When I was married, I relied heavily on my husband for the direction our lives would take; where we moved, what our lifestyle would be like, the cars we drove, the house we lived in. He was the breadwinner and I was a stay at home mom. I’m the kind of personality that’s pretty content to go with the flow and so I didn’t put up much of a fuss. 

But after the divorce..

I figured out that I could “go with the flow” our lives right into the ditch. After a few bumpy, admittedly passive years, I had to pull myself up by the bootstraps and start taking charge. No longer could I sit idly by and wait for decisions to be made. It was all up to me.

Never have I considered myself a “goals” or “resolutions” type of person. I certainly have things I’d like to do with my life, but “goals” always seems like such a limiting word to me. Oddly enough, I also have an ambitious streak (maybe more of a stubborn one). Last year, I started my own business as a writer, speaker, and business consultant. From the outside looking in, it may not be possible to own a business and not set goals. I would have thought so too, until I found a few systems for success.

Today, I’m excited to share with you four resources that have helped me get to where I want to go. I hope they serve you as well as they have me and help you win at this race called life.

1. Atomic Habits, by James Cleary.

I read this book right after the formation of my business. One of my biggest takeaways was the power of setting the intention for who I want to be.

I want to be a person who is healthy, a writer, a speaker, a great mom, and a good friend. This book taught me how to set daily habits that move me toward defining who I want to be.

The power of this shift in thinking is the amount of progress you can make in just a few minutes every day, even bad days. Each habit multiplies it’s intended outcome. For example. I want to be a writer. I have started a habit of writing 500 words a day. I now have thousands of words that I can draw from any time I need an article to publish. My brain transitions easier when it’s time to sit down and focus. Ideas that seemed unclear now have clarity. In just 15 minutes a day, I have created a habit that has put out tremendous results! 

2. Full Focus Planner, by Michael Hyatt.

Once I determined who I wanted to become, I needed a system to track where this new me was going and how I was going to get there. So, this meant setting some *gulp* goals. Fortunately for me, this system for success takes some of the mystery out of goal setting.

It’s a quarterly planner, with space to make goals for the year, break them into quarters and break each goal into two or three next logical steps. The daily planner pages allow me to list the top tasks for the day which help me reach my goals. This planner is a favorite because it supports my habits with habit trackers. I can see how many times a week I’ve worked out, written my 500 words and spent time in my bible. With the weekly preview feature, I can look back over the previous week, move important tasks, review accomplishments, determine what worked well and what didn’t work well and look ahead into the next week. 

3. Extraordinary Women Rising Journal, by Hilary Silver.

Maybe you’ve heard how important mindset is to our growth and success. I have known Hilary for over 10 years and she is the master at teaching single women how to change our mindsets and develop our skills and talents. She has developed a daily journal that walks through gratitude, affirmations, and a daily visualization exercise. By spending about 15-20 minutes every morning journaling, I have noticed a tremendous difference in my relationship with God, my gratitude for even the hard things, and my overall outlook for my future.

Because of this new system, I am no longer controlled by my fears of not being good enough.  My mindset has shifted from thinking, “who am I?” to “I am a child of God, I am created to do good things in his kingdom.”

4. YouVersion Bible App.

Of the four systems of success, I have mentioned, the most powerful and life-changing for me has been reading the Bible every day and praying that God would examine my heart and reveal his purpose to me. I have been reading the Bible almost every day for the past 10 years.

I can honestly say, this daily habit has grown me, changed my heart, and has given me freedom from shame to love my people well. God created you for a purpose, a powerful one. Just like you, I have personal experience, of being knocked down and left wondering if I have anything good left to offer the world. God reveals his purpose for you when you spend time with him every day. 

Please take note, I am not getting paid to endorse any of these systems. I found them organically through podcasts or friends and it is because of my success that I share them with you. Any system you choose will work if you use it. Choosing one or two systems you know you can stick with is what I would recommend. Systems help us stay focused on what’s important, they help keep us on track every day and they develop our character and calling. 

Now, go out and be the best you God created you to be!

– Lori

Lori is a published author featured in MOPS, International online and print publications, Reunion Magazine and most notably, in Today’s Christian Woman where her article was chosen for the 2015 top ten readers choice, coming in #3 behind Jen Hatmaker. It was during the most painful and challenging event in her life that she came to understand the full measure of Jesus’ love for her and she’s been following his lead ever since. She blogs about her adventures in faith, divorce, motherhood and ministry at A Soft Place to Land Blog.

Would you like to hire Lori to come speak at your next event? You can learn more at loriyoungspeaker.com.