LINKS:
Welcome to the Writing Momentum podcast.
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We're recording this
live on New Year's Day.
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Happy New Year's.
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Gena: Happy 2025.
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Christopher: And Merry
Christmas to any of you.
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We haven't said Merry Christmas to you.
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Gena: Merry Christmas.
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Happy Hanukkah.
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Christopher: Oh, really?
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You're gonna go through all the holidays?
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Gena: Happy Kwanzaa.
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Happy New Year.
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Christopher: Yeah, Happy New Year.
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You know what would really
make my New Year happy?
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Gena: I, I don't know, what would it be?
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It would
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Christopher: be moving the needle.
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Gena: Moving the needle.
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This is,
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Christopher: this is what
we're talking about right here.
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This is moving the needle.
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You know, we all have goals that
we want to achieve, um, with our
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writing and in other areas of life.
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And.
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Uh, this is always a great time of
year to sit down and say, Hey, I'm
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gonna get my goals down on paper.
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I'm gonna put this in writing and
say, This is what I'm gonna stick to.
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And then on January 2nd, we can
put it in a drawer and forget
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about it until the next year.
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No, we don't want to do that.
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Gena: No!
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No,
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Christopher: we want to move the needle.
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And so what does that mean?
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Well, that means Actually
writing down your goals and
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making them, uh, smart goals.
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We love smart goals.
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Smart goals were, came from
like 1981 and they're still.
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Powerful today, like you're still, you
know, I should probably use a microphone.
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I just realized my microphone
was nowhere near my, me.
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So if you haven't been able
to hear us, sorry about that.
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Um, but yeah, goals goal setting
is one of those things that's, I
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think super important for authors
is super important for anyone who
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wants to get a creative work done.
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Um, otherwise it can just take
forever, but instead by setting.
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Small, achievable, smart goals.
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We can get our writing done.
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So that's what we're going to
talk about today on the podcast.
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Gena: Yeah.
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I think there's a lot of times
where people will think that there's
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this conception, this misconception
really, that you don't, you kind
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of have to wait for inspiration
that when inspiration strikes.
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Somehow the work is going to get done.
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And that's really not what
we have found to be true.
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There have been many times that we have
had things that we've wanted to do.
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And until we have put them on our calendar
and really made room and space for them
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in our life, They just didn't happen.
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I mean, and it wasn't that some
of those things that don't happen
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aren't as important to us, right?
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Some of those things, we really do get
to the point where it's like, is this
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really what I want to spend my time doing?
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But there are those things that
are those passion projects that
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we want to get done, like writing
our book or getting published.
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And the truth of the matter is
guys, it just takes dedication
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and consistency to get there.
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And so, Um, because that does
not come naturally always to
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us because our lives are full.
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We have three kids, we have
clients that we're working for.
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We have, um, volunteer
projects that we're a part of.
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We have other things that we're
doing because we have all of these
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things fighting for our attention.
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Um, it takes.
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really effort and a plan.
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Like move the needle.
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Yeah.
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For us to get it done.
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Christopher: So that's
where this plan comes in.
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So this is a.
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This is the ebook that we ended up
creating because we've shared this with
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several people and they're like, Hey,
can you get that down on paper for us?
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So that was what we've done here.
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If you go to writingmomentum.
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com and you'll see it down there at
the bottom of the page where you can
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just put in your name and email and
the ebook will come right to your
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email as a PDF, and then you can
print it out and that sort of thing.
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And what we thought we'd do today
is we would just bring you through
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basically what move the needle is
all about, about setting those goals.
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So if you want to set some goals with us
over the next 10 minutes or so, um, you're
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welcome to, um, because what we like to
do is not set necessarily year long goals.
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only year long goals because setting a
year long goal is a great overview idea
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of what we want to do but it's a little
much to try and keep track of all year
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long unless you break it into bite sized
pieces and that's what this is about.
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We like to break our goals into six week
stints that we do that We can easily
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measure as we go along in those six
weeks how we're doing with our goal.
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And it may be a smaller goal
that feeds into that large goal.
