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My Goals for The New Year

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My New Year Goals and Resolutions -- Yoga, Squidoo, and De-Cluttering

Happy New Year! It's been about a year since I wrote this, and I've occasionally been updating this page with my progress. Overall, I accomplished MOST of what I set out to do. 2012 will be a continuation of the goals I set out here.

At some point, I'll probably delete this page, or re-write it for my 2012 goals, or completely re-do this as a more general "resolution and goals" page, but in the meantime, I'm glad you stopped by. Best to you and yours in this new year!
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On New Year's Eve, my husband and I had the pleasure of bringing in the New Year with two dear friends of ours. We went through a lovely process of taking turns to first relate to the others how the past year had gone for us, and another turn to share what our hopes, goals and resolutions are for the coming year, 2011.

Each of us could take as long as we needed during our own turn, with (theoretically) a minimum of interruption from the others (since the four of us all like to talk, we took various "side trips", but eventually we'd return again to the person "on stage"). It was a wonderful way to validate our own goals and desires in a friendly, non-judgmental atmosphere.

And sharing our hopes and dreams with others, especially with a receptive, accepting audience, makes them more real and obtainable in our own minds. I highly recommend this process to you all!

A few days after our New Year's Eve celebration, I received my notification that I had been accepted as a Giant Squid on Squidoo and I also received the new Giant Squids' Challenge to make a lens to help visualize five goals for myself in 2011. Perfect timing! This is that lens. I'm happy to share my goals for 2011 with you!

(If you have happened upon this page and don't know what Squidoo or a Giant Squid is, read Getting Started With Squidoo and The Giant Squids and How You Can Become One.)

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In a Nutshell, Here are My Five Goals for 2011

  1. Goal 1: Grow My Yoga Studio
  2. Goal 2: Continue to Develop My Own Yoga Practice and Teaching Skills
  3. Goal 3: Learn How to Make More Money Writing Squidoo Lenses
  4. Goal 4: Create My Own Website
  5. Goal 5: Declutter the House
  6. And How Am I Doing So Far With My 2011 Goals?

My Five Goals and Resolutions For 2011

There's some overlap in my five goals. Business and hobby and personal development goals all overlap. Deep cleaning and de-cluttering the house doesn't belong in any of these categories, but unfortunately needs desperately to be done. *sigh*

Five Goals for 2011

  1. Business
    Bring in more students to my yoga studio
  2. Personal / Business
    Continue to develop my own yoga practice and teaching skills
  3. Hobby / Business
    Learn how to make more money writing Squidoo lenses
  4. Business / Hobby
    Create my own website
  5. Necessity
    Get the house under control!

Goal 1: Grow My Yoga Studio

Develop a Better System to Bring in More Students

business yoga studio

Photo by JEH (my mother)

I love practicing yoga and I love teaching yoga. I had the pleasure of opening my own yoga studio four years ago, and I still think it's one of the best things I've done with my life (not including raising a family, but now the kids are grown and out of the house). I teach Iyengar yoga, and I'm the sole yoga teacher at the studio.

Iyengar yoga used to be the predominant method of yoga taught in my city. While it's still a common style of yoga here, many other methods are also represented now. There are new yoga studios of various styles popping up each year. Some of my yoga teacher friends and I joke about a "Starbucks on each corner, and a yoga studio across the street". More yoga studios is good for anyone who wants to take a yoga class. It's good to have options. But it definitely means more competition for any of us trying to promote our own yoga classes.

The two best ways I've found to bring in more students are by recommendations from current satisfied students, and by our website.

GOAL #1:
To grow my studio, I'm working on developing a better system for current students to invite their friends and families to join, and I'm working on creating a stronger online presence for my business (which also overlaps with Goal #4).

We do have a very nice website and a blog associated with the studio, but I may also soon create my own website to include yoga articles I've written, and connect this site with the studio website.

