Goals and Achievements – May, June & July 2011

Hello everyone! I hope you’re having a fabulous summer.

First off, I’m sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been really hectic on my end, and I haven’t been able to check email, reply to comments, or update this blog as often as I used to. But I haven’t forgotten about you! I’m going through a few major life changes at the moment, but I’m hoping to straighten everything out in the next few months so that things can get back on the usual schedule.

Now, I know many of you are eagerly anticipating an update on the Do Something Remarkable contest. As you probably know, the deadline for the contest was June 1st (see here for more details). I’m currently going through the list of participants and will email the three winners by Monday, July 25th (thanks everyone for being so patient with me). Once each winner has accepted his/her gift(s), I’ll announce the winners publicly. Thanks again for your overwhelming support!

For those of you who have emailed me in the last few months, expect a reply in the next couple of weeks. I’ll be going through all of my email and comments in the weeks to follow, so it may take some time to get to you. But I will! Stay tuned for that.

Now for the actual post…

I have good news, and I have bad news.

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What’s Your Biggest Blogging Business Challenge?

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you all had a happy and relaxing Easter. For those of you who don’t celebrate, I hope your Sunday was just as awesome (or even more so).

Photo by Mike Baird (flickr)

Today is a special day. No, not just because I watched the Authority Rules webinar and chatted with some amazing people on Twitter about it (though, the webinar was awesome; totally check it out!). It’s special because today I’m going to hand over the microphone.

Instead of the usual information-packed article, we’re going to talk about YOU.

If you’ve been a Cash Campfire subscriber for long, you would know that I love giving. I did it in the question/answer series before Cash Campfire’s very first birthday, I did it in my Wake Up Early with Enthusiasm Ultimate Guide, I’m doing it in the Remarkable Contest (you still have over a month left if you want to join in!), I gave a bucket load in the Complete Blog Networking Guide, and now I want to do it again.

I was literally overwhelmed with support from all of you after launching my first video. Not only were you guys great in the comment section, but you even reached out through email and on Twitter as well (thank you!!).

So, as a special thank you, today we’re going to put a little more focus on you (not that we haven’t already). The fact is, everyone struggles with something in their life, whether it is finding the time away from work to spend with family or getting rid of that encyclopedia monotone so that you can make your content more personal and engaging.

Today, I want to hear about your business struggles. Specifically, what problems do you have when building a business around your blog? Are you especially having trouble with anything in particular? Do you want to learn how to do something new? Is a certain obstacle holding you back? (more…)

Goals and Achievements – April 2011

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s the first week of a new month, and we all know what that means; time for another goals and achievements post!

Yes, I know. You’ve all been waiting in anticipation. I’ll be honest with you though – this month wasn’t exactly my best month yet, but I did come to a lot of realizations that will potentially open a lot of new doors and opportunities for me (at least, I hope so). You see, I’m starting to realize what’s important… and what’s not so important in my life, and it’s really making a huge difference in the way I think and go about my daily tasks.

I’m still straightening everything out, but just know that this won’t be your ordinary goals and achievements post. This month, I’m going to try something new. And for that reason, I won’t be getting as detailed as I usually do in the goals section. But I’ll get to that in a second.

Photo by Julian Wylegly (flickr)

Lucky for you, I also have a surprise for you! Yep, another one. Am I not awesome?

Ahem. (Hint: This is your cue to say, “Yes, Christina. You’re very very awesome! No one could be as awesome as you are,” and try to butter me up with excessive compliments; you know, the things I like to hear. )

I won’t give anything away because, well, what good would the surprise be then? But I will say this: In the next few weeks, you’re going to be seeing some awesome things here on Cash Campfire – and Christina is going to be getting out of her comfort zone! The fun and lovable (and somewhat dramatic, while often annoying) Christina is breaking free at last, and you’ll all get front row seats to watch her stuttering, embarrassing show. Now don’t you feel special?

