Goals: Working with the End in Mind

Guest Lisa Fisher helps us wrap the 52 Practical Tools for Less Stress in Life series talking about strategies and hacks for successful goal setting. If you're thinking about where you want to go next year, or five years down the road, be sure to tune in. 

She's the owner of Lisa Fisher and Associates. Lisa provides customized training and coaching packages focused on professional growth and development. She specializes in maximizing productivity, focusing on priorities and leadership. Her goal is to help her clients achieve their definition of success by providing the tools, resources and accountability to get there.

She's a principal investor of the Lansing, Michigan Keller Williams franchise and provides coaching and training to CFOs and business leaders with Keller Williams International across the US and Canada. Lisa has a strong foundational platform for helping others. She is also the founder and co-host of Adventures in Business, a podcast where Lansing Michigan based entrepreneurs and nonprofits shamelessly plug themselves and their business.

Co -hosts Deb Timmerman and Barb Fletcher, are certified HeartMath® Trainers, and certified stress educators, who are skilled at helping people discover the power of living form the heart.  To take the Stress and Wellbeing Assessment in Canada, click here. To take the Stress and Wellbeing Assessment in the US, click here. 

Transcript

SPEAKERS

Barb Fletcher, Lisa Fisher, Deb Timmerman

00:24 Barb Fletcher

Welcome to our series of 52 practical tools for less stress in life. This is episode 52. 

00:34 Deb Timmerman

Our goal with this series was to give you tools and strategies to help you move from being stressed to feeling your best today we wrap the series with Lisa Fisher. She's the owner of Lisa Fisher and Associates. She provides customized training and coaching packages focused on professional growth and development. Lisa specializes in maximizing productivity, focusing on priorities and leadership. Her goal is to help her clients achieve their definition of success by providing the tools, resources and accountability to get there. 

She's a principal investor of the Lansing, Michigan Keller Williams franchise and provides coaching and training to CFOs and business leaders with Keller Williams International across the US and Canada. Lisa has a strong foundational platform for helping others. She is also the founder and co host of adventures in business, a podcast where Lansing Michigan based entrepreneurs and nonprofits shamelessly plug themselves and their business. 

01:35 Barb Fletcher

Lisa, it's that time of year when people are making new year's resolutions and we know that a few months down or sometimes even only a week or two people have looked at those resolutions, and they're having difficulty hanging on to them. What is your perspective on resolution setting? 

01:54 Lisa Fisher

Decide what the end looks like and back into setting your resolution and setting your goals, according to where you want to go.

02:02 Deb Timmerman

I did have a chance to attend a workshop with Lisa. So Lisa, came to the Barry County Chamber. They sponsored Lisa to come in and do goal setting for businesses in our area and I was surprised at how few people actually took the opportunity to show up. Maybe it was because it was happening in October and people don't think about goal setting till January. But for me, it was perfect, because I always think a little bit ahead. Like that fourth quarter, I'm thinking about what I want to do in the (next) first quarter, and what changes I want to make, because over the years, I've experienced if I wait till January, I don't get started until the second quarter, or April. So it was a different mindset to think about starting with the end in mind, and kind of working backwards. And I think I've done that before in different goal setting workshops, but no one's ever said it in the way that you said it and it really piqued my interest. Can you explain more about what you mean by starting with the end in mind? 

03:10 Lisa Fisher

Absolutely. Oftentimes, we're going through the motions of what's in front of us or what this day looks like, or maybe even what this year looks like. But when we start thinking about our purpose and our legacy, what what legacy do we want to leave behind? Where do I want to be? Five years, 10 years from now, when I'm 80 years old? What do I want my greatest accomplishments to have been? So when we can look at that perspective on where we're going, it helps us to really focus on what do I need to do this year to move me forward? What do I need to work on, it's going to lead me closer to that five year, 10 year, 80 year old legacy. When we have that information in front of this that drives us to aspire to achieve that goal a little more, right? We want to look at that purpose. So, when we think of beginning with the end in mind, we're looking at our purpose, what we're here for, what our legacy is, and how do we get there in this is one of the tools, the goal setting to navigate us there. 

04:18 Barb Fletcher

I often think about times when I've set goals in the past. And sometimes people get afraid to set a goal because they're thinking they might not be successful at that, so they have Failure to Launch. But I think that sometimes what was happening with me was there were stresses and the anxiety involved, maybe some overwhelm that really made it difficult for me to get started. What's your thoughts on stress and goal setting?

