Whenever I enter the kitchen I automatically switch on the radio so that the room is filled with up-tempo music which I can’t help but sing along to.

This got me thinking about other things that I couldn’t live without.  Obviously things like family, friends, a place to live and food are up there as the essentials but here are 3 other things that I would add to my list:

• My Radio
• My Books
• My Pen and Paper

I Couldn’t Live Without My Radio

I love listening to music and as long as the songs are the ones that I can sing along to I am happy.  I take every opportunity to crank up the volume and screech out to my heart’s content. No talk radio for me, it is all about the music.

I Couldn’t Live Without Books

Reading is a great passion and I can sometimes have two books on the go at once.  I tend to read before I go to sleep or if I am relaxing on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Other times that I enjoy a good read is when I have to travel into London on the train.  The journey lasts around 30 minutes which results in a session of uninterrupted reading until I get to my destination.

I Couldn’t Live Without Pen and Paper

Whether I am recording my own thoughts, have been hired to write for a client or writing for my product review site, I absolutely love the act of turning to a fresh new page in my notebook and scribbling down word after word.

There are times when I create documents directly on my computer but there are many other times when I choose to write longhand.  In fact I put pen to paper in order to complete this little post today.

So these are 3 things that I couldn’t live without.  Although I love watching television, I am happy to discover that I could do without it if I had to.

What are the 3 things that you couldn’t live without? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

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For some this can also be the most fun because it doesn’t take much effort and you can pretty much write what you like then worry about how you are going to achieve them later on down the line.

One great way to ensure that you stay on point is to get support from others.  This can be from your family or friends or from an online community.

Support From Friends Can Help You Achieve Goals

A very good friend of mine reached out to me for support.  She wanted to create a simple website with WordPress in order to promote her jazz band but, just like me, she is a serial procrastinator.  We met up just after Christmas and she agreed that she would get on the case and get around to purchasing the domain and hosting for her website.

To make the commitment even clearer, she sent me an email stating that this task would be completed by Tuesday.  The act of publicly acknowledging the action she wanted to take spurred her on and she did exactly that.  I am so pleased for her.

We are now planning to set a monthly dinner date with a couple of other friends so what we can share our goals for the year and agree on the appropriate timeline to ensure we meet our targets.

Share Your Goals With Others

If you have set a few goals, or you are working on your New Years Resolutions, think about sharing your wishes with someone so that they become more than just words on a page.

Pick out a family member or good friend who you know will be supportive or look for bloggers who are doing the sort of thing that you wish to. Once you start looking, you will find that there is someone out in internet land writing a blog about almost every topic imaginable.

Start interacting with these blog owners by reading their posts and leaving comments. Some would even welcome an email if you can’t find the answer to what you are looking for from their posts. Sharing your aspirations makes them real and can give you the push you need to take action.

Have you shared your own hopes and dreams with others?  Do you think this is a helpful tactic? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

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It is so easy to feel like you haven’t done anything in the last 365 days if it isn’t major or tangible like getting a brand new job, buying a new home or going bungee jumping!!!

This is a little list of the things that I managed to do this year:

Work

• I started my PLR Business – The PLR Boutique
• I became a freelancer
• I signed up to an acting agency
• I went to my first Networking meeting

Health & Fitness

• I started salsa classes
• I started Zumba classes

Education

• I completed my 1 year Spanish course

Travel

• I went on a fabulous Disney cruise

Reflection – The Good

I have really enjoyed learning about creating a PLR website.  I like writing articles so this type of work suits me down to the ground.  I do not have to worry too much about the things that do not interest me like backlinking and intense keyword research.

Another think that I am slowly recognising is that my writing skills are good.  I know that there are plenty of people like myself, who find it difficult to evaluate their skills or to actually believe that their writing is of any value.  I have to keep reminding myself that people are happy and willing to pay for the type of service that I can provide.  Hurrah!

Reflection – The Not So Good

One huge lesson that I learned about myself is that I can sometimes lack self motivation.  One reason is because it is really easy to get distracted.  Lots of people suffer from Shiny New Object Syndrome.  Instead of working on what you know, something new catches your eye and your interest so you lose focus and fail to see tasks through to the end. That certainly sounds like me. I have to try and curb this very bad habit.

One of the main things that I wanted to do this year was to travel to South America but lack of funds meant that this had to be delayed.  I had also hoped to increase my income to a higher level but a mixture of indecision, procrastination and lack of focus hindered this.

