Networking and my list of 6

Tonight I have been thinking some more about one of the things they stressed the importance of at the 5 days in July conference : networking. They told us that if we were proactive and talked to people at the conference, we would meet 5 people who would be invaluable to our business. I am normally very shy, but I decided to give this a try and ended up talking in depth with about 30 of the 100 attendees at the conference.

The first day I met a girl from Portland, OR, whose interest is in the fitness industry. We are about the same age, and have had similar struggles with our eating habits and weight issues. Her name is Emily, and she recently tried a fitness routine from a trainer named Craig Ballyntine, who is also a writer for the Early to Rise ezine. Emily has her own blog, Back In My Skinny jeans, where she talks about her struggles with weight and food and journals her efforts to achieve her weightloss goals. She actually entered a 12 week body transformation contest that Craig Ballyntine was hosting through his website, and won first place and $2000. Although Emily left before the conference was over, her weightloss success and her blog actually inspired me to start this blog to keep myself on track and accountable to my goals. Thanks Emily!!

I also met a very nice lady from Georgia named Cindy who has experienced some issues similar to mine with struggling to reach her full potential. She was able to overcome what was holding her back and find happiness and contribute to the subsequent success of her family's business. Cindy gave me some invaluable advice about finding happiness internally rather than externally and helped me realize that I need to make some changes in my own attitude in order to find happiness in my life. Cindy was one of the lucky people who already knew exactly what their internet business's focus was going to be when she arrived at the conference and is taking her family's brick-and-mortar business to a new level online. She and her husband own a lumber and deck design company and want to expand to include landscape design. You can check out her website here.

I met people from Australia, England, California, Montana, Georgia, Oregon, New Jersey, Texas, and everywhere in between. At least 3 people I met taught me something very valuable or will be an important contact for my business (like the lady I met from Minnesota who is a La Leche League Leader). Some people had some very original ideas for their online businesses (like the 16-year old boy from California whose business will be to sell manuals to people who are addicted to the video game Wizards of War teaching them how to quit, or the mother from Colorado Springs who will be selling urns to contain the ashes of your pet as well as support materials to overcome your grief). I definitely learned the power of networking and that it pays to be a little more outgoing and a little less shy.

Now for my List of 6 long term goals that I aim to accomplish within the next year.

1. Build a successful online business
2. Lose 65 lbs, embracing healthier eating habits and more regular exercise
3. Help D.R. build his business, specifically get into his own building within 1 year
4. Make enough money through #1 and #3 to quit my job at the hospital
5. Pay off $10,000 of my debt
6. Finish several large projects at the house and keep it cleaner and more organized/ more like
a home

I had trouble choosing the 6 most important goals out of my huge list of things I want to accomplish. I had the most trouble not including nebulous goals such as to be a better mother, be more supportive of my friends and family, be more outgoing, be a happier person, and have a better attitude. I realized however, that achieving these 6 goals are part of the puzzle to finding my happiness, and being a happier person will help me in all my personal relationships.