Getting Goal Oriented

The Skill Central topics of Wordsmith Lane are all about learning those little bits of info that we need to make it as writers. Conducting interviews, writing pitch letters, working on manuscripts, finding the perfect workspace, yada yada yada.

But sometimes, this information is useless to us unless we’re pretty clear about where exactly it is that we want to go. This is where goals lists come in handy. The beauty about them is that they work in two ways: they make you feel really good about yourself, you know, all optimistic and open to the future, and they actually help you map out how you’re going to get to where you want to be, because they allow you to distinguish between the bits of info you need, and all the other stuff which tends to, in my case, just clog my head with other confusing thoughts about my career (like I was not worried about it enough already) and send me away from my clear-cut path and into a panic.

Today, because I am feeling rather fragile and still quite ill, I have decided to make myself feel better by writing a list of my career dreams and goals, and to share it with the world (or quite simply, those of us regularly waltzing down wordsmith lane) shame-free.

It is going to make me feel really good about myself because I am putting my aspirations out there, which is something that I think is really important because you never know who might be able to offer you advice about it. Plus, I’ve written it in my phone so I can look at it wherever I am to remind me of where I want to go, and perhaps inspire me with new avenues of getting there.

If you think about it, you’d never set out on a long journey without a map. And a goals list is the same for your career journey – because even if you get a little lost along the way, the goals list will always set you back on the path you want to be going. But what’s better is the fact that you yourself drew the map, which means that even if you want to make a stop-over, or decide to stay somewhere you never dreamed of visiting, you can do that – because it’s your journey, and you can decide how you want to take it.

So without further ado, here’s a peek at my list. I would love it if you emailed yours to sarah[at]wordsmithlane.com so that I can publish some of them in a future post (happy to do this anonymously if you wish). I think it would make for great reading for the rest of the wordsmith laners. Enjoy mine, and try not to laugh too hard at it, I have a tendency to dream BIG!

Sarah’s Goals List:

• I want to write in Vogue (Australia). Not because I consider myself this fabulous woman of high fashion (although, yay me, some things in my closet could attest to this), but because I love the quality of writing in its Comment, Upfront & Talks section, is in my opinion, super great. (I might have to hold off on this dream for a while if I am using words like super and great together).
• I want to write an opinion column in the Sydney Morning Herald or The Australian. At least once. I feel it would make me feel more Lois Lane-like if I were published in a newspaper.
• I’d love to publish books. Many books. I have a few ideas and plans for books of various genres. I just need some motivation, a mentor, and a publishing deal. Yes, this is why this a dreams list.
• I want a pretty office space. I can’t wait to move out. I’d have bookshelves line an entire wall. There, I’d put all my writing reference books (my novels and other books would be in the library of my home) and my magazines. Another wall would feature a few of my articles framed, and maybe one day, if I am cool enough, a few of my awards. I want one wall to be made of cork, so I can pin to it all sorts of inspiring words, pictures and pretty, girly things. And then a great big desk with a comfortable chair and a very pretty teapot and tea cup sitting at my side. In the centre of my room, I’d have a little table and two chairs for any interviews. Oh, and my walls would be painted blue, and I’d have an armchair for reading in one corner, and a day bed underneath my framed articles, so that my pet/husband can nap there (I assume this will all happen when I am way older, especially if my financial status is anything to go by).
• A column! I would love to have a regular column in a montly magazine or even in a newspaper. I have no idea what I would write about, but it would be good. And people would love it, and read it religiously.
• Oh, and because I’d be super fabulous, someone would interview me on TV, or I’d be be nominated for some sort of award, and a PR of some uber-cool label would request to dress me in their clients’ clothes. Ooooh.
• I’d speak at festivals. Regularly. Aspiring writers would come to hear me speak and ask me for my advice, and I’d be pleasant and obliging. We might even catch up for coffee sometime, because I love chatting away!