It might get pretty mortifying (at least, for me), so don’t say I didn’t warn you. But you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?

Anyway, let’s talk goals. (more…)

Do Something Remarkable… and Win Some Extra Moola! (Contest Details Inside)

If you’ve been following me on Twitter or you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you would know that I extended the contest deadline up a few months (you can now kick butt until June 1, 2011 – more on this later).

Because I received so many questions about the Do Something Remarkable contest, I’ve decided to make a more in-depth guide on what you can expect and the requirements to join. Enjoy!

Update: We have the winners! Congratulations to Jonathan Figaro (1st place), Prerna Malik (2nd place), and Marcus Sheridan (3rd place).

Stay tuned for the next contest!

Photo by Paul (flickr)

As you know, this contest first started on January 10th when I wrote What Can You Do in a Year? for Cash Campfire’s first year anniversary (check it out – might be worth the read!). Since then, this contest has created quite a buzz. I hope that you’ll join us as we all strive to accomplish our goals and reach new milestones together.

I’ll get into the prizes and details in a minute, but for now I want to ask… (more…)

Goals and Achievements – March 2011

Well everyone, it’s time for the monthly income report. If you’re new here, here’s how these posts work: At the start of every month, I look at the goals I accomplished the previous month and analyze my progress. Then, I give a detailed breakdown of the income earned from the month before, followed by the goals I’ll be working towards as the month rolls on and how I intend to accomplish them.

Goal planning is something I always enjoyed doing. The reason why I write these posts is not to satisfy my ego (rather, the opposite). Instead, these posts are meant to:

• Keep track of my monthly income.
• Plan out my goals (and have them all in one place to refer back to throughout the month).
• Hold myself accountable for my goals (to increase my chances of completing them).
• Celebrate new milestones.
• Acknowledge where I came short, learn from my mistakes, and strive to do better.
• Offer encouragement.
• Inspire others to set their own goals, work towards their dreams, and improve their lifestyles.
• Stay on track so that I avoid doing tasks that offer no (or barely any) value.

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Goals and Achievements – February 2011

First of all – sorry for the late income report. I just got back from vacation the night before yesterday, so I’m still getting everything settled. I’m also pretty behind in comments and email. So if you commented on a post or sent me an email while I was away and I didn’t respond, don’t worry. I’m not ignoring you. I just haven’t gotten to it yet – but I will! Over the next few days I’ll be setting aside several hours to answer comments and email, so check your inbox for that.

Second of all, I’m really excited to tell you that I achieved a major milestone last month. But before we get into that, I’m going to talk about my major accomplishments last month, any mistakes I’ve made, and what I’ve learned from them. Then I’ll get into the income report and my goals for February.

Photo by Eric Danley (flickr)

Also, before I forget, you can still join in the Do Something Remarkable Contest for a chance to win Rework by Jason Fried & David Hansson and a $30-60 Amazon gift card. For those of you who are a little late, the rules are simple. Do something that will help better your life by March 27th (my 21st birthday!) and tell me about it. It’s a win/win in my book. You win because you’ll be furthering your career and meeting new milestones (while you compete for a free book and cash prize), and I win because it makes me feel good to motivate you and watch your progress. After all, that’s what this blog is for – to help you grow as a writer and entrepreneur. (more…)

What Can You Do in a Year? (Or, Do Something Remarkable Special Contest)

Note: I mentioned a few times that I had something special planned for Cash Campfire’s first birthday (that involved giving away free stuff). Well this is it. Though, before I get into the contest (you didn’t think I would just randomly give stuff away, did you?), I want to first take some time to reminisce over the early months of blogging here and how Cash Campfire transformed into what it is today. But don’t worry – I promise to be brief (well, semi-brief), since I know you’re just jumping with excitement about the contest.

But if you prefer to just skip my ramblings and go straight to the contest, scroll down to the “I Want to Give You Something Special” section – or look for me at the beach.

