Last year, I’ve set some pretty ambitious goals. In fact, some of them were just plain unattainable. But I did it on purpose. When I set my goals last year, I was in Costa Rica and just finished reading for the third time The Four Hour Workweek (definitely my bible!). In this book, Tim Ferris suggest to set unrealistic goals. The idea is that if you setup reasonable goals, you will simply work a little to achieve them. Therefore, your chances of failing are quite high (just think about your past years goals, did you nailed them?). On the other side, if you aim very high, you will be forced to think outside the box to make it happen. You want examples? Let’s look at my 2017 goals first;
2017 goals reviewed
Last year, I had several financial goals. I knew they would be very hard to attain as I only started working full time in July 2017. Before that date, my number of hours worked were… well… minimal to say the least. Nevertheless, I was able to generate over $20,000 in a single month…
#1 Generate $20,000/month of online income. To put it in perspective, I made an average of $4,500/month between April and June of 2017. Going from $4.5K to $20K was quite a feat… but I did it! In September, I worked out the most powerful promotion I ever did and racked up over $20,000 USD in sales. The great part is most of it was profit! Besides my salary, my business costs are about $3,000 per month.
#2 Start 2 Monthly Saving Plans. I wanted to establish 2 monthly saving plans with big numbers. I ended-up with one saving plan for my children tuition account (RESP) in the amount of $100/month. It’s not as much as I wanted, but the first step of investing is obviously to start saving.
#3 Pay $1,000/month worth of debt + clear my line of credit. That was a total failure. Starting a full time business with no safety net didn’t allow me to pay down my debts. To be fair, I underestimated my “back to Canada” expenses. I didn’t expect it, but 3 kids back to school, winter clothes and activities kind of ruined my budget when I arrived. Now that the Holidays are behind me (I still cut my gift budget by 60% this year), my expenses will be in control in 2018.
#4 Play Soccer in a league. I don’t only play each Thursday, but I’m getting “not too bad” for a beginner player. I learn a lot each game and I work on improving my skills. I just love it!
#5 Weight 170 pounds. Funny enough, losing about 20 pounds in a year never been that easy! I must admit it was easy to lose weight and all you eat is rice with vegetables! Living in Central America for half the year had its perks! I showed an all-time record for me at 168 pounds… Unfortunately, I got back to 180 over the Holidays. I’ll be facing my challenge again in 2018!
#6 Give $5,000 to charity. I was able to give $900 this year. I clearly hope to reach a four-digits number in 2018!
Many of my 2017 goals were linked to how much I could make with my online business. There is no point in hoping to give money to charity or pay off my debts if my business is not generating enough. Going forward, I know that my business can now sustain my current lifestyle and each penny I make over that mark, I can use it to pay off my debts or reinvest it in the stock market. I narrowed down 5 goals I want to achieve in 2018:
01 Double my online revenue and make $30K+ in a month
For 2018, I aim at doubling my online income and find a way to make 30K+ in a single month. The marvel with a membership system is that you build it for the long term. I’m getting better at marketing while my product is rock solid (pun intended!). Members that subscribed in the last 6 months will most likely renew next year during the same period (most of my clients opt for the annual subscription). While they will not all renew, it will give me a solid base on which I can add more with my marketing skills.
02 Clear my line of credit ($19K)
I still owe about $19,000 on my line of credit. My goal is to start paying it in February. January and February are always strong months in the investment business. The whole “starting fresh” and the RRSP season in Canada should drive more traffic and I should be able to focus on pay off my debts.
03 Go to Guatemala and buy tickets for Vietnam in 2019
In order to achieve my financial goals, I intend to not take any vacations and work 50hours+ a week. If I want to keep my focus, I also need rewards. For this reason, I plan on going back to Lake Atitlan for a week with my wife toward the end of March. Then, we are planning in going to Vietnam at the beginning of 2019. I will buy the 5 airplane tickets around May in order to get good deals.
04 Build a six pack
If I’m able to drop under 170 pounds, now is the time to build some muscle. The first 2 months of the year will be concentrated on going back to this weigh (because duck and wine don’t help being fit!). Then, I will focus on building muscle and my six pack. I find it very important to be healthy and this starts with good eating habits and lots of sports!
05 Hire my second full-time employee
As I’ve already mentioned, I’m looking to hire new financial writers to produce more stock analysis in 2018. Those are obviously part-time positions. However, I aim at hiring a full-time employee toward the end of the year. This new addition will play a crucial role in growing my business.
What about yours?
What are your goals for 2018? Do you have any non-financial ones?
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