Goal 2: Continue to Develop My Own Yoga Practice and Teaching Skills

Yoga practice and yoga teachingBecoming a certified Iyengar yoga teacher takes a lot of hard work and dedication. We have to show proficiency in our own practice, in our teaching skills, and in our knowledge of sequencing, anatomy, philosophy and more. People do not do this on a whim!!

It takes a minimum of three years of practicing Iyengar yoga and a minimum of two years more of teacher training to be considered for the first level of certification, and there's no guarantee we'll pass our certification test. We need to pass two certification levels to be fully certified as an Iyengar Yoga teacher at the Introductory Level.

I've done that and I'm very proud of that! I've also passed the third certification level -- Intermediate Junior 1. Each subsequent level becomes more difficult.

Goal #2
Start working in earnest for my next certification level. I probably can't be ready for the next round of assessments this coming year, but if I start working diligently on it now, I'll be in good shape to go for my next level in 2012.

If I stopped working toward this type of goal then my practice and my teaching would stagnate. I'd become complacent. Who wants a yoga teacher who's decided they don't want to improve their own practice and teaching? I wouldn't!

Read more about Becoming a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher

Goal 3: Learn How to Make More Money Writing Squidoo Lenses

Make money with squidooI am having a blast with Squidoo!

Part of the reason I joined Squidoo was to see if I could supplement my somewhat meager income as a yoga teacher / yoga studio owner (see Goal 1!). Those of you who've been active on Squidoo know that making money by writing lenses doesn't happen quickly! But I did quickly become "addicted" to my lens-creating, and I also love following what's happening on the SquidU Forum. Squidoo has a great community spirit!

So,
Goal #3
Learn how to create Squidoo lenses that will help me earn more money.

This is a very broad goal. It includes learning more about SEO techniques, and it also includes learning how to write good sales-oriented lenses that will encourage people to buy what I'm recommending. I've had enough success to not give up, but I have a LONG way to go before I feel like this is more than just a hobby for me. But, at least it's a hobby that doesn't COST me money. I've earned enough to take my husband and me out to dinner a few times and to buy a few good books for my Kindle. And I'm endlessly intrigued with the process of making better lenses! So I'm happy with my endeavors here!

I don't intend to give up writing informational lenses that are less sales-oriented (I have a number of quite good informational lenses, IMO), but I'll also focus on making more money.

Squidoo money graphic by GreekGeek -- thank you!
Squidoo logo is a trademark of Squidoo LLC
(I am not affiliated with or endorsed by Squidoo LLC)

Goal 4: Create My Own Website

WordPress logoGoal #4
With the knowledge and experience that I'm getting from writing Squidoo lenses, I plan to create my own website. It will feature different articles about the practice of yoga, and will include reviews of different yoga products, including good yoga books and props.

A number of my Squidoo lenses are about different aspects of the practice of yoga, and how it can help with your health. I'll be linking between these articles and my website articles.

I already have a yoga blog associated with my studio, and I may move the blog over to my soon-to-be created yoga information and product review website. Thanks to recommendations from a number of you fellow Squidoo-ers, I've decided to use WordPress for creating my website. I value your insights on this matter :-) What I have to do next is to come up with a URL and website name that doesn't sound too lame. Then get cracking!

WordPress Logo from WordPress Logo and Graphics Page

My Yoga Lenses on Squidoo

Much of this information will be added or linked to my new yoga website

Most of my yoga lenses are informational. From these lenses you'll learn how yoga can help certain health issues, how to pick a good class if you're new to yoga, and why practicing yoga in between classes is good for you.

Some of my lenses are sales-oriented, including recommendations for Iyengar yoga books, eco-friendly yoga mats, and gifts for the yoga lover in your life.

Here are my five top yoga lenses (ranking is automatically updated). Also, take a look at the rest of my Yoga Lenses.

It's this type of information that I'll add to my soon-to-be created yoga information and product review site.
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Goal 5: Declutter the House

We've been married 30 years, have raised two sons to become to happy, healthy and independent adults, and we've amassed many material goods along the way! We're overflowing with books, games, old clothes, more books, old furniture, old suitcases and duffel bags, and even more books.