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So for instance, if my larger goal
is to write a fiction book by the end
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of the year, then my six week goal
might be to research That book, right?
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So that I'm ready to start
writing in the next six weeks.
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So should we jump right into this?
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Gena: Let's jump into it.
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Let's
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Christopher: do it.
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We, we, by the way, just spent some time
with our, we just had a great writing
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time with our, uh, writing momentum group.
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If you're not, if you're not part
of a writer's group and you'd like
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to become a part of a writer's
group that meets every single week,
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come over to writing momentum.
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com and we've got a
membership that you can join.
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It's very low cost and it's a great way.
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for you to have your
writing time be accountable.
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Every single week, and we just, we went
through an entire session working on
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this together with our group, and we
really had some great questions and
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great breakthroughs as we, um mm-hmm
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Went through this.
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So this is called, Hmm.
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Gena: Well, I just wanna point out
when he, when Chris is talking about
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accountability, it's really just.
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Um, for you to set a goal for yourself
that you set the time for yourself
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that every week I'm going to sign.
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I'm going to show up for this.
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It is not about us holding your
feet to the fire that, you know,
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did you get this done and getting
all intrusive into your life?
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It's not
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Christopher: an intrusive thing, but it
is a way to hold your own feet to the fire
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by not just being accountable to yourself.
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Right?
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To know that, hey, I'm going to have this
on my calendar, and I'm going to meet with
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a group of people, that helps me know I
got to kind of get my stuff done before
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we meet together, and by doing that, it
helps you progress in your writing, and
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we've had many writers who've worked with
us who've said, man, um, If it weren't
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for this, they've said, this is the anchor
of my week, this writing time together.
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And so that's really
encouraging always to hear.
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Gena: Absolutely.
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Okay.
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So now let's jump in.
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All right.
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Christopher: So we're
going to jump into it.
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So for moving the needle, the first
thing we'd like to do is to write
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down what our overall goal is.
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So for me, I'm going
to say my overall goal.
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I'm writing a book about writing.
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It's kind of meta, right?
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So I'm writing a book about writing.
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And so that's my goal is I want
to write my book about writing,
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but that is way too broad.
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So after figuring out what it is
that I want to move the needle
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on, My book about writing.
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This is where we're going to start
putting it through this filter, S
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M A R T, to make it a SMART goal.
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Gena: Yes.
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And the whole idea of the
SMART goal started in the, in,
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I think, the business world.
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And we have taken that and really,
um, honed it or, or kind of
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shifted a little bit for writers.
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So that's what we're, we're,
we, we, we perfected it.
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Um, yeah, that's what this is.
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So if you've heard about SMART goals,
you probably have heard it in terms of,
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uh, the vision or direction of a company,
but you know what we've said, writing
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is a business and whether you do it, uh,
Um, just casually kind of on the side or
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whether it is your main source of income,
it's still a business that you're working.
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So
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that's right.
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Gena: That's what we're working on.
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So move the needle.
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We've got first our overarching big
six week goal that we want to do.
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Christopher: We've got that goal.
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Now what we want to do is
put it through these filters.
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So the first thing we need
to ask is, is it specific?
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So, For me, I like to, if I'm writing
a book for instance, I'm not just gonna
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say I want my goal to be, um, writing
a book, I want to say I want to write
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a ten chapter book of about, um, Uh,
let's say 50, 000, um, 50, 000 words,
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okay, that is a lot more specific and
I want to have it done by July 1st of
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Gena: 2025.
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So basically you're adding
the math into it, right?
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You're adding the numbers.
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I like
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Christopher: adding numbers into it.
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You're adding numbers.
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That, as you'll see as we go to
these next few steps, knowing the
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numbers is really, really important.
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Gena: It's not just, I'm writing a book,
but it's, I'm writing this kind of book.
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It's going to be this long
and, or this many chapters.
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And, or, I'm going to write, and we
can talk about this as we get more
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into this, how, Maybe how many minutes
we're going to spend writing it each
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week, how many pages or words it's
going to be, all of those things.
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Christopher: So that's the
next one is measurable.
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If we want to talk about
how is it measurable?
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How can I know that what I've
done, I have accomplished.
