HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you and your loved ones had a beautiful, restful holiday and you are excited for 2018!

The new year is such a gift. We give ourselves a fresh start.

Like how you feel when you get into freshly-washed crisp sheets in bed, or starting a new school year as a kid with your backpack, Trapper Keeper binder (remember those?) and sharpened pencils ready to go.

It’s a do-over. Another chance. More opportunities to feel better than we felt last year.  

I know you’ve probably gotten LOTS of e-mails (as I have!) about 20 ways to set goals for the new year or the best way to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions.

This e-mail is different.

As you ease into the new year, I want to share my way for focusing my goals, in case it’s helpful to you too.  It’s super-simple. I take out my gold Kate Spade journal and jot down notes about 3 specific areas. That’s it.

Here are the 3 areas I journal about:

1. What can I CELEBRATE from 2017?

Write down as many things as you can. That’s all you have to do. Big and small accomplishments – tiny steps forward count too!

I came up with a list of 23 things, but these were my top 4 goals from last year and here’s what I am celebrating about them:

1. 1. Speaking engagements on stage, podcasts, webinars, interviews – I gave 116 talks, interviews and media appearances as a legal expert. That’s about 1/3 of the days of the year!

1. 1. Launched my new website in March at lisafraley.com with over 100 webpages with 30+ DIY legal templates and courses. It took FOREVER to redo the site, but it was so worth it!

1. 1. Published my book “Easy Legal Steps…That Are Also Good For Your Soul” in April which was an Amazon bestseller in 3 categories. The book was on my bucket list – and I’ve gotten SO much positive feedback that it is helping so many people.

1. Traveling for work & play –  This year I took 17 trips (with 11 in the last 5 months of the year), including to San Diego (4x for a Mastermind and a conference), San Francisco/Sausalito/San Jose, Ohio, Phoenix, Kelowna BC & Waterton Park AB, NYC, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania (2x), Seattle, Germany, Rock Hill NY, Dallas, and Boston. Scott came with me on 12 of the 17 trips which was also one of our goals. I love traveling, but WHEW! 17 was a LOT!

One of the small things I accomplished was doing my first Facebook Live. I know, I know. People whip out their phones and do a gazillion videos a day, but for me, it was scary. I’ve now done several, including promoting Damsel goes bare and my 7-part webinar series called “Grow with Grace”. Yay for the small win!

2. How do I want to FEEL in 2018?

Danielle LaPorte brilliantly teaches in her book, The Desire Map, how to identify the core desired feelings (CDF) that you want to feel in the coming year.

I am setting the intention that my 2018 CDFs are:

Expansive.
Energize.
Ease.

I want everything that I do in 2018 to fall into one of these categories, so I’m going to ask myself about every opportunity that crosses my path:

“Does it help me feel expansive? Does it energize me? Does it feel like ease?”

Ideally, YES should be the answer to all 3 questions and that’s how I’ll know it’s fully aligned for me to say YES to the opportunity.

There no magic number for your CDFs. You can name one, you can name six – whatever you want. Naming these feelings really helps me to stretch bigger, but also stay grounded, focused and soul-aligned – and not get caught up in as many “shoulds” in my biz.

When I focus on my CDFs, beautiful new clients, income and abundance always follows. (Cha-ching = more bling!)

Danielle teaches that when you lead with the feelings, the results show up.  #truth

3. What do I intend to CREATE in 2018?

There are a few big new ideas I am creating in 2018 but one of the most exciting things I am creating is my brand new Legally Enlightened Podcast!

I’ll be launching weekly podcasts with micro-content starting MARCH 2018. You’ll hear bite-sized tips (easily digestible in 20-minutes or less) about law, life and biz so you can listen on the run. Right now I’m busy recording the episodes and I am sooo excited!

Now it’s your turn:

What are you CELEBRATING from 2017?
How do you want to FEEL in 2018?
What are you going to CREATE in 2018?

I’d love to hear your answers! Feel free to tell me about your favorite New Year rituals and practices. Share with me below about what you are doing to get a fresh start in the new year.

Here’s to making time for celebrating last year and setting intentions for 2018!