Catch up on some related episodes:

Today’s talking points:

Here's what to expect from todays episode:

A change coming to our weekly shorty episodes
Planning for September and Setting Goals
The GROWTH Goal Mapping Method
Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a Podcast
Creating an Action Plan
Setting Deadlines and Prioritising Tasks
Maintaining Momentum and Avoiding Overwhelm
Final Thoughts and How to Get Help

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Hello and welcome back to the podcast. I hope you are doing well, taking care of yourself and ready to make things happen in your business.

A couple of public service announcements. First of all, I apologise for the sound of my voice. I am recovering from the big C. It literally wiped us all out this past week and a half, and I'm still very nasally, so I'm sorry about that.

And the second one is that our Tuesday Shorty episodes are coming back, But as you've probably guessed, not on a Tuesday. So the Shorty podcast episodes will be coming to you on a Monday at the start of a new week as a new podcast, new week, pep talk kind of vibe, which I'm really excited about to be honest, just to get you in the mindset of making things happen at the start of a brand new week.

These episodes are going to be short and sweet, focused on one specific topic, just to get you fired up and ready to make things happen in your business for a new week.

So, we're at the beginning of a brand new month. And I know that September is right around the corner. I have some fun episodes planned for September.

Back to School

I know that this time of the year, especially when September comes, feels like a fresh start for a lot of people. It's that back to school vibe. New season, with the end of summer and the start of autumn and a lot of people at this time start to feel really motivated to set new goals and to take action on those goals, which is amazing.

This is the core of what we do in the Make It Happen Mastermind, in the fourth phase of the curriculum and in our regular planning sessions, we talk exclusively about project plans and how to create a strategic project plan so that your quarter is mapped out and it's just inevitable that you are going to hit your goals because you have that plan of action which we love. And this is obviously also the basis of what we do in my one-on-one Make It Happen Quicker Intensives as well.

But for those of you who are not in the Make It Happen Mastermind yet, I want you to know how to take a big goal that you have and turn it into something that's not scary and that's actually manageable, doable, and something that you can take action on.

So, If you have some really big goals that you want to make happen for the rest of this year, or moving into 2025, maybe you want 2025 to be your first six figure year, or before the end of the year, you want to launch a podcast. Those are big things. And I want you to know exactly how to do it step by step using my GROWTH goal mapping method.

So I'm going to walk you through the whole process using a goal as an example, but just as a quick overview, this is what it's made up of.

GROWTH

G is for: Get specific

R is for: Reason why

O is for: Outcomes for impact

W is for: Work plan.

T is for: Targets

H is for: Habits and routines.

So, let's take your big goal, and for this example, let's say it's to launch a podcast.

This particular goal is something that I've helped multiple clients do, so I knew it would be a good example. So your goal is to launch a podcast. Here are the steps in order to take that from being a giant goal that you have no idea how to do, because let's be honest, launching a podcast involves a lot of techie things, especially that we don't really know how to do yet.

Maybe you've never interviewed anyone before. Maybe you have no one to interview. These could be some of the thoughts going around in your head. So let's say the very first step is to decide, I want to launch a podcast. Then what I want you to do is I want you to put a deadline on that.

Step 1: Get Specific

Here we are getting specific. So, I want to launch a podcast by October. That's the first and most important step, put a deadline on it. Don't just say, eventually I'm going to launch a podcast or, I'll launch a podcast before the end of the year.

That is not good productivity. That is not good goal setting. I want you to have a really clear goal with a deadline.

Step 2 & 3: Reason Why & Outcomes for Impact

From there, moving on to the R and the O, so Reason Why and Outcomes for Impact.

I want you to do a little bit more of that inner work and get a little bit more clear about why you want a podcast? What impact is this going to have in your wider environment? Is this just something that you've seen a lot of people doing? Have you seen a few podcasts lately and you feel like that's the strategy that you want to use? Do you want to collaborate with more people in your industry? Do you want to get yourself out there more, but you don't really want to do live videos, so you think podcasts will be a great option? Is it so you can connect with your community better? What's the real reason you want it and the impact that this will have?

And the reason that we do that is, not just for woo-woo vibes, or so we can feel good. It's so that your goal is rooted in a feeling, and that is how we come at it from the left brain and the right brain.

We want to do that so that your goal is ironclad, and you know that you have a mission, a bigger impact, and you're going to get it.

Step 4: Work Plan

So once you have a deadline on your goal, and you also know exactly why you want to accomplish that goal, and the impact that that will have, the next step. Moving on to the W part of the growth method is Work Plan AKA, create an action plan.

A lot of people talk about action plans, it might sound scary, but it's really not. I like to call it a POA, a plan of action, because I feel like that sounds a little bit less scary for some reason.

So this is basically just, okay, if I'm going to launch a podcast. I need to do all of these things.

Braindump

Your first step is to just write everything down. I want you to get a piece of paper and literally brain dump everything that you think you need to do before you launch a podcast, no particular order in this first instance. Just get it all out of your head.

I need to write an email that I'm going to send to a bunch of people to see if they'll come on my podcast. I need to figure out how to get my podcast on iTunes. I need to buy a new microphone. I need to do the cover art. I need to pick a title.

Anything that you need to do or think you need to do before you launch that podcast, write it out in a crazy, crazy long brain dump. Then from there, once you have that crazy long to-do list, so we're still in the W step here, step four, this is usually the biggest step.

