How to follow through

“Oh, this is the start of something good
Don’t you agree?”

– Gavin De Graw, Follow Through –

If you’re anything like me, you like bright shiny things. I get excited about new projects and ideas, start a whole bunch of things and then sometimes struggle to prioritise or complete them.

However, I am equally, very good at following through, when I want to. I just have to decide. I really do love finishing things that I start. And last year was a perfect example.

Last June I decided that I was going to start my own business in Australia and sponsor myself to stay, and 6 months later, come 12th December, I had done just that.

So, the question is, how do you follow through? 

Well a very simple set of tips to follow are

1. Pick one project

2. Commit to it

3. Set a deadline

4. Focus all of your energies on completing it

Another couple of tips for following through as well are

• Set an intention at the beginning of the week to complete a project by the end of it
• Set an intention to complete at least one task relating to your project every day

For example, this week I set the intention of completing my website by the end of the week and every day this week I have made sure that I have taken action to make this happen every day.

Tomorrow I will be handed my website in order to make final copy amends to it. I will pass it to people for feedback over the weekend and I should be ready for it to go live on Monday.

I have also found a great video by the lovely Marie Forleo which includes her top 3 tips on following through.

So, the question is, what are you going to commit to following through on and completing next week? Set the intention, so you know what to focus your energies on from Monday.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Marie Forleo’s video on How to Follow Through

The music video for Gavin De Graw’s – Follow Through

The Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living

A very neat, clean and simple one today for you my darlings.

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama issued eighteen rules for living.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs: 1. Respect for self 2. Respect for others 3. Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

The Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living

Set goals every day

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
– Napoleon Hill –

I just wanted to share a habit that I have got into over the last year, since I set up my business.

I set goals at the beginning of every day.

I know we can all write a to do list, a list of stuff that we feel we should cover off by the end of the day, but I try to set an intention from my heart of 3 big things that I would like to achieve every day, and that, when it gets to the end of the day, I can rest my head on my pillow knowing that I have done 3 awesome things (no matter how big or small). It’s in the similar vein to my JFDI post, and it tips its hat to the concept of Eat that frog.

The important thing is that you feel in your heart that you want to achieve these things, that in doing them you will feel good, and you will be doing good for yourself and ideally others too.

It could be something as simple as committing to read for an hour, baking a cake or going for a nice walk. Or  doing something that you’ve been putting off for ages like calling your Accountant or making a dentist’s appointment. Or it could be reaching out and helping someone who you know could do with a hand.

Once you’ve set your three big goals, then you can continue to empty the contents of your head with all of the others things that you need to do in the day, but you will always remain focussed on the three big things you would like to achieve, that act as your guiding light for the day.

So, the question is, what 3 things would you like to achieve today?

Inspiration for this post

Myself 🙂

Eat that frog

“When a decision has to be made, make it. There is no totally right time for anything.” 

– General George S. Patton –

Todays blog post will be short and sweet and is for anyone out there procrastinating about something.

I read a great book a few years back called Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracey. He refers to Mark Twain who once said that if you eat a live frog first thing in the morning, nothing worse will happen to you for the rest pf the day.

There is a great 90 second You Tube video which explains the idea.

In his book he talks about the 80/20 principle which says that ’20 percent of your activities will account for 80 per cent of your results . . . And this means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth as much or more than the other eight items put together’. He then goes on to say ‘Each of these tasks may take the same amount of time to accomplish. But one or two of those tasks will contribute five or ten times the value of the others.’

And finally, ‘Often, one item on a list of ten tasks that you have to do can be worth more than all the other nine items put together. This task is invariable the frog that you should eat first.’

He also talks about the Law of Forced Efficiency, which says that ‘There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.’

So, what I set out to do every day is ensure that I choose at least one big, important task and commit to covering it off by the end of the day and resist the urge to clear up the small things first.

So, what frog do you need to eat today?