Goal #5
Now it's time to start clearing some of this stuff out of the house.

Well, we do occasionally get rid of a few piles of stuff -- we've taken loads of gently used clothes and household goods to Salvation Army, and thrown out bags and bags of unusable junk. But more takes the place of what we've gotten rid of.

Time to get serious about this goal! Sadly, I'll have to give up some time spent on my four other, more enjoyable, goals, but I'll be so happy when it's finished.
Organizing for Life: Declutter Your Mind to Declutter Your World

Organizing for Life: Declutter Your Mind to Declutter Your World

by: Sandra Felton

Amazon Price: $5.20 (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

From the back cover:
Say good-bye to the stress of mess--for good! You can find the order, beauty, and peace you desire--and deserve--in your home. Organizing for Life reveals the secrets of keeping your house neat, clean, and organized without spending every minute of your life working on it.

And How Am I Doing So Far With My 2011 Goals?

As of June 2011, I've been progressing well with my first three goals:

1. My yoga classes at my studio are larger than they've ever been. This is my most important goal. Many of my students have started taking more than one class per week (I keep my fees low for additional classes/week), and some of my students have recommended my yoga classes to their friends.

2. I am continuing to develop my own yoga practice and my yoga teaching skills. I recently was at an Iyengar Yoga teacher training intensive, and it was....intense! We practiced teaching poses to our peers, we learned more about adjusting people in poses, we practiced doing the poses ourselves, and we discussed the philosophy of yoga. These were a very busy and productive few days! I'm also taking a weekly class from a high level Iyengar Yoga teacher in my city.

3. I've slowed down some on making Squidoo lenses, but continue to work on new lenses and update my older ones. My best money-making month was for December (people buying holiday gifts). January's income was okay -- not great, but it's been rising since then. Most of my sales off of my Squidoo lenses come from just 3 - 4 lenses, and mostly from my top lens, Yoga for Arthritis although recently my Unique Yoga Gift Ideas and The 10 Best Iyengar Yoga Books have been doing well too.

My last two goals still need much more effort put into them.

4. I bought the URL for the site and installed WordPress on my hosting site, but that's as far as I've gotten. I may instead just continue with my yoga studio blog, and add pages to that instead of creating the Wordpress site.

But I've also started a second blogger blog -- Backyard Sightings -- that will allow me to link to a number of my nature-related lenses.

5. De-cluttering the house continues to be a challenge for me! I need to put this up higher on my things to do list.

Browse Through a Few of My Other Squidoo Lenses

I've already listed my top 5 Yoga lenses.

If you'd like to see what else I enjoy writing about, check the list on my Lensmaster Page or browse through the list of lenses featured on my lensography.
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I'd love to hear from you

Thanks for stopping by!

  • bloomingrose Jan 27, 2012 @ 1:51 am | delete
    I read this lens with great interest. Your goals being so specific and grounded was very helpful to me. I encourage you on all your pursuits. I especially liked how you did a six-month update. BTW - I know those Wordpress sites can be frustrating, but if you don't give up - I won't either. Who knows? Maybe someday you will want to sell your site. There are a few days left in January of 2012 -I am going to create a similar lens for this year. I think you should too!
  • NidhiRajat Jul 31, 2011 @ 12:24 pm | delete
    life is nothing without goals....
  • LivingFood Mar 3, 2011 @ 5:36 pm | delete
    Those are excellent goals! My friend got me started on yoga...so it is nice to meet a yoga teacher online.
  • ideadesigns Jan 18, 2011 @ 5:09 pm | delete
    Hey this is an awesome goal lens. FlyLady is great for a clean house. Just saying that you've done a wonderful job here. :)
  • crosscreations Jan 15, 2011 @ 11:57 am | delete
    Well done. You've given much thought and attention to this, and so it IS! :-)
    FAVED, lensrolled AND Angel blessed. Best to YOU on Squidoo!
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kajohu

I'm a certified Iyengar yoga teacher, and love to read and write and talk about yoga (as well as practice and teach!).

I also enjoy writing about my... more »

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