My Goals for This Year: Growing Innerpreneurship in 2009

Creative Commons License photo credit: Joe Dielis

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. I could never understand why the change in the date was a catalyst to make changes in my life. I always followed the plan that I would institute changes as soon as I was aware that they needed or wanted to be made.

But as another year ends and I enter my 28th year of life, I am understanding more the value of reflection and goal setting, both personally and professionally.

Reflection helps me to appreciate the journey and how it has lead me to where I am today, while goal setting helps me to outline my desires for the future and strategize how to achieve them.

I’ve realized that the advent of a new year is a great time to begin creating holistic solutions to the issues uncovered during the previous year.

Where I Want to Be in 2009

Meditating Regularly
2008 was filled with multiple attempts to begin meditating regularly. Unfortunately, I found it nearly impossible to establish a routine that I could stick with. My goal for 2008 was to meditate daily but for 2009, I will be happy simply to have it be a growing activity in my life.

Any tips you may have on how you motivated yourself to meditate are very much appreciated.
Generating a Sustainable Income from My Business, Elastic Mind
My business earnings in 2008 (from May onwards, when I started Elastic Mind) were minimal as I was focusing the bulk of my time on planting my business seeds. In 2009 I aim to generate enough income to 1. sustain the costs of running the business and 2. contribute to our living expenses.

Any tips you may have on how you cultivate clients are very much appreciated.
Completing my Business Website
I am very proud of the site I am creating but now that the hard part is over (it has been designed and written), I am working on developing the site. This means coding, populating, editing and search engine optimizing the over 100+ pages I have conceptualized and written. It is a slow process and I daily feel the grind of the “creative hump”. Some days I worry that the site will “never” be finished.

Any tips you may have on how you stay focused and motivated on your creative projects are very much appreciated.
Enjoying More Hobbies
I have plans to continue my tap dancing classes, to start take a drawing class and to read the 10 books sitting by my bed. Daniel and I are traveling to Nicaragua in February. I also plan to attend regular yoga/pilates classes and continue to walk as much as I have in 2008.

Any tips you may have on how you make time for your hobbies are very much appreciated.
Developing More Daily Structure
It is an adjustment to move from a “9-to-5″ life to that of an independent. I am still working on developing a structure to my day that ensures I yield maximum productivity while maintaining balance, calm and focus. I want to do away with the days where I never see daylight as I am too focused to take a break.

Any tips you may have on how you create structure in your day are very much appreciated.
Taming My Inner Critic and Growing My Inner Kudos
Although I have achieved all the goals I set for myself 2008, it is not enough. I am never satisfied with my achievements. In fact, I am almost embarrassed and ashamed by them. I am hesitant to share with them with even those that are closest to me. I don’t know why and in 2009 I am going to work on ending the secrecy and cultivating a more self-promoting attitude.

Any tips you may have on how you became less secretive about your work are very much appreciated.
Improving and Growing Rise of the Innerpreneur
I have many ideas for how I can continue to improve and better serve innerpreneurs through my blog, Rise of the Innerpreneur. In the coming weeks I will be asking you how this blog can be of more value to you. I want it to be the best it can be and to be constantly evolving with our changing needs.

If you have any tips on how I can improve the blog I would love to hear them.
Otherwise, in the coming weeks I will be asking your opinion on ideas I have had. I would appreciate it greatly if you provided feedback on them. I truly want this blog to be the most valuable tool it can be.

Now that I know where I want to be in 2009, I can begin the process of determining how I will get there.

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Liviu

Hi Tara, may God bless you in many ways, this year and always...

As for the solutions you seek, I'm sure you'll find them. The very fact that you are looking for 'holistic solutions' will help you get the right balance. Having read the previous comments, I'd like to add that you are not alone in feeling unsupported or perhaps not understood by some of those you love. That's probably true for many who decide to follow their path and live from the level of the soul, living a trail behind, rather than conform to commonly accepted (and sometimes imposed) thinking and way of life. There is safety in the crowd, but rarely magic and fulfilment; real joy comes from within. I'd suggest to love everybody irrespective of the understanding and support one offers, and to give yourself that freedom and energy that will help bring to light that which your soul wants to express. Connecting with like-minded people is going to be helpful, and I already see your business moving in this direction.

