Looking forward

It doesn't matter where you go or what you do, goal setting seems to be a key part of everything. From small goals of not buying a bag of cookies when you run into the store for that carton of milk, or when you do find the cookies have somehow made their way into your home, setting the goal of not eating them all in one sitting. Taking a 15 minute break in between mindless chewing counts, right??

That being said, goals are important. Otherwise, how on earth do you know when you're done. Or why you're even completing said task in the first place. For example...why on earth would anyone run for 6+ hours, straight, if there wasn't some sort of sick, twisted goal of being able to say "I ran a marathon". Thought the once was bad enough, but I kept tweaking my goal, as in "I will run a marathon faster, or I will qualify for Boston". I did run a couple faster...I ran quite a few slower, and with several, I seemed content to meet my initial time of 6:28 and change. But I could say I did it, right? And mark that goal with a triumphant strike of my imaginary sharpie! Never did manage a Boston-qualifying time, not even if I add many years to the age category (crap) and now that I no longer run, that goal is moot.


CrossFit is a great place for goal setting and crushing them. First unassisted pull-up...lifting PRs set and knocked down, only to be reset and refocused. The mystical double-under. Although some days that last one seems as attainable as a BQ time!

But is it enough to merely set a goal? Say it out loud or write it down? After all, if it's written down, it must be true, right?? At what point does a goal have to turn into a plan. What comes first?? The Plan or the Goal? Can you have one without the other?? I can say I wanted a BQ time every day. Some days I'm pretty sure that's what I did. But what did I do to achieve that goal? How did I break it down, so that I could meet my target? Did I make a SMART goal? In hindsight, no. It may have been specific and measurable, but honestly was it attainable for the type of runner I was at the time? I was not fast...ever. Still haven't managed to break a 30-minute 5k, which makes a sub-4 hour marathon quite daunting. And last I checked, Boston does not allow roller-skates on the course. Oop...new goal...learn how to skate! So not very realistic, and I never said when I was going to reach this goal. Having no timeline to stick to...well, that always made it easy to say "next race". In 2013, when my body proclaimed in no uncertain terms that it was done with running, so went my Boston dreams. I can still go and cheer on other runners of course, but deep down, I will always carry a twinge of regret for what might have been.

Back to reality...we had a great get-together with the team this afternoon, to discuss goal setting and what we want from 2018. Where do I see myself and my business next year, which is only 29 sleeps away! We didn't really get into specifics there, but it is something I need to nail down over the next few weeks. And I think that's the key to goal-setting. It's not enough to say what you want...you have to follow that up with how. In addition to it being Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely, having a plan of tasks, or even sub-goals is helpful in goal-setting.

While I kick around the details, here's some snippets: I will read at least one of the many personal growth books I have piled on the table. They are not being absorbed via osmosis, sadly, so have scheduled reading time every evening (which may also help with my personal sleep goal, as it'll be part of my nightly wind-down). Breaking the goal into smaller chunks helps in so many ways. First, it doesn't seem so daunting. After all, saying I will rank to Platinum is scary, especially if I don't make that goal. But what will happen if I fail? Will the world stop turning on it's axis? Will the sun cease to rise in the east? I don't think so, but I will be disappointed in myself.

Goal # 1, schedule my reading time, and pick the first book. I am just finishing up Bad-A$$ (kind of stuck in the final money chapters...who knew?!), but really want to get into the High Performance Habits, after hearing Brendon Buchard speak at GoPro Mastery. I will finish this one by the end of December.

Goal # 2: go through my back-office (online) and clean up the clutter. I need a clear vision of my tree, and where to focus. I want to WILL earn a steady income from this business, and it's not going to happen if I just think happy thoughts about it. I've got to put some motion in my emotion (thank you Tony Robbins!).

Goal # 3: morning meditation. I've been watching/listening to Dr. Joe Dispenza Breaking the Habit of being yourself every day, and realize that I am in a serious rut. Same old, day in and day out. Time to shake things up. Now, since I also admit to having the attention span of a gnat, I will start small, aiming for a 2-5 minute introspective to start my day.

I still have plenty of work to do here, breaking down the larger 2018 goal of rank advancement. And come up with a few for my personal life, such as the elusive double-under, and my Weight Watchers target. But it's getting late, and sitting here typing is not helping me wind-down and prepare for sleep. I'll leave you with this.