Then I want you to, first of all, cross out anything that you don't really need to do. That's the first thing that we all do. We write down stuff that's unimportant, like buy a new microphone when the one that you have works perfectly fine. Okay. So cross some things out, then start prioritising what is left, or start putting them in order of I have to do this first, then this, then this, and then that, okay?

Get ‘em in order

I know this seems very simple, but I want it in a very clear order. That is your next step. So, you're really looking here at, okay, I'm not gonna do this, until that thing is done, and then I need to do this. Put it in order of importance and also the order of the exact steps you need to take.

So you've got this list now of the steps I need to take to launch my podcast and they're in order. At that point, I want you to put a deadline next to each of those things. Each item on that list needs a deadline. I want all those dates on there. So you've got the deadline for the goal as a whole, and then you plug and play the others.

Set a deadline

I recommend setting a deadline for each task at the end of a week, because that's going to help you so much when it comes to your weekly planning. I want all of those dates on there and I want you to really commit to those dates. And the way that I commit to my dates is, I use my weekly prep meetings to plan out my tasks based on the deadlines that I have for my goal breakdown, and I put them in my calendar.

And the mindset I want you to have behind your calendar is, my calendar is my boss. If it's in my calendar, I just do it. Even if I don't want to, I just do it because I know that I have this project plan and if I do this, then I can move on to this, and if I do this, then I can move on to that. And if I do all of these things by this date, then I know I'm gonna have my podcast launched by October.

And so then, You don't have to think about it every single day. You don't have to waste time wondering what to focus on. You can clear up that brain bandwidth to just focus on whatever the small part of the project is that you need to complete that day. Because, let's be honest, we all have businesses to run and you can't launch an entire podcast in one day. But what you can do is send out five emails to people who you potentially want to have on your podcast. What you can do is set up your scheduler before that, so if someone says, yes, I want to be in the podcast and they can book themselves in for an interview.

All of these things need to happen and then you can go back to doing the regular parts of your business. So really breaking it down into manageable chunks is so important. This is exactly what we do in my one-on-one Make It Happen Quicker Intensives, and it always blows people's minds. It's just, it's so good. And that clarity and that. Peace of mind for having that plan of action is just so good.

And that's a project plan. And so I like to have it all in my calendar. I also put it into Notion as a task list. So I know I can start moving things around if I need to. If I think, okay, well, this is more important than that. Or, okay, that needs to happen here instead. You can move things around and I know exactly what needs to happen and when. And I also know that if I just get the things done that are in my calendar, by the deadline that I set, then my podcast launch is going to be a breeze. It's going to be so easy to hit that deadline because I've set myself up for success in that way.

Give yourself margin and buffers.

Don't think, for example, that integrating iTunes and SoundCloud is going to be a five minute job. Maybe it would be for someone who's done it a hundred times, but if this is your first time and you've never integrated iTunes for your podcast, give yourself some extra time.

I never want you feeling behind because that is what stops that productive momentum and that is what makes you feel like, Oh my gosh, I'm so behind. I have so many things to do. And that's when the overwhelm comes in. And that's when we stop. And I never want you to feel like that.

Step 5: Targets

From there, moving on to the last two steps of the method, Targets.

Set yourself some checking points, like in your weekly planning meeting and your monthly planning meeting, just to see how you're getting on with your progress, are you on track, off track? Does anything need to change?

Step 6: Habits & Routines

And then finally, Habits and Routines. Are there any specific things you need to do every day, every week, every month to make progress on this goal? So for example, do you need to batch record episodes once a month? Do you need to do outreach for guests once a week? What does that look like for you?

To summarise…

So, if we break it down really simply all you need to do is create a crazy list, put it in order of priority, put some dates on it, put all of that in your calendar, and that means you are now guaranteed to hit whatever goal you set for yourself for the rest of this year. That's it.

I would love to hear from you what your biggest goal is before the end of 2024. I'm sure you have some really exciting goals and you're planning some really cool things. Maybe you're launching a podcast. DM me on Instagram and let me know.

If you need any help creating a project plan or taking the big goal that you have and breaking it down into, literally what we've just talked through in this episode, breaking it down into daily, weekly, and monthly action steps to help you make it happen quicker. I am here to help, because it's when you have that big scary goal, that's where the real magic happens. And if it's so big and new and scary and outside of your comfort zone, that's where I need you to be moving because that's where the magic happens. That's where exciting business growth happens. And that's the really cool thing about being an entrepreneur.

We can make it happen together I have spots available in August for my Make It Happen Quicker Intensives - Me and you for 60 minutes, taking a goal and breaking it down to Make It Happen Quicker

You will walk away with a full action plan, literally what I've described in this episode with action steps, habits, deadlines, it's gonna be so, so good.

I've got an intensive with someone this week and her goal is to free up more time in her business and see what systems we can put in place to give her some more time, which is one of my favourite things to talk about with a client.

Other examples, launch a podcast, launch a new offer, get fully booked with clients, achieve your next financial goal, build a funnel, nail email marketing, expand to a new social media platform, outsource, earn and keep more profit, nail your tech stack, implement a CRM system, improve your time management, improve your client onboarding process, establish boundaries.

Whatever goes, we can Make It Happen Quicker together. Use the links on this page or just pop me a DM on Instagram. Either way, I would love to hear what goals you are making happen towards the end of this year and I will see you on Thursday for our regularly scheduled episode.

Have an amazing week ahead and I hope you make everything happen that you want to.