As a creative person, just be aware that you may not be able to, and perhaps you should not try to follow consistently a strict daily routine/structure. Seeking a healthy balance and having an overall control of your direction and time may be a better and more achievable goal. This will also allow you to live and enjoy the present moment, follow your heart, and make adjustments 'on the go' when needed.

To find that healthy balance between creativity and structure, I think that you should indeed meditate daily. What worked best for me was to start the day with yoga and meditation, even if only for 30-40 minutes. You get centered, the mind gets calm and focused, and you have a more productive day. Soon you'll notice that you will want to grow to 45 min, than perhaps 1 hour, and you will still achieve more than you used to. This is not wasted time, but time well invested for you, your life, and consequently for your business.

Thanks for the wonderful idea of bringing the term 'innerpreneur' to the worldwide public; and Well Done!

Best wishes,
Liviu Caliman
Tara Joyce

Liviu,

Thank you for such a thoughtful and helpful response. It makes me so
happy to know that there are others out there who support me on my
path and I will continue to do my best to support you and other
innerpreneurs on theirs.

Everything you wrote was so sincere and full of love. I can see that
you are speaking from a place of great wisdom and you words have
really resonated with me. I try my best to give more than I receive
but I must admit that there is still a place of hurt in my heart when
I feel unsupported by those that love me. Perhaps it is because I have
never been more happy and fulfilled in my life, and while I may not be
following a traditional path, it pains me to understand that those I
love are blind to my happiness and instead only see that I am not
doing what they think I should. Regardless, I try and love them,
supported or not, with all my might for I understand that my actions
are not dictated by others and never should be.

I also enjoyed your thoughts on structure in the day as I agree that a
strict routine will not be my friend. After all, one of the many
reasons I decided to pursue the innerpreneurial path was because I
felt stifled by the rules of "9 to 5" living. I already feel much more
balanced in my day -- I am stretching each morning, eating all my
meals (this was a problem at first), taking walks and ensuring that I
don't drive myself batty with the many demands I place on myself in a
day. I've come to understand that everything will be done in due time
and that I need to take things day by day. In essence, I've relieved
the great pressure I was putting on myself to achieve.

The next step is really delving into meditation. Thank you for
pointing out that it will help me maximize my day more as I think I
often excuse myself from it by determining that I need to get moving
in the morning and start my "work". Tomorrow is a new day and one that
I intend to start with meditation. No more excuses.

Thank you so much for all the wisdom you have shared with me, Liviu. I
look forward to learning more from you.

Tara
Claudia

Last week on Oprah a guest suggested a TIP for starting a meditation routine. Start by meditating for one minute each day in January, 2 minutes for each day in February, 3 minutes... well, you get it.

I LOVE how this suggestion give us permission to start and grow a new practise slowly and surely.

It almost seems doable
Tara Joyce

Claudia,

That really does sound doable. And I have to admit, so far this year I
have not begun meditating as I had hoped. I really like this idea,
thank you for sharing it.

It reminds me of an Oprah episode I once watched where she suggested
that every person save $1 each day. That they set up an automatic
withdrawal of $1 each day into a saving account. The amount is so
small that you don't notice it gone and before you realize, you will
have saved a decent amount of money over the years. I liked the idea
though, again, I have yet to implement it;)

Thanks for sharing, Claudia. It was very helpful.

Tara
Amy Master

Hi Tara,
I just found your blog and think it's wonderful you are spreading the cultural creatives and innerpreneur memes so well. Kudos to you!
A couple suggestions for your goals above
To meditate regularly: do it as soon as you wake up. I do it sitting in bed with my covers around me. I have a little Buddha on the window directly in front of my bed so it is the first thing i see when i wake up. Don't get out of bed until you have meditated. That way, it doesn't matter when you wake or whether you have a routine. You wake up everyday, no matter what, so just do it then. That has worked wonders for me over the years.

To develop routine: start with one thing at a time. Start with something, like when you wake up. Set an alarm for that time. Aim to actually get out of bed then. If it is super early compared to your current wake up time, then work back slowly.. Then your meals and bedtime will naturally follow. I have a 14 month baby and I do this with her and it works great! Also, set alarms for your meals. i know it sounds strange, but it is so easy to forget about them, so remind yourself with a pretty song or something.

and for your inner critic, blast it with affirmations. post them in your office, on your desk, on the mirror in your bathroom. Surround yourself with self-affirming statements that focus on what strengths you have and wish to exemplify. It might sound cheesy but after a while you just feel what you see all around you. It's reprogramming.

