Everyone needs a little inspiration, a little motivation, to keep themselves on track. I do many things, but one of them is finding things like quotes that inspire me and remind me of what I’m doing and why. Here are my 5 quotes that are currently on my vision board, which I make a conscious effort to go over every morning at my desk.

I am the Peace that I Seek. -(My Personal Mantra right now)

Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. – Unknown

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw of the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the  trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain

The mark of an Authentic Life is when we are no longer willing to contain our Greater Self just to avoid discomfort. Your life has a higher purpose than seeking approval. If you offer your life to your grandest vision, it will free the genius within you. -Josh Cohen.

These quotes remind me of the the fact that I am hear for a reason, that doing what feels right to me may be risky and considered foolish by others, but that I will regret not following my heart in the end if I choose to be guided by the judgments of others. These are important reminders for me right now, as I have made many drastic changes to my life. If ever I am in doubt,  I have my board to remind me what I’m doing.

Got any great quotes that are guiding your through your journey?

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Most of us have at least one new goal that we’re working towards for 2012. Sometimes achieving the goal is more about resilience and persistence than it is about the actual goal. Often people are really great at working towards a goal the first week or two, but by week 3 they’ve lost focus and by week 4, they’re lamenting over what they did wrong and debate about whether or not to start over.

That is the single most important thing in accomplishing goals that you set for yourself: keep your eye on the ball! Staying focused on the end result, whatever it is you want to achieve is the key ingredient to seeing it through. Here are some ideas on how you can keep yourself focused and stick with your 2012 goals:

• Write it down- Why do you want to accomplish this? How are you planning to get there? About how long to you estimate it will take to reach success? These are important questions to answer before you get started. Once you take a realistic look at your goal, you may find that it will take 6 months or more, and that helps to prepare you for the long haul. Often we set off on a goal and in our minds we haven’t prepared ourselves for it to take longer than a couple weeks. So, be prepared and have a plan of action!
• Make a List- Write down at least three reasons why you’re working towards your goal. If it’s to lose weight, maybe one goal is to fit into your favorite jeans and another is to be able to run a 9-minute mile (or something). If your goal is financial, list the reasons (e.g. get out of debt, by my dream car). Put this list on your mirror in the bathroom and read it to yourself everyday. Here’s the trick, you actually have to give it your full attention everyday, or else it will just become another spot on the mirror that you’ll overlook.
• Announce your Goal- Accountability can be a bitch, but if tell your friends “In July I’m buying my dream car!” your friends will hold you accountable (even if it’s just so they can pick on you for not getting to your goal). The goal has more at stake now because you feel accountable to see it to the end.
• Reward Yourself for Benchmarks- pick some reasonable benchmarks; maybe it’s every 10 pounds of weight lost, or every bill that gets paid in full, and reward yourself in some small way. Maybe give yourself t he afternoon off work and go to a movie, or get a massage. Give yourself something to look forward to in the short term, but don’t let the reward in any way hinder your progress. What I mean here is, don’t lose 10 pounds by giving up sugar and then reward yourself with a slice of chocolate cake. You’re tempting fate! Pick a reward that has nothing to do with food if you’re dieting, and nothing to do with money if you’re trying to get out of debt (and so on… you get the idea).

• Keep a Log. Keep track of your progress. When I was working on getting out of debt and increasing my net worth, I made a very crude graph on some graph paper. Every month I would add a data point for each creditor I owed (the remaining balance) and a data point for all my savings/investment accounts. I could then visually see my progress each month. I knew when the “debt lines” crossed the “net worth lines” on the graph, I was nearly to my goal.

Perseverance and patience, along with focus and passion for what it is you want out of life is the 100% ingredient list for success. Do what you have to to keep those qualities around while you’re working towards your goals. Maybe you have better ideas on how to do that than mine. Regardless, if you want to accomplish your life goals (small or large), you must keep your eye on the ball!

