Welcome to the Masterful Coach Podcast with Molly Claire, where coaches learn Skill Mastery, Business Mastery, and Life Mastery at a whole new level. If you're ready to create a meaningful coaching business that makes a difference, you're in the right place. And now your host, master coach instructor, Molly Claire. Hello masterful coach. All right, who is ready to finish the year strong? Are you with me? I am feeling so energized this week. Last week, my husband and I were away. We went hiking about five days. And we spent a little time in Red Rock in Las Vegas and spent time in Zion National Park. And we're able to see some family. It was just an amazing week. For me being away and totally off the grid is the best thing for me. I feel like I'm able to connect with nature, reconnect with myself. My husband and I, of course, had amazing time together. It was really an opportunity for me to reflect on this last year, and specifically the shifts that I've made and the ways that I have really been able to align myself more in my life, and in my business, as well. I'm just really excited about all of that bringing a lot of energy and love to all of you here, as we talk about the New Year.  Before we dive into that, a couple of things, first of all, next week, I am offering a free master class to help you manage life and business amid the chaos of the holidays. This is our free master class through the Coaching Collective, you can go to thecoachingcollective.com and sign up there. We teach a free MasterClass every single month, and that happens to be the topic of this one. So do not miss out, I will answer your questions, I will teach you, I will coach you, I've got you. Come and bring your friends. Let all of your coach friends know who could benefit from this class because we have such a great time.  The other thing I want to make sure that you all know about is my small group that I'm offering in January. I'm calling this my passion project because it's something that I've had in the works for a while. I really enjoy working with those new coaches. Those of you out there that are bringing in those first clients, that are converting your free clients to paid clients, and really trying to get your footing and create that foundation. I know there are a lot of little things that you're doing, and so many skills that you're learning at once. It’s really important to establish a foundation of belief and focus in what you're doing. This is something that I just decided to do as a way of really working intimately with some of you as you're starting out. I am only going to be working with 12 coaches. I am not overselling it. I am keeping it a low-cost option for you. I'm just really excited to be able to help you take that massive action consistently and to give you a little bit of strategy, a little bit of guidance, and also really help to infuse that belief and focus in you.  If this sounds like you, we have been filling spots, but there is still room. I am only taking 12 coaches. Please go to mollyclaire.com, you can click on work with me. That is where you can fill out an application. I will be hand-selecting each of you. I want a group of coaches who is definitely sat and focused and ready to move forward and make it happen. Okay, so I cannot wait to work with those of you that will be there. We're going to start in January, but I'm filling spots over the next couple of weeks. I will see you all there, hopefully, many of you.  As we dive into talking about the year to come, I want to also offer each of you that over the next few weeks, you take a little bit of time to think about how over this last year, you've been able to align yourself more in your life. I think it can be very easy to think about all the things we've done, all the things we've accomplished, maybe the numbers that we achieved, the weight that we lost, the money that we made. And while all of those things are useful things to look at, but I think perhaps the most useful thing that we can do is really look at the year and look at our life and see what are the ways that I have aligned myself more in my life? What are the small things that I've done, that have allowed me to lean into my own values, to lean into my own purpose? How am I more true to myself than I was a year ago? How am I a better version of myself than I was a year ago?  [00:05:03] I think by reflecting on these things, not only does it allow us to pay attention to those most important shifts, but it also opens us up to doing even more of that in the year to come. I know for me, we've done some amazing things in our business. We did our advanced relationship coach training, we had some amazing coaches come through, the Coaching Collective, we've grown our mastermind. And with all of that, the most valuable thing about every bit of it are the ways in which I have stepped into more authenticity, the people that I've connected with, the ways that I have expanded my reach, and therefore been able to fulfill more of my own purpose as I help others. So really think about that. Take some time to think about the ways in which you have really become a better version of yourself, and how you've really made a difference for others. That is my challenge for you.  Let’s talk about a few things to consider as you plan your year. I know our mastermind coaches, some of you listening, you probably already have some of your swag and your supplies as we plan the year. And yes, we work with our mastermind coaches to have a plan. We always have them pick a project for the quarter, and we put all the tasks down and we calendar it out. All of these things are so good. I highly recommend that all of you find a system. The things I'm going to talk about today are a little bit more conceptual and I hope all of my collective coaches and mastermind coaches as well are listening to this and taking it in and bringing it with you to our planning. One thing that's very valuable for you to consider as you begin to plan your year to come is, how will I align my business more with my ideal life. You all know by now that I am a big believer in creating a business that supports the life that you want, and not the other way around. I think this question of how will I align my business more with my ideal life, we can consider a few things.  Number one, remember what your values are, and what your purpose is. The only person that can tell you what your values and what your purpose is, is you. What this requires, as you think about the New Year, is to remind yourself of who you are, remind yourself of what you want to create. As you bring that into the planning, it will allow you to think about your business in a new way that's much, much more meaningful. Another thing you can consider is your relationships. What do you want your relationships in your life to be like? What does that mean to you? And how will your business support that aspect of your life? Also important to consider, what is it that you want your experience of your life to be? One thing that we do with our coaches in the Collective is really have them think about on a day-to-day basis, what they want their daily life to be like. I don't think we think about that nearly as much. Often we operate in life as if it just happens to us, we act as if we are the effect of our business, the effect of all the people around us. As you're thinking about the New Year, and as you're thinking about aligning your business more with your ideal life, and you lean into your values and purpose and your relationships, you can also really think about that experience of life you want to have every single day and how do you set up a business to support that? That is your first focus.  