Resolutions for 2012

My resolutions for the upcoming year include focusing on my Business plan for 2012, my list of goals and Challenge 365.

Business Plans for 2012

The four areas that I would like to concentrate on are:

• The creation and sale of Amazon websites
• PLR creation
• Affiliate Marketing
• Freelance Writing

I have already had some experience with some of these and I hope to build on this success. I will be opening up my PLR affiliate programme for The PLR Boutique; I will continue to build up my affiliate websites and I will be sending out queries for freelancing opportunities.

Creating Amazon sites for sale will be something new and I am looking forward to the challenge.

My List of Goals for 2012

I have an ever changing list of things that I want to achieve during the course of 2012.  I know that with a little bit of preparation I can and will succeed. Here is a brief outline of what I am aiming for with my New Years Resolutions:

Work

• I want to continue to build up my PLR website
• I want to start creating mini Amazon websites for sale
• I want to get at least two articles published in a magazine
• I would like to get an acting job (as an extra)
• I want to create a Logo for my PLR site and this website
• I would like to create a membership site
• I would like to join a singing group
• I want to take part in Challenge 365 (see below for details)

Health & Fitness

• I would like to add another style of dance to my repertoire, maybe tap dancing
• I would like to drop a dress size (once I have finished eating all the mince pies!)

Education

• I would like to learn about website design

Travel

• I want to get to South America
• I will be going to Turkey (friend’s birthday celebration)

Other

• I want to pay it forward by helping at least one person per month
• I want to do some sort of volunteer work
• I would like to attend an awards ceremony of some kind
• I would like a new pair of glasses
• I would like to increase my networking activities, both online and offline

Some of this stuff will be easy but most of it will require a lot of effort on my part. I shall definitely be kept busy next year.

Challenge 365

Tiffany Dow has created a challenge for 2012.  The aim is to commit to achieving a certain amount of goals each day. I love the idea of this challenge because there is no pressure. You decide exactly what you would like your daily tasks to be so your list can be as long or as short as you wish. As well as recording your efforts by updating the forum thread at the Warrior Forum, you can also share your experiences with others via Tiffany’s website.  This will provide a great support system as well as making sure that you are accountable and stay motivated.

I have a long list of things that I would like to achieve over the next year and I hope that I am successful but for the purpose of the challenge, I will commit to the following daily tasks:

• I will write 2 articles per day – either PLR or for one of my websites
• I will carry out one marketing activity

Happy New Year!

So that’s it. I have learned a lot this year but I am looking forward to the challenges that 2012 will bring. I hope to be able to provide a great service to others in the online and the offline community while still having enough time for lots of fun and a spot of salsa dancing!

I wish you all the best for your own New Years Resolutions.

Happy New Year

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I had hoped to walk away with a few freebies and try some need foods and beverages.  Unfortunately this exhibition was all about selling.  There were certainly plenty of people who left with shopping bags filled with Christmas baubles and other home interior items.  The price point was much higher than I would ever pay for things, even with the added discount that they all offered.

There were two highlights of the whole day. Both had very little to do with the exhibition.

Fantastic Free Entertainment On Offer

The London Community Gospel Choir performed and were absolutely amazing.  The area was filled with onlookers and everyone had a smile on their face.  The songs were familiar so my sister and I joined in with all the singing.  I am not a religious person but we always had to sing hymns every day at primary school so there are certain songs that you will never forget.

There was another singing surprise.  It was a showcase performance by the West End cast of Jersey Boys. This is a tribute show about Frankie Vali and The Four Seasons.  The cast sang and danced their way through three songs including “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Sherie Baby”. It sounded great, although there did seem to be a little bit of miming especially on those super high notes.

The other surprise of the day was the discovery that another free exhibition was being held just around the corner. It was a business start-up event which seemed to have been the perfect networking opportunity.  I say seemed because we ended up there when everything was winding down.  There were lots of seminars about different areas of business, people to talk to about marketing and creating business plans. There were several banks and online companies in attendance.  It was such a shame that we missed it.

Even though we were only at this particular exhibition for about 30 minutes, I did gain one important lesson.  You need to know how to introduce yourself properly in a networking situation.  I basically stuttered and stumbled when someone asked me what I did for a living!!! Yikes!  So now I am trying to decide on a succinct way to describe myself.

How do you introduce yourself to new people?  By the next post I should have figured this one out. LOL. Writer, blogger, online marketer, procrastinator, actress, yada yada yada.

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