Last year I dubbed #2020theyearofcreating. And creating I did do. Just check out the original mission post from last year. :)
I created new income streams (my favorite), new habits, new ideas, new friends, new spaces, new cocktails (also my favorite) and ultimately I made way for a new direction career wise. I tried to lean into new opportunities as much as I could. And while yes, Covid may have thrown a slight wrench in things, even the pandemic couldn't stand in my way. In fact, it freed up a lot of time for me to be more reflective and to focus on where I want to go next. I was ready for a change in mindset and it takes time to do that work. Last year has left me more optimistic about my future than ever before. It has also left me more clear on what my passion is: real estate, interior design and financial planning.
Does this smile say, "Let's go shopping for a house, friend?"
Cause that is the vibe I'm going for, lol.
The day after my birthday, I took the day off work to have a little "Eat, Pray, Love Day" for myself (also known as a #treatyoselfday according to Parks and Rec, thank you Tom and Donna). I went to the park, soaked in the gorgeous fall weather and had my favorite little pug hiking companion, Toby, with me. My goal was to explicitly make time to reflect on what this year has taught me and where I want to go next. While it has been pretty clear to me for awhile that I need to make a career change, for some reason that was the day I just decided to do it. I decided once and for all that I'm finally going to pursue real estate even more avidly than I have before. I love real estate investing of course, but I decided I was going to get my real estate sales person license and give that a go.
Toby with me in the park on my "Eat, Pray, Love Day"
What took me so long you ask? Fear. I can't lie. There's still a lot of fear. I battle the scarcity mindset on the reg. I mean what if I give up my full-time career that is steady and reliable, only to fail at this new thing and have no income? My heart is racing just thinking about it!
Another (ridiculous) fear that pops up is, what if I'm not good at it? Sales is about being "likable." What if people don't "like" me and because of that reason I can't find clients? I can be quirky. I can also be very direct and honest. Sometimes these aren't the most 'attractive' traits for women in our society today unfortunately, lol.
All of these fears sound irrational even as I'm typing them out this very second, but I can assure you that irrational or not, they are real. I have to work daily overcome them. And maybe every woman has to fight to overcome "impostor's syndrome." Maybe every young person has to fight "impostor's syndrome." Maybe that is just an essential badge required if you are going to be successful in starting your own business. But despite these fears, I decided to follow my girl, Brene Brown, and her advice of "feel the fear and do it anyway."
So, as a woman of action, I ran home that day and immediately signed up for the class online. I paced out the coursework so I would finish it in 30 days. After signing up and paying, I did my first lesson then and there so there was absolutely no turning back. (This was my accountability trick because anyone who knows me knows that if I pay for something, I will do it. #frugal).
So in this new year I have established new goals to expand even further. I share them not to be awkward, and not to boast, but more for my own sake when holding myself accountable. Any kind words or cheers along this journey are always appreciated because I can assure you, I have the critic part covered (myself).
So here they are. In 2021 I will:
Become a real estate agent and sell at least 3 homes, acquire two more properties for my own portfolio and build my network up in Ulster County.
More specifically I will:
Get my real estate sales person license and get a broker to sponsor me.
Sell 3 properties
Reach my net worth goal for this year
Find, buy and fix up a property for me to stay at while I'm upstate working
Buy one more long term rental property in Kingston
Read 50 Books
Blog weekly (yep, I know I'm behind on this one already... I'll catch up!)
Part of what is going to keep me on track is this awesome planner that I designed for myself by @GoldenCoil. They haven't sponsored me (although if they want to send me a free one next year, I'm totally open to it!), this is just a tool that I bought that has been really amazing. And anyone who knows me knows I love a good planner. Guilty as charged.
Each month it makes me do the following:
Set a budget (and update it with my spending to ensure I stay within my budget)
Write out and track my monthly goals, including tracking 6 specific daily tasks that have the highest impact on ensuring I reach my goals.
Plan out my monthly calendar, and track each day what I am grateful for
Plan my social media calendar (I gotta get way better at this. Full disclosure...)
And time block my daily activities in a given week to allow for uninterrupted focused work
Putting my @goldencoil planner to use already
I have always been a big goal setter, and I believe in putting them in writing, sharing them, and checking my progress daily. Some people say that is too much, but for me it help to give me hope because each day I move closer to my goals and I can literally see my life (and numbers) changing. So do whatever works best for you, but I definitely believe in the power of writing goals down and putting them out to the universe.
So there you have it. This is me and this is where I am heading this year. I'd love to connect with you and hear your resolutions too! Feel free to comment below!
I'm always looking for more accountability buddies and love when people reach out to me on Insta @mackofalltradesny! Or, even better sign up for my email list!
This year is going to be an amazing one!
Forever grateful,
Mack