3 Ways To Set Goals As A Freelancer That Actually Work
Have you noticed that everyone’s talking about 2020? Your friend, your mom, your neighbour, heck even the janitor (“I mean seriously dude, I’ve got a Whatsapp message to read.”).
Every New Year brings up a deep desire to achieve, set goals, and create a New You. In fact a lot of companies ride on this fact that we do so. And since you’ve spend 2020 mostly inside the walls of your home, that feeling is stronger. I know, the pressure can be a lot to take it, but don’t worry. I’ve been listening to Bob Marley’s song every day now.
What’s keeping you up at night…
- Will you start a business?
- Will you hit 6 or 7-figures for the first time?
- Will you have a kid?
- Get married?
- Suddenly decide to move to Bali? (a lot of freelancers are FYI)
Well, what if I told you to forget about 2020. Chuck your 2021 agenda out the window buddy. Instead, think bigger.
Let me kick you an example…
Let’s say Joshua’s major goal for 2020 was to start and grow his freelancing career. He’s already picked the skill and he knows that he wants to earn $10,000/month from his freelancing career by the end of the year. Solid.
But once 2020 started to roll around and the months tick by, he noticed halfway through that he still hasn’t worked on that side gig. Majorly because of…. well, i’m sure you know what 2020 did to you, to me, and to the world. Everything changed.
In fact, as 2020 comes to a close, he rationalizes the fact that he hasn’t hit his freelancing goals by saying that he “just didn’t have the time,” or “it was more difficult than he expected.” (Does this sound like your 2020 at all?) If yes, don’t worry. It’s been the same for many and around the world.
And then 2021 arrives, and the same thing continues. Do you see how this creates a lifetime of stagnation? Of not living to our highest purpose or creating our biggest impact on this planet? or at least a some impact in your bank?
Not only that, but when you set goals (things you want to DO) without considering the effort, hard work and time you’d have to invest, then you literally set yourself up to fail.
See, I’d wager that the reason Joshua put off his freelancing career goal wasn’t because he was lazy, born-to-procrastinate, or didn’t have the time.
Instead, the eco-system around him didn’t allow him to kickstart itself…
- He was scared that people would think he wasn’t worthy of being hired on his particular expertise.
- He didn’t think he was deserving of $10k/month when her friends and family earn far less.
- He was afraid to send our a proposal, a sales pitch or bid for a project that would kick start his freelancing career because he had convinced himself that investing his time in his freelancing career, would be risky.
- …and so on!
The reason we don’t hit our goals almost always has 2 reasons –
- Beliefs about ourselves, and
- How the eco-system around us is aligning to our goals.
Read that again. It should be massively freeing!
Because here’s the deal: it means that you are inherently capable and worthy of accomplishing whatever the hell you want, but people, platforms and need for your skills just don’t align.
BUT this changes in 2021. I hate to brag about it in a blog post, but KIWI has solved the second point- ‘How the eco-system around us is aligning to our goals’.
Now, it also means that you are the first and last person to get in your own way when you try to make things happen.
So, here’s what I recommend:
Stop looking at 2020 by itself. Think bigger.
2021 is ONE year of your life, so focusing solely on one single year will give you shortsighted results. Instead, create a vision for the next 5-10 years. What does your life look like at that time? Who’s in your life? What have you created? How much revenue is your freelancing career making you? What does a typical day in your life look like?
Get specific about your long-term vision. Once you do that, you can work your way backwards. “If I want to accomplish XYZ in 5 years, then what do I need to accomplish in 3 years to ensure that I’m on the right path to achieve XYZ five years from now?”
What beliefs do you currently have that could prevent you from attaining that vision?
For example, let’s say you wanted to earn a million dollars and you’ve tried that on freelancing platforms. Forget a million dollars, you’re not able to make ten thousand. The land scape of freelancing just changed with KIWI.
You might be bad at sales and proposals and thats fine. But if you are an EXPERT at your craft, thats all that is needed on KIWI.
You grew up with parents who thought that learning a skill is important, but learning to sell that skill is even more important— the belief is still ingrained in you unless you’ve taken conscious action to reprogram it.
That belief means that you might miss or neglect obvious money-making opportunities because selling is not something that comes naturally to you. It might also mean that you’ll judge sales people you meet instead of seeing them as potential mentors. Back in 1980s, this thought process was legit. You have to sell, to live. But in 2021, KIWI has changed that thought process.
Our philosophy is that— If you are an expert at something, there shouldn’t be a need to sell yourself. We just need to solve your discovery problem.
Who do you need to BE to create that vision 5-10 years from now?
If one of your 10-year goals is to earn a million dollars, then what skill do you need to know to make that happen? What behaviors and beliefs are important for you to have if you want to reach that level?
This is where you get to reprogram the beliefs and mindset that are holding you back from your fullest potential.
Go through your 5-10 year vision. What qualities do you get to adopt in order to be the type of person who can accomplish and create that vision? How do you need to FEEL? How will you show up in your life? What will you decide to let go of?
And this, my friend, is where the magic really happens. Because if you live life year-to-year, you don’t allow yourself to be the visionary of your legacy. You don’t get to see the bigger picture or the massive impact you could create in the world.
And even more importantly, you don’t end up actually accomplishing your goals because your beliefs, patterns, and unconscious programming are keeping you small, year after year.
As we enter 2021, try going through each of the three steps listed above. You can journal about them, talk about them with a friend, record a voice memo to yourself — it doesn’t matter!
However you do it, getting real about who you need to BE to accomplish what you want to DO will make all the difference. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so please leave a comment below on what this looks like for you.
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