04:52 Lisa Fisher

You're not the first time that I have heard people that are afraid to set goals or afraid to put them in writing because, what if I don't achieve it? That fear of failure is what happens and then that creates that internal stress? Oh my gosh, I have the school that I have to achieve what happens if I don't, and anxiousness and overwhelm sets in. And I see that a lot in high achievers. Yet, a great colleague of mine had set a goal to lose some weight and he had said 50 pounds, I don't remember if it was 42 or 47. At the end of the year, he had not hit 50 pounds, but yet he had hit 47, whatever that number was. And some of his colleagues were like, Oh, I'm sorry, you didn't hit your goal. He's like, Are you kidding me? Look at how far I've gotten. I've lost this 40 some pounds and I think we fail to recognize the achievement that we're making. Because high achievers generally set stretch goals, things that are going to really make a big difference and while we might not hit our mile marker, if if we are a stretch goal, we are hitting that goal that's going to make us grow and transform, we have to look at what we're doing along the way, and where we better than if we didn't have the goal at all. Did we achieve a little bit more and allowing ourselves that opportunity to reflect on the successes that we have? So I think that's that fear of I'm going to set this big goal. What happens if I don't hit it? But what happens if you don't hit a goal? And stretch yourself and look at the activities because goals are results? So what are the activities that I need to do and have those in your plan of taking action? 

06:43 Barb Fletcher

Earlier this year, Deb and I had an episode where we talked about the gap and the gain and one of the aspects of the game was how far we have come. So that's exactly what you're speaking to.

06:57 Lisa Fisher

Absolutely. 

06:59 Deb Timmerman

I think one of the things that was beautiful in your workshop, Lisa, that I hadn't heard another presenter talk about, was the balance between your work goals, your family goals, and what you're going to do outside of work. So it's no secret, I turned 65 this year, my husband is seven years older, and we're in a year of transition. So people looking at my business probably think, oh my gosh, that woman, she flip flops. Well, not really, what I do is I plan my business, around my personal life and around what we want to do. And I can say that in my previous career in nursing, I only looked at the goals that were happening inside my organization and what my role is, and I left that whole family and outside of work, piece out. Now I work backwards, and I work 46 weeks a year. This year, it's probably not even going to be 46 because we have some vacations planned. This is our year to travel. Can you speak to those high achievers and how you help them get that balance, so that they are whole people and not just work people?

08:14 Lisa Fisher

When we set goals, we think of personal and professionals because we are a whole person. I often get asked the difference well, what's the difference between a business coach and a life coach and I said, I don't know a personal life that doesn't need to be funded. So I help you pay attention and focus on how you're going to find the ability to take those vacations and those trips. I too, was one of those people that put family second, you know, I was asked what's your big why your big wife and kids, you know, I want them to have what they need and be able to see the value of work and yet at the same time, I missed out on a lot of things because I spent so much time pursuing those business goals to cover the family. And I have learned over time, that it's that balance. It's plugging in and putting your personal time in your calendar. First. I am a big follower of a book written by Gary Keller called The One Thing and when I went through a workshop with that, it really helped bring me in to make sure that I'm setting personal goals and professional goals. As well as putting my personal things in the calendar first, like these trips that you want to take. That made a big difference. I preach that a lot because I don't want other people to experience what I did and come at the end of five years and say oh my gosh, what did I do? What did I miss out on? Yet, one of the most encouraging things are these younger generations that are coming up behind me. They are focusing on family first they're looking at that smaller work week done being more productive in that four hour or four-day work week or 36 hours, whatever it is that they're doing, because they are putting personal lives as a priority. But it's about intentionality. So, when we say how do we get there, you have to be intentional. You have to have the goals, right? You your desire, and again, the purpose and why it's important. My family is very important to me. So honestly, this last couple of weeks, I've carved out a lot of time, family time, to make sure that I'm spending my days, my hours with the people that I love the most, and friends and whatever. So, I have to be intentional, putting it in my calendar, knowing that when I'm scheduling things, I schedule around vacations. I schedule around events that are important to my family and I also have a little more accountability, I have two coaches, not just one. But that accountability piece is where the rubber meets the road, because you have somebody saying, hey, did you do this? Are you doing this? Have you cleared your calendar. And yeah, just being able to have your purpose in front of you why it's important, being intentional about putting it in your calendar and your schedule and finding that accountability partner.

11:09 Barb Fletcher

I am pleased that you spoke about this next generation coming along. Because my son, I remember at one point saying the very thing to me, but Mum, I need time to relax and as a boomer, I didn't really understand that the same way. And so that generation, of course, is bumping up against many folks our age, who don't really understand that, or perhaps suggest that they aren't necessarily committed or as loyal and I think they probably have it more right. 

