Two more days until the New Year! Woop woop! Outside of my birthday, New Years is one of my favorite times of the year. I just love that fresh, clean, I'mma-take-over-the-world-this-year feeling you get as the clock strikes midnight on January 1. (Or is that just me?)How was 2014 for you? Did you accomplish everything you wanted to or do you feel a little disappointed? If 2014 fell on the "meh" side of the success scale for you, fret not. Up until...um, last year...that was pretty much my life. New Year after New Year would roll by yet I would still be in the same place. Sure, I'd make a little progress -- check a few things off my list -- but I wasn't having the kind of success I was looking for. After a while, I even started to doubt whether or not setting yearly goals worked!Luckily, at the beginning of last year I remembered that the definition of a crazy person is someone who does the same things over and over again and expects different results. Tired of being crazy, I decided to do something different and it paid off -- 2014 was a very successful year for me! I'll go more in detail about my 2014 in a later post, but today I recorded a podcast sharing 7 strategies to make 2015 YOUR YEAR. Check it out:For the full audio, please check out the podcast on iTunes and Soundcloud.[podcast]Podcast Notes:

7 Strategies to Make 2015 Your Best Year Yet!

1. Get clear on your life vision. Do you know what you ultimately want your life to look like? And I don't just mean how much money you make or where you work, but your ultimate life vision. What would is look like for you to have a successful life, however you define success? In fact, try answering the question "What does success look like for you?" Some statements I came up for my definition of success are:

• "Working at the center of my strengths, creativity, values, and interests everyday."
• "Doing work that leaves a legacy and positively impacts the trajectory of the lives of others."
• "Living an 'electric' life - one that is plugged into God's purposed for me where I do what He would have me do."

Whether or not you've written out your goals yet, take sometime to think about your life vision to ensure that your goals align, which leads me to...2. Create goals based on your vision. Part of the reason why I failed year after year was because I was setting arbitrary goals that had nothing to do with my life vision. When I was broke in college, I remember setting goals to earn thousands of dollars a month just because it sounded good. I had no real "why" behind that goal so needless to say, I didn't achieve it. Don't go into this year with goals that don't mean anything to you. Goals your mom, dad, best friend, boyfriend, or boss may have for you aren't your goals. Your goals have to be for you, since you'll be fighting for them all year. Start with your vision (see #1) and create meaningful goals to go after this year from there. You'll be so much more likely to succeed if you do.3. "1 and 3 to Succeed". Another critical failure I made in previous years was simply focusing on too many goals at one time. I used to under estimate just how much focus, energy, and discipline achieving goals takes! Once I started focusing on just a few goals at time, things began to change. I go by what I call the "1 and 3 to Succeed" strategy, which is where I choose 1 main goal + 3 supporting goals to focus on for the year. This is not to say I ignore all my other goals -- what I do is I make sure I choose a main goal to focus on that will enable all my other goals.For instance, my main goal this year is to grow my business, Think & Grow Chick, LLC. (Yes this is my actual business! Not just a blog :-) ) I chose this goal because once I'm working for myself full-time, I'll have the time and flexibility for my other goals (travel, starting a family, etc...). Next, I chose 3 additional goals to focus on that will help me in reaching my main goal. My 3 goals are:

• Reducing spending and increasing savings (Finance)
• Investing more in my self-care as a woman (Personal)
• Continuing to grow in my relationship with the Lord (Spiritual)

See? the "1 and 3 to Succeed" strategy ensures that (1) you don't get overwhelmed with too many goals and (2) the goals you do choose all work together with each other.4. Break your goals down. I detailed how to break your goals down in my my last podcast, How to Break Big Goals Down into "Do-Able" Steps so definitely check that out. In addition to the podcasts, if you need more help with breaking your goals down, I'm coming out with a goal-setting workbook very soon that will help you break down your goals for the new year. So be on the lookout for that! Breaking goals down is CRUCIAL to actually achieving them. Plus, once you break your goals down, you'll know what you need to do throughout the year, which makes it easier to...5. Track your progress. This was yet another area where I failed back in the day. I spent so much effort writing down my goals and creating vision boards in January, then I wouldn't even look at them for the rest of the year! This year, I'm tracking my progress via checklists I keep in (my favorite digital app of all time...) Trello. I also have a planner I refer to everyday that allows me to track my progress on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. When you track your progress, January won't catch you by surprise next year -- you'll know at all times how far away from your goals you are and what more you have left to do.6. Get an accountability partner. I can't say enough how amazing having an accountability partner is. I won't rehash since I already wrote an entire post about it, but just trust me on this one. Getting someone who is going to hold you accountable to your goals is one of the best ways to ensure your success next year.If you don't have anyone in your life who can be your accountability partner, definitely check out my free, private accountability group (sign up my entering your info in the box in my sidebar). We get started January 1 and will have weekly goal check-ins so everyone in the group can keep each other accountable to their goals. If you like 1-on-1 accountability from me directly, send me an email as I now offer short-term (less than 3 months) accountability and goal coaching services. In other words, you have no excuse! Get an accountability partner - it'll change your life!7. Focus on the process, not the result. This is maybe the best advice I can offer for the upcoming year. In January, we all get excited about the big grand vision we hope to reach by this time next year. While that's fine and dandy, the thing that's going to carry you in April and July and October is focusing on the process, not the result. Success is in your daily decisions, not in the pot of gold you hope to get at the end of the rainbow. What you do everyday from here on out determines whether or not you'll be sitting in the same position come next January.

Upcoming Event:

This Sunday, January 4 at 8pm EST, 7pm CST, I'm hosting a live Q&A about how to build self-discipline. Creating greater discipline is a reoccurring topic many of you tell me you struggle with. To help you overcome this so you can truly make 2015 your year, I'm hosting a 21-day self-discipline challenge called "No Excuses January". I will explain the challenge in greater detail + answer all your self-discipline questions via the live Q&A (Google Hangout) so register by clicking here so I know you're coming!