WEBVTT - Second Cup: Start a goal club

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that if you are working toward a goal,

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<v Speaker 1>you should consider forming a club with other people pursuing

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<v Speaker 1>their goals. Even if they're pursuing different goals, you can

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<v Speaker 1>all support each other as you try to succeed. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's no secret that many of us fall by the

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<v Speaker 1>wayside with our goals. You meant to train for that

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<v Speaker 1>half marathon or eat five servings of fruit and vegetables

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<v Speaker 1>or apply to go back to school, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>life gets busy. We tend to prioritize the things that

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<v Speaker 1>we know other people care about or expect. A goal

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<v Speaker 1>club helps create that accountability. Think of something like Weight Watchers. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>the organization has provided education and such, but the group

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<v Speaker 1>meetings are a big reason some people find it effective.

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<v Speaker 1>You're not trying to lose weight on your own. You're

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<v Speaker 1>doing it with a group of people who share your

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<v Speaker 1>goals and who are cheering you on. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>have a goal that you are perhaps struggling with, consider

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<v Speaker 1>forming a goal club of people who can help you

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<v Speaker 1>in your pursuit. This could look different for different situations,

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<v Speaker 1>but one possibility is to recruit a group of friends

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<v Speaker 1>or colleagues who share the same goal as you. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you and two of your colleagues are all trying to

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<v Speaker 1>save up for down payments for your first homes. You

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<v Speaker 1>can check in with each other weekly to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>you are keeping spending reined in and that you have

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<v Speaker 1>moved the proper chunk of each paycheck into a savings account.

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<v Speaker 1>Or maybe you and two friends are all trying to

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<v Speaker 1>write books That's the sort of goal club I am

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<v Speaker 1>familiar with. For fiction or memoir, you can check in

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<v Speaker 1>weekly on how many pages you have written, or perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>for nonfiction, the steps you have taken toward producing a proposal,

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<v Speaker 1>finding an agent, and so forth. You could also have

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<v Speaker 1>a goal club composed of people working toward different goals.

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<v Speaker 1>Your goal might be to save up for a down

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<v Speaker 1>payment on a house within three years. One friend might

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<v Speaker 1>be looking for another job. Another might be trying to

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<v Speaker 1>declutter her house. But all of you are setting a goal,

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<v Speaker 1>identifying action steps, and tracking your efforts and progress. So

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<v Speaker 1>you are well positioned to encourage and support each other.

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<v Speaker 1>You can meet up for coffee once a week or

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<v Speaker 1>so and discuss what you've done. Or else, text or

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<v Speaker 1>email your encouragement. For busy people, goal pursuit can fall

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<v Speaker 1>to the bottom of the to-do list. But if you

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<v Speaker 1>know you're getting together with a goal club, you won't

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<v Speaker 1>want to go to the gathering unprepared. So you are

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to take the goal-related actions you intended to do.

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<v Speaker 1>When you encounter obstacles or get discouraged, a team of

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<v Speaker 1>people is there to help you keep from giving up.

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<v Speaker 1>To make this work, it might help to have a

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<v Speaker 1>recurring agenda to keep your gatherings focused. First, everyone reports

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<v Speaker 1>on the intentions they set at the last meeting and

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<v Speaker 1>what they've done since then. Next, people take turns reporting

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<v Speaker 1>on any obstacles they've encountered, as well as any questions

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<v Speaker 1>or challenges they want feedback on. For a smaller group,

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<v Speaker 1>people could troubleshoot right after each person reports. For a

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<v Speaker 1>larger group, you could rotate which person you troubleshoot for

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<v Speaker 1>as a group during the session. Then, everyone can set

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<v Speaker 1>their intentions for what they'll do before the next meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>You may be wondering how a goal club is different

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<v Speaker 1>from the organic support you'd get from your friends as

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<v Speaker 1>you pursued a goal. But I think the main way

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<v Speaker 1>to think about this is to consider a book club.

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<v Speaker 1>You could just get together with friends and maybe discuss

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<v Speaker 1>books or maybe not. But people join book clubs in

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<v Speaker 1>order to know that everyone is expecting to read the

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<v Speaker 1>same thing and that they will be getting together to

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<v Speaker 1>discuss what they have read. In a goal club, You

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<v Speaker 1>meet regularly and with an agenda to focus on your goals.

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<v Speaker 1>You are not catching up on life in general and

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<v Speaker 1>maybe discussing your goal pursuits and maybe not. Everyone is

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<v Speaker 1>aligned on why you are getting together and how you'll

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<v Speaker 1>spend your time. And that makes it more likely that

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<v Speaker 1>you will achieve your goals. If you create a goal club,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear about it. You can reach me

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<v Speaker 1>at laura at lauravandercam.com In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at LauraVanderkam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.

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