Thank you for reading.

Much love,
Carol

The 1st week of rest of my life

It's been quite a week. Returning from Las Vegas on Sunday with heading pounding, over-loaded with information, ideas and inspiration - and a cold virus, as it would turn out - I knew I wanted to look at my network marketing business - heck, my LIFE - through different eyes. The GoPro Marketing Mastery event was mind-numbing, as I struggled to keep up with my own frantic notes, leaping about in frenzied enthusiasm, laughing, crying, yelling and dancing around to the Pitbull concert that happened on the last night. So much fun, I can't wait to do it all again next year. To quote Eric Worre, "say yes, tell the world and figure it out".

Let me back up a little. As mentioned last week, I ventured into the network marketing in the fall last year. I did the "home business/direct sales" before, and despite quitting it 5 years ago after failing forward year after year (and I still have product lying around - see below), I was intrigued by this company, its product and format, mainly because I didn't need to carry inventory. I don't have to schlep product to and from home parties, and I don't have meet minimum sales targets. Not to say that I don't like what I used to sell, because I still do. My pantry is also full of everything I love to use daily. This is just what I had on hand for demonstrations, customer one-off orders, product changes, etc. It was EVERYWHERE.

Fast forward 5 years, and I think I've definitely grown as a person and am looking at this industry differently now. But I still may not have fully "bought-in" at the beginning. I've read the books, I go to the team events and weekly Zooms, and yet I struggled. The odd customer purchase here or there, but I had yet to really build my team. I watch others do it, seemingly with ease, and I was still here, stuck at Go.

I do have 54 years of my parents drilling the employee mindset into me, as most my age do. Get a good job, do a good job, retire from that job and die happy. But that whole world is changing, and it's not quite that cut and dry anymore. Companies come and go at an alarming rate. Industries that don't evolve cease to exist. Technology moves faster than most of us can keep up. Hell, Sears, the store that practically invented "online shopping" with their Wish Book have closed, citing online shopping as the reason. Ironic. I know more people that have changed jobs/companies/education, not because they wanted to, but because the change was forced upon them. I still flashback to the utter shock of having the rug pulled out from under me last spring. The lure of a steady, consistent pay-cheque, benefits and pension is that fat, juicy worm on the hook most of us bite at desperately. But is that our reality these days? Most get hired as contract, so that corporations can avoid the high benefit/pension costs associated with salaried staff. Loyalty from either employee or employer is low (not to be confused with engagement) - it's rare to hear of anyone who has worked for only one employer from start to finish. Heck, you get excited when people hit the 5 year mark, rather than 20, 30 or God forbid, 40 years of the past.

So how is Network Marketing different? Tapping into the entrepreneurial spirit that lurks in us all (who hasn't had the lemonade stand, or charged for a magic show in the backyard?), and using the technology that scares most brick and mortar industries, it gives those ready for a change the opportunity to drive that change. Residual income replaces pensions, and while there are no benefits per say, the desire of a high enough income that those costs don't matter. Loyalty can still up in the air, as many change companies or focus, but I learned earlier this year that my team have my back and believe in me, even when I don't. We are, after all, pulling in the same direction. There isn't that nagging feeling of someone out for your job or promotion. We celebrate each other victories and help out when we struggle.

{the Canadian team representing in Vegas}

It may have been the cold virus, or the glow of three days of laughing, crying, screaming, laughing even harder, and more "ah-ha" moments then I can count, but I feel like I came back a different person. I'm no longer shy about saying I'm a network marketer. For the first time, I had more customer sales than ever. I still have a lot of work to do, but it's not work that I'm really that afraid of anymore.

{face of determination}

My goal for this week: review my notes from Vegas, start one of the many books I have stacked up (maybe Beach Monday, by Jordan Adler, who also spoke at GoPro) and continue to build my business. I want to be Platinum ranked by conference in March, and also have a good amount of funds in the bank by then to have some fun. I vowed I'd ride the Freemont Street zipline then, and I'd also like to get some new clothes for the spring and summer months.

