Happy November and a Post-Thanksgiving, everyone! Gobble gobble! I’m stuffed!

The holidays are officially here, and that means people are shopping like crazy!

At the time of this post, my eBay store has officially crossed the mark for highest grossing month so far! Wooo! Still 2 days left to go!

The short and sweet secret to achieving this momentous milestone was simply goal setting, but it’s how I did it that made all the difference this month, and for future months to come.

 

DEVELOPING A GAME PLAN

Around the time I quit my job back in July, my girlfriend, who was already working from home at the time, advised me that when I made the transition to working from home (and for myself), I would need to plan out my day to maximize time efficiency. I agreed, and we went out to my local Target to purchase a white board so I could start scheduling my day to day activities. The white board made it home, but it sat for 4 months before I eventually had the time (read: lazy) to put it up.

I wish I had done this months ago. Productivity increased overnight!

HOW TO VISUALIZE YOUR GOALS

I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on Facebook about my white board, so I thought I would share the layout and purpose of each section, as well as some links for you to get started a white board of your own.

STEP 1. MY “WHY”

 

This should be the very first thing you write down at the top of your white board.

Your “why” should serve as a reminder as to why you get up and do what you do to make ends meet every single day.

If you have children, you shouldn’t have to look any further than that to find your why, but if you don’t, dig a little deeper because without it, your business will fail.

If you can’t read my writing, my why is “to promote happiness by making life what you want it to be.” Every day, I strive to make someone’s life a little better and that’s what keeps me motivated. If I can just encourage or inspire one or two people out there to pursue what makes them happy, everything would all be worth it.

STEP 2. MY GOALS

Your goals are the big milestones that you want to reach in your life; perhaps, things that you define as “successful”.

It also helps to set a realistic timeline for yourself so you know if you are close to hitting your goals or if you need to start hustling.

My first goal was to quit my job and pursue a life as an entrepreneur instead (read more about how I did this here). The next 3 goals that follow (fun car, income, house) are, to me, my own measures of my success. My final goal is to retire by 35 and retire my parents shortly after.

STEP 3. MY MINI GOALS

Simply put, your mini goals should be the milestones you want to achieve that help you reach the larger goals from Step 2.

My mini goals that I started in November are to do $2000/mo in my eBay business, earn $100/mo in affiliate income, and do $4000/mo with my AirBNB rental.

Once you reach your goals, simply evaluate, erase, and replace with a slightly bigger goal.

For those asking, the AirBNB project is currently on hold but should resume sometime after the holidays. I’ll be changing out that mini goal next month for another new project I am working on that I will be sharing very soon!

STEP 4. TO-DO LIST

The “To-Do” list is where you can write down things that don’t have an exact timeline yet but are noted so they can be referenced in the future. These would be tasks that you would consider as low importance, but still should be completed at some point during the month.

At the moment, my notes are reminding me that I need to create a Facebook page for my website, as well as watch “Midnight in Paris”, a movie that my friend Mitko from millennialdropout.com recommended to me.

STEP 5. DAILY ACCOUNTABILITY CALENDAR

Last but not least, we have the daily accountability calendar. Here, you can note your day to day tasks, as well as any meetings or appointments you may have coming up to make sure that you complete and don’t miss them.

I personally set a goal to do the very minimum of 4 Instagram posts a week (hence the IG in each day box, upper right), and only write out the dates that I have an important task to do, on.

For example, on Monday’s 11/28, I needed to list a copy of Final Fantasy XV Ultimate Collector’s Edition, and on 12/5 need to cancel my 30 day prime trial membership. On Wednesday’s, I have tasks on 11/23 and 12/7 as noted.

I hope this makes sense to you!

If it doesn’t, feel free to reach out to me and I can explain it to you in better detail.

THE TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

FULL DISCLOSURE: At no cost to you, I may or may not be paid a commission when you click the links below.

 

Depending on your own personal needs, select the right size white board for you. I recommend starting with either of the ones below, as they are a fairly large size for optimal writing and also include pens, magnets, and a dry eraser included in the set, or pick one up at your local Walmart / Target:

ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS AND BEYOND

In last month’s update, I mentioned that my eBay store was in the process of being reoptimized while my Virtual Assistant was busy recovering from Typhoon Lawin.

After getting back into the trenches and doing some listings myself, I was able to stumble upon some hot selling products and also make some unexpected triple digit profit sales which helped me hit my highest grossing profit month so far.

 

I am currently at $2322.87, and I expect to break at least $2500 to $3000 in the coming days, with an even bigger anticipation for next month!

 

PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME ACCORDINGLY

After spending now another solid month working from home, I finally understand that your day is only limited to so many hours and projects before you have to stop and decide what’s working or not. I have to prioritize on what is doing the best for me financially and right now that is:

1. eBay. By far. I spend about an hour or so a day processing orders and the rest of my morning researching how to further optimize and improve the sales for my listings, whether it be looking to capitalize on the latest trends, or just simply finding an amazing deal somewhere online.
2. Reading more books. I can’t stress this point enough, but The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, amongst many others have been at least 50% the key to my success. Being properly educated and having the right mindset when approaching any challenge has time and time again proven to make all the difference. I have had to sacrifice on some of my gaming time, but the dividends this pays back is well worth it.
3. Affiliate Marketing, and this website. This website, more than anything has kept me accountable on making sure that I complete all my daily web tasks and allows me to think creatively each week when I share a new post.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

 

With all of the negativity and mudslinging going on due to the recent presidential election amongst other political unrest throughout the world, I want to end by sharing a quote that has always stuck with me throughout the most challenging of times:

“It’s not the blowing of the wind that determines your destination, it’s the set of the sail.”

– Jim Rohn

The only person that determines where you can go in life is you.

The rest of his message is shared in the clip below. If you have 5 minutes to spare, I highly encourage you to check it out:

 

I feel so thankful and blessed this November to be able to share my life and passions with each and every one of you. It has been my dream for years to be my own boss and help inspire others in the process and now that dream has become my reality.

Believe it or not, I am considering moving to Thailand or Vietnam for a few months to explore the other side of the world, but I’ll save that story for another day.

This is just the beginning of an exciting journey ahead!

Were you able to make your own whiteboard or have some tips to share on how you manage your day? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!