Hi friends!

I hope you all have had an amazing start to the New Year! So far I’m loving the direction this year is heading. Besides a little week-long sickness set-back (I feel like the entire province was collectively sick), I’m feeling motivated, inspired and ready for adventure. I’ve made a habit of keeping my annual goals (new years resolutions) in my notes section of my phone for the past few years. I’m a rather loose goal setter, as I like to be very gentle with myself so I don’t become discouraged, and so that setting goals never feels like a chore. I usually like to keep my goals hidden until I near success, like opening a cafe, because I always fear failure. However this year, I am daring greatly, so here are my goals:

* Brackets denote goal updates thus far

Get the cafe open, start earning income, paying Mom (cafe should be open in the next month)
Write one blog post a week (I’m a little behind on this thus far, but have been working hard on opening the doors, and feel like the trade off is worth while)
Interview on 3 podcasts (I’ve done one podcast interview already! Check out CEED Pod on Spotify)
Pay all bills on time & put $5000 back in savings (Between buying a condo, renovating it and opening a business I’ve dug into my saving A LOT)
Drink more water, less beer (I’ve started the new year off dry, I’m a craft beer lover, but want to focus on the cafe until the doors open- oh and I’ve been CRUSHING water daily!)
Read 30 mins a day (I’m definitely behind on this- I started off well, but again the cafe has taken over, maybe I’ll read all day and make up for lost time)
Daily workouts (Behind on this one also, but definitely have been moving my body- lots of hockey, started hiking again, nice walks around town, every bit counts)
Lose 15 pounds (or shift it, more muscle, healthier choices- it’s all relative)
Markus Goals: learn to skate, skateboard more, bike ride more, learn to read (more books), finish Harry Potter, two more swimming lessons (this reminds me, I should book swimming lessons!)
Travel somewhere new (If restrictions lift I’m thinking Bali…)
Donate at least $1000 through the cafe (I think we can do better than this, but start small, reach high- I’ll need everyone’s help for this one!)
Cleanse yourself of negative ties, focus on the ones that matter (focusing on surrounding myself with people that feed my good wolf; positive vibes only)

So those are my goals. I hope sharing them will help keep me accountable. I’ve really been making a concerted effort to reach outside my comfort zone. I’ve dreamt of owning a small business for so long, and reaching for that goal is giving me the confidence to reach farther in all areas of my life. As Teddy Roosevelt once said “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Of course, I don’t go around reading Theodore Roosevelt speeches in my spare time, but I do listen to Brene Brown’s Ted talks, and that speech was made famous once more when she featured it in one of her talks. She then wrote a book called Daring Greatly, and it sits, on my shelf, waiting to be read so I can meet my new years resolutions. But that speech, it inspires me daily. I never want to be a cold and timid soul who neither knows victory nor defeat. I choose to dare greatly, to reach for my goals, to look the fear of failure in the face and laugh. Life is far too short for the mundane, I want to live wholeheartedly (another Brene Brown reference- check out her podcast, it’s less effort than reading). Climb the mountain, get the tattoo, open the business, buy the property, post the video, take the trip, do the thing! You are the only obstacle to your success. If you want it, find a way to achieve it. This is turning into a string of cliches, but really, reach for your goals, no one else is going to do it for you.

I think so many of us suffer from imposter syndrome. We feel like we aren’t educated enough, or experienced enough, or worthy enough to be taken seriously. But if the age of social media has taught us anything, it’s that anyone and everyone can bring value to the world, even a grumpy cat or a “doge.” And when you do take a leap and try your “thing” you will see people climb out of the woodwork to support you. I shared a post about the cafe today on a couple Facebook groups, and boy did the love ever pour in! My analytics went off the charts, I’ve had more views on my page today than every other day combined! I don’t know these people, they are just helpful humans, supporting a budding entrepreneur and looking forward to a new place to buy a latte. And I can’t wait to meet them all! As I’ve said before, share your passion with the people and good things will come. The more you put yourself out there, the more like-minded people you will find.

One of my biggest supporters at the moment is an amazing woman that I met back in November. I was covered dust, screwing two-by-fours into a soon-to-be wall when I heard a knock at the door. Moving into a building in the downtown core of a city struggling with a housing, mental health and drug crisis had me concerned about who my neighbours might be. In particular, my patio connects directly to my next door neighbours patio, and before meeting them I was already planning on how to block the pathway. When Nicole and her daughter entered my little construction zone all my neighbour fears immediately dissipated. Since meeting back in November, we have spent Christmas, New Years and my son’s birthday together. In fact, on my son’s birthday I was feeling so sick that we had to call off bowling; Nicole offered to have my son over to her place to watch a movie on her projector with her and her daughter so I could nap! I’m a big overshare-er as I believe if you can’t handle all of me it’s better to find out sooner than later. In meeting Nicole I felt so comfortable that I shared just about everything right upfront, and she didn’t even bat an eye. She accepted me for all the messy bits, the complicated bits, and every bit in between. That’s the kind of people I want in my tribe! We’ve enjoyed tobogganing, fires on my deck, shared clothes and treats and she’s been the biggest supporter of my budding business. I had started noticing random people following my business Facebook stage in the early days before I’d shared the link much at all. Nicole explained she had been sharing the link with all of her friends! A couple weeks back she stopped by to take a picture of the progress at the cafe and shared it to her page, gaining me new followers once again. I’m blown away at the genuine kindness and support I’ve received from her. Life has a crazy way of placing just the right people in your path sometimes.

All of these positive vibes and exciting changes have motivated me in so many ways. On Saturday I was up at 5:45 am; I drank my Blume latte and decided to go for a little hike. I got to the Coquitlam Crunch parking lot at 7:30 am, timing it just right to reach the peak of the climb right at sunrise. I soaked in the cotton candy cloud views on the ascent and stood, watching that beautiful golden ball crest over the mountain range while my heart filled with gratitude. I hope one day we can put together a Good Wolf Pack hiking club. I’d love to climb mountains with like-minded people; reaching new peaks and growing my tribe.

This week I encourage you all to set some goals, share your passions and find your tribe; chase the sunrise and dare greatly! And, as always…

Be kind, take care, and feed your good wolf!

Thanks for reading friends,

Jerrica