Do you make videos for your website or blog? If not, you’re not allowed to judge.

If you do, don’t you hate it when something interrupts your taping over and over and over? This video took WAY too many takes, because:

1. A loud bird kept squawking in the background. It’s lucky I’m vegan and don’t hurt animals cause I had some not-so-nice thoughts.

2. The tiny dog from three houses away that has the highest, most horrific bark decided to escape and stand right outside our yard and bark like crazy.

3. My dogs got all stirred up by the little dog.

4. My husband thought this was all soooooooooooooo funny and kept poking fun at me. And, he kept making faces that would completely distract me.

So, I had a mini meltdown over a video. I know. I’m not proud of it, but it happened. So, I thought I would share my mini meltdown with you for this week’s entertainment time. You’ll have to watch to end to see it.

Want a recap of the video?

Make things that you don’t really enjoy but need to do anyways more fun by adding something to them. For example, indulge in a gourmet cup coffee if you get up early to work on your creative business or listen to a book on tape as you fold laundry. When you make things more enjoyable, you’re more likely to do them and you’ll feel more refreshed and energized.

Before you go, I’ve got two important reminders:

1. This is the last week that you can register for RoadMap, because there is a week long homework assignment that must be finished before you start the course on December 5th. So, if you want in, get on it!

2. I put together a FREE 4-Day Training on How to Make a Big Change that is only available until November 28th. If you want to make a big change for 2012, check it out.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you’re going to make something in your life more enjoyable in the comments below.

Are you a New Year’s resolution person? Do you come up with things that you want to change at the start of each year?

How does that work for ya? Have you ever stuck with any of those goals long-term?

I’m not a New Year’s resolution person, but I am big on goal setting. I don’t think you should wait for a specific time of year to set goals and make changes.

You should make changes in your life and in your business whenever necessary, and you should always plan ahead. Without goals, what are you working towards?

In this week’s video, I’m encouraging you to think about what goals you’ve accomplished this year and what you want for your business for 2012. Start planning now. If you don’t, it’ll be March before you know it and you won’t have done anything different.

I want big things for you. Do you want big things for yourself?

I’ve put together a fun, downloadable worksheet to get you started!

Let me know in the comments below one goal you have for your biz in 2012. And, if you enjoyed this week’s bit of wisdom, please share it with others.

And, like I mentioned in the video, you can get more details on RoadMap right here. Registration ends November 28th.

{Personal Image}

How do you view your time? Do you consider every minute precious or do you waste away hours and wonder where the time went?

Have you ever spent time considering how you want to be spending your time? Do you plan out time with your spouse? Do you know what you’re going to do the next time you have an hour to spend with your kids? Do you make time for yourself and carve out time for exercise?

I know this is a lot to think about. And, usually it’s not a pretty picture.

Many of us get completely lost in the day-to-day shuffle and we don’t consider how much time we’re wasting every day on stuff that doesn’t really matter.

We also lie to ourselves about how much time we spend on certain things. We lie to ourselves about how much time we spend watching television. We lie to ourselves about how much quality time we spend with friends, family, and our children. We lie to ourselves about how much time we’re focused and seriously working as opposed to roaming the internet.

We also lie to ourselves about our lack of choice. We make the excuse that we’re too busy for stuff—too busy to read that novel you’ve been meaning to read, too busy to send out a weekly email newsletter, too busy to walk your dogs, too busy to finish that painting.

I get it—we’re all busy. But, we also all make choices about how we spend our time each and every day.

I want you to stop to lying to yourself today, and I want you to take charge of your time. I’ve just launched a new course, Roadmap: Spark Your Productivity to Get You There. If you’re ready to take charge of your time, stop procrastinating, and take action, check out the details of this new course. Registration closes on November 28th.

{Me and My Man}

Do you ever envy the people who make it look so easy?

I’m talking about the artist who spends most of her work time painting in her studio and sells more paintings than she can make or the jeweler who averages 10 sales per day on Etsy. If only you could figure out how they do it, then you could do it, too. Right?!?

I envy my husband.

He makes being a lawyer look easy. Within two years out of law school, he’s a pro. Most lawyers start off doing bitch work—the stuff the lawyers who’ve worked at the firm a long time don’t want to do. Not my husband {okay, he does some of it but…}. He’s already handled hundreds of cases, winning the majority of them. What I forget {because he makes it look so easy} is that he worked his butt off to get there. He worked at different firms all the way through law school, learning as much as possible. Even though we lived in the same apartment, we’d go days without seeing each other awake. That’s how hard he worked.

He didn’t get to this point by doing the minimum amount of work possible. He got there by working every chance he had. Now, we get to enjoy that hard work. Don’t get me wrong—he still works hard—but now we get to do stuff like exercise together in the mornings and cook and eat dinner together in the evenings.

There are lots of little pieces that go into making a business successful, but one of the biggest pieces of success is common sense: successful people do the damn work.

They don’t make excuses.

A lot of excuses are valid and true. You have children that need your attention. You have a full-time job to pay the bills. You get sick. But, for every excuse you make, I can give you examples of people who didn’t let those same excuses hold them back. J.K. Rowling wrote the best-selling series, Harry Potter, and she has 3 children.  Marie Forleo worked lots of “day jobs” while building her successful career. Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times after surviving testicular cancer.

You’re not alone. Everybody has excuses.

I’ve got my own, but I’ll spare you, because I know that you don’t read my blog to hear me whine. The trick is to work with your limitations. If you have a day job, you’re going to have to wake up early to work on your creative biz and/or keep working in the evening instead of watching television. You might have to give up some of your weekends. If you have children, you have to use every spare minute that you can. Wasting time isn’t an option. If you get sick, you have to pay attention to your body and work when your body can handle it.

Lots of people come up with great ideas. It’s the people who actually do the work and put those ideas into action who succeed. It’s about putting in long hours, pushing yourself to work when your girlfriends are going out for dinner and wine for the second time in a week, and not letting your excuses keep you from doing the work.

Related Posts:

The Secret to {one of my least favorite phrases} Time Management

Stop Procrastinating: The 3-Step Solution