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That's what we're going
to do in this session.
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So if we know that we want to write,
for instance, I want to write a
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nonfiction book over the next six
weeks, What do I have to do to make
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myself to let myself know that I've
actually accomplished that thing?
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So for instance, I can't write the
whole book in the next six weeks.
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So what I can do though, is
write a thousand words a week.
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Okay.
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So that's my measure.
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I'm writing a thousand words a
week, or maybe I'm going to say,
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I'm going to write for 45 minutes.
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per week.
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Okay.
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Something like that.
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You want it to be measurable because then
at the end of the week, you can look back
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and say, did I write a thousand words?
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Did I write for 45 minutes?
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Did I do that thing that
I wanted to measure?
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And am I now behind or am I now ahead?
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Right?
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That's why we want it to be measurable.
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So in this case, I'm going to say, well,
I'm going to write a thousand a week.
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Now, this is also important because
If I know my book has to be 50, 000
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words and I'm only allowing myself
to write a thousand words a week
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as my goal, how long is it going
to take me to finish that book?
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Gena: 50 weeks.
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Christopher: 50 weeks.
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See,
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Gena: it's the math.
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It's
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Christopher: the math.
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Gena: He said math never intersects
with writing and creativity.
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It does.
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Christopher: But this is super
insightful because if I thought
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I was going to write my book.
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One hour a week.
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And now I know that it's
going to take 50 weeks.
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Didn't I say I want to
have it done by July 1st?
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Well, that means I have to do more
than one hour a week, doesn't it?
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So now I've got to write at least two
hours a week to have it done by then.
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So that now informs me and lets me
know, Do I want to add writing time?
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Do I want to change my due date?
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Right?
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Make it measurable so that
you get a clearer picture of
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exactly what you're working on.
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Gena: Yep.
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Christopher: Yeah,
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Gena: absolutely.
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Christopher: All right.
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What's, what's A?
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Oh, I'm messing with our graphic there.
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Sorry about that, y'all.
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Uh, what's our next step, Gena?
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Gena: A.
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Christopher: Achievable.
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I'm like, wait a minute.
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What was the word?
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Gena: It's achievable.
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It has to be achievable.
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Cause I think it's very often
that we set these goals.
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Like Chris said, I'm going
to write a book in six weeks.
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And he, as he's doing, go walk,
working through this, he realizes
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that's not even possible.
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I can't, I, you could, if you had nothing
else on your plate, maybe, but But even
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then, you'd probably just get like a rough
draft done and there would still probably
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be quite a bit of work left to do.
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So it just gives a good frame
of reference and gives you
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clarity of what you can achieve.
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Is your goal achievable?
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When you really look at your life,
what you've got going on, you've
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got, um, children, work, volunteer,
community events, you know, social
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life, those kinds of things.
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What is it?
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That you can realistically achieve, but
you do want your goal to be achievable.
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So it shouldn't be too easy.
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Like if you can finish it this week
and it's not going to take the full
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six weeks, well, then maybe you need
to change your goal to make it a little
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more, um, a little more six week.
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In the six week range, something
that would take six weeks.
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But if it's something that you say, well,
yeah, when I look at my life, there's
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no way I'm gonna be able to do that.
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Then break that goal down.
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Yeah, just make sure
that it is achievable.
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Christopher: Then the next thing
you wanna do for the R is you wanna
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make sure your goal is relevant.
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Now, this is actually
an really interesting.
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part here.
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Uh, this, I actually prefer to do this
first because otherwise you just wasted
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a lot of time because the relevant is
asking yourself, does this goal that
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I am setting really align with what
I am trying to accomplish this year?
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And with who I am as an individual,
is this what I want to do?
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And that doesn't mean that
the goal is right or wrong.
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It's just, is this fitting with.
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What I'm wanting to do
at this particular time.
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For instance, I would ask myself
if I'm wanting to write this
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non fiction book on writing.
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Is that really what I'm feeling
burn inside me right now?
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Or is it that I'm wanting
to write a fiction book?
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Because if that's what it is,
then this project really isn't
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relevant for this time period.
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And so this is just a good measure.