It's been busy week, with another fun-filled day of training yesterday and cheering on all the fitness at the Battle at the Barracks today. No volunteering this time around, just went to watch. And it was fun! I've made soup for the week and oatmeal with PB and banana, so meals are also ready to roll. I like being able to grab and go in the morning. Makes changing someone's life for the better that much easier when I don't have to worry about what to eat!!

Much love and thanks for reading,

Carol

New beginnings...a year later

Hi...my name is Carol and I'm a horrible blogger. Maybe I'm not so bad at the actual story or typing part, but I certainly lack in consistency. I'm aiming to change that here and now.

So what has changed, besides the blog name? Which by the way, if you were looking for Go Lift Something Heavy and you couldn't find the post from January 2016, I'm sorry to disappoint you but it was time for a refresh. So much has happened in my world since then, personally and professionally, it was time. I still love CrossFit with all my heart (I have the callouses to prove it), still go to Weight Watchers weekly and still live my cats in my little house...wait, what's changed exactly?!

The biggest jolt to my world came April 2016. I was at work at 7 am like normal but by 8:30 I was back home, on my couch, clutching the white envelope that held my past/future and wondered what the eff just happened?! I didn't work oil and gas for this very reason. Hell, I avoided oil and gas for this very reason, and yet, after 16 years, Shaw laid me off. Told me I was a good employee but my job was redundant (all I heard was I was redundant) and to have a nice life. Took a while to recover from that.

After enjoying the summer off of work (my garden looked great, for once), first time in almost 40 years.

I soon realized the money was quickly running out and I needed a job. Truth be told, job-hunting was something I haven't really done since I was 16. I worked for Scotiabank for 18 years, starting a posting I got through my Mom, who also worked there. Left them to go work with a friend, who knew her small company was hiring. Left that job when the company was threatening to close and found the Shaw job through a coworker connection. This was a whole new world and it scared the crap out of me!! Trouble with job-hunting in Calgary last year was it wasn't just you and handful of people applying for jobs...it was you and 10,000+ applying for those jobs. Every job. And I really don't know what I know, you know?! I mean to say, I really don't have a formal education. Yes, I went to college and I have a diploma from 1984 in an industry I have yet to work a full day in (Public Relations). No letters of the alphabet follow my name, and everything I learned I learned by doing it. I'm also in my fifties - that whole 'old dog, new tricks' comes to mind. I was not feeling great, but luckily the "who you know" factor came into play, and I am back working with the gentleman who originally hired me at Shaw. Back in the banking industry, behind the scenes this time and learning that a few things have changed over the past 20 years. Smaller and Alberta only, but with an amazing culture and atmosphere. Makes going to work every day fun again.

Needless to say 2016 was not my favourite year. Family strife intensified to the point of breaking, I lost my beloved Simon, my last connection to Mom and Dad, and I was out of work for most of the year.

But there were happy times as well. Another glorious 5 days at Assiniboine Lodge, the most beautiful spot on earth, spent with a lovely group of ladies hiking, drinking wine and laughing ourselves silly.

I continue to make small gains at CrossFit, but the double-under and pull-up continue to elude me. There's many more moves on the goat list, but small victories, right?

I also rescued a giant orange fluffball named Kosmo. Funny how the power of social media works. There I was, sitting on the couch planning my day, when his face popped up on the Twitter feed, from the Calgary Humane Society. "Kosmo has been here for 6 months and would love a fur-ever home"...damn it, they had me at that face! I literally put down my phone, picked up my purse and cat carrier, drove straight there and within an hour, had him home. Sadly he and Maggie don't quite get along (I think it's his size that frightens her) but I have high hopes that I'll walk in one day to find the two of them cuddled up together. Maybe.

One of the biggest changes in 2016 though was joining up with an amazing group of people, taking control of my future. I don't ever want to be in the position of no job/no income again, so I have entered the world of network marketing. I've done the direct sales/home party business before, but this one is so very different. From the organization through every rank, I've met wonderful, uplifting people and made some amazing friends. We support each other, and have an absolute blast along the way. I've been to Houston, and just returned from a weekend in Vegas with these crazies, and am in awe of all of them. Building my team, and plotting my course. I said yes, and I AM a force to be reckoned with.

Can't believe 2018 is only 40 days away. FORTY!! What fabulous plans do you have for the rest of 2017?

Thank you for your time, much love.
Carol