Quiet your mind.

It’s such a simple suggestion and powerful recommendation, but it’s so hard for me to do. And for many working moms to do. We think about all the things on our list and dive right in to tackle them every morning and don’t stop moving until we can squeeze every ounce of productivity out of the day before collapsing into bed.

But I’ve been trying to push myself into the habit of lying in bed for the first half hour of every day going over in my mind what I am grateful for and my goals for the future and visualization of those goals. I have read that it’s important to focus on a specific monetary goal, and I have tried to do that for the past year. But I never really understand how I’m going to get there. I don’t have a step by step plan to reach it. And I always downplay that because I am focused on enjoying the work I am doing to bring me happiness, and I am full of gratitude and joy on a daily basis.

But the work is not bringing me any money, so I can’t sustain this level of commitment to work that produces no income if I want to reach my monetary goals in a reasonable amount of time — months or even years but not decades.

I was actually chastised by a member of my Mastermind Group for not having a plan to attain my specific monetary goal. I had lots of ideas, and I know how to monetize the work I am doing based on articles I’ve read. But after taking a class to push my brand to the next level in order to monetize it, I realize the path I am taking is excruciatingly slow. I need a different path. Not a short cut. I know those don’t exist. But I need to put equal efforts into producing work that I love and making money from that work. I just wasn’t convinced that there was any path that would bring me that in the next year.

Another member of my Mastermind Group told me the problem that is slowing me down is the block I have when it comes to money, like many people have. She suggested I write out my own money story — my feelings about the subject. I did this, and she kindly read it and explained that my story told the “what” but not the “why.” I told her to figure out my “why,” I got a book on the subject. She said a book won’t solve this problem, that I really have to dig deeper to uncover my personal issues.

But everyone solves their problems a different way, and audiobooks have moved my life and businesses forward in ways I don’t think I could have done on my own. As I am listening, sometimes a section of a book causes my mind to drift into my own situation and come up with solutions I had never considered. This is happening with the book I am listening to now, “You Are A Badass At Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth” by Jen Sincero. This book is awesome, and I feel like so much of what she says is relatable and insightful and life-changing.

Sometimes my leaps to achievements are more like tiny steps, and that’s happening now as I’ve been listening to this book. I am opening up to new ways of looking at old problems. Those new ways suddenly produced a step-by-step plan this morning when my mind was quiet while focusing on my gratitude and goals.

The author told me to visualize exactly what my day will look like when I am doing the specific things that will make the kind of money that will bring me to my monetary goal. My mentor had previously told me that just repeating my goals and thinking about them isn’t enough, and shared a similar sentiment as the author by insisting I have to actually feel the feelings I will have after I have attained my goals. I have to imagine myself in the circumstance that results from achieving my goal and then actually experience the feelings I will have at that time. I’ve had a bit of a problem with that kind of visualization since trying to use it as a tool for the past six months. It’s been tough for me because my visualizations are very generic and fleeting. When I try to think of specifics, it doesn’t seem to fit. I realized this morning it’s because there are many aspects of my life that I love right now and feel like I would have to give up to reach those goals.

But the whole point of reaching my goals is to love my life as much or more and make  money at the same time! So I don’t want to give up the things I love about my life now. I really enjoy working from home and waking up every day and meandering into my home office and deciding what tasks are most important to me to tackle first. But my visualization involves being a leader of a team in a big city, and that means getting up earlier and rushing through my morning and driving through traffic. I like the idea of interacting with all sorts of creative and smart people, but I don’t like the idea of jumping back into the rat race. So my visualizations haven’t been working because they are not really aligned with all that I want.

This morning I had a breakthrough while lying in bed focusing on my goals. I came up with an actual step by step plan. The author of the book I am reading would say that I allowed myself to receive this idea from the universe because I am opening up to new ideas and quieting my mind to let them come in and recognizing that knowing the specifics of a monetary goal are important to achieving it.

As this new idea rose up like a wave in my body, I quickly wrote down the steps that flashed in my mind. I got more excited and filled in lots of the details. I realized this plan allows me to work from home some of the time and interact with others some of the time on my own schedule. I don’t have to show up at a big city office every morning to direct a company to accomplish this plan, but it will still deliver the specific monetary goals I’ve been repeating in my mind for a couple years but have not come close to achieving. I’m so excited right now I want to burst.

But I know ideas don’t bring results. Actions bring results. And that’s why I’ve been putting in the work for the past eight months without pay. That work that I’m doing brings me halfway to implementing my plan and reaching my goal. I just have to do the other half. Now I have a blueprint! I can visualize it with gusto!

I have confidence this can work because I’ve run two successful companies before, and I know what it takes. You don’t have to do it the way that society says you are supposed to. You just have to do it in the way that makes sense for you and your family and your customers. And I’m going to do that again this time.

But first, I have to wrap some presents and enjoy family time, because good things come to those who wait. Luckily, I only have to wait two days before I can dive in. I know the water is going to feel great!