Lifestyle, Learning and Laughter: Making 2018 the Year of You
I recently attended a one day workshop called ‘The Year of You’ facilitated by dynamic duo Janine Garner and Kieran Flanagan.
The event appeared at the perfect time for me, having recently made the big decision to build my LaunchPad Media Business around Ethan and Huw and not return to IECL where I had been on maternity leave.
As soon as I arrived, I knew I was in the right room. Janine opened with a quote I love from Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”.
This reminds me of the following quote which helped me make the decision to follow my passion with LaunchPad Media:
Here I reflect on some key takeaways from ‘The Year of You’ which I hope may inspire others for action:
- Own the impact you want to make in your life – Both Janine and Kieran shared that they both act on intentions and don’t leave it to luck – they recommend acting now on that thing you’ve been procrastinating on to take ownership before others take over and make decisions for you.
- Go with the rip and follow your gut feel – Kieran shared her passion for going with human nature and your intuition. If you’re really fighting something there’s probably a reason. The rip ocean analogy brought this to life nicely.
- Come up with a mantra for 2018 – Land on a one word or few word mantra to be your guide for making decisions in 2018 – mine is ‘Lifestyle, Learning and Laughter’ – Lifestyle is inspired by Tim Ferris’s ‘Lifestyle Design’ term explored in the 4 hour work week. Learning is to support my purpose of sharing learning to inspire others to action and laughter is to live in the moment and not take things too seriously!
- Wealth as much as health and self – Janine and Kieran shared how women in particular often don’t talk about finances and challenged us all to come up with some wealth goals for 2018.
- There are only 52 weekends in a year – Breaking down the year in this way shows how precious time is, just 52 weekends a year. Or as Janine and Kieran put it, ‘just 52 Sunday’s or 52 phone calls with your mum, or 52 weekends of having a 9 year old.’ It’s an A4 page and a half of things to do, by having a focus each quarter, then broken down into weeks, you can achieve an awesome amount and accomplish a lot.
- Design your life then build your work around it – We mapped our 2018 in a 52 week double page diary format with the key milestones and trips. It was great to pencil out the weeks for our family trips away including my mum’s 60th in the UK and think I’ll be scheduling my work around the things that really matter most.
For each quarter of 2018 we set goals across four areas: Self, other, wealth and work. Here are four of mine as examples:
- Self – Qualify for the world age group spring triathlon champs up on the Gold Coast in 2018 (had my first qualifying race last week which went well and Canberra is next weekend).
- Other – Support my husband with his Kona 2018 Ironman goal and then have a relaxing time in Maui afterwards and maybe sneak in a Fiji family holiday at the end of 2018.
- Wealth – Meet with a financial planner and start using proper accounting software.
- Work – Aim for two workshops a month in addition to one on one and group work to further the ripple effect of building an authentic digital brand.
Our table observed that it was interesting to see which goal sections were the easiest to fill in and which ones we left until last. For me the wealth one were left until the end. Financial planning has never excited me which is why my first quarter goal is to meet with a financial planner for my business and create a 2018 plan.
For those interested, a couple of other activities included:
- Writing down everything we achieved in 2017
- Writing a list to the statement ‘Dear me, 2018 was the best year ever because:’
A few of the quotes in our 2018 planner which resonated:
- “Don’t dream, decide, Don’t hope, hustle, Don’t wish, work, Don’t wait for someday, Make something happen today”.
- “So play big. Do the things you want to do. Challenge the beliefs that contain you. Dream big. Do the things that inspire you.”
- “Who says being serious is more significant then fun. That laughter is less than solemnity. That play is inferior to work. Someone silly ironically. Because fun is serious business. It makes us happy, healthier and more enthusiastic. So work out how to make the got to dos enjoyable. Design for enjoyment.”
I loved that the day was all about taking action and not making excuses. On this note, what can you do today to move your forward on one of your goals?
My friend Jenn (pictured below) and I have committed to facilitating a Design Thinking meets Digital Branding workshop in January to help kickstart the year off. We’re meeting this Tuesday to plan, details to follow 🙂
Thanks Janine and Kieran for an awesome day, I am feeling energised and inspired by 2018 and the possibilities ahead. In the words of Janine and Kieran, Be open, Be curious, Be outrageous!
Would love to hear any reflections and any mantras that come to mind for you #theyearofyou
Dani Matthews 
Love it! Xx
Sent from my iPhone