That is definitely a more realistic goal! It’s been almost 3 weeks since your first post. You should be seeing some results even this early in the game.

Aaron that was a major typo I actually meant 42 lbs!!

Very glad to see you setting some goals for yourself that are really going to require you to put forth a serious effort!

I love what you said about being a slimmer driver – that’s a great way to combine those 2 goals in your mind.

90 lbs in 90 days is a lot, though, from a health perspective. Most fitness professionals – myself included – don’t recommend losing more than about 2 pounds of body fat each week.

I emphasize body fat because it IS possible to lose more actual weight than that in any given week, but if you are starving yourself, you will lose muscle tissue, and also sabotage your metabolism. The last thing you want to do is end up as a skinny fat person!

I first come across your site last year and set my self some goals which I changed but never achieved. I was thinking about the 90 day challenge last week and thought I am ready to nail it this time! So as of the 13th May 2008. I decided to stick with the 2 goals I had before which are:

To lose 901bs
Pass my driving test.

Since setting these goals last week I have lost 81bs and know I WILL SUCCEED and be a slimmer driver by 10th August 2008.

I am truly grateful to be able to help, motivate, and inspire people in any way, so thank you very much for all of the positive feedback!

I am frequently reminded of the need to keep this blog unique so that it doesn’t just melt unnoticed into the growing pile of blogs on the Internet, and one of the ways that I do that is to endorse this site as a community, not just a blog.

So, responding personally as often as I can to reader comments is just me putting my money where my mouth is!

Thanks, Holli Jo!

Thanks for the encouragement, and thanks for pointing me in the direction of problogger and your new site The 3 Alchemists. These are both some great resources! I wish you success with your new blog, by the way.

And thanks again for being so personable and real with your readers. It’s inspiring that someone as busy as you read and responds to our posts.

THANKS!!!

Thank you for sharing your update with me, and I want to assure you that you have internalized what this challenge was about to begin with – taking the necessary steps to make something happen!

I firmly believe that one of the biggest reasons why people do not succeed in the attainment of their goals is because they do not consistently take the necessary actions in order to bring their goals to life.

Even in my own life as the author of this challenge, I have learned things in the past 90 days about laser focusing on specific tasks, and you can bet that what I have learned will become apparent over the next 90 days!

If I have motivated you in any way to get the ball rolling towards the attainment of your goals, Holli Jo, then I have done my part. The rest is up to you, and I have confidence that you will take the ball and run with it from this point forward!

On a more specific note, if you aren’t already a regular reader of Darren Rowse’s blog, the knowledge to massively succeed as a blogger is contained in the pages of his blog, so I highly encourage you to check out ProBlogger.

Also, I have just started a new blog (BRAND new, in fact) where I will be taking apart the ins and outs of how I have made money blogging, so you can look for some additional info there. That blog is called The 3 Alchemists and is a joint venture with myself and 2 of my mastermind partners.

I wanted to come back and give you an update. I posted 90 days ago about two things — having a new job, and making money from blogging and writing.

Well, I don’t yet have a new job, but I feel confident that one is forthcoming.

I’m not making money from blogging yet. BUT, I did create a blog I’ve been wanting to create for a long time. I did it! Momentum is building slower than I had hoped, but I am taking the steps necessary to make it happen.

For that, I thank you for the kick in the pants. Things will just get beter from here.

Very much obliged for your positive and uplifting comment!

You are so right that every single step is a part of the process. We don’t always have to accomplish the “big” goal in order to learn from and enjoy the journey.

I remember when I was a kid I was reading a Reader’s Digest and someone had asked a mother or father if they had ever failed at being a parent. The very appropriate response?

“Everyday.”

We learn from the journey, not the destination. Then, when we apply what we’ve learned, then we can accomplish even bigger and better things in the future.

Life is just cool like that!

I am SO enjoying reading everyone’s posts here, and what is really striking is how many people have said ‘oh, well, I’m out’…because they missed a day or a task. Commitment isn’t easy, but remember to pat yourself on the back for even being willing to put yourself ‘out there’, as most people around you NEVER WOULD.

This challenge has brought so many people closer to their goals than they otherwise would have been, and in the process has no doubt changed a lot of lives. For all of us who are already in this ‘self development’ business, we know it’s not easy, but every step and learning experience and ‘aha’ moment is worth the trip. Each step, each choice is worthwhile and important and one further than where you were before you took it. Enjoy the process!

Thanks, Aaron.

You are correct in that we can do anything that we want to, and it all begins with us, not with the other people.

In both the situation with your parents as well as your colleague, their behavior is all but irrelevant. Technically, it is 100% irrelevant, but it can be hard to instantly ignore the negativity that someone else brings into your presence.

However, the power to get through the negativity that is brought on by someone else is totally in your control. It has always been about our reactions to what happens to us, not the events themselves.

You have the ability to smile and laugh in the face of anything that your family or your colleagues throw at you, but if you continue to allow yourself to be negatively influenced by their behavior, you are the one who is allowing that to happen, and you are the only one who can stop it.

You may not be able to control other people, but you can control your reaction to them, and it sounds like you need to start exercising that control, Louise.

Also, I am very fond of the phrase “become what you want to attract“. Or, to put it another way, Lead by Example. If people bring negativity to you, keep up your positive attitude both in their presence as well as in private, and accomplish the things that you say you are going to accomplish. No one can dispute success, Louise, so if people don’t believe in you, simply prove them wrong by attaining your goals!