What Can You Do in a Year?

Photo by Gordon Wrigley (flickr)

I often asked myself this question when I first started out. You see, I never really thought that I would last this long, but it was fun picturing the possibilities – what I would and could accomplish in a year’s time. (more…)

6 Questions, 6 Answers – Happy New Year!

Photo by Horia Varlan (flickr)

Well, here it is everyone – the last new year’s post before we get into singing happy birthday.

If the last bit of the above statement confuses you, Cash Campfire will be celebrating its first birthday on January 10th. THEN, I’ll be celebrating my own 21st birthday (SUPER excited) the 27th of March – I still have a few months to go though.

But before we get into today’s post, I wanted to remind you all about the surprise birthday plans I have for the 10th, so make sure you show your awesome faces here on Monday! You won’t be disappointed.

Now, in case you didn’t know, I asked everyone last Thursday to ask me any questions – anything at all – for the new year and that I would post up the answers sometime this week.

Well, boy did you guys come through.

I’ve gotten questions ranging from how many kids I plan to have to what kind of food would I be able to put up with for the rest of my life if all the food mysteriously disappeared from the planet. And some I can’t possibly fit all of the answers into this one post – so if you don’t see your question on here, know it will be in a separate post!

The creativity in your responses astound me! Though I guess I should have expected it. After all, most of you guys write on a regular basis – and, being a writer myself, we tend to be a creative bunch.

Well, enough of my rambling. Let’s get on to the answers, shall we? (more…)

Goals and Achievements – January 2011

Well, it has been a month since I started this series. I must admit – I didn’t make as much progress as I planned last month, though I did see some major accomplishments – the new Cash Campfire newsletter and ebook Jump Start Your Freelance Writing Career, just to name a couple.

I believe the main reason why I didn’t make a lot of progress was because I set my goals too high and so became discouraged after looking at the work involved. Then stepped in procrastination, and.. well.. I think we know the rest. I was also having back pain trouble, which prevented me from writing much for a few days. But, really, I only have myself to blame – and I’m ashamed because of it.

Photo by Search Engine People Blog (flickr)

But, this month I’m going to get everything back together, set more obtainable goals, and take action. Whatever happens, I won’t disappoint myself (and you guys!) like I did last month – I did just terrible, and the disappointment really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This is just a warning that the following results from last month won’t be good, and I promise – with every breath in my lungs – to make it up to you and myself this month by starting over with a clean slate and completing every last one of my goals.

On a side note – since I have a 3 week vacation to California coming up on the 26th, I have to do a lot of planning in advance to reach my goals for this month to free up time during the trip. So I’ll be prescheduling many of my blog posts, and I’m accepting guest posts as well (free traffic for you).

If you want to help me out, feel free to contact me with your topic idea or guest post draft. I have no requirements other than to please not use affiliate links in your article (or I will take them out), focus your article on either freelance writing or entrepreneurship, and try to base your article on your own personal experiences (makes a better read and proves that you know your stuff – even if you’re just writing about how you organize your office desk space). (more…)

My New Years Resolutions: Looking Back and Moving Forward

This is the first time this blog has been around to see a new year. So, in spirit of the event, I decided to start a ‘My New Years Resolutions’ series (the icon is white for a clean slate) where I’ll analyze what I did each passing year (and whether or not I accomplished my new years resolution goals) and what I’ll strive to achieve the upcoming year – because, rest assured, we’re going to be together for many more years to come!

Oh, don’t give me that face! You need me and you know it.

Jokes aside, though, I’m hoping this series will show you that whatever dreams you have – whatever aspirations consume you whenever you look forward and envision your life – you can achieve if you put the effort in.

Strangely enough, I didn’t have a new years resolution last year, mainly because I had no major goals and because I had a track record of not sticking to my resolutions after the first two months.

But I’m going to stop disappointing myself. Starting today, I’m going to make my resolutions real.

Tangible. (more…)