Episode 88: Goal Setting If You’re Multi-Passionate with A.N. Sage

Goal setting can be as simple or as complicated as you wish for it to be but with the right practices in place, it can help elevate your business to a new level of success and provide a base from which you can work to get there.

In today’s episode, we have Inessa A.N. Sage, author and a multi-passionate entrepreneur. We will be talking about goal setting and her insights and tips for authors or creatives. Better to take notes, folks!

Currently, Inessa is on her 9th book! And as I mentioned before, she is a YA fantasy and sci-fi author. She is a photography graduate from Ryerson University, Toronto Canada, which is quite different from the career she now enjoys. She started writing while in school, like poetry and short stories, moved to New York to chase the art scene, and stayed there for a couple of years. But when she came back, photography has taken on a trend that she was not prepared for, and that made her realize that it was not her calling.

Inessa also worked her way up to managing teams, first in retail, then in a creative field, until she became a Senior Director. With her love for creativity, she quickly realizes that she wants to be one of the people who create and not the person who manages others.

She also tried her hands on an Etsy shop about planning and organization, which is not surprising because she’s a confessed stationery junkie! But as soon as the shop started to take off, she ended up working a full-time job, and that’s when she started feeling burned out.

The positive thing that it did though was to spark the creative need inside of her that made her start writing again, and then one day, she had an idea for a book, took a million writing courses, and stumbled a bit, but she grew and became a full-time writer! 

She still does freelance for a couple of clients to give herself a break from strictly novel writing while rebranding her shop and publishing novels. With three jobs under her belt, she is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, which is a good thing because you never know! Coronavirus shut down the world. 

How to Set Goals If You’re Multi-Passionate (and Obtaining Them)

Goal setting is not a wishy-washy thing that people did where they made mood boards, cut things out, print things from Pinterest, and visualize their lives. But if you treat it as a project or a roadmap to where you want to be, it can be a powerful tool, especially if you’re an entrepreneur or a creative business owner. Because it helps you narrow down the direct route that you are taking without you getting sidetracked. 

Here is a breakdown of goal setting you can realistically work through:

• Start with a big-time yearly picture, 5 or 10-year plans are important but too far off you can’t strategically plan for it. Stick to what you want to achieve within a 12-month period, it’s better and easier that way. 
• Narrow yourself down to only 3 to 4 main quarterly goals to avoid being all over the place, and you might bite too much to chew on. 
• From each quarterly goal, figure out exactly what you can do per category, then concentrate on that goal.  
• Write a few smaller tasks per goal category. A planner works very well.
• Organize them by each month to have a more realistic viewpoint. Treat them as a project because in the end if you accomplish a specific goal for that month it takes you closer to your yearly end result!
• Add personal development to expand your knowledge of your craft and have a reminder that you need a me-time too.

Whether your goal setting is focused on your business or personal life, we have an available planner to help you organize everything in one place. Visit our Digital Shop to grab your own printable/downloadable Digital Planner!

Big goals can be scary, but if you break them down, you can focus on a smaller task step by step, and you’ll be surprised how many things you’ll get done!

Also mentioned in the show: 

12-Week Year by Brian Moran

Ryerson University

Sarra Cannon, Author @sarracannon

Get connected with Innes:

Facebook: @ansagewrites 

Instagram: @a.n.sage

Twitter: @ANsageWrites

Author page: https://ansage.ca/  

Etsy Shop