Goal Setting (Danielle)

My whole life, I've struggled to set goals, and goals are impossible to reach if you don't have any. I started Spun Dreamz with a simple dream, to make money using my passion for fiber arts. My dream is a great dream, but unlike goals, it's not tangible, it's not measurable, so should I be happy with one single sale, or do I want more? Of course I want more, I want a consistent income from this. That is where goals come in.

No matter what you are doing for money, a dollar goal is essential, whether it is to replace a current income or supplement it. So with a number in mind, and a time frame, my husband wants to see something come of this by the time our youngest starts school, I needed to break it down into something bite sized.  Some people can do this alone, other's, like me, need a sounding board, that is where a best friend who won't judge, no matter what, like Lisa, is a great asset.

I picked out five goals, some are short term, setting up working systems to make the most of my resources, and others are longer term, that I need to build habits to complete, and be consistent about it all.

By knowing where you want to be, and breaking it down, it opens doors you might not see. My ultimate goal seemed huge, until Lisa and I sat down and broke that down into numbers of sales. Even those numbers seemed like mount Everest, so we broke it down further, from monthly, to weekly, still to big? break it down further, you are not going to reach your goal overnight.

The sky is the limit, but it's going to take time to get there, baby steps and stepping stones are the only way you will get to where you want to be.

Musing - Fiery Passion (Lisa)

We say that passion burns like fire. We accept this statement easily without ever looking deeper. Passion is like fire. If we let it burn unchecked, it can consume everything. If we tend it, it will warm us no matter the storms that hit. If we ignore it, if we refuse to feed our passion, it will die to embers. Yet like the hot coals left after a fire has gone out, our passion can be reignited by adding the simplest of fuels.

When you build a fire, you start small, or you risk smothering the flames before they have a chance to catch. So to when you follow the path your passion leads, it can be too easy to bury yourself in it so completely that you forget to breathe. you smother yourself and burn yourself out. Follow your passion. This is vital to your life, but just as the fire needs fuel, it also need oxygen, air. Without that it dies. You too need balance. You need to feed your passion, to fuel it, yet your passion also needs room to breathe, and you need room to stretch.

Passion burns like fire. Passion fades like fire. But long after the flames are gone, the coals remain hot. The stronger your passion, the hotter your flame, the longer your coals glow. And just a little fuel will cause your passion to flare up, as eager, and as hot, as it first was.