Staying Focused - 4 Steps To Help You Stay Focused On Your Goals

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One of the first big steps you take when starting your journey towards making your dreams come true is
writing down your goals. Visualizing really helps. Making a list, post it notes on your mirror, vision boards. All of those things help keep your goals right in front of your face. However, goals without action are simply wishes.

Do you find yourself making the same goals every year? Month? Week? That means you are making great goals but not so great at accomplishing them. What's stopping you?

1. Do you have a plan?
Setting smart goals are very important. Next, establish how you are going to get them done. Losing weight is a great goal. Setting a realistic goal of losing 10-20 pounds in one year certainly doable. What's the plan though? Weekly meal prep? How many days per week is physical activity planned? What activities are you participating in on those days? Zumba on Monday? Weight training on Wednesday? Yoga on Friday? What's the plan? A plan for daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly activities helps monitor the progress toward meeting the goal. Use the alarm on your cell phone calendar. Write things down on your calendar. Whatever it takes to stick to the plan.

2. Create a sustainable schedule
Be it starting a fitness routine or working on your novel, commit to a schedule that is not overwhelming. Committing to 10 minutes of physical activity three mornings per week is more palatable than 2 hours in the gym five days per week when you're just getting started. Writing one chapter per day might be a bit much compared to committing to writing one chapter per week. Most stall and do nothing when they feel overwhelmed. Doing nothing will definitely not help you get closer to your goals.

3. Make your to-do list ahead of time
At the end of your day, assess what is complete. Make the list for the next day based on urgency and approaching deadlines. It helps to know exactly what your day is going to look like instead figuring it out as the day goes along. Helping organize the day's activities to make sure it runs smoothly and is productive.

4. Minimize distractions
In the age of technology, there are more distractions than ever before. Alerts, buzzing, text messages, phone calls, you name it. The only way to get anything done is to stay focused. Turning off all notifications while working on a project will prevent "popcorn brain". Popcorn brain is when your brain is so accustomed to constant electronic stimulation of multitasking that it is unfit for focusing on one thing at a time. Turn your cell phone off. Silence all ringers. Mute all notifications. Schedule your focus time for when family is sleeping or when everyone has left the office. Constant distractions make for minimal productivity because we have to constantly refocused. Keep distractions to a minimum and maximize productivity.

After visualizing your goal, construct plan to make it happen. Set a weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedule of activities that isn't overwhelming. Create a to-do list at the end of each day. Minimize distractions while working on tasks.

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What Are You Worried About?

We all love a good Louis Vuitton but a missing head light
is a safety hazard. Should we be worried about that instead?

The African-American community is always being criticized for something. Usually it's for worrying about the wrong things. You know standing in line for Black Friday but not showing up for Parent-Teacher conference night. Up early to get the latest release of Jordan's but not showing up to vote. Mother's criticized for making sure their weave is tight but there's no food in the refrigerator for their kids to eat breakfast before they go to school. There is nothing wrong with want to look nice and to have nice things but when there's no balance and that's your only concern, we need to assess why we are worried about the wrong things.

I'm not sure if there is a simple solution. As I struggle in helping my younger sisters grow into adulthood, I find myself saying the same things to them over and over. "You are not supposed to have what I have right now. I have paid my dues and have worked hard. You are still working. It will happen, just not now." Social media and reality TV have a lot to do with it. We live in a microwave society. Everyone wants instant gratification for minimal efforts. While healthy competition is nice, there is a problem when you go to great lengths just to "out do" someone. I'm "fancy" because that's just me, I don't live my life trying do something bigger than the next person.

Youngsters want the "Fancy Life" but don't want to go through the years of training and hard work to get it. Worrying about what their lifestyle looks like instead of creating a stable foundation to sustain it. Fast money. Fast cars. Lavish lifestyle. Then it all comes crashing down and we're left in a constant state of struggle. It all starts with exposure. Our kids are being exposed to a lifestyle without being exposed to the hard work, sacrifice, discipline and tenacity it takes to get to live that lifestyle. A phrase I like to use is "shooting in the gym". Ask any successful athlete how much time they spend training during the season and off season and they'll tell you "all day". Like, literally 8-10 hours TRAINING!!! The same goes for any career. You gotta put in that WORK to get ahead at whatever you do.