Inspiration for this post

Brian Tracey’s book ‘Eat that frog’

Eat that frog image – Sophia Designs 

Go do something awesome

This time last year I went on a two-day seminar in Sydney that changed my life forever. I had already decided that I wanted to stay in Australia, and had sponsorship that had been offered to me on a plate from my current employer, News Ltd. However, somewhere deep inside, I knew there was another was another way to stay and live and work here. I just wasn’t sure what it was.

I also had let go of a bunch of limiting beliefs that I had around not being experienced enough or knowing enough, and decided that I wanted to set up my own company. The difficulty, was not only how I was going to manage that (especially as I had only been in the country for 6 months and was on a Working Holiday Visa at the time), but finding the confidence and the motivation to make it happen.

That was where my coach, Mr Ben Khodeir, became invaluable to me. Without Ben, not only would I probably not be sitting here in my beautiful flat in Manly, typing this blog post to you, but I definitely wouldn’t have my fantastic company (Thought Cloud) or have earned the visa and sponsorship status in order to be operating my company and living here.

So, why am I sharing this with you? Because I believe that we all need a coach or mentor in life. We need someone who has our backs, always. Someone that has unconditional love for us and our dreams. Someone that picks us up, dusts us off and pushes us in the right direction when we have a wobble. Someone who is our ultimate cheerleader. Someone who celebrates our highs and who helps us through our lows as quickly as possible.

If it wasn’t for Ben, I wouldn’t have set the intention to stay in Australia and set up my own company. If it wasn’t for Ben, I wouldn’t have sought out an Immigration Lawyer to not only educate me on what I needed to do in order to be able to sponsor myself, but help and support me through the entire process.

If it wasn’t for Ben I wouldn’t have pushed through all of the mental and emotional barriers that I needed to along the way. If it wasn’t for Ben, I wouldn’t have been held accountable for achieving the things that I set out to achieve. If it wasn’t for Ben, I wouldn’t have had the self belief and confidence that is required to do something as crazy as set up a company, from scratch, with zero funding, no family around for support, 10,000 miles away from where I’m from, in a country I barely know, with a limited set of people around me for help and support.

I’m 32 and turn 33 this November. I left the UK to go travelling in May 2011 in search of a happier, more fulfilling and loving life. Serendipitously I ended up in Australia, quite specifically Manly. Don’t ask me how or why, I just followed my heart and this is where it brought me, and I’ve not left since.

All I knew when I left the UK was that it was time to do something different with my life. It was time for some big changes. My old ways of doing things weren’t serving me anymore, so I needed to try a different approach.

Einstein is quoted by some as saying that ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ So I knew I needed to find a new way of doing things.

I had had a string of relationships throughout my 20s, all of which seemed great at the time, but had all ended one way or another. I had had a fair few jobs too, which again, at the time were awesome, but weren’t fulfilling me to the extent I wanted. And, even though I’d spent 7 fantastic years in London, I was keen to live somewhere different. Somewhere warm and sunny. Somewhere that I could enjoy the great outdoors. Which is how I ended up in Australia.

And I now live in a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment in Manly, with the love of my life, 2 minutes from the beach and 18 mins from Sydney on the ferry. I love my life, I love my company, I love my clients, my friends and family. I was sitting watching the sunset with my boyfriend just the other week, and I said to him, that I felt for the first time in my entire life that there was absolutely nothing I would change. Such an amazing feeling to have. Seemingly impossible, but actually very possible indeed.

However, none of this was handed to me on a plate.

I have put in a lot of time and effort to getting my psychology right and changing the way I think and do things. I’ve read a lot of books, been to a lot of seminars and training events. I have worked through every challenge that life has thrown up for me along the way, and am continuing to do so. And most importantly, I have had a coach or a mentor to guide me every step of the way. I, and only I am responsible for creating the life of my dreams and my own reality. And the first step was getting clear on my intention, and for that I needed a coach.

I believe so strongly in the importance of a coach and mentor this is part of what I do for a living now.

So, how has the start of the year been for you? Is it what you expected? Are you truly happy with your life situation? Is there anything you would change?

