Goal Visualization: Finishing up Projects

Posted on Feb. 19 in Goals, Visions with Comments Off on Goal Visualization: Finishing up Projects
Forest Find: Cutting Board

Forest Find: Cutting Board

 

This post is to help me visualize completing my goals in the coming weeks. It’s a bit dry, consider yourself warned.

 

The goals I will complete by February 28, ’13

 

  • Taxes Complete (personal & NLF)
  • EW+HI (websites) analytics added and monetized simply
  • GroAction Microgreen course is complete and published
  • Earth Oven roof completed
  • Cutting Board cured, cracks filled with epoxy + oiled

 

 

 

Visualizing the Completion Process

Taxes Complete

This is first on this list for a reason. I have had a serious aversion to doing taxes in the past.  This year I meant to complete it in January… and have yet to do it. When you sit down to do it, it really doesn’t take much time. It’s just a matter of doing it.

I wonder where the resistance comes in doing it. I suppose it’s part intimidation of the unknown and part not wanting to give away hard earned money.

(visioning now) I had resistance doing my taxes earlier, but what worked well for me was setting aside an entire day to do them. Then, once I completed them I allowed myself to do something more fun like work on the Earth oven structure. Heyo, not bad.

Really, they were pretty simple to complete. It started by googling “how to complete your taxes for an LLC” then went to “how to pay yourself from an LLC” and between those two, I was able to lay out the steps needed and just sit down and crank on it. The nice thing about getting my taxes done now means I can setup Quickbooks for the coming year and prepare myself even better for the coming years. This is especially crucial in the coming year because I will have a third entity to report for (GroAction non-profit 501©(3).

 

EW+HI (website acquisitions) Systemized

EW has been hanging over my head a bit over the past couple of weeks so getting this done feels really good. The reason that there has been so much resistance is because of the format of the site. It’s currently 138 pages of custom HTML. Initially, I was thinking about converting it to WordPress but once I realized that the unknown process (of converting the site) was keeping me from doing the conversion, I decided to save the conversion for later and just focus on the basics now.

 

The list of things I did is as follows:

  1. Install google Analytics (1 hour)
  2. Ad Adsense units to each page (1 hour)
  3. Apply for all affiliate programs featured on site (1 hour)
  4. Change affiliate links throughout site to my account (2 hours)
  5. Add click bank ebook links (3 hours)
  6. Add TLA widget on 1 page (20 minutes)
  7. Cross EW off my list and start earning money: just under 9 hours, and incredibly satisfying

 

HI, I just acquired this site last week and am really excited about it. Ultimately I’d like to develop an ebook with video interviews for it, but I will wait until March to outline and develop that.

 

The list of things I did to HI in ‘Phase I’ is as follows:

  1. Transfer site to my hosting account (2 hours)
  2. Install Google Analytics (1 hour)
  3. Install Adsense units on header and footer of pages (1 hour)
  4. Advertise (via email connection) to resident expert on sidebar of pages  (3 hours)
  5. Wrap up Phase I of HI: 8 hours, and a baseline to measure earnings from this exciting new site!

 

GroAction Microgreens Course, Complete and Launched

Oooph, this has been a really big project. I really enjoyed developing it the whole way through, but even with the incredible support team of 5 people, it has been a ton of work! I really see the need to systemize this course development process in order to produce future courses more efficiently. What’s most exciting, is that I can really see this course (and future courses) having a big impact. Clearly, these GroAction courses have the most potential to bring wonderful things into my life. It’s always good to keep this in mind, because it’s easy to forget when I feel burdened by completing the course.

 

Ok, here are all of the things I did to finish this course up and launch it incredibly successfully.

1. Finalized the Content

  • Taking comments from all people who have helped (4 editors) and finalizing the draft. (4 hours)
  • Making each link in the doc work. (3 hours)

 

2. Finishing Design

  • Making design comments (1.5 hours)
  • Making design changes (3 hours)

 

3. Marketing

  • Creating 2 landing pages (3 hours)
  • Creating videos for each landing page (2 hours each. 4 total)
  • Split testing landing pages (2 hours)
  • Developing course with Clickbank (2 hours)
  • Sending to 5 key bloggers (2 hours)
  • Following up with everyone interested previously (2 hours)

 

4. Summary

Finalizing the first paid GroAction course: just under 30 hours, an absolutely incredible sense of accomplishment, and money coming into GroAction each month!