I bless you with a beautiful year. I have declared 2009 the year of Prosperity and I know that you will achieve it!

Blessings
Amy
Tara Joyce

Amy,

Thank you for the kind words and for such helpful suggestions.

The idea of meditating in bed really resonates with me. My issue with
working it into my schedule is that once I get up, I am quickly
distracted away from meditation by the tasks of the day. It could be
as simple as going to the bathroom but even that causes my mind to
begin thinking about the day and what I would like to achieve. I need
to learn not to get so swept up in the day but I think a great first
step to doing that is calming and focusing myself before I rise. Thank
you for the suggestion.

As well, I am going to begin setting a time for when I would like to
arise and setting a time that I must eat by (i.e., 2pm every day). I
am not one for alarms (I prefer to use my internal clock) but I am
going to begin setting it and see how it changes my day. The
affirmations are also very important and while I have never really
used them before, I think now is a perfect time. Some times I really
do need a sign or message to remind me of all that is wonderful about
myself.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your wisdom, Amy. I wish
you a magnificent 2009 full of prosperity and joy.

Tara
johnny92104

I love your site and I wish you the best in developing yourself and your site.

After reading your goals for the New Year I felt like commenting on a few.
#1 Meditating regularly, that’s hard for a busy professional without a daily structure. I’m a small business owner; I live with out a daily structure, sometimes with out regular meals. Finding time to meditate can often be elusive, however here are some tips. If you can wake up early in the morning before everyone is getting going, set down 5 or 20 mins to meditate. The early morning is powerfully quiet, right before everyone gets moving, it can energize you for the rest of the day. Also periodically there are times during the day that you have “5 mins” of downtime, maybe you are on hold (phone), waiting for people, or just a little early for a meeting. I find that I have many different blocks of “5 mins” through out the day. Take that time to clear your mind and focus on your breathing (mini meditation).
#6 I think you know why you are embarrassed and ashamed of your achievements. I’m almost certain you do. Understanding that is paramount. Also this article is all about self-promotion from number 1 to 7, and it’s far from being secret, so you are on the right path.
Tara Joyce

Johnny,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and tips with me.

After reading your suggestion for #1 re: meditating I realize that there is nothing that is going to cause me to do it other than self-motivation and discipline. I need to cut out the excuses for why I am not doing it, I have made them for too long. If I want structure or time to meditate I must create it. I must adapt, whether that be rising earlier, taking more breaks during the day or finding time at night. I must create this for myself. As you have so clearly pointed out, there is time in every person's day, no matter their circumstances, they just must be aware that it is there and take action to use it in a positive, healing way.

As for #6, at times I think I know why but to be honest, I'm not totally sure. I theorize that I hold anxiety about not being supported in my passions. I don't think there is anything I find more hurtful than feeling unsupported by my loved ones. I think this fear causes me to be silent of my achievements as I am preemptively preventing others from judging and disapproving of them. What is so interesting about this aspect of myself is that I have always been fiercely independent and cared little for the approval of others. I understand that it doesn't matter what others think but perhaps when it comes to "others" that I know and care for, this truth falls to the wayside.

What is also funny is that I find it much easier to share my feelings, thoughts and inner kudos with my readers. Perhaps because I don't get immediate feedback, perhaps because it is unlikely I will receive negative judgments in return. Or perhaps it is just easier today because I am consciously trying to work on it and writing about it is my first step in improving myself in this area.

Enough rambling from me now;) Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and advice. You really got me thinking.

Tara
Jamie

What a powerful year you are going to have! I'm looking to reading more of your celebrations and kudos!

And I'll take tips #3 for 100, hehe. I found it makes a huge difference to have support and structure for staying focused on motivated. I do this by having a coach and an accountability group. I find it makes all the difference.

Here's to a brilliant 2009 where innerpreneurship flourishes in you and around you!
Tara Joyce

Jaime,

Thank you, as always, for the support, love, and kindness. You have been invaluable to my continued growth as an innerpreneur, blogger and creative being.

I look forward to our next read in our The Next Chapter book blogging group. I am hoping that 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women will provide me with more help and ideas to create the support and structure that will work for me in my creative projects.

Looking forward to growing with you in 2009,

Tara