11:48 Lisa Fisher

You know, I think you're spot on there. And I really recognize this when I started studying the five generations in the workplace, because being that Boomer, if we weren't working hard or working all the time, we weren't working, or if we weren't aspiring to achieve that next level, that next level that next level, doesn't mean that they're not doing the same thing. They're just taking a different path to get there. And I'm envious, quite frankly, I wish I knew now in practice now, back then, because it's a game changer. 

12:24 Deb Timmerman

 I had a couple of clients who were in that 30-to-40-year age range and most of them were talking about how they developed their drive. It was based on watching their moms, and they didn't want to be us and here we thought we were being such great role models, teaching our kids to work and we were the ones who were driving this whole generation of more stress, really. We want them to achieve more to be their best. Well, you can be your best but if you have a family and you don't spend any time with them. What happens down that road, you're spending time on things like counseling and being in the principal's office, whereas if you take that time... they got it right. We did not. 

13:15 Lisa Fisher

Yeah. You know, and it's it's bridging that gap. When you're talking about the gap and the gain, bridging that gap is it's going to help other business owners that have employees. It's going to help other entrepreneurs understand where they're coming from, and what their values and their priorities are and they're putting those things first, because it's important. It's also important to recognize that everybody achieves differently. Success means something different to everybody and I can still have somebody that's working 30 hours a week, and I'm moving closer to my goals and my success with my team. So we have to take a look at it differently and step back. 

14:05

So how do you help people connect to their true north, so that they can figure out what's really important to them? You get a couple of hours to work with them in a goal setting workshop, but if our goals are not connected to our values, and what is important to us, those goals are just things that take up paper. So how do you help them put that into practice? 

14:29 Lisa Fisher

Going back to that legacy you want to leave, then just taking a step back slowing down and thinking about where do you want to end up? Why are you doing all this? Our purpose is really what drives us. So really asking questions. Doing exercises, dialing back into what's important to you. What are your values? What do you want to achieve? Even from where do you want to live? What job do you want to have? What career Do you want to have? It's not just about at the end of my life, I've helped 1000s of people achieve their definition of success. But it's really about where did I spend my time. And that might not be what's important to other people. Other people might value that Oceanside house with this magnificent view, whatever their values are, but then step back, how do I get there? So first, we have to dial back, ask questions, slow down to move forward. Even that deep breathing, I am not a yoga master by any means. But man, I have learned so much how much breathing is important to just take that step back to slow your mind. 

15:47 Deb Timmerman

I think that was one of the things that I found so valuable in your workshop. Before we began chatting, and even introducing ourselves to each other. We did a visualization exercise to slow our nervous system down. You spoke our language, because that's what we help people do. It was so wonderful to watch folks transform and to just lose that stress of the day. So, someone came on crutches who had injured her leg. Someone else was rushing to get there from dropping their kids off at school. There were business owners and people who ran nonprofits who were juggling calls outside. So, what that did was create that regulation set point for people to turn off the head crazy and really drop into their bodies in their heart and not many people do that as part of a planning process.

16:50 Lisa Fisher

It can go either way. Some people get uncomfortable with that, because it is an uncomfortable silence while you're wrestling with your thoughts and when you're focusing on you internally. I work with men and women, and oftentimes, we're putting others first, or we're thinking about that, what's next, instead of just slowing down and focusing on yourself and focusing on how you can better your positioning through that plan in that path and that future vision. 

17:30 Barb Fletcher

As Deb said, you really are talking our language, because we know that when we are able to quiet the messages in the chatter that are in our head, we're able to tap into that TrueNorth that space we really resonate with and when we choose that we're going to have success. 

17:53 Lisa Fisher

Absolutely. And it's about creating that plan, like we said and having the path. So whatever tools you use to set your goals, whatever plan you're looking at, it needs to be a visual in front of you to keep you headed for that true north. And when we don't have that in front of us. It's easy to get sidetracked I was talking to a gentleman the other day from New York. And all of a sudden, he's like, stopped while there was a military helicopter flying over the Hudson, and he could see it out his window and I said alright, it's no longer going to be squirrel, it's going to be helicopter because it just totally took his attention away. We have so many of those distractions, so many things that take us off our focus. So, when we don't have that written plan that tool to guide us indirectness that compass, I love the true north, going back to your compass to keep you focused on the direction that you're going. 

