Coach.

The Ghosts of Christmas 2015!

Dreams Come True

THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS LIFE!

This time of year I am only thinking about one thing…. setting goals and planning out for the next year! I do this crazy religious ritual every year. I am a pro at goal setting – ask my numerous half filled out journals in my basement and my 8ft white board! (Clearly, anyone with an 8ft white board has to be a pro at goal setting!)

It got me thinking that there’s one part of goal setting that I’m totally forgetting about – a huge important part! Yes! So important that the Ghost of Christmas Past woke me up at 4am today (no joke!) and I needed to share this important piece of goal setting and planning with you!

What possibly could a pro-goal setter like me forget?

Something only that the Ghost of Christmas Past could offer me……take time to reflect on my past year, my past goals!

This is huge for me!!! I’m always forward, forward, future, future, next, next, with very little regard for the past (ok – maybe more so in my business life!)

So I want to share with you for 2 reasons:

  • to encourage you to reflect on how far you’ve come this year
  • to encourage you to set goals for 2016 so you can watch your dreams unfold in your own life!

My 3 Ghosts Stories!

The Ghost of Christmas Past

(or The Ghost of January 1, 2015)

I wrote this on my white board:

  • Complete 2 exams of my FCSI designation
  • Complete FCSI by August 2015
  • Complete Book by May 2015
  • Launch Book on November 28, 2015 (my birthday – thought it would be a nice gift!)
  • Fly on a Private Jet
  • Run a Half Marathon – Feb 2015
  • Lose 20lbs (OK – I’m being totally vulnerable here!!!)

So that’s how I envisioned my year to be. I threw in the private jet for fun. Truth be told, I really didn’t think that would ever come true – it was more a test for the Ghost of Christmas Future and to try out my manifesting powers.

Enter: The Ghost of Christmas Present

(or The Ghost of December 22, 2015 at 4:16am)

As I sit here with my warm cup of coffee and feet up by the fireplace, I’m going to spend 5 minutes and give myself the credit I deserve (PS. I never do this and it’s time for some self-love!!)

How 2015 Actually Went:

  • I did complete 2 exams and passed them both!! One in March and one in July!
  • I did complete my FCSI and was granted Canada’s Highest Honour in Financial Services on August 23, 2015!!
  • BONUS: I also completed my CCS designation (Certified CashFlow Specialist) as of December 17, 2015!
    (I now have 19 letters behind my name!!! BMgmt, CFP, FCSI, CPCA, CCS!!!)
  • I have just completed my MANUSCRIPT!! 6 months later, however I’m handing it to publishers very soon – so no book launch in 2015 (that’s going to be a 2016 party you will be invited to!) (on a side note – I did get sidetracked by 30,000 other projects on the go – so I’m forgiving myself that the book isn’t under the Christmas Tree this year! Forgiveness is part of this process – somethings don’t go as planned and somethings go better than planned!)
  • OMG!!!! I did fly on a PRIVATE JET on June 9, 2015! In a rare moment of ballsiness I asked a VP of a Fortune 500 company for a lift home! It was a Dassault Falcon 2000 (aka – Cadillac of Private Jets – Gold Toilet Stuff!!) This was on my white board and my vision board! So having this dream become reality was beyond amazing for me and also for me believing that anything really is possible! (The posted picture of my sister and I on the jet – a reminder that dreams come true BABY!)
  • I ran the BMO Harris Phoenix Half Marathon on Feb 28, 2015 – I wish I trained more, but I did it, and totally want to do it again – it took me 2:45 of running (yikes!) and as any runner knows – a crap load of determination!
  • OK – and I didn’t lose 20 lbs at all – probably gained a little weight!! But that’s okay – I’ve been working out 5 times a week between 30-45 minutes every day and I feel fantastic and full of energy – so I’m happy.

A few other fun tidbits:

  • I took Marie Forleo’s B-School which opened a million doors for me in January 2015 and I officially started my own WordPress site from scratch in March 2015. I have gotten MANY compliments on my website from industry peers and from clients – and it’s all because I infused my personality into my website to make it fun just like me! Ellementsgroup.com is totally me, my expression, and my message of how I want to shape the world with showing others how to fund their dreams and gain clarity around their life and money. Would love to mention that going from a place where I didn’t even know how to set up a website, to a place where I designed every last page, post, image, meme, quiz, opt-in offer, online store, online calendars – everything – was totally satisfying. I’m so proud of how far I’ve come in the online world this year and what a HUGE learning curve that was (on top of all that other financial education!)
  • Another highlight for me was launching my business, Ellements Group, on June 23, 2015 from NEW YORK CITY!! Strolling Central Park and walking the streets of NEW YORK totally inspired me!
  • I’m technically on amazon as an author – I published my short e-book for fun, and if you search Lisa Elle, I appear – pretty cool I think!
  • I hired an amazing person to help grow my business – she keeps me on top of everything and is my best investment to date! (Hi Pam! 🙂 )
  • Watching my girls both learn to read this year, become little piano players, play soccer, and grow up into little ladies was by far the greatest highlight of my year!
  • I was blessed to travel lots too: New York, San Francisco, Kelowna, Vancouver, Phoenix, Idaho, Edmonton (yes, I consider that a get-a-way!) and even an amazing day trip out to Southern Alberta!
  • Chris Botti concert at the amazing Mission Hill Winery in the outdoor amphitheater! (If you’ve never been – Google it!  It’s a world class venue in Kelowna, BC!)

Ok – so there’s my 5 minutes of self-love and reflection. I did way more this year than I give myself credit for. Truth be told there are times I feel I’m making no progress. There are times (and to be honest – at least once a day – others might say “many” times a day 😉 ) where I feel like a total failure, so I think today this was an important exercise for me to do and spend sometime giving myself credit for all the hard work I do. I hope you give yourself some self-love too! (I aslo learned what a “selfie-high-five” was this year! So I do tend to give those to myself often! OK – I’m a total geek! Don’t worry – aware!)

Enter: The Ghost of Christmas Future

What’s on your goals list for 2016?

So far, I have a few seminars planned, a big speaking engagement in October, trade shows booked, and a HUGE BOOK LAUNCH along with my first online financial course & launch of “Simple Planning: Life. Money. with Clarity.”

One of my dreams next year is to go to Germany. So, I’m hoping I can make that happen. I haven’t been back since I was 18 and craving to sit by the lake at my favorite cafe and work on my next book! (Oh yeah…. that’s right – I have at least 30 more books in me to write 😉 )

Wishing you Christmas BLISS with your loved ones and Financial BLISS in 2016!

xoxo