How to think bigger

Are you you thinking big enough when it comes to your writing career?

When I start working with a coaching client, I ask them to think about where they’d like to be in three years. More specifically, I ask:
*What would you like to accomplish? How many books do you want to write and/or publish? What else?
*How much money do you want to be making at that point?
*How do you want to be different as a person?

And—this is the hard part—I ask them to set aside all of their self-doubt and it’s-not-possible thoughts and really envision the best-case scenario, whether that’s a six-figure career as an author, having their novel selected by Reese’s Book Club, or having their book turned into a film project.

Do those goals sound too ambitious to you? Big goals are only unrealistic if you decide they are. And personally, every time I’ve broken through to a new level in my career, it’s because I was consciously aiming higher. As a client of mine recently said, “Always swing for the fences.” That’s when you’re most likely to amaze yourself.

But you might be wondering: why three years? Well, if I ask you what you can do in the next year, your brain will automatically supply all the reasons you really can’t accomplish that much (publishing is sooo slow, I don’t know what’s happening with my kids’ school, etc.). But five or 10 years from now feels so far away that while you might allow yourself to dream big, you probably won’t take any action on those dreams because hey—you’ve got time.

Three years is the sweet spot. What do you want to do in the next three years? Take a second to write it down; you might surprise yourself. And if you end up changing your mind along the way, that’s okay. Every day can be day one of your three-year plan.

—Camille