Dear Friends,

This morning I set out to plan the next two  months, before the release of CELBANPrep 2018 and all the other things that have been peculating in my being. I went to Facebook and found this:

My heart was completely filled as I began my day. I took out my notebooks, my planner, plain paper, pencils and other various items. And then I realized something. I am planning for 2018!

I am planning for 2018!

It has been several years since I actually had a glimmer of hope into the vastness of the future; and, usually I start my planning for the new year on January first! I love getting out my new wall calendar, and day planner and planning away. I am ready for it. But today, November 14, I didn’t have what I needed! 2018 is two months away!

With hope in my heart I went to Passion Planner.com to see if the 2018 planners were available. I was so happy! They are available!

I love these planners. Why? Because she created a planner based on the process I go through each and every time I sit down to do some goal setting. I will share the process I went through today.

Step 1. Organize Yourself

Using blank paper and pencil I started mind mapping everything I need to do before January 2018. (Those of you who took CELBANPrep Writing Level One know the importance of mind mapping!)

I started with IEPC in the centre, and two branches: CELBANPrep and Dear Kim Sessions. then I created branches from them. What resources do I need to create for each one? Thankfully I had notes for the Dear Kim Sessions that I had created last Thursday when I was so inspired. And CELBANPrep – that is pretty self explanatory to me.

Next I created another mindmap with my personal goals: there is a certifiation course I want to complete, there are business admin things I need to attend to, and there is the other branch of IEPC that I am developing. Oh, and did I mention I am writing three books at the moment?

Throughout this time my thoughts kept coming back to you. They came back to Chioma and Rio on Facebook. They came back to a comment Deborah, my Speaking Mentor wrote to me in an e-mail. She said, “Also, I’m so glad knowing that CELBANPrep hasn’t been forgotten. People need someone like you. I would never be where I am now had I not received the support and the kind environment I got from CELBANPrep. Look, I am an RN now. So I am one of those you coached not only in CELBANPrep but also in life. ”

Actually, even though I was mindmapping, in the back of my mind I was writing this blog post.

But then I got blocked. I had four pages of mind maps and no direction. The Passion Planning Process is to select a “Game Changer” but I was not ready for that yet. I stared at the pages. “Create a To Do list,” came the thought.

Step 2. Create a To Do List

Yeah! Great idea! A To Do List!

With so many items on my mind mapping, so many goals I am perusing at the same time, I realized how helpful it is that I mind mapped down to the fine details of everything I needed to do for each step. My to do list grew within seconds. I added sections and headings, and another page!

The list on the first page is easy. They are tiny things that can be accomplished within a matter of days – weather dependent. But the second page; that is when my process stifled. I became overwhelmed. Instead of dealing with it I did something else… I took out my laptop and started typing. At least I could get the thoughts I kept having in the back of my head about this article out of my head, onto the page, and out to you.

3. My Invitation

While I was going through this process I realized that there might be people out there who want to join me on some Passion Planning. Whatever your goals may be between now and the end of the year, and for the coming year, why don’t you join me? Get your copy of the Passion Planner.

(You can download a free copy. All you have to do is share it on social media. Take a picture. Send it to them. Get the password, and have access to ALL of the downloadable documents for FREE! There are so many! BTW I am not getting paid to promote this item. I simply love it so much and am so willing to support Angelia Trinidad in her dreams!)

Next follow the steps as outlined in the first few pages. I have outlined the first few steps here. Then follow me here on Dear Kim or Facebook  while I go through the process of planning CELBANPrep 2018. Actually, on second thought it would be great if you follow me on Facebook. I have soooo much to do that I don’t know that I will have/make/take the time to write articles. I might just add quick updates on Facebook.

I look forward to your comments, both here on Dear Kim and on Facebook. As you can see Chioma, Rio and Deborah’s comments have been super motivational to me. We are all people and we all need support in obtaining our dreams, right? Well, I do too! So, join me in this process. Find motivation as we set some goals together, obtaining our own individual dreams simultaneously: side by side.

I kinda like that thought.

Now the question is, what do I do about this overwhelming to do list?

Step 4. Choosing Your GameChanger

Asking you, Please Vote: CELBANPrep   that was one of the ways I decided to choose where to start when it comes to creating the CELBANPrep 2018 YouTube Videos. The results are clear. You guys want some Writing Samples. (By the way, casting your vote now, and subscribing to the channels is a great way of accessing them immediately upon release. Go to www.iepc.ca for the list of channels.)