Sean "P. Diddy" or "Puff Daddy" Combs worked for FREE as an intern before he got his shot. That is work without pay. Modern day slavery. LOL! I kid. But he was getting paid in knowledge. Some people are so concerned with being seen in a certain light that they forget that money comes and goes, just like things, but knowledge is the gift that keeps on giving. Did you know that Kim Kardashian was an assistant to many
celebrities before she became one herself? Let that sink in. Kim Kardashian, the lady with the multi-million dollar empire, was an assistant, running errands and picking out clothes BEFORE she became a household name. It does not happen overnight. But if you push through the times that seem like struggle, you will make it and know what it takes to keep it.

Are you worrying about the wrong things? How you're going to pay your credit card bills that are maxed out from purchasing things? Are you focused on being great at all costs? When you are great, no matter what your specialty is, money will come and you will always be able to buy the things you really want to buy. The Fancy Life is the fruit of our labor, we ain't doing this for the "Gram".

Until next time, continue focusing on being great in your Fancy life.

Are you on the verge of breakthrough? Let us help you map out your plan and "do the work" to help you make your life even more "Fancy" than it already is. Text WOODS to 55469.

Never Let Them See You Sweat

What were thinking when we decided to become adults? No. Seriously. What were we thinking? Being a responsible adult is stressful. Between dealing with family, work, and relationships, you hardly have any time to yourself to wrap your head around everything that you are doing. Then it happens, some catastrophe comes along out of nowhere and you feel a nervous breakdown coming on. What do you do? Welp. It depends. I've seen stressful situations handled in many different ways. The shut down and can't move forward. Others just breakdown and cry. I've watched someone just act like nothing ever happen. I have dealt with these types of situations in several different ways. Well, two different ways.

1. I shut my office door or go in my closet or go to my car and have a good cry. Only for a little bit. I give myself 30 minutes.
   
   After that's done, I get myself together, touch up my face, and handle my business.
2. I handle my business without a glitch. When it is all done, if I'm still overwhelmed, I shut my office door or go in my closet or go to my car and have a good cry.

Notice how my business always get's handled. Emotions should never effect you getting your coin. Why? Because if you missed your money in the name of a feeling, that missed opportunity cannot be retrieved. You will never have a bad feeling when you're getting paid. Trust me.

Have you ever seen a duck or swan swimming? They look like they're just gliding along. However, under water, those feet are paddling as if their life depends on it. When you are facing adversity, everyone does not need to see you panic. If you are living the "Fancy Life", you know people are watching and taking notes. Your "Get it done" mindset can flow through you and drip on your colleagues, creating a winning team attitude. This is what living a Fancy Life is all about. Being a pilar of light in the darkness. You solve the problem with your head held high and when no ones looking, cry like a baby now that it's OVER. Notice, cry once it's over but it's ok to breakdown. Never let your emotions stall your productivity.

Until next time, never let anyone see you sweat. You're living a Fancy Life and you don't sweat....in public.

If you are would like to join our winning team. Click here. All are welcome. Open mind and heart are the only requirements.

I Want It All

For us, 2010 was a trying but fruitful year. While my husband and I had our ups and downs, as in any relationship, we were blessed with a beautiful, new home. We call it our dream home. However, buying a house was not in our 5 year plan. So the result of us buying our new home without preparation and planning was that we were broke. We've struggled financially before, but this was a new kind of broke we had never experienced before. It was a humbling experience for which we are thankful. But there are side effects when you go through this type of experience. Now that we are beginning to recover, financially, it's so hard to focus on paying those bills that accumulated in your financial disparity when you just want to buy EVERYTHING!!!!!
Things I want:
Boots, handbags, coats, shoes, jeans, jewelry, watches, artwork, chaise lounges, a new computer, an iPad, the iPhone 5, new cordless phones, lavish vacations, my custom closet, a fly 4WD truck, new comforter sets.....I could go on forever. I think I made my point.
Things WE need:
A pool cover, space heaters, roof repairs, new doors in the solarium, a few new windows, phone lines, a lawnmower, new wiring on the garage door opener, downspouts, water bill, car insurance, etc. Blah, blah blah! All boring, non-fun stuff.
The term "feast or famine" fits well in our situation. We've been in famine for longer than we've ever experienced before, we are anxious for a feast. We are being patient and appreciate our blessings......but I WANT IT NOW!!!
Ok. Rant over. LOL!