Progress Report ON Our Dreams
We officially have one week left in June, which means we have one week left until we are halfway through the year. This year has gone shockingly fast for me. Maybe it's because I'm getting older or have a toddler who changes dramatically every day. I also think it can be attributed to the fact that we have a pretty hard deadline for when we will have to PCS again (we are hopeful of extending, but that is definitely something we won't know for at least another year). Hitting the six-month mark in Georgia means we will be 1⁄6 of the way through our time here with only 2.5 years left.
In contrast, I'm sure plenty of us can't believe it's still June. Time is moving at a snail's pace while we wait for a deployment to end or for a PCS to finally happen. Our time in Oklahoma was spent with a big question mark at the end because we really had no clue how long we would spend out there. Regardless of how fast or slow this year is going for us, we can all agree that it is almost halfway done. So, now is an excellent time to check in on our dreams.
I started the year with 12 dreams that I wanted to accomplish. Theoretically, I should have checked off six of those boxes at the halfway point in the year. That's not entirely how it works for dreaming because most of these require compounded activity and specific timelines to achieve them. So if we aren't halfway through the list, that's ok as long as we are on a path to accomplish by the timeline we've set for ourselves. Let's revisit my 12 goals (I recommend you do the same with yours) to see how we stack up.
1. Buy a Honda CR-V Hybrid
I am actually reconsidering this goal purely because my car is still in good shape. My plan has always been to drive my car into the ground, and then I'll get a new one. Cars are merely tools for me, and I don't really have any interest or desire to have a nice new one in the same way that I want to keep other aspects of my life updated. That being said, my car will hit a point where I take it to the mechanic, and they say it is better to put the money towards buying a new car rather than fixing the old one, so I still want to be prepared for a new car when that time comes. As far as progress on this goal, though, I have not made very much. Between a credit score that took quite a hit with the PCS (our credit got hard pulled way more than it should have) and hasn't bounced back, as well as the fact that we haven't really increased our savings to the point where buying a new car makes any financial sense. I would give myself a 0/10 on this dream.
2. Book my first paid speaking gig
I have set up three speaking engagements for myself in July, but none of them are paid, and they aren't talking about dreams, which is what I intended when I wrote this goal. These speaking opportunities will undoubtedly add value and make me more well-rounded as a speaker, but when it comes to securing a paid gig, I give myself a 2/10
3. Have a greenhouse
While I did research a lot of options, it ultimately does not make sense to invest the money right now. When we install a greenhouse, we want to do it right rather than getting something temporary that we'll have to replace in just a few months. This is a dream that purely requires the right finances in place to achieve it, and I have not done the work to free up that amount of money. So I'll give myself a 1/10
4. See AJR Live
Back in April, I achieved this dream, and it was incredible. I am 10/10 across the board for this one.
5. Visit Canada
We are scheduled to go out there over Labor Day this year. I have not made any plans (other than the wedding we are attending) or booked anything. Normally, those are things that I do more last minute, so while this dream is on track to be achieved, I can't check off any boxes that are required for it to happen. 0/10
6. Meet Sheila Wray Gregoire
I am scheduled to go on a cruise with my favorite author, but that won't happen until next February. I can hold out hope that another event will pop up this year where I get the opportunity to meet her, but it is more likely that this won't happen until next year. That being said, dreams will come true whenever they decide to, and a dream like meeting someone depends on that person's schedule. I will not be disappointed if it takes an extra two months to check this off. So, I will give myself a 6/10 on this because the only thing left to do is finalize payments, which won't happen until much later.
7. Launch my dream manager program and have my first client
I have done a lot of research on this and made very little progress. As much as I have a concept of what I want to be doing, I have struggled to conceptualize it into something marketable and reachable. This dream should be more of a priority for me, and I need to spend way more time trying to make it happen. I'll give myself a 2/10
8. Make 50,000 on my own pen
I think I have set myself up in a position to achieve this over the next few months with the new venture I'm starting on the insurance side. I would like for some of my income to come from my work with military spouses, though, which means I need to get my butt in gear on dream number seven. That being said, I am about 4% of the way there at this point in the year. So that probably evens out to a 3/10
9. Have 500 readers on my blog in one month
I also achieved this goal. It was definitely a shock when it happened, and even though it hasn't happened since, I still get to check this dream off my list. The next step is to grow bigger and figure out how to maintain whatever growth I have. 10/10
10. Be a guest on a podcast
There is a podcast that I have been invited to speak on, but scheduling has yet to work out for us to actually record. While this is progress on the dream, I have not been doing the work to get on other podcasts. I could easily send out requests and form connections to make this dream happen sooner, so I will give myself a 2/10 on my efforts so far.
11. Have 1,000 followers on Instagram
I am over the halfway mark to this goal. I don't fully understand the ins and outs of social media growth, but I am making steady progress. I don't know that I'll be at 1,000 followers by the end of the year, but for now, I know I am putting in the effort I need to be. I'm sure there is more strategy and insight that I could seek out to put myself in a stronger position, though, so I'll give myself a 6/10
12. Get a literary agent
Here's another 0/10 because I have not researched a single agent that would fit me, let alone sent out one query letter to give me a shot at representation.
As you can see, most of my scores were pretty low. You may be asking, "Well then, what the heck have you been doing all year?" That is a completely valid question that I am asking myself the same. The six-month mark can be a natural point to change the path we are charting. I encourage you to take an honest look at your dreams from the beginning of the year and the progress you've made thus far. Then, we will come back on Wednesday and figure out how to right our ship. We may be sailing off course or stagnating in our progress, but there are always things we can do to get back on track. We've still got six months left this year, and a lot can change between now and New Year's.