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It's a good filter to work things
through and say, Is this, is this
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relevant for my life right now?
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That's why I like doing this
first actually, but then the
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acronym would be all messed up.
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S M A R T, the R would come first
and it'd be RSMAT or something.
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RSMAT,
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Gena: because it's not as positive either.
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It But that is really true.
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I think that's a great, you've been
using this word quite a bit here lately.
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This idea of alignment is what
you are working on, aligning
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with your overall goal.
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And is it aligning with what you want
or need to accomplish this coming year?
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And I think that's a great way
of just asking is, is it aligning
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with the direction that you feel
Called or feel drawn to walk in.
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Yes.
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Gena: So, and do so.
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And there might be some projects.
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There's a lot of great ideas.
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I know you are probably a creative person.
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You can come up with 50 great ideas.
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But what is that?
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What sometimes we call the God idea?
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What is that?
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That idea that truly has that, uh,
touch of divine inspiration to it.
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Something that you really
feel like you should be doing.
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Christopher: Yeah, that's good.
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And then the T on this is time bound.
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Now, here's where the magic comes in.
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We've actually made this time
bound through this little
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workbook we've got here.
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I keep, for those of you watching
online, I keep messing with the
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graphic and I apologize for that.
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Okay, so what we want to do here though
is we want to create smart actions.
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I'm going to jump ahead.
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We want to create smart actions that
actually make this something that we
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can do in the next six week period.
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So what I like to do is I like to
set first of all the six weeks, I
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like to put the due dates on here.
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So if this is January 1st today, which
it is, what do I want to accomplish
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in week one, which ends January 8th?
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And then what do I want to
accomplish in week two, which
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ends January 15th and so on.
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If you do that with us today, you
will find that this ends on February
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14th, which is Valentine's Day.
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00:15:33,020 --> 00:15:36,930
So it's really good to say, okay, my six
goals between Valentine's Day that week.
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So what do I want to accomplish each week?
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Well, it may be as simple
as saying, I know I want to
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write a thousand words a week.
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And so my week one smart action
is write a thousand words.
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My week two is write a thousand words.
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00:15:51,244 --> 00:15:53,145
My week three is write a thousand words.
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I would encourage you to also maybe put
the date and time for each one of those.
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When you're going to write those
thousand words in there, try
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to be as specific as you can.
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00:16:00,975 --> 00:16:03,585
But here's what I found when
I started filling this out
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for myself, for my project.
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Yes, I want to write a nonfiction book
and start that over the next six weeks,
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but I realized when I was starting to
write out what I was going to do each
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00:16:12,930 --> 00:16:16,520
week, I thought, wait a second, I've
also got to do research for this book.
348
00:16:16,550 --> 00:16:18,660
I can't just write a
thousand words a week.
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I've got to do research for each chapter.
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So realistically, my first six
weeks on week one, I went to
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research chapters one and two.
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On week two, I want to research
chapters three and four.
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I want to find quotes.
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00:16:33,105 --> 00:16:34,245
I want to find stories.
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I want to find things that support
what I'm talking about in the chapter.
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And when I finished doing that, I realized
my first six weeks was mostly research.
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I would not have thought of that.
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Had I not sat down and done this, I
would have just said, I'm just going
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to write a thousand words a week.
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And then what would have
happened about week three?
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00:16:51,749 --> 00:16:54,949
I would have felt like I'm not getting
my goals done because my goal was
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to write a thousand words a week.
363
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And instead I am spending all my
time researching, but that's okay.
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That's part of the process.
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00:17:04,519 --> 00:17:07,378
So that's why we're working through
this so that we can know that what we're
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doing is actually what we're looking for.
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00:17:11,138 --> 00:17:11,510
to do.
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00:17:12,398 --> 00:17:12,939
Gena: Absolutely.
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00:17:13,148 --> 00:17:14,030
That's so good.
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00:17:14,348 --> 00:17:14,810
That's so good.
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00:17:14,810 --> 00:17:18,079
I think there is, there's something
about going through this kind of process
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00:17:18,368 --> 00:17:22,898
that really does help you shine a light
on the areas where you've forgotten
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00:17:23,339 --> 00:17:31,409
and really help you bring some, maybe,
um, maybe some, What would it be?
