Off-Topic Thursday: December 2012 Update

At the beginning of October, almost three months ago, I made some declarations of things I believed God was/is calling me to. In the interest of accountability, I thought this might be a good time to check in on those and se how I’m progressing with them.

 

This is what I said on October 4, 2012:

 

In front of all of you who read this, now and in the future, I make these declarations of what I believe God has gifted and shaped me for, what will honor Him, and what will lead me into a life of greater faith, dependence, and service.

 

Now, how am I doing on each of these?

• I will run (not just participate in, actually run) a 5K in January 2013—what will probably be the first of many races.

Obviously, I haven’t run the official 5K yet. However, as I write this I’m running three morning a week, at least two miles each day, and I have run a 5K distance during training a few times now. By way of comparison, when I started this program, I could barely run a couple hundred feet. My original goal (not stated in October, but I had I even then) was to try to get my time down to 14 or 15 minutes per mile. As of now I’m averaging about 12 1/2 minutes per mile. Three months ago I would have never guessed this, but my new goal is that by race day, just over four weeks from now, I’ll be down to a 10-minute mile!

 

• I will be coaching clients half time by March 2013 and full time one year from today.

I’ve picked up a couple of clients since writing this, but I’m still nowhere near half-time. That said, I recently found a Christian coaching program (a program for Christian coaches) and I’ve joined the Team Biz Coaching group. Honestly, I don’t know much about marketing, list-building, and generally how to promote how I can help people. This program will walk me through that. I may not quite be at half-time by March, but I fully expect to be before June, and definitely full-time by the end of the year. 

 

• The ebook I am currently working on will be done and available for purchase by Halloween 2012.

I didn’t quite make the deadline on this one. I had everything written on October 29th, but I had to go through the process of getting it proofread, getting endorsements, and having the cover designed. I did, however, get all that done about three weeks later, and Once Upon YOUR Time officially became available on Amazon November 29th! Check that one off as accomplished…and go here to see how you can get a copy for yourself or someone you care about.

 

• My book (tentatively titled Faith and the Magic Kingdom) will be published by the end of 2013.

Definitely on track here. I’ve now written all the material for it, and I’ll be starting to gather and assemble it in January.

 

• I will be a well-respected and sought-after travel agent, particularly in the area of Disney travel, by June of 2013.

 This one’s a bit harder to quantify, but I got a call a few days ago from someone who found me online and wants me to do group booking for up to 400 people, so I think that may qualify. Also, based on recent sales reports, I am up significantly over this time last year. I sponsor the Tales from the Mouse House podcast and the Babes in Disneyland blog (which I also write for), and I write periodically for the PassPorter newsletter. On top of all of that, I have the Stories of the Magic podcast, where I’ve had some really fantastic guests. All of this combined means I’m definitely getting the word out and am becoming more well-known. I’ll call this one “on track” as well.

 

 

There they are, and that’s the progress I’ve made.  As before, I humbly ask for your help.

• Hold me accountable. Check in and ask how I’m doing on one of these (whichever one you want).
• Get the ebook when it comes out, review it, and if it’s valuable to you tell the people in your circles about it.
• Spread the word about Faith and the Magic Kingdom (the blog). If you find value in it, help me build this platform.
• Tell me how I can help you. Is there something in particular you’d like to read about? Do you have a question you’d like me to answer? A problem you need some help or resources to solve? Let me know. How can God use me to be an answer to your prayer?
• If you’re in need of coaching, or just want to know what it is, browse through this website. Then contact me for yourself or, if someone else comes to mind that could benefit, tell them about it.
• Planning a Disney trip (Disneyland, Walt Disney World, a Disney Cruise, or Adventures by Disney)? Book it through me. Even if you already know exactly what you want, let me help you make it even better…then please refer me!

 

Question: Two questions today: 1. How have you done on your goal(s)/declaration(s)? 2. Will you help me with my declarations? Let’s do this together! Talk about it in the comments below or on the Facebook page.