Integrate, Magic, and Goals for Being 35

Sometimes you have to stop everything to move forward

In my first few years of motherhood, I took a break from setting goals. My aim was to be more gentle with myself and my babies. I worked for rest and ease. I connected to the feminine energy within. I released expectations as much as I could.

In all that, I lost touch with my desire to create. Which was fine. Completely okay. Exactly perfect. I needed to take a break from my drive and hard-core personality to become a mama.

Here I am now, 35 years old with children who will be 2 and 4 in the next few months. Last year when I found myself wanting to return to work, I hired a business coach and started setting goals again. (Check out Abbi Miller if you want a flowy, high vibe biz coach. Her Monday Magic Method and Quarterly Goal Setting worksheets are my fave.)

Life ebbs and flows. Sometimes you have to stop everything to move forward. As so many of us are staying home because of the coronavirus, I think that’s more true now than ever.

In the past year, I’ve felt my creativity return with more focus and flow. Having goals has helped me find connection, direction, and purpose. It’s refreshing. It feels good. And the most magical thing is... it doesn’t really feel like work.

Words for this year: integrate / magic

Did you pick a word for the year? I have two: integrate and magic.

Integrate means combining one thing with another so they become a whole. I selected this word because I sometimes feel like I have a lot of different interests, that I’m pulled in a million directions. I catch myself going through the motions or checking things off the list just so they are done. Integration is about embodying whatever I’m studying. Slowing down and doing less so that I can apply what I’m learning. It’s bringing intention to my actions so I can move towards wholeness and away from hustle.

Magic means influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. It’s the unseen elements of the universe and moments of synchronicity. It’s appreciation, abundance, and everything between. This year I want to allow more magic into my life, to be open to possibility, and leave room for unexpected delights.

Business goals for this year: go slow, be curious

I recently had an astrology reading with Leslie Galbraith and she made several references to this year being about laying the foundation of my business. The analogy she kept using was about me being a bricklayer. Piece by piece, meticulously crafting a beautiful structure that I will (metaphorically) live in for years to come. The decorating and adornment will come, but my task this year is to go slow, be curious, and build.

Her reading resonated with where I am. Before you set out to lay bricks, you need materials and a blueprint. I established both last year and now I’m ready to put on some good music and get to work.

Here are my business goals for being 35. My plan is to revisit these each quarter and adjust as needed. I cannot predict the future, but having these goals and sharing them with you already feels like progress.

• April: build Magical May
  a virtual retreat to bring more presence and ease, joy and contentment to everyday life - hosted by Celebrate Cultivate

• May: host free & paid versions of Magical May
  free - a sharable experience on Instagram… and maybe a podcast!?
  paid - deeper investment for those craving higher value (actual product TBD, but thinking of downloads + Zoom calls)

• June: refresh kaileenelise.com + relaunch newsletter
  would love to get to these things sooner, but having a whole month slated is incredibly exciting (which means it’s the right choice)

• July: summer sabbatical
  delete Instagram, shut down Facebook, do not post blogs here, take a break from listening to podcasts + audiobooks (okay to send emails to newsletter subscribers + publish podcast episodes, very okay to read on Kindle or actual books)

• August: work for 2 new clients
  help clients bring clarity, ease, and beauty to their businesses online (want to hire me? click here!)

• September: build + launch Autumn Abundance mini-course
  look at what worked well with Magical May and expand on those things

• October: work for 2 new clients
  same as August, keep laying those business bricks

• November: build Celebrate Cultivate
  a month-long virtual retreat to reflect on the past year, celebrate what happened, set intentions, and cultivate more of what you want

• December: winter sabbatical
  open to adjusting my expectations based on how the summer sabbatical goes, but my intentions are the same: a complete break from consuming social media, podcasts, and audiobooks + not publishing to my blog

• January: host free & paid versions of Celebrate Cultivate
  apply what I learn from Magical May to make it even easier to host and more magical for participants

• February: rest, refresh, reset
  take a week (or the whole month) to rest after hosting Celebrate Cultivate, refresh my digital life, and reset my goals for the next year

• March: work for 2 new clients
  keep on building beautiful, useful things for entrepreneurs + business owners

Keep Reading for Personal Goals + Next Steps

Personal goals for this year: breathe… and make time for yourself

My personal and work goals are intertwined, but it feels fun to also consider things I want to do that might not relate to revenue.

• Join the public library

• Read 35 books
  What if I decided to read the same number of books as my age every year? When would that venture become improbable or impossible? 35 is a stretch for me based on past years, but doable. This challenge sounds fun.

• Continue writing + sharing here
  This has been a goal of mine for the past several years! But this feels like the right time. With each paragraph I publish, I’m reminding myself of what it means to show up for my creativity.

• “Marie Kondo” my digital photo + video storage
  As of the publishing of this post, there are 9,540 photos and 2,392 videos stored on my phone. This makes the inbox-zero-loving, digital minimalist within me cry.

• Refresh the framed photos in our home

• 1 Second Everyday (check out the app)
  Catch up on videos for the kids until their 2nd and 4th birthdays. Start a shared video for 2020.

• Start keeping track of what I want to call in & the things I actually manifest
  Listen to this episode of That’s Pretty Woo for more on this.

• Complete a weekly gratitude journal

Out of my head and onto the screen

I cannot begin to explain how helpful it is to get all of this out of my head and onto my screen! Do you set goals with the New Year? Your birthday? Both? I’d love if you shared your process in the comments. For now, my next steps include:

1. Adding my goals to my planner, calendar, and weekly check-in lists

2. Setting reminders to revisit/revise quarterly

3. Writing a blog post to share the updates I’ve made to my vision boards — I revised them recently and I’m loving them!