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When you look back at goals and accomplishments, do you also acknowledge shining moments?
On Dec 30, 2016 I joined my “Pack” accountability members Erin O’Brien and George Siosi Samuels for an online year-in-review and year-in-preview session. Erin was the facilitator and she called it “Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017”.
As Erin guided us through the insightful 2-hour session that combined reflection processes, deep coaching and powerful sharing, something dawned on me, especially as I had already done my own review session involving 15 powerful questions earlier…
I had missed something pretty special in my own process.
Let me explain…
It’s easy to look back at the end of a year and compare what you’ve achieved against specific goals you’d set a year earlier, and then make a decision as to whether you’d had a “successful” year or not.
That’s all good and well, but you also want to make sure you identify what Erin calls your “shining moments”.
I had listed out a few key highlights in my 2016 review (like getting engaged to my lovely fiance – which was by far my biggest highlight last year) but I didn’t go into more depth around some other specific wins that occurred in other areas of my life.
Taking a look at shining moments
Shining moments are key moments where you felt that you had stepped up, pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone and became a better version of yourself.
The framework Erin shared for getting really juicy with your shining moments was this:
- RECALL – a moment that really stood out for you as a “shining moment” in the past 12 months.
- SITUATION – Describe the situation leading up to it
- ACTION – What was the action that you took to influence the outcome?
- RESULT – What tangible results came from the action that you took?
- VIRTUES – What virtue(s) did you live in that moment? What traits did you exhibit that demonstrate the kind of person that you are (or want to be), or the internal gifts that make you great?
If you’re stuck on virtues, then consider Steven Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people:
(source: QuoteAddicts)
Also, Coach John Wooden’s “pyramid of success”:
(Source: 27gen)
There’s also this list of 64 virtues that you can refer to.
What were your shining moments in the last 12 months? Here's a quick guide to identifying them. Click To TweetHere are my 3 entrepreneur-related shining moments of 2016…
Shining moment #1: Quitting my day job to start my business
THE SITUATION: Feeling stuck, overworked, tired at day job after working at the same company for 18 months
ACTION TAKEN: I resigned in Dec 2015 (5 months notice), committed to leaving gracefully, and on May 22 that was my last day. I moved on to focus on discovering myself and focusing on my business.
THE RESULT: On May 22 2016 I left my full-time job to travel to Vietnam with my partner, and then focus on my business.
VIRTUES DISPLAYED: courage, confidence, faith
Shining moment #2: Launching my 8-week online course/program “Accelerator”
THE SITUATION:
I was a few months away from leaving my job so I wanted to kick off my new business by utilising my skills in a valuable and meaningful way. I wanted to create an online course/program that involved group coaching, and online video content modules.
This would enable me to have better time leverage, make it affordable to startup businesses, and to be able to serve more people at once.
ACTION TAKEN:
I got clear on what the program would be, then hosted a webinar and did a live presentation at Hub Sydney to pre-sell the pilot round of “Accelerator”.
In the final few weeks leading up to the scheduled program start date I sent personal email and FB messages to specific individuals who I thought might be interested in participating in the pilot.
I found this worked a whole lot better than anything else I was trying, and I was able to do this even as I was travelling through Vietnam with my partner.
On August 9 2016 I launched Accelerator and over the next 9 weeks I hustled hard to deliver it, waking up at 5.30am every Thursday so that I could commute to my coworking space and jump on a group coaching call with my students.
On some days there was only 1 student online but it was important for me to simply show up – if not for my students, then for myself.
I wanted to practise discipline and Accelerator allowed me to do that.
If you don't show up for yourself, who will? Click To TweetTHE RESULT:
I had successfully validated my product, collected testimonials, and received feedback from the pilot students on how I can improve Accelerator for the next intake of students.
My Accelerator participants had some massive wins themselves as a result of the program, such as Lina Mbirkou who (by following what she learnt in the course) was able to land a major corporate client for her mindful cooking workshop:
I ended up with 10 participants, and made $3,100 profit from the pilot round.
I now have full course modules with video content and worksheets ie. a full digital product, that I can use to help the next group of entrepreneurs want guidance on how to market their businesses online, free up more time to do what they love, and increase sales.
VIRTUES DISPLAYED: creativity, determination, perseverance
Shining moment #3: Launching a productised content writing service
THE SITUATION: Like many entrepreneurs I was in a phase of “throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks” and had an idea to launch a productised service. I’d heard of it through Dan Norris’ 7 Day Startup group, and there were quite a few examples of it in practise. So I wanted to give it a shot.
ACTION TAKEN: As part of Dan’s 7-day startup challenge (the goal of which is to launch a new project in only 7 days), I put together a website (landing page) for a monthly content writing service and shared the page in Dan’s mastermind group for feedback.
THE RESULT:
- I got 1 member sign up as a test client, and 6 months on she’s still my #1 client. Through doing work for that client I attracted a 2nd client and he’s been onboard for 3 months straight now.
- $1K monthly recurring revenue, plus additional income from other services I’ve been able to provide such as ad hoc consulting, and copywriting for lead magnet creation, email newsletter and poster/flyer material (so over $3K per month in total if I factor those jobs in).
- Got clearer on who our ideal clients are – online B2B service providers generating $100k+ annual revenue, who are time-poor and can’t afford to hire in-house writers but value the importance of publishing consistent high-quality blog posts and client/staff member/expert case studies for ongoing SEO benefits and growing their brand and business.
- I’ve hired 5 writers, and fired/lost 2. One of our writers is an absolute superstar, and the others get the job done. Now focused on bringing onboard and editor/manager in 2017 to take this business to the next level and manage operations so I can focus on client acquisition and finding amazing referral partners to work with.
VIRTUES DISPLAYED: Perseverance, trust, integrity, leadership, vision
Now here’s the thing… I didn’t do of all this alone.
Leverage the power of “The Pack”
A big part of my success, particularly in the last three months and getting my content writing service working, came from me joining George’s accountability group aka. “The Pack”.
Thanks to George, Erin and their amazing community of “mindful hustlers” – combined with their unique system of support and accountability – I was able to:
- Stay focused – and avoid getting distracted by “shiny object syndrome” or the next awesome marketing tactic being pushed by a “guru”.
- Be pushed when in times of self-doubt, feeling low about myself and my projects.
- Have a daily space (online) to celebrate wins and problem-solve blocks.
- Develop deeper relationships with members of the group, which is different to the relationships I have with members of my own community where I’m viewed as the leader and possibly not as personable (I’m working on changing this)
I honestly would not have been able to achieve what I had achieved in such a short amount of time without the daily accountability that The Pack offered.
Set yourself up to win, and not to fail, by investing in and joining an accountability group or mastermind. Click To TweetThe fact that one of the members of my Momentum Warriors community, Keren Natalia (who had her own massive wins with the launch of her ginger latte business Beyond Latte) also joined The Pack was just icing on the cake. To see Keren’s business grow so fast and all the daily hustle she put in to take it from idea to generating over $1,000 in sales plus stocked in four cities across Australia was truly inspiring! (Way to go Keren!!)
Not only that but to be able to support each other daily with the support of other “Packsters” was incredible.
So if you’re not already part of some kind of accountability group or mastermind then I highly recommend you consider it.
On Jan 12 I’ll be co-hosting a free webinar with George Samuels, founder of The Pack, to share some insights and tips on what we’ve found to work for Pack members and how you can apply the same principles in making 2017 your best year ever.
We invite you to join us. (click on the image below to sign up)
…
Now over to you, what were YOUR shining moments in the last 12 months?
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