Hey legends,

Well, here we are... (nearly) smack dab in the middle of the month of new beginnings. The one time of the year where we feel like we can get a fresh start and magically become better versions of the people we were before the clock struck 12 on New Year’s Eve.

And I’m actually a big fan of this ‘fresh start effect' if executed correctly.

So I wanted to share a piece of advice with you that has really helped to shape how I set goals in my personal life and business in the hopes that it might help you as well:

Instead of thinking about what you want to achieve this year, think about what you’re willing to struggle for.

It sounds dark, I know but bear with me here haha.

Let’s say your goal is to become a successful YouTuber. To make this happen, you have to be willing to spend months studying other YouTubers, learning video editing and SEO, practicing scripting and speaking on camera, and be willing to be openly criticized by strangers on the internet as well as your loved ones.

But the brilliant news is that most people are not willing to go through this kind of struggle, so if you are willing to embrace the pain and discomfort as a part of your process - you will succeed where others will fail.

As James Clear talks about in his brilliant book Atomic Habits: “Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.”

What differentiates the successful people from the unsuccessful ones then, is the willingness to keep going when things get hard.

Many successful freelancers and business owners (myself included) were still working full time while learning new skills and working on their new venture in the evenings and on the weekends. Most successful actors have stories of the endless rejection, disappointment, and embarrassment that came before their big break (and even afterward).

And, let’s face it, most people I know (again, myself included) went on a LOT of truly terrible dates and went through many rocky relationships before finding the person they wanted to share their life (and their Netflix password) with.

So as you go into the rest of the year want to encourage you to:

Expect failure, disappointment, and struggle in the pursuit of your goals
Persist when things get hard and never lose sight of what’s important to you
Keep learning new skills but remember to also carve out time for executing and sharing your new skills with the world (perhaps in the project section of your Skillshare classes *wink wink*), even when it’s hard, scary, or imperfect

Because if you can do all of these things, this might just be the year your life changes forever.

And here are a few helpful free resources to help you with this:

Watch a video summary of James Clear’s Atomic Habits so you can learn to focus on the process of going after your goals rather than the outcome here.
Learn how to consistently show your work and share it with the world (even when it’s not perfect) with this video by Ali Abdaal.
Read the full article on the concept of embracing discomfort in the pursuit of your goals by Mark Manson here.

Thank you all for being a part of my online universe and I can’t wait to embrace my own discomfort by creating more awesome content for you this year.

Happy learning + trial & error-ing everyone!

- Maggie

Maggie Stara

Creative Marketer & Top Teacher

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