Now I have a new question:
How do you handle obstacles so you reach your goal in time?

My obstacle:
My parents… as usual… They love me, I know, but they have such a funny way showing it! They rarely speak to me in a “normal” way. If we have a nice and relaxed conversation, critique or anything negative comes up pretty quickly… And that sets my mind out of control in any negative direction as well! Which unfortunately leads me to struggle with family issues rather than getting my job done.

I have often heard that you should cut all contact with negative people, even your family… has anyone done that?

In addition to family-problems, I’m currently in a nasty “fight” with a colleague which has left me sleepless… not good!
I even forgot to read my goals for 4 days now!

So… Aaron, could you please give me and everyone else with stupid obstacles a little advice?

I know that you can do anything when you really want it, and I truly believe that is true… no one just never told me how you can stay focused when you are highly frustrated with something that has nothing to do with your goal…

Sorry about this negative post… I’m frustrated!

Anyway, take care everyone:)

*Louise

YAY!! I’m glad to hear that you are still in the game, and also that you are so close to attaining your goal! That is truly awesome, and I can’t wait to hear the details of your successful flight!

Aaron… don’t spend my money.

Wasn’t planning on leaving this comment, but I’m with Lyman and saving you $100. The wind this past friday kept me from doing a major cross country flight that I needed to complete my pilot’s license in the specified time….. so….. unfortunately I won’t be completed in the 90 days. Probably about 95

HA! “Divorce your comfort zone” – I LOVE IT!

That is exactly what people have to to do!

As far as keeping a job because there are people there that you enjoy, there is nothing wrong with that if you keep the job because you choose to stay there.

Too often people will use some aspect of their job as an excuse to stay there simply because they aren’t willing to do what it takes to leave that job. I’m not saying that is the case with you, but I’m just throwing that out there as something to keep in the back of your mind.

As far as daily/weekly goals, I do not put those on the statement of success that I read every day because the statement of success is meant to keep me focused on the big picture, not my daily tasks.

I do have daily and weekly goals, however, and I keep them on an old-fashioned notepad that sits on my desk. As I get them done, I pick up my pen and put an “X” showing that they are completed. That is one of the best parts of my day!

You are so right… I just have to kick myself and get started! No other option. Guess I’ll have to divorce my comfort zone *lol*:)

However, I set out to put in the electrics (what I do at my job)in 4 ventilation machines before the end of this week… that was thursday night, and I only made 3… So that would mean that I have to do it next week, right?

To me, financial independence would be 2001 bucks per month. That means I would be able to support myself and quit my job if I wanted to so I don’t have the feeling that I have to keep the job (but right now I have some really great work-colleagues who make it all worth it going to work…)

I was wondering, do you put any daily/weekly goals on that goal sheet you read every morning and evening or is it “just” your long-term commitments?

Take care Aaron (and everyone else too)

*Louise

You’ve got some great long-term as well as short-term goals, and if they didn’t make you shiver, what fun would they be???

You said that you are living on $2,000 per month now. What is financially independent in 60 days?

As far as what happens if you don’t hit your goal, you can’t give yourself that option. If you could just “reset the clock” if you didn’t make it, then what would be the point of giving yourself a set amount of time to begin with?

I have personally found that the best way to get rid of a fear of commitment is to just do it. Fear is a completely internal thing, and it can be defeated by just taking action on the thing that you fear. I know that sounds simplistic, but it works!

Nice to see that I’m not the only metal-fan around:) Although I’m more into Machine Head:)

OK… my commitments:

Within 60 days I will be financial independant!
Within 150 days I will be earning 10,000-20,000 each month… (I live for about 2K’s a month now)
1 Year from today, it will have grown to 50,000-70,000 a month.
2 years from now I will have written more than 3 and sold at least 1 movie script.
1 year from now I’ll have a complete drumset and I’ll be drumming like Julius from Nightwish…

…now… what happens if it doesn’t work? Set a new set of goals or prolong the time frame?

…And then… could someone please give me some tips on how I can get rid of my fear of commitments so I don’t give up along the way? please? -Noooo, I’m not really comfortable writing these commitments (*shiver*), but it had to be done… And I’m glad I did:)

Thank you for this cool blog:)

Hugz and best wishes for everyone:)

*Louise

At first, you’re like, “Why I am a reading this again? I wrote the damn thing, and I’ve read it dozens of times already!”

However, for one, it is the subconscious programming that we’re after, and also, no matter how many times I read something good, there are certain instances – sometimes weeks or even months later – when some part of the text hits me upside the head with a much needed reminder!

I’m so glad to hear that you are going to keep going!

Believe me, in practicing what I preach, I read my goal statement every night before bed and again as soon as I get up in the morning, and I have had that same feeling of not wanting to do it many times myself.

As recently as this morning I got up after only 4 1/2 hours of sleep and started rushing around because I had many things to do before I headed outdoors for my morning exercise. However, I stopped the presses and MADE myself read my statement.

The result? I was both more focused as well as more energized when I finished up my tasks, and also while I was exercising.

It is time well spent, sticking to your guns, Lyman, and I’m truly glad to hear that you are doing that!

And I’m going to keep up with this project of yours myself… it’s such a great thing.