, business, etc. and tips for their listeners from my experiences. Goal: Continue to do radio shows, maybe one for each quarter of the year.
I’m making connections. Ones that count. Ones that don’t just benefit me, but where I’m helping others with my skill set too. Whether it be at conferences I attend, through social media, or via mutual connections, I’m meeting some really awesome people. And ultimately, that’s what platform building is all about, right? Take for instance Jetty Rae – she’s a musician that I came across who also lost a child and her newest album stems from that pain. Her singing and songwriting are beautiful and I’ve commissioned her to write a custom song for me. The best part? We connected even further and she’s going to be featured on this blog and work with me in some other incredible ways (can’t reveal them yet). Super exciting. I’ve also connected with a literary agent, some pretty big authors, some social media movers and shakers, and some cool brands that I’m hoping to work with in the future (and some that I already am!). So, needless to say, this is a big deal for me. Goal: Continue to make valuable, mutually beneficial connections.
Personal
Okay, so what would a goals list be without a few personal ones:
- Eat less cupcakes (virtually impossible)
- Get back down to my goal weight (pre-baby weight, I refuse to label it with a number) (again, nearly impossible because of number 1)
- Be more kind to myself. (going to have to be if I already can’t meet goal number 1 and 2)
- Be more present when I’m with my babies. (I do well at this for the most part, but that darn iPhone…)
- Be sure to take time for myself and my family even though I’m on a mission to accomplish all the non-personal goals above (hold me to this one – I mean it)
Okay so I’m done. And, hopefully, you read all the way through that. Cause I need you. A girl can’t accomplish her goals without a little accountability and a swift kick in the bum every now and then…
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