The “six weeks paid vaca” and the “be my OWN benevolent overlord” resonates with this kid.

There’s a Buddhist proverb about a young monk traveling with a venerated master. He was shocked to find a mirror in the older monk’s meager package of belongings. Bewildered by the sin of vanity he believed this mirror represented, the younger monk confronted his mentor. “Ahhh, I see you have found my mirror. It is for when I discover a problem in my life. I pull it out of my pack when I need to see both the source of my problems… and their solution.”

:-)

Recently I started an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the daily habits that serve me, with a commitment to add more business- and health-building practices (ONE AT A TIME) until they become a matter of habit as well.

It’s been said that habits are wonderful servants and terrible masters. So the idea is to use the tiny amount of willpower I have to spare before my morning coffee wears off and use it to develop one new habit at a time so that it becomes automatic… no longer requiring willpower but just another thing I do as a matter of routine.

2016 is gonna be great. I am seeking folks like YOU to follow… way ahead of me in the same or similar career… and copy THEIR desirable habits.

The reason my businesses don’t do better is yours truly. But that’s okay; the reason it will do better is also me.
Thanks for the inspiration!

Keep Stepping,

Kurt

I can empathise so much.

When I stepped back and considered all things, I came to the conclusion that I should take a big chunk of the blame for holding myself back. Now I am more focused on helping my clients to recover from that situation and take control of their business.

I like the idea of an official start date. An end date for reaching a particular goal is also good. I am also working on that myself.

It’s good to see that so many suffer from the same problem. After a while, it makes me think that it’s just me.

Thanks for sharing. Tweeting soon.

Nathan.

Hey Katherine!

I would have never guessed you were in your late 60s. :)

My goals have changed a lot over time. Once upon a time, I wanted to run a huge agency. Then I realized what a pain that was.Today, I look at ways I can make my family’s life better. That means mastering the art of working less, but making more. I’ve come a long way since my “travel three weeks out of every month” days…and things are getting better all the time.

Now I just have to master staying focused during a heatwave…ahhh!

Congratulations, @Rachael! Do you have your September 14th master plan set, or are you still working on your strategy?

Happy 4th of July! Finally, reading your great piece. I’m sure you’ll figure out some ways to carve more time out for yourself. I struggle, too, with finding ways to take time off. It’s interesting reading blogs from younger writers. I’m in my late 60s, so I have no dreams of growing. Just servicing my clients as well as I can until I decide to retire. I may not every retire … I just have no dreams of building a bigger business. I do want to get better clients and learn new skills, but it’s no big deal if my company ever grows.

Thank you so much, Monica and good luck with your copywriting business! Startup is a very fun and scary time… :)