 

 

Earth Oven Roof completed

This is an unfinished project that has been hanging out in the sideyard since the end of summer. It feels great to have it wrapped up. The hardest part was committing to purchasing the materials. Once I had everything, the building was no problem at all.

 

Here’s how I went about things:
1. Purchased all the materials: (3 hours)

  • Posts
  • Concrete for the footings
  • A tin roof
  • 2x lumber to build a roof structure underlayment (gleaned from the NLF grow station)

2. Finished digging the posts exactly where I wanted them and at a depth below the frost line (3 hours)
3. Poured the concrete and set the posts (4 hours)
4.  Built the roof underlayment. (3 hours)
5.  Nailed on the roof (2 hours)
6. Finished the earth oven structure/project: 15 hours, and a great feeling of having completed this project that will last for many years to come.

 

 

Cutting Board completed

This was a small project that I made from a newly fallen tree. Unfortunately, it developed some really large cracks (see above photo) after being inside the dry house for a day. To remedy this, I did the following:

  1. Let it sit outside for 3 months (I think it may need this much time to cure slowly outside… we’ll play it by ear)
  2. Filled the cracks with a clear epoxy or fiberglass resin (1 hour)
  3. Sealed the wood with 5 coats of Mineral Oil (not mineral spirits) (1 coat each day)

Finished the cutting board project: 3 months, 5 days, and an hour. A bit longer than initially expected…

 

 

In Closing

Well a bit dry, but incredibly helpful in helping me accomplish these goals before I head to California at the end of the month.

 

 

Goal Recap – Jan/Feb ’13

Posted on Feb. 01 in Goals with Comments Off on Goal Recap – Jan/Feb ’13

Goal Recap – Jan/Feb ’13

lending a helping hand

 

  1. Earned 50k in revenue from NLF
  2. Sold NLF to the winning apprentice?
  3. Earned $10,000 from Websites (GroAction, Cobras, SR)
  4. I am moving to South America for 1 year to learn Spanish among other things
  5. Proficient salsa dancer
  6. Released 10 courses for GroAction
  7. Handstand Pushups
  8. 52 Excellent Posts on RWL


Alright. It’s friday night february 1 and it’s time to a bit of a goal recap.


My goals for the month were to make appropriate progress on my annual goals (the 8 above). Let’s see how I’ve done.

                                                                 Goal Check-in: January ’13

1. Earned 50k in revenue from NLF
I’ve done little for this goal. However, I expected to do little. I applied for 8 markets and will find out soon which ones I get into. These results will certainly impact my future living situation. As it sits now, I love living in White Salmon and feel like I am making adequate progress towards financial freedom. However, if NLF is accepted into 5+ markets, it makes more financial sense to setup operations in Portland and make some cash. Time will tell on this front.
2. Sold NLF to the winning apprentice. 
I’ve done very little with this goal. I’ve talked to one person who may be interested in taking over the business, but it’s tough to say. If I get into the markets in Portland I will need to find an appropriate employee-cum-business owner.
3. Earned $10,000 from Websites. 
I have made less than $100 from websites in the month of January. However, it is a big increase from the months past. The $10,000 is certainly a lofty goal but I am progressing nicely down this path.
4. Moving to South America 
Again, no progress on this front, although I think more and more about staying in Portland for another year. It just feels like a good place to put roots down. With that said, even if I don’t take off for an entire year to South America, I’ll shoot to live in another country for 2-3 months. McMurdo Station could be fun…
5. Proficient Salsa Dancer
I haven’t danced salsa once this month. However, I have danced a bit, in Canada no less. I’ll need to really step this up in the coming months if I want to get good at dancing la salsa!
6. Released 10 courses for GroAction
I am so damn close to releasing the Microgreen Quick Start guide. It’s definitely alot to to publish one new course each month. But it certainly isn’t impossible. It will just take more planning in the coming months.
7. Handstand pushups
I’ve done 3 pushup workouts. It’s not great, but it’s a start. Once I get a routine down, I’ll track towards this goal without a problem.
8. 52 Excellent posts on RWL
I missed this Tuesday’s publishing! In fact, publishing this weekly is the hardest goal to achieve. Again, better planning will be invaluable to achieving this goal.


