Meljo's Place: Orchestrating the Madness. Part 1.

ORCHESTRATING THE MADNESS. part 1

Besides starting, restarting my blog, restarting my career, restarting life as an empty nester, & becoming a student ALL over again, I am also going to attempt to restart my planning strategies. Ha Ha! That sounds funny. Life as a nursing student can be very chaotic, especially when you have to continue working to keep up with the bills that keep piling up. (More on that later) I realized my first semester of nursing didn't run as smoothly as I wanted it to be. I had cleaned the house from top to bottom & organized items we needed and kept everything in its place. Somewhere during the semester, it became a mad house, we I lost sense of things and my 'take 60 minutes" to tidy up/organize/run errands went out the window, the door, every crevice that it could seep out of. One has to face reality. Just because you see/plan/focus on the organization, reality is, sometimes it doesn’t work. And at the end of the day… IT’S OK!!

Seriously it’s OK!

Just like the medical field (only thing I can compare it to), it’s unpredictable. You can learn/state/teach if Y happens then you will do XY & Z. THIS IS TEXT BOOK way of learning. However, no one ever tells you that XY & Z can be ZY & X and you need to have a backup plan & another back plan if YX & Z happen. Life/things happen! Life is unpredictable. Once you let go of the text book DO’s, then you can manage/orchestrate the madness of ALL the ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

Now grab a seat, this next section is long, but I will break it down to hopefully make it easier for you. DO NOT GET OVERWHELMED.

Orchestrating the Madness

Before you want to take on a big change (home renovation, going back to school, starting a business, changing careers, moving,…etc.) You need to ask yourself a couple of questions. Be brutally honest with your answers. Ultimately you are the only one that can make this happen if you want it bad enough.

GOAL:	What do you want to accomplish? A degree? A dream move or career change?
TIME:	How long will it take to START setting your goal in motion?
CHAINS:	What is holding you down from accomplishing that goal? Is it Money? Family? Bills?
WHAT:	What can you do, RIGHT NOW, to change your goal into a reality?
SUPPORT:	Who will be your support system to help you accomplish that goal?
COST:	What will it cost ($) wise in order for you to achieve that goal? What can you do to get there?
TIME 2:	How long will it take you to achieve this goal? Are you being realistic?
HELP:	Can anyone assist you with getting on the right track to achieve that goal?
WANT:	How badly do you want it? And what are you willing to compromise in return?

Now that you truly answered your questions, TRUTHFULLY! Look at each question again, now look at your answers, and take them to HEART! Do you want this? YES? I don’t want to hear the, what if’s or how can I, questions. If you are stating this, then add this to your CHAINS answer. These comments could/will hold you down! Now let’s break it apart.

Goals: Now if you are saying that you want to be a great parent, spouse or a great employee, etc., then honey, you already are. Quit setting these as goals. Those statements already reflect you wanting to achieve a better status. But if you are wanting to DO! Then know that you CAN! Don’t be afraid of a little elbow grease to achieve this goal. Nothing is out of reach! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!
Angelina C. Torres - started acting at 68
103yr Woman gets her HS diploma
Late Bloomer at 52 divorced,depressed & became a millionaire.

Time: Realistically, what time frame will it take you to start this goal? Do you need to finish pre-requisites to start a program? Are you currently doing that? Then that’s it, your wheels are turning! Don’t count this anymore. Are you wanting to make a career change? Do you have the background, the resume to move forward? Are you wanting move far away? Do you have a location? job? a support system at new location? So ask yourself, what will it take to start moving towards your goal? You don't need to know all the answers to your question, but you are on the right track to get those wheels moving.

Chains: what is holding you back? Are you a single parent? Have an ailing parent? Have a job you are committed to? Children who are active and have competitions every weekend? As much as you want to use your kids, jobs, or pets as excuses, then you are not ready. There are many resources out there to help you out. A friend, a family member, a co-worker. Do you want to start your own business? Look for support or grants online. Want to start school? Talk to a counselor to see what available resources are out there. Want to start a home improvement project, go to free classes at your local hardware store or volunteer with a habitat for humanity house and learn a lot there. Heck, you can even make friends and someone can help you.

What: Right now what can you do to achieve this goal? Find sitters? Re-do your resume? Make another dreaded list? File an application for your DBA? Or Get the schools check of list. Talk to your family or friends about your goals and see who is willing to be there? Balance your check book and budget? Cut back on things you don’t need? Donate, Give, and Share your time? De-clutter your negative Nancy’s & your Debbie Downers? De-clutter your mind, your home, your office!

Support: Who will really support you? Is it your family? Friends? Co-workers? Complete strangers who haven’t lost the human touch and actually give a bleep when they meet someone new? Do you have the support from the community or people that are & willing to invest in you? Have you found a meet up group that will inform/support in what you believe in?

Cost: What will this goal cost you? Is it that dream wedding? Is it that home renovation? Back to school? Can you cut corners on other things? Cable, phone, internet? Going out? Is there a way that you can pick up extra cash? Can you pick up hours at work? Sell things on Ebay/Craigslist/Amazon? Are there grants? Tax deductions? Rebates? Friends/Family that can help building? Doing? D.I.T. (do it together)?

TIME 2: How long will it actually take you to achieve this goal? Rome wasn’t built in a day! You know. Do you need to do prerequisites? Do you need to move into another location in order to do a renovation? Would you be able to balance / manage working towards your goal? Between family/life? What can you do so you can focus towards your goal? Do you need to declutter your home/life? Do you need to find financing? How much time will you need to achieve that goal in order to start working towards that goal?

HELP: First, how can you help yourself? What can you do to start/work towards your goal? Do you need a vision board? Do you need to get information? Now, who can help you? A counselor? A financing person? The city of ____ to get permits/deductions? Someone at school? Local places for free informative information? How to classes? Meet up/support groups? NOW the last thing WHO of your friends/family/neighbors/classmates can help you? Who will truly be positive and help you achieve your goal? Who will not judge you? Who will hold your hand before/during/after you reach your goal and not hold you down?

WANT: How badly do you want this? Do you truly/honestly want this? Are you willing to settle for something else if it doesn’t work out AT THIS TIME? Can you do baby steps and get the wheels in motion to start walking/running towards your goal?

NOW ONE LAST QUESTION… WHY DO YOU WANT THIS? Is it because you always wanted this & this is something you wanted to do? Or is it because you think, I will make lots of money and I will be set? Job security? My family/friends/spouse want/need me to?

Ever heard of the phrase Money doesn’t buy happiness? Yes, it could help, but if you are miserable...

GETTING STARTED:

After you answer your questions TRUTHFULLY ( I cannot stress that enough), grab a notebook and write YOUR GOAL in front of it. I AM/WILL ______ (photographer, business owner, stay at home, doctor, move etc.)

Now turn to the first page. On the top write I WILL SUCCEED BECAUSE I WILL...
budget, organize, get a support system, set a schedule of all things that need to be done, get day care, get grants, funding, stay focus on the prize etc. and most of all BECAUSE YOU WANT THIS!!!

2nd page what information do you have/need/want? Write down all of your contacts who can help you; counselor, school, support groups, family, friends, etc. Now write down the questions you want/need to ask so you can begin your goal. What do you need & who do you need to contact; permits, business plan, funding, grants, financial advisors?

Remember. YOU DO NOT HAVE A TIME LIMIT on YOUR goal. Don’t look at others and think well they did it in X amount of time. Everyone started somewhere. You WILL get there. You may stumble, you may fall, you may have set backs, but YOU WILL DO THIS. Just have faith, patients and lots of ~~alcohol~~ understanding.