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Every couple weeks or so I look around me and realize that only a handful of aspects of my life are “together” at any one time. The problem for me is that as soon as I concentrate on getting one area of my life organized, the other areas that seemed to be doing well fall apart again. That said, there is nothing like the feeling of walking through the house and seeing that everything is in order. Even if it only lasts a short time.

Staying organized means that your life inevitably runs smoother. You not only save time, but you save energy spent trying to find something you lost, remember an appointment you wrote on a post-it that mysteriously vanished, or just sifting through the pile of chaos. If we could all visualize a typical day, and think about how much time and energy is devoted to:

• Where did I put my… ?
• What time was I supposed to… ?
• I’ve got to find something else to wear because…
• I have to call XX company because I can’t find the letter they sent about…
• I have to reschedule my meeting because I double-booked myself…

The list could go on. For the majority of us, we’re so busy, that a good part of our day is wasted trying to stay on top of everything. It’s one step above all-out damage control.

Organizing isn’t just for closets; although, that’s always a good place to start. Hence the expression:

A place for everything, and everything in its place

Here’s my list of important life areas that could always be improved by getting organized.

1. Physical storage areas in your house: yep, like the closet I just spoke of. It’s never fun to spend 15 minutes in the morning when you’re running late for work trying to find that other shoe that you KNOW is somewhere in the closet.
   • Try working on one thing at a time. Maybe give your undivided attention to only one storage area per weekend. You’ll be more likely to come away with a fantastically organized space by Monday, instead of two closets, a garage and a shed all in various stages of chaos.

1. Time organization: this might be the most important for me. If you don’t have a good handle on where and when you’re needed, things get forgotten, meetings start late, and you spend the entire day feeling like you’re running to catch up. That’s not a fun way to spend the day!
   • Some ways to accomplish this? Start using your phone calendar, if you have one. Set reminders for everything (even when to take your vitamins if you have to!). If you are consistent about using the calendar, than you’ll spend your time thinking about the actual task at hand (or enjoying your down time) instead of worrying about what is coming up.
   • Consider a to-do list. I write one up every night. I’m a little type A, I admit, but it truly helps me in the morning and throughout the rest of the day to have it there to look at. I often get so busy that some of the little things that I want to get done get lost in the shuffle. If I have a list, it keeps me on-task and more efficient (meaning my reward at the end of the day is actual down-time).
   • Block out time for the things that you consider must-haves, and then stick to it. Need to exercise every day? Block out a time every day in your calendar that you are NOT available to anyone else or for anyone else. Make that your time, and don’t deviate from it. It becomes this consistent space in time that belongs to you, and you can count on it every day.
2. Financials: getting your money in order is a must in today’s economy. Keeping this part of your life organized will save you time and money.
   • If you’re really out of whack and flying by the seat of your pants (e.g. you’re the kind of person that tends to have to check your account balance on your phone while in line at the grocery store), consider dedicating a night to getting everything organized. It will take some time, but it’s worth it.
   • For instance, balance your incoming cash with what you have out going each month. Then, set up auto-payments for each of your bills to come out a day to after a pay day. Your creditors will allow you to change and move your due date so that you can be sure the funds will always be there. Once that’s in place, then paying bills is one less thing you have to worry about.
   • Look into a money management software. I’ve tried Mint, which will keep track of all your creditors, back accounts, savings, etc., and it will also sync with your debit card so you can always see how your spending your money each month. There are many options, I would highly recommend considering this as an option.

There are plenty of areas we all wish were perfectly organized all the time. I consider myself to be above-average at organizing, but below-average in keeping things that way. But, I continually experience the benefits of staying on top of things and so I will taking time once in a while to get something back to a state of order will never be wasted time for me. Here are some other articles on the subject of being organized, and staying on top of your finances and personal spending:

• How to Make the Most of you Money
• Not Enough Hours in the Day
• The Cogs in the Machine of Your Life
• The Money Lie we Live, and the Truth that can Set us Free

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