374
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The things that you, your
expectations more into alignment.
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00:17:36,100 --> 00:17:37,290
I'll use that word again.
376
00:17:37,639 --> 00:17:42,030
Um, I know for myself, I have
trouble sometimes with time.
377
00:17:42,439 --> 00:17:43,489
You know, this about me,
378
00:17:47,419 --> 00:17:52,119
where I will say, Oh,
I can do that in a day.
379
00:17:52,399 --> 00:17:56,669
And Chris is over on the side going,
that that's, That's going to take
380
00:17:56,669 --> 00:18:00,870
you a week, that's going to take you
way more than what you're expecting.
381
00:18:01,029 --> 00:18:01,259
Because
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00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:03,389
Christopher: most of us do this,
we're very optimistic when it
383
00:18:03,389 --> 00:18:04,729
comes to the things we can do.
384
00:18:04,779 --> 00:18:07,060
The things we commit, we always
over commit ourselves, right?
385
00:18:07,070 --> 00:18:07,919
Gena: Right.
386
00:18:07,929 --> 00:18:13,185
So, uh, this, going through this
process of really breaking it down, It
387
00:18:13,185 --> 00:18:15,835
just really helps to say, okay, yeah.
388
00:18:16,135 --> 00:18:19,995
And it also helps so that you're
no longer looking at this big goal,
389
00:18:19,995 --> 00:18:23,925
but you're looking at, okay, this
week, all I have to do is this.
390
00:18:24,384 --> 00:18:25,865
I don't have to write the book.
391
00:18:25,905 --> 00:18:29,034
I just have to research
chapters one and two.
392
00:18:29,225 --> 00:18:30,314
I don't have to write the book.
393
00:18:30,324 --> 00:18:31,784
I just have to.
394
00:18:32,270 --> 00:18:34,409
Um, write a thousand words.
395
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,843
I don't have to write the 50, 000
word book, just a thousand words.
396
00:18:37,843 --> 00:18:38,196
Yeah.
397
00:18:38,196 --> 00:18:40,399
Christopher: So, and this will
work not just for writing, but
398
00:18:40,409 --> 00:18:44,639
you could put in your health
goals through a filter like this.
399
00:18:44,919 --> 00:18:47,800
Any other goals, financial goals, put
them in a filter like this and you'll
400
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:49,580
have realistic goals that you can set.
401
00:18:49,870 --> 00:18:53,270
And then what we do is when the six
weeks is up, we do it all again.
402
00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,705
And we only, we're starting
now with having finished our
403
00:18:56,705 --> 00:18:58,165
first six week SMART goal.
404
00:18:58,165 --> 00:18:59,395
And now we're working to week two.
405
00:18:59,395 --> 00:19:02,135
And by the end of the year, hopefully
we'll have finished that book or
406
00:19:02,445 --> 00:19:04,545
by July or whatever our goal was.
407
00:19:04,555 --> 00:19:04,785
Yeah.
408
00:19:04,965 --> 00:19:09,254
Gena: And then the last thing that I would
add is just making sure you write it down
409
00:19:09,395 --> 00:19:11,604
so that you are looking at it each week.
410
00:19:12,125 --> 00:19:15,825
You've got these, these due dates
that you've written down for yourself.
411
00:19:15,825 --> 00:19:19,405
So by this day, I have to have this, but
if you then take this and put it in a
412
00:19:19,405 --> 00:19:21,185
drawer, it'll be real easy to forget it.
413
00:19:21,545 --> 00:19:26,300
So I know for me, He'll look at his
week at the end of the week on Fridays.
414
00:19:26,300 --> 00:19:29,370
A lot of times he'll come
back and he'll say, okay, what
415
00:19:29,370 --> 00:19:30,740
did I accomplish this week?
416
00:19:31,060 --> 00:19:32,249
I do it on the other side.
417
00:19:32,249 --> 00:19:36,760
I do it on Sunday afternoons is when
I sit down and plan out my week.
