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Becoming Who We Want to Be

Do you know who you are?  Do you know who you want to be?  And the really big question–are you ALREADY who you want to be? 

January is the time to get very, very real with ourselves. Many of us have an idea of who we are, and oftentimes that idea we have of ourselves is part reality and part hopeful fantasy.

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about building identity-based habits.  According to Clear, there are three levels where change can happen–changing outcomes (what you get), changing your process (what you do), and the deepest layer–changing your identity (what you believe).  They’re all important, but the recipe for sustained success is starting with identity and working outward.    

First step–decide the type of person you want to be.  What do you want to stand for? What are your values? Who do you want to become?

Clear encourages us to ask ourselves this powerful question: Who is the type of person that could get the outcome I want?

He names a simple two-step recipe for sustained success:

  1.  Decide the type of person you want to be.
  2.  Prove it to yourself with small wins.

Let’s look at a revenue goal, as an example.  We work with a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs, and there’s always a revenue goal. So the outcome you would ultimately want is to make X percentage more in revenue this year.

If you ask yourself, who is the type of person that could get this outcome–you might decide it’s someone who consistently and meaningfully makes contact with colleagues, referral sources and past clients. 

You would focus on proving to yourself that you ARE this person, before you really start focusing on the revenue results. The small wins that reinforce this might be: blocking one hour a day to reach out to people, and having one coffee date per week.

Focusing on identity-based habits means that you can rely LESS on motivation (which is important but fluctuates), and MORE on identity. 

The way you become the person you want to be is to EMBODY that person, right now.  Say to yourself and others–out loud–”I am the type of person who…” Take action today that is EXACTLY what that person would do.


Interested in knowing more about our coaching services?  Reach out to us through the contact form on our website, or email us at info@nextlevelwealthcoach.com.

Plan to…Fail?

Here we are! The new year has begun! The fresh start we’ve all been dreaming of 🤩

The slate is metaphorically wiped clean. Nothing can stop us now! We’re bright-eyed, excited, full of hopes and plans and energy and vision boards and goals and…

Now what? 😳

Here’s what we humans tend to do:

  • Get super excited and inspired thinking about the new year
  • Vision and create lots of goals
  • Make plans and create “to do” lists
  • Set ourselves up with big expectations about how things will be different THIS year 
  • Lose steam, become discouraged, lack motivation and then at some point in the middle of the year realize we haven’t looked at those goals and lists in months 😑

Here’s what we want you to do instead…Plan to fail.

Yes, you read that correctly. Go ahead and plan on failing. You might think, But what about visualizing success? Manifesting your dreams?  Yes, do that too!  One does not negate the other, and here’s what we mean…

Let’s assume there will be challenges along the way, maybe big ones. At some point this year, you will likely ask yourself (maybe multiple times)–Is this worth it? Do I even know what I’m doing? Should it be so hard if I’m good at what I do?

This is so normal! We just want to PLAN for it. If you want extraordinary success, like you’ve never seen before, then please–for the love of all that’s good in the world–DON’T just do what you’ve done in the past. Do what you know WORKS, and commit to letting go of what doesn’t!  Innovate. Learn. Take risks. And set yourself up for success by planning for failure. 

So here’s our new blueprint for the year:

  • Get super excited and inspired thinking about the new year
  • Create SMART goals–dream big with a dose of realism
  • Be willing to shift gears–don’t get so attached to a plan that you lose flexibility 
  • Decide that every challenge will be an invaluable learning and growth opportunity 
  • Get support and accountability!  A mentor, a coach, an accountability partner or mastermind group. Be willing to be vulnerable, practice asking for support.
  • Schedule time in your calendar to evaluate your goals–ideally monthly, but at least quarterly. Share this with your accountability team!
  • Take responsibility for your actions (or lack thereof). Get real with yourself. We create our own motivation and inspiration, and when that fails, we need habits, strategies and accountability to fall back on.

So friends, keep dreaming big–your potential for success and fulfillment is limitless! In fact, the only limit is YOU.