The Man Behind the Curtain

 

   Authenticity. This word keeps popping up in all of the entrepreneurship podcasts I've been listening to lately and it seems to be a "new" idea for businesses. But, it makes more sense than anything else. People spend their money on companies with whom they connect and the way that is happening today is based on a business being real, showing the behind the scenes and connecting to the people running the show. But, it's more than just business! This should be true all across the board. I want to make it true in my life.

   All the time I feel like I need to filter myself and only put the best presented, most well rounded, shit together, not crazy, perfect self out there for others to see. But, let me tell you something. That doesn't work!! In trying to hide my crazy and act like a lady, as put by ms Miranda Lambert, I in the end make myself more crazy! I push down all my thoughts and feelings in fear of being vulnerable and judged and it just hurts me more than the potential words I'm trying to avoid. That really works out doesn't it?

   So along with goal #1, #2, and #3 I'm going to use this platform to try and break down my own walls and open up because I have another goal this will help accomplish.

Goal #4

is to make and sell something and start my own business. I haven't landed on just what I want all of that to be yet but, I do know that in order to give my business the best shot I need to lay some solid groundwork. So my goal to be consistent with my posting here is really a tool I plan on using in order to get my future business off the ground!

Kicking Debt's A$$

   Ugh, debt! I hate it so much! When I think about my monthly payments and that it should take me 7 or more years to pay the remaining balance I get sick. Seven years of paying $300 a month? No thank you! Now, I know my situation is nowhere near the worst out there, but it's my reality and I don't like it. So, this year

Goal #3

is to kick my debt in the behind! I have so many things I'd rather be doing with $300 a month than sending it to Sallie Mae. You know, like traveling and having fun. Sadly, the only way to get my debt to move out is to throw more money at it. Some of you might ask "why would you do that?" Well, the way I see it, paying more to my student loans over a short period of time and paying less in interest is more beneficial to me than just letting that monthly payment hang over my head until I am 30. 30!!!

   My plan for the year is to throw any and all extra money I have each month to my student loans and instead of paying off around $3,000 I hope to at least double that amount. I also plan on ditching cable in July when my contract is up and that should get around 50 more dollars to send to my loans. Who needs it when you can have Netflix? (I make that sound a lot easier then I know it will be!) Throughout the year I plan on sharing different ways I'm cutting costs and at the end of each month sharing how much extra I was able to pay. Wish me luck guys! I know this won't be easy.

   Do you have any cost saving strategies?

*Check out Goal #1 & #2*

Film Photography Challenge

   I think the month of January is going to be a goal sharing month here on the blog. I want to highlight a few of my 15 goals for the year here in the hopes of sticking with them. Some of my 15 goals are small or personal and aren't really that interesting to talk about. Like I want to read more, do yoga more consistently, up my dental care routine, get involved at Church and find time for Bible study. I might update about those things every once in a while but, there are more fun things to talk about on a regular basis.

   The goal I want to talk about today is all about creativity and upping my photography game. And I want you to join me because

Goal #2

is to take one roll of film a month. Now, originally I was thinking I would just carry a film camera around with me and try to passively remember it and take 24 pictures in a month. But, as I got to thinking, I was honest with myself and knew that if I did that I would just leave it there and take pictures on my phone. I knew I needed a specific outlet to use my film and so thats where I came up with the Film Photography Challenge!

   The plan here is to get out and take more pictures and to focus one day a month to adventuring and recording the memories on film. My original hesitation with this was that I was going to waste pictures on insignificant moments or end up with only one good picture from a whole day of amazing moments, but let's be honest here, before there was digital cameras everyone took this risk. I don't think one day is really going to be lost if 24 pictures don't come back perfect.

   And also, perfection is overrated!!! You don't get any better if you're sitting around waiting to be perfect. Get out there and make some mistakes! Take some dark pictures, some blurry pictures, some totally unrecognizable pictures. But also take some amazing pictures that you will cherish forever! The beauty of film is that you won't know what you have till the roll is developed, so really the biggest success is taking a roll down the street to Walgreens. As the months go by I'm hoping to have fewer throw away pictures and to get better at using film. I'm a bit of an old soul who doesn't want to let go of the past.

   At the end, or very beginning of the next month, I will share every picture I took from the month. Good, bad and ugly. You will see them all! I'm not about to pretend to you that I took a whole roll of fabulous.

   Will you join me? Leave me a comment below so I can follow your journey with film too!

*Check out Goal #1 here*

New Year. New Goals.

   So I'm not a resolutions person. I feel like anytime people make resolutions they say these outlandish things that contradict where they are currently in their life. Like the classic "I'm going to lose 10 pounds" but, they haven't taken any steps (even just mental prep steps) to accomplish this. I like to instead set yearly goals for myself. I see goals as something to get better at but, don't have to be mastered or completed by the end of the year, or even started right at the beginning of the year.

   I started jotting down a list of things I might want to work on in 2015 probably in November and have been slowly adding and editing that list until now. I ended up with 15 things on that list a couple of weeks ago and have been debating with myself ever since if that is just too many things to handle in one year. But, my slightly OCD self has a little thing with numbers and it's 2015 so why not try and tackle a 15 item list? So I had convinced myself that my list wasn't too long but I thought maybe some things are going to be too hard. I will talk more in depth about the exact list items later on but a lot on my list is entrepreneurial and photography related.

   Back to things maybe being too hard though. This morning in Church pastor was talking about the vision he had for the coming year. And the things he was saying were so powerful to me! I don't know if it makes me a bad Christian but, I was inspired not by the spiritual aspects of what he was saying but, by the courage it took to say such big numbers for a Church that only started 15 months ago (ah! 15 there it is again! haha). So I thought to myself this morning, if he can proclaim his goals in front of 600+ people, I can say mine aloud to myself and here. I always feel like I'll be judged for the things I don't accomplish and forget about everything I did actually do. But, I'm hoping that by making public my goals for 2015 that maybe I'll find accountability and encouragement to stick to it as the year goes on. #makeitpublicmakeithappen

   So, enough talk about goals and more talk about what they are. The first one is about this here blog. We've had an on again off again relationship since 2009 and I'm determined to make it work.

Goal #1

is to post at least once a week, tracking my goals and sharing more of my life. I have so many thoughts running through my head about this that I will share another time because this post is already long! So here's to 2015!!! Let's do this!