418
00:19:36,930 --> 00:19:41,379
And I actually look at what appointments
do I have and what commitments do I
419
00:19:41,379 --> 00:19:43,629
have and what deadlines do I have?
420
00:19:43,649 --> 00:19:45,649
And where do I need to be at what time?
421
00:19:45,910 --> 00:19:51,429
And then I see what space I have for,
Maybe these projects that I'm wanting to
422
00:19:51,429 --> 00:19:56,350
do so I can go ahead and pin them in at
the beginning of the week so that I know.
423
00:19:56,789 --> 00:20:00,479
First of all, at least I have
the one hour of writing momentum.
424
00:20:00,479 --> 00:20:00,539
Yeah.
425
00:20:00,539 --> 00:20:04,769
That we get together on Wednesdays, but
also in addition to that, I might have
426
00:20:04,769 --> 00:20:09,959
a couple of hours on Thursday, or I
might have an hour on Monday afternoon
427
00:20:09,959 --> 00:20:15,179
that I can do it, and so I start
working those in each week and really
428
00:20:15,179 --> 00:20:17,100
setting them down and writing them in.
429
00:20:17,249 --> 00:20:17,580
Christopher: That's right.
430
00:20:17,580 --> 00:20:19,830
Hey, we hope you accomplish
all your goals this year.
431
00:20:19,830 --> 00:20:19,889
Yeah.
432
00:20:19,889 --> 00:20:22,259
Please go to writing momentum.com.
433
00:20:22,259 --> 00:20:23,279
Get this free.
434
00:20:23,709 --> 00:20:24,969
Ebook called move the needle.
435
00:20:24,969 --> 00:20:25,580
You'll see the link.
436
00:20:25,580 --> 00:20:26,909
It's somewhere at the bottom of the page.
437
00:20:26,909 --> 00:20:30,929
It's absolutely free and then Do
check out the while you're there check
438
00:20:30,929 --> 00:20:33,270
out our membership because we'd love
to have you join us each week It's
439
00:20:33,270 --> 00:20:38,320
only 25 to join us for a month And
we have all we meet together four
440
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:43,310
times during that month and doing co
writing we have Round table sessions.
441
00:20:43,310 --> 00:20:44,280
We have critique sessions.
442
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:49,949
We got Hundreds, literally hundreds of
training videos on writing that you can
443
00:20:49,949 --> 00:20:51,739
enjoy all as part of the membership.
444
00:20:51,969 --> 00:20:53,279
So come on in, join us.
445
00:20:53,279 --> 00:20:56,269
We'd love to see you there
and get your ebook today.
446
00:20:56,269 --> 00:20:56,469
Yeah.
447
00:20:56,519 --> 00:20:57,870
Gena: Yeah, absolutely.
448
00:20:58,209 --> 00:21:00,709
We hope you have an amazing.
449
00:21:01,270 --> 00:21:04,410
Start to 2025.
450
00:21:04,410 --> 00:21:07,520
An amazing 2025 in whole.
451
00:21:07,530 --> 00:21:10,590
I know a lot of us are 2024.
452
00:21:10,629 --> 00:21:13,780
It has is done and we're
looking for a new start.
453
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,129
And I, if that's you,
we're right there with you.
454
00:21:16,459 --> 00:21:21,965
And It's, we hope that you will join
us, however you can, um, join us for
455
00:21:21,965 --> 00:21:26,155
writing momentum, join us through
our social media, join us on YouTube.
456
00:21:26,675 --> 00:21:30,395
Um, just join us because
we are rooting for you.
457
00:21:30,465 --> 00:21:30,825
That's right.
458
00:21:31,095 --> 00:21:31,274
And we're
459
00:21:31,274 --> 00:21:32,694
Christopher: not in this thing alone.
460
00:21:32,715 --> 00:21:33,205
That's right.
461
00:21:33,225 --> 00:21:34,105
Together,
462
00:21:34,115 --> 00:21:35,784
Gena: we have writing momentum.
463
00:21:35,794 --> 00:21:35,925
Bye
464
00:21:36,225 --> 00:21:36,245
Christopher: bye.