We’re a quarter of the way through already, so there is still a lot of time to make changes. What would you like to be celebrating at the end of the year? Is there a hobby that you have been putting off starting that you’d love to try? Is there a book that has been sitting inside of you your whole life that you’re just itching to start writing? Do you want to make a living out of photography or art, but don’t know where to start or don’t have the confidence to get going? Do you have an awesome business idea, but you need some help or direction on how to get it going? Or are you completely lost in the fog of life? Do you know that you need a change, but you’re just not sure what it is or what you’re here to do?

I would like to offer the gift of clarity to 4 lucky people who would like help in finding the answers to the questions in their head. This gift comes in the form of a Thought Hug.

A Thought Hug is a 60 minute session (in person in Manly or over Skype) that will help you to find clarity in your current life situation and provide you with energy, inspiration, motivation and guidance (and a to do list) to help you move through the fog, into the light.

Your investment for a Thought Hug is $500 and $150 of that will be made as a donation to the charity that we support ‘My Happy Village Cambodia‘ and will directly contribute to their goal of raising $18,000 this year to build a school for their community.

I only have 4 spaces available, and Thought Hugs always get snapped up within 24 hours of being made available, so the first 4 people to contact me directly to request one will be the lucky few.

To be the first to request your Thought Hug email me at kat@thoughtcloudcollective.com or contact me on my mobile +61 (0) 468 351 334 and tell me why you deserve a Thought Hug.

What are people saying about my Thought Hugs?

Tom Bass, Entrepreneur
‘Big thank you to Kat for an awesome Thought Hug! Great feedback on my latest project and the direction that I’m taking at the moment to follow my truth. :-)’

Kristy Smith, Virtual Elves
‘OMG Thought Cloud Collective and Kat Kinnie, you have just ignited a bonfire in me after our thought hug today! I am so excited I want to shout it to the world! Can’t wait to get started and create an awesome ME!!!! xxxxxx’

Mitch Davis, MJD Fitness
‘What a huge help and difference 1 hour can make, thanks to the one and only Kat Kinnie. You are truly brilliant at what you do! Small businesses do yourselves a favour and get in contact with Thought Cloud Collective.’ 

Christine Walter, Body Business Mobile Massage
‘Hi Kat, it was so great to meet you at our first Thought Hug on Monday. Im so inspired now to get my message out and hands busy, seeing more and more people. The world needs more massages and more (thought) hugs! Looking forward to our next steps together and working with your passion and expertise.’

Jon Wolfgang Miller, Fifty-One
‘Thanks to Kat at Thought Cloud Collective for the thought hug! She gave us lots of awesome inspiration and ideas for the future of Fifty-One! The future’s looking very bright people!!!’

Sara Litchfield, The Right Ink On The Wall
“I was lucky enough to spend some quality-time with Kat Kinnie, which was a privilege as well as a pleasure. The power of this time was transformational. I went from having new year’s resolutions to having results in a matter of days. When I first met Kat, all I had was pipe dreams and potential; now I have a business-to-be, with a brand and a website in the making, and a mission and a plan already in place. These are mine – they were inside of me, but I needed the energy and self-belief to realise them, and this is what came from the Cloud and bounced off the walls when I was with Kat.

The very concept of Thought Cloud is inspirational and its founder a true Katalyst for positive change, in your life and in your career. Kat is an inspiration on both a personal and professional level. She has led by example, fostering the potential of others to blossom into successful business-owners in the same way she has herself. What is forming is a very brilliant collective of minds and ideas that I’m excited to be a part of.

I truly believe that what is coming out of and through and via the Thought Cloud Collective are ideas that can change the world. When it comes to your own life, it starts by challenging and changing the way you think in order to accomplish your aims. The value of validation of your dreams and the power of a push in the right direction are truly priceless. All of that can be gained in one Thought Hug. Imagine what more you can achieve when you connect with the experience and talent at your fingertips by further engaging with Thought Cloud. You are setting yourself up to succeed.”