Write Down Your Goals :: Inspiring & Hiring

Three weeks ago I sat down at the kitchen table and wrote down my dreams. 

My #1 goal that day was "Speak about Photography at a School"

My #2 goal that day was "Go to creativeLIVE"

The next day I sat down at the kitchen table and checked my emails. 

Right there in my inbox, completely out of the blue, was an invitation from Breadalbane Academy (a highschool in Aberfeldy in the Scottish Highlands). Their Creative Design Media teacher was asking me to come and "inspire the students." My jaw dropped with excitement! — Back in July I photographed Pete & Amy's wedding. Pete's parents are both teachers at Breadalbane Academy & apparently they'd been saying nice things about me. 

Yesterday was my first day speaking to the students and I loved it! I'm going back next Monday for more. Plus I've left them with homework (ha!) They're all planning photo shoot this week in teams. I can't wait to see what the kids come up with!

Two days after that I saw a tweet from creativeLIVE...

"We're hiring...."

I applied on a whim, heard back from them the next day and BOOM two days after that I was hired! What?!?!? I couldn't believe it. I wasn't just going to go to creativeLIVE, I was going to work there!

I started writing down my goals because Matthew Jordan Smith said it was a good way to keep you on track to achieving them. Good advice considering that within 1 week of writing down my goals, the top two had materialised. :P

Had I not written down my goals, would I have recognised these two opportunities and gone after them so readily? Perhaps, but because they were written down on paper I actually get to cross them off the list now and that in itself is so rewarding (did I mention I love crossing things off of to-do lists?)

And that leads me on to one more idea... 

Perhaps we ought to approach our goals as "To-Do Lists"? That way our attitudes towards our goals will be proactive; instead of just dreaming about them we'll be acting towards making them a reality.

So today I encourage you to WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS!!! It makes a difference; a big exciting difference :)