18:51 Deb Timmerman

What Lisa offers as far as planning and what Barb, and I offer as far as nervous system regulation and being able to turn off that head chatter. It is gold, because one without the other is powerful in and of itself, but when you're able to put the two together, I look back on what I have achieved over the last seven years since I've been out on my own and it was tough, and it was painful, and it was hard steps along the way. But that journey was so worth it because every year there was another layer of discovery. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we think is going to be our golden shiny nugget, and we're striving to that. But things change along the way. And when you can take a step back and use tools like this to help guide yourself. The ride is so much smoother. It's not like you're hanging on to the edge of that great big way. You're surfing and riding the waves. 

Yesterday I wrapped up a four-week series with some nonprofit folks from California and one of the guys is he's a graphic learner visual. And he said to give a story or tell me what you mean by riding the waves, what is that like? We had Christmas at our house, and I gave him a story about a grandchild and an uncle, they were not going to heads. And the story doesn't matter what matters is in the old days, I would have gotten involved in that and it would have become a dramatic, crazy explosion. And because I could remain the calm, regulated adult, we road those waves, and at the end of the day, they were back surfing together. But somebody has to stay regulated. What your workshop did was it helped people shift into a space to offer that. Not everybody's going to be able to get it. but if you can, and you can realize the power of that downshift, you want more, and you want to know how.

21:05 Lisa Fisher

I love it. I was asked to do an inspirational talk for group, I was talking about not focusing on your to do list, but focusing on your you list, putting yourself in there as a priority to take care of yourself, that balance between personal and professional, if you will. And so my assistant created this hashtag prioritize you. And that's kind of been a wave that I have been riding, because like you said, normally you would want to step in and fix it, but you step back, and you allow them to work on themselves. But if you haven't been doing work on you, the last seven years, you would have you would have done jumped in and created that title while trying to fix things. Yeah, focusing on our personal and professional growth and development. I think it's a continuous, continuous journey. It's not something that's done overnight. There's times we step back, right where we slide backwards. But yet, we've got to make sure we're putting that growth and development upfront.

22:18 Deb Timmerman

Lisa where of folks get in touch with you if they want to take advantage of your beautiful planning services.

22:24 Lisa Fisher

I have a website coachLisa fisher.com. You can also email me at 
CoachLisaFisher@gmail.com. I would love for people to reach out. I have a goal when you're meeting with 100 people, I wanted to sit down with a cup of coffee with 100 people and of course this was pre pandemic, learn about them and learn about where they were headed. What's their journey? Where did they want to end up? One of the things that was continuous, was self-care was missing in a lot of people's lives. Not knowing what makes people happy. So, what brings you joy? I don't know, well, that becomes the action item. Right? What brings you joy? But I've learned so many wonderful things about people and it would be without fail that they would walk away with one or two action items that they would want to put into play, just through asking questions. me listening to them, having a discovery session creating a brain dump. So there's little tools that I use that can really help people focus on where do they want to go? What's next? I love what I do.

23:37 Deb Timmerman

Well, we can tell. So we're so excited to wrap up this podcast series for 52 weeks, we've brought you many different tools, many different experts just like Lisa, to help you on your journey to get to a different relationship with stress. So it's holiday time and you might still be feeling a little bit overwhelmed about where you want to go next year and what you want to do. One of the things that we love to talk about is how stress does not have to be dominant in your life and it will always be dominant, unless you take action. So, we have two action steps. Barb, do you want to share them? 

24:19 Barb Fletcher

We have this wonderful tool. It's a stress and wellbeing assessment and it really is magic for those people who take it in that it will help you understand where stress is actually sitting in your life because often, we have people say I'm stressed. So, if you happen to be in the US, you'll you can reach out to Deb, and she'll hook you up with a code and I will do the same in Canada. Our experience also shows that without these self-regulation tools, it's difficult to quiet that overwhelm and decide what's really important in life and Deb spoke to that, in her narrative about riding the wave, if we don't have a tool to slow it down, we can easily become involved and participate in things that might not feel that good in the end. So, dysregulation, it actually alters our perception. So, making it difficult to achieve goals. So, what we want you to do is reach out, we're happy to have a conversation with you, and happy to talk more about what your life could look like, if you were experiencing less stress. 

25:40 Deb Timmerman

Thank you for tuning in for these 52 episodes. We have enjoyed bringing them to you. We're going to take a podcast break for a little bit, as we both go off and do travel and enjoy our families. So thank you to everyone who showed up here to watch and learn and share and for all of the guests that share time, and particularly today, Lisa, to you. What a wonderful way to wrap up the series. 

26:10 Lisa Fisher

Thank you so much for having me. This has been such a pleasure.

 To take the Stress and Wellbeing Assessment in Canada, click here. To take the Stress and Wellbeing Assessment in the US, click here.