So that is a start; but, what is my gamechanger? As I look at all the things on my list, what is the one thing that will make the biggest difference? What is the one thing that other things are predicated upon? For example, when it comes to that certification course I am taking in January I need my passport, register for the class, book my flight, arrange for accommodation. Before I can go I MUST get my passport. It is the most time consuming process. But, I need to get a picture taken. So: the game changer is my passport, and getting the picture taken is priority one. (If it was not raining with wind warnings I would be going out to get it immediately after posting this…. but it will have to wait.)

For each of my goals I have to go through a process of thinking about all the elements I need to put that goal in place, and then contemplate: what is the gamechanger?

I am stepping away from my laptop for a second to go over to the table where I was working. I will be back in a few minutes. Why don’t you get yourself a cup a tea?

<momentary break>

5. Identifying  Barriers

Identifying barriers isn’t a step in the Passion Planning process. It is a step I learned during my entrepreneurial program before I started IEPC and CELBANPrep. Remember this? Decide. Commit. Practice. Overcome. Achieve. Overcoming is an important step to achieving!

My barrier at the moment is being completely overwhelmed with the amount of work that I need to do. There are some simple and fun tasks to do, like reformatting the websites and creating graphics for them. But the idea of starting all over again, at the beginning. It is like a shop keeper who is standing on the street outside of his/her store after it has been burned down.

What is my barrier? What do I need to overcome it?

I turned to my journal to connect with my Higher Self, to connect with God by going deep within. What is really stopping me? Is it a fear? Then what am I afraid of? If it is not a fear then what is it?

<another momentary pause>

Ok. That was helpful. As Catherine wrote in an e-mail to me, I’ve got this!!

The barrier that presented itself is the one that always does when I am overwhelmed. It is a matter of perspective, pertaining to time.

It took me years to create CELBANPrep, which underwent 6 versions with the changes of technology. I can not even tell you how many graphics I have created or how many hours of sessions I lead. Nor can I tell you the amount of time that went into the creation of this blog alone! Countless hours in responding to e-mails. And the videos! That is the barrier! That is the block!

Do you know that to create a 2 minute video it takes me 5 hrs? Sure I can take less time. But then the outcome is not professional.

I had the opportunity to be involved in someone else’s online program in January of this year. It was disgusting. The speaker had this way of swirling his saliva around in his mouth and they left it in! They did not edit it out! But they boasted a library of over a hundred videos. I could not handle it. I could not even get through a 5 minute video. At one point I actually shouted out loud, “Stop the !@!”

I withdrew immediately.

That is the thing. If I am converting everything to YouTube it means 5 hours for every 2 minutes of video. For what? Am I being paid to do this? No. The motivation, like everything else with CELBANPrep has to come from somewhere else.

Wait. Back up. I am not getting paid for this. I am setting myself up for hundreds of hours of work and I am not being paid for it.

Pause to think about that for a moment.

• Would that stop you? Would you dedicate hundreds of hours creating something to be given away for free without being paid? Would you?
• Why would I be doing this?

Because that is how I am being led; because that is the guidance I have received; because I can see the bigger picture and how it all fits together; because nurses are invaluable to us – ourselves, our families, our friends – our mental, emotional, physical and yes even spiritual well being is in your hands. At the end of the day I am doing this because what I do changes lives; that is why it is God’s will.

Wow! That is some revelation. So, no barriers there for me because I Know: when I work in fulfilling God’s will, He will support me. He did during my entire journey with CELBANPrep!

Ok. Now that is solved.

Back to identifying game changers. In writing in my journal I discovered something. There are parts of what I am to do that are really fun and creative. Yet it is also the foundational work, so that work is the gamechanger. Wohoo! the work I get to do first is the fun stuff! That will motivate me with the other stuff, because it will be part of the process! If I work hard I can have it completed by the end of November. (It is November 14th as I write.)

Then I have four weeks in December: one week for each skill: reading, writing, listening, speaking. Those are obtainable goals.

I just let out a long exhale. Peace fills my being.  I don’t have to have everything finished for January first; I simply have to get the process started. I can continue to release new videos and resources on a regular basis throughout 2018. At the very least I must have something out, by then. In doing so I will fulfill the promise I made some time ago: when I am ready, when I am strong enough, I will create resources that are accessible.

The Invitation

Back to the invitation.

I have a plan. I have a direction. I have a map. I know my gamechanger and I have a timeline for manifesting it.

My invitation is for you to either:

1. follow along on my journey on Facebook (feel free to follow me here on Dear Kim  as well), and/or
2. doing some Passion Planning yourself. (Get yourself a planner. Set some goals. Create a To Do list. Determine your gamechanger. Explore barriers. Create a time line.)

Please let me know what you think! Post a comment!

Sincerely,

Kim

Remember: CELBANPrep 2018: 3 Things you can do between now and January