                                        Goals and visioning for the month of February ’13

1&2. Earned 50k in rev from NLF & Sold NLF to the winning apprentice
This month will determine the year and ultimately the future of Nightlight Farms. When I am accepted into 5+ markets, I will find a place to live in Portland, a place for the microgreens, and set out finding a suitable employee to help grow and sell the produce.
3. Earn $200 from websites
It’s the end of february and I have made $150 from one website alone. The other three income generating sites have also totaled another $200 in income which is above and beyond what I expected for them. 
4. Moving to South America for 3 months
While I have not made any physical progress towards this goal I can easily imagine myself moving to another country this fall. It feels good and rekindles my adventurous spirit.
5. Proficient salsa dancer
This month I have attended 3 salsa sessions and I can feel myself getting better! Heyo! Each session starts with a lesson which is super d uper helpful. More than that, at home during the week I turn on the latin tunes and dance around in the evenings. My next step is to get 2 solid moves in my repertoire.
6. Released 2 courses for GroAction
I released the microgreens course in the second week of Feb and I just released the Farmer’s Market course. It feels good to have both of them out there and they have even garnered some attention. I can see that it is worth spending considerable time promoting them. Also, I realize that the relationships I have with my email list is so crucial to the success of these courses. It’s so nice to be building relationships with all of these wonderful people. I’m excited to release the 3rd GroAction course ________.
7. Handstand pushups
This month I do my pushup/headstand/handstand workout 3 times per week that is as follows. 100 total pushups. 100 seconds of headstands. 20 seconds or tries of handstands. This routine has  gotten my arms/shoulders/chest alot stronger. I realize how important the core strength is to achieving balance with the handstand.
8. 4 excellent posts on RWL
I have successfully published a high quality post each tuesday @ 6am. By keeping to this schedule it became easier to always have it done. Publishing these posts has become a constant in my life and it feels great to be building the community of wonderful and driven people.

                                                     Additional Goals for the month of February ’13

9. Visit with Ianto Evans and determine if a cob building apprenticeship is in the books for this summer or the next.
I had an incredible weekend visiting Ianto and company at the Cob Cottage company. He has a truly enviable setup down there. It is certainly a vision of what I would like to create for me and my family in the future. In regards to the possibility of being a cob building apprentice, I can say with absolute certainty that…

10. Acquire a mountain bike or whitewater kayak
Ooohee it feels good to have an adwenture vehicle in my arsenal. The choice between the bike and the kayak was really just a matter of finding the best deal on Craigslist. To be honest I’m tempted to buy the other in the coming weeks…

11. Designed RWL to look good. And not the opposite.
This took a bit of doing and quite frankly a bit of copying from other blogs I like. The end result? A clean design that creates for good reading and discussing of the content and good conversion of readers to community members. 


In summary, After not completing all of January’s goals, I found an incredible drive to complete every goals in February and in every month to come. 

There have been two keys that help me complete my goals:
1. Adequate planning and scheduling of my goals
2. Doing it.


There you have it folks. I’ll revisit this March 1 and show you more completed goals.

Goals and Vision 2013 – Manifesting Financial Freedom

Posted on Jan. 08 in Goals with 1 comment

Goals and VisionHave you ever wanted to create a life where your time could be spent on self-actualization instead of trading it for a greenback, peso, or lira? Me too! In fact, I’ve been scheming on this for many years and below I have outlined my goals and vision for manifesting financial freedom this year, 2013.

 

The Goals

  1. Earned 50k in revenue from NLF
  2. Sold NLF to the winning apprentice?
  3. Earned $10,000 from Websites (GroAction, Cobras, SR)
  4. I am moving to South America for 1 year to learn Spanish among other things
  5. Proficient salsa dancer
  6. Released 10 courses for GroAction
  7.  Handstand Pushups
  8.  52 Excellent Posts on RWL

 

 

The Vision

1. Earned 50 k with NLF

I have earned 50,000 in income selling microgreens to residents of the greater Portland area. The majority of the income came from selling microgreens at farmer’s markets, but there was still a decent amount that came from selling micros to local restaurants. I have garnered alot of interest and attraction from local community members. In fact, quite a few people have offered up their land to farm and put a greenhouse. I am very tempted to get it into production and continue farming next year.  While I know that this could open incredible doors to being a community leader here in Portland, Oregon, I also know that I am progressing on my path and the door will be there for me wherever I decide to build my house, raise a family, and build community.

 

 

2. Sold NLF to the winning apprentice

Great leader: This was the biggest learning experience of the year. I’ve gotten alot better at managing employees. I have embraced the idea that business is an extension of myself in every action I make. With that internalization, Nightlight Farms has been primarily a meditation on the discipline of creating a life that adds value to others and myself through the process of delivering the highest quality microgreens in the greater Portland, Oregon area.