Let's talk about the next one. What is it in your business in this next year that is going to be your measurable goal? One thing that all of our mastermind coaches know that we do is we have them think about a measurable goal for the end of their year when they start with us. What is that number? And then leading up to that there are other projects.  As you're listening, it would be a great idea for you to think about at the end of this year, what is the tangible result that you will create in your business? It could be the number of people that you have reached, it could be the number of people that you have coached, it could be the number of people that have enrolled in your group, it could be $1 amount, the amount of money that you have brought in. It doesn't matter what that number is, pick one that will be your end-of-year result. Now along the way, as you create that measurable goal, you'll want to select different projects that lead up to that goal breaking them down in 90 days or less. You want to have those short-term projects because that will allow you to have shorter timelines and give you that sense of accomplishment as you go.  [00:10:02] Also, as you're thinking about this end goal of the year and the projects along the way, make sure that you are always breaking down your projects into tasks. These are the To-Do lists. These are the people that you are assigning to help you with things. The more specific you can be about those numbers about the projects and the goals, the more likely it is that you will accomplish them. Because when you break them down and have something to work toward, it is simply checking things off a list.  Next, I want to talk with you about identifying a skill that you will work on in your business. So as you all know, as a coach, you are building so many skills at once. I remember when I first became a coach, and I was so excited because I loved coaching. I wanted to have a business. But I didn't realize that I had about 20 skills that I had to learn all at once, and most of them I was not very good at. I hadn't done sales, I didn't think I wanted to do sales, and I didn't know much about marketing, and on and on the list went. And so as you're learning all of these skills, I think it's really useful each year to focus on one skill that you are really going to up level. What this will allow you to do is lean into it, let's say that one year, you're going to focus on your ability to sell, lean into that for the year. All of your learning, all of the things you listen to should all be focused on that. And the way that you determine what the skill is, is just think about look at your business and think about what is the one skill that's going to take my business to that next level.  For many of you, it will probably be your marketing or your sales. For some of you, it could be your coaching skills, it could be a variety of things. So for each of you, just take a minute and think about what is the skill that if I improve it, it will take my business to the next level. As you do that, you can think about a few things. I always think it's a good idea to learn from the best. figure out who's doing it well, follow them, learn everything you can about them. When you've identified that skill, you also want to practice it, do everything you possibly can to practice those skills, and test those skills out. As you do this, as you learn from the best, as you practice, you will be able to master that skill. I think by having a skill you're working on every single year, it allows you to really become proficient and masterful in one skill at a time, which I think is amazing and brilliant.  The last thing we're going to talk about is considering how you will create energy and momentum and excitement in your business. This may seem just like a light, fluffy thing, but let me tell you, it is everything. Think about the last time that you felt truly energized about your business, you felt hopeful, you felt connected with your mission, those are the times that we bring the most powerful energy. Those are the times that we make things happen. Those are the times that we attract the people who need what we have to offer. As you plan your business, yes, you can plan for a number and you can set those goals and you can work on skills, but it is vital for you to tune into the ways in which you will constantly create and infuse energy in your business. A few ways you can do this.  Number one, lean into what you love. All of you listening have certain aspects of your business that you absolutely love. You have certain gifts and certain skills. The more you lean into what you love, the more you lean into what you're amazing at, the more power and energy you will bring to your business. Also important is constantly connecting with your purpose and your people. What is it that allows you to feel the most energized and connected with your purpose, whatever it is, make sure that you bring that into your schedule on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. I cannot overemphasize it. And finally, really allow your creativity while staying focused on your goal. Here’s what I mean by this. I've talked about setting a goal and having everything focus toward that. I've talked about choosing a skill and really focusing on that.  As you do this sometimes, as we're working to stay focused and use constraint, we can sometimes shut out our creativity because we think that's what we're supposed to do. What I want to offer you is that there is ways to allow that creative energy to come in and play into staying focused on your goal.  [00:15:03] One of the ways that I love to do this is when I have ideas that come up that may or may not fit in with my goal. Instead of shutting them down, I allow my brain to entertain them, I think through them, I may talk with my team about them, I write them down, I brainstorm, and then I keep a list of them. And some of them will come in, and I will experience the creativity. And then I decide that it's not really a go, and others will come up maybe again and again, or something new will spark as I go down a creative road that actually fits in with what I'm doing. So this is really, I believe, more of a practice that you figure out as you go. The bottom line with this is that it's important to stay focused on your goal. But if you notice that you're shutting your creativity out, that's never going to be useful.  Figure out for you a way to keep your creativity engaged in the process of moving towards your goal so you can keep that energy and momentum because it is everything. We're here to have a business that supports our life and we also want to enjoy our business. That's why we're in this. Okay, coaches, that's what I've got for you. Now remember, before you dive into the New Year, I really want you to take some time to appreciate all the shifts for yourself this last year. It’s so important and yet we've overlooked it too often. And as you go into planning the new year, as you take into account the things I've talked about today, it's really going to allow you to have a more meaningful and comprehensive plan for your year, much more so than just having a bunch of tasks and numbers to check off. So great to be with all of you, as usual, and I will chat with you next week. See you then. Thanks for listening to the Masterful Coach Podcast. You can check out www.thecoachingcollective.com for info about the ultimate program for coaches building a business. To find out more about Molly, you can visit www.mollyclaire.com.