WEEK 49 - Ending 2019 with some BIG ASS GOALS
Hey HOMwork friends, it's the last prompt of 2019!
For those of you just joining us, you can see 80+ past assignments in our Challenge Archive. No pressure to complete them all, but many of you have asked, so here you go!
In my second grade classroom there was a cute-but-cheesy poster with the phrase “Shoot for the moon; even if you miss you’ll end up among the stars.”
Confession: I don’t usually shoot for the moon.
My goals tend to be realistic and attainable. I’m comfortable that way - it means I’m much less likely to be disappointed down the road. It also means I always have a series of easy “wins” that make me feel good without risking much.
But you know what? While there’s nothing wrong with that approach, I’ve decided that’s not the kind of energy I want to bring to 2020. I want some big ass goals. So that’s what we’re doing for the last HOMwork assignment of 2020: we’re shootin’ for the moon, people!
I got this idea for this assignment from THE most random place. I was chatting with a friend and the singer Jojo (Remember her? Leave (Get Out), circa 2004? My 8th grade jam.) came up. We wondered what she was up to, so I looked her up on Instagram and stumbled across a post where she wrote about her future self as if it had already happened: “Multiple 2021 Grammy Award winner, JoJo, attends the 2019 Grammy Camp”
I loved the confidence it radiated, and I love the idea of imagining a big win for the new year. Not just saying “I’d like for this to happen…” but writing it as if it has already happened. It’s the ultimate goal setting, isn't it?
Here’s what that looks like for my 2020...
A few years ago, I decided I would give back 5% of my profits from my creative online classes in the form of scholarships for future classes. I ended up giving a little over $10,000 in scholarships in 2019!
(That was already a win for me because the bar was set SO low in terms of what a person was “supposed” to make in a creative career. I’m sharing real numbers because I want to bust out of that mindset, and I want other artists to do the same.)
Will I be able to offer more scholarships in 2020? Hell yeah! I am working hard and my business is growing.
BUT, as I was thinking about what would be a truly huge win for 2020, I realized that it would be a scholarship number wayyyy higher than I am expecting or planning for or even working towards.
My BIG ASS GOAL is to award $20,000 in scholarships to artists.
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Your Assignment: Think of a specific BIG win you’d love to achieve in 2020, write it as if it has already happened, and then letter it or design it in whatever format you love most.
Format ideas:
Newspaper headline
Editorial quote
Blog header
Caption idea: Get detailed about why this is a big win for you, what’s scary about it, or why the format you chose works best for you. Help people understand what’s risky and exciting about your creation!
As always, don’t forget to use the hashtag #HOMwork and tag me @homsweethom when you share your big ass goal on Instagram!
Real talk: This goal was scary to say this out loud, let alone type it out this email to you, if I’m being completely honest. Because if my big ass goal somehow gets met, it would mean that my online classes generated $400,000 next year. That’s a lot of fucking money. Like, 7x-my-first-job’s-annual-salary money. It barely feels possible, nevermind attainable.
But here’s the thing: wherever I set the bar is as far as I’m going to go.
I can play it safe and set the bar in small increments so that I don’t have to ever think about coming up short. And I’ve done that. And it works.
But deep down, I know I have more in me. While I’m way more interested in expanding my idea of what I can achieve than I am in hitting specific sales numbers (because money has never been my biggest motivator), I know I’m capable of dreaming bigger and failing bigger and learning more because of it...which I can then share with all of you here.
And I want you to dream bigger, too. In 2020, let’s move that bar so far off it feels as far away as the fucking moon. We might not reach it, but you know what? We’re still going to end up swimming in a lot of sparkly stars.
I can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store for you and me both! See you next year :)
Love,
Lauren
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P.S. This is the last HOMwork of the year because we spend the last two weeks of the year enjoying some well-earned rest. I will be lounging on a beach, soaking in some sun, (remember my permission slip from a few weeks back?!) and will return with a new series of HOMwork assignments on Friday, January 10th!