 

System Builder: Through my directive and the help of my team, we have created systems for every aspect of Nightlight Farms.

The systems developed include but are not limited to, the accounting system, growing system, customer acquisition system, produce delivery system, market setup/takedown system, market customer interaction systems, and many more. I will detail these in my urban ag course for Groaction.

 

 

3. Earned 10,000 from income generating websites

Each month I have acquired one new (to me) website that now generates revenue for me. My negotiation skills were good when I began this, but they’ve gotten even better. In fact, I’ve found that when I say no to a purchase, often times the owner will reconsider a few days after declaring the deal won’t work out and come back to me with the offer that I can justify. Because I keep excellent records on the return on investment I make in each one of the websites, I can see that each deal I make is better and better.

So, with these new sites, I am now earning $1500 per month and can potentially live on this income.

 

4. Moving to South America for 1 year to learn Spanish

I am moving to South America for the year to pursue travel, adventure, and a new landscape while I become fluent in Spanish in 2014. This has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and am finally doing it.

Initially when I started writing this I did not feel connected to the outcome of this goal. In other words, I couldn’t imagine myself traveling to South American for the year. This is most certainly because of my ‘static state’ here in Portland for the last 15 months. In one year, I will have spent 27 months in Portland! That is certainly enough time to, as the bourgeoisie would say, ‘shite or get off the pot.’

Now, knowing that I will be headed southbound by this time next year, I am filled with overwhelming inspiration and a bit of trepidation of what’s to come!

 

5. Released 10 Courses from GroAction

This has by far been the biggest impact in making a name for myself and for my future career as a resilience strategist working with cities to develop community resilience via local, sustainable, economies.

Each course has attracted great people into my life! So much so, that I get multiple emails per day about one course or another and new friends telling me how much they loved the course and what they are doing with their knowledge. All of the courses have communities built into them, but the most compelling part of all has been the joy and satisfaction I get from making new connections, developing my personality in the interviews (mostly by being honest and saying no to what I think is bullshit) and helping people build Local, Sustainable, Businesses.

 

It also means that when I go travel, I’ve got lots and lots of people to know on a more personal level.

 

 

6. Proficient Salsa Dancer

It’s beginning to seem like a long time ago when I was standing in the kitchen with Chelsea telling and showing her that I couldn’t move my hips in a circle. Now, after attending one weekly salsa session (sometimes two!), I’m one hell of a lot better at dancing la salsa! In fact, I’ll dance around while I’m making dinner, hanging out, or whenever the desire come. At first, the most difficult thing was getting my rythym in tune with the music, but I fixed that by listening to it until it became second nature. At each salsa session I always watched the best dancer to see what moves I could glean from them. Each session I would try one new move until I felt comfortable with it in my repertoire. Once I got the rythym down, and a handful of moves, I was making true mexican salsa. Oye!

 

7. Handstand pushups

This is another thing that I’ve been wanting to be able to do for a while now. There are two major components to this, and I think you know what they are. Yep. handstands and pushups. The pushups require a ton of shoulder strength, but since I’ve been working my arms out alot, this came within six weeks. The second half, the handstand, just came in another 6 weeks. Once you start keeping your center of balance on the balls of your hands you can rock back and forth between your fingertips and the palms of your hands with ease.

 

8. 52 Excellent Posts on RWL

This blog is something I have been wanting to develop since 2009 after returning on my motorcycle trip around the world US (I wrote that subconsciously, maybe it’s a sign that developing RWL and the wonderful community will lead me on a trip around the world to meet everyone).

Initially, producing the blog posts on a strict weekly basis of every Tuesday @6am PST was difficult for me. I was nervous about releasing my writing to the world, but soon after, I received great feedback and was assured that my writing skills suffice to communicate my messages. I even discovered that my followers have come to look forward to the consistent publishing of my articles every week.

Through the encouragement of my community and satisfaction from reading past posts, I now absolutely love to add to my blog weekly. In fact it has become the best way to reflect what I have done/learned of significance in the previous week while looking forward to what I want to accomplish next.

 

 

 

In Closing: A Note on Execution 

On the execution of these goals. Every single Sunday I read these goals in order to gauge my progress, stoke the fire inside me to accomplish these feats, and keep a bearing on where I am heading this time next year.

 

Just in writing this post, I absolutely know that I can and will accomplish each and every one of these goals.

 

—

 

Thank you to each and everyone of for creating the incredible community that is today, and for creating the value that our connection has. I have much gratitude for your presence in my life.

 

LMC 1/7/13