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I hate goal-setting.The term reeks of a musty self-help book with a purple hard cover and a white cursive title, filled with 7 different worksheets asking you in 7 different ways to “envision” some kind of “future you” so you can “make a list” and “write it down” in order to “manifest your desires.”

Or, something like that.

I’ve never been particularly good at that whole planning thing–particularly when worksheets are involved. Rather, I was the chick who would get an idea one day, and then push and push and push and push the next day, and the next, and the next, and so on, until the idea came to life, using all of my creative energy, then collapsing in a big heap when it was all over. If it worked out, great. If it didn’t? Oh well–there was always another idea to play with.

But over time, my little system wasn’t always as effective as I needed it to be, and the whole goal-setting thing started to become more of a need–whether I liked it or not. And as I pondered things, it slowly started to occur to me why I disliked the notion of setting goals.

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It wasn’t because goals were lame; it was because I was morbidly, asthmatically afraid of not meeting them.

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If one of my off-the-wall, spontaneous ideas ended up being a flop?  I could always chalk it up to the fact that I hadn’t planned, and, well, it wasn’t really my fault.

But goal planning meant some serious accountability, and accountability meant commitment.  And my fear was that if I were to commit to something, and then flake or falter? That would be my fault. And…what would that say about me as a person? I wasn’t prepared to know. I didn’t want to know.

Too much ego on the line to risk.

So instead, I preferred to protect my self-image and be generally goal-less, simply doing as I wished at any given time, leaving the chips fall as they may.  Contrary to how it seems, things were safer this way.  I was safer this way.

But…wouldn’t you know?

As it turns out–and you can take my word on this one–letting the chips fall where they may is romantic, but it’s certainly not the best financial strategy in the world.

Weird how that works.

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Of all the goals one could have, money had always struck me as the most superficial of them all.

-I spent my late teens and early twenties thinking of the pursuit of money as dirty + shallow–a goal that, had I been willing to set any at all, would have been unworthy of my intelligence.  In fact, I went out of my way NOT to base decisions around financial incentives, consistently opting for the most pleasure instead–whether this meant doing without cash, or spending far morethan I should.Both problematic in their own right.

But in my mind at the time, if I were to have set any goals, they certainly wouldn’t have been based around the dollah dollah bills, ya’ll.

Until one day when I realized that my snotty attitude toward money was eventually going to land me face first in a garbage dump, hunting for my next meal, quietly humming Bob Marley’s, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” over and over and over again in my head until eventually I went absolutely mad.

And if I had to guess, I’d say there’s probably not a lot of pleasure in that.

And so, despite all resistance, I found myself cracking open the proverbial purple self-help book with white cursive writing, and, over time, have become very, very clear on three things:

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1.  Money is important, and Bob is a liar, because everything is NOT going to be alright unless you have some.

2.  You can’t get money if you don’t set some kind of goal(s).

3.  Despite my earlier fears, I’m not a flake. And when I want to do something, I will. Trust in the universe is bullshit; trust in one’s self is everything.

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In addition, it also became clear that whether I like it or not, money is self-validating.  When people give you their money, it validates your efforts, and in a way that’s far more poignant than positive praise alone.-It’s one thing when someone tells you that they like what you do; it’s another when they actually vote with their wallet to convey the same message.-And when people vote for you with their wallet, it’s not only validating, but it makes you feel that much more capable. And feeling capable is so powerfulwhen it comes to creative work, because when you feel capable, you act capable. And when you act capable it shows. And when it shows, even more people will give you their money. And thus, it becomes a cycle–and one that you want working in your favor.So here I am.  Former money snob turned money advocate extraordinaire, because money feels good to make.  It’s GOOD FOR YOU–emotionally, mentally, and for the sake of your creative soul.

Ya need it, babes.

With that, I’m now going to do the formerly unthinkable, and I’m going to share a goal of mine with you.

A money-related goal.

Yes, I’ve made one, and not only have I made one, but here I am sharing it publicly.  Look how far I’ve come, ma!

Instead of Bob Marley, this goal hums to the tune of ninety seven thousand dollahs.

Ninety seven thousand glorious, fulfilling, deserving, soul-enriching dollahs, indeed.

-Because despite prior beliefs, money can enrich your soul through self-validation, and through freeing up your mental capacity to turn up the heat in the creative department, rather than worrying so much about where your next buck is going to come from.  Because, that’s stressful, ya’ll.  And it will zap you + your work.

And so I plan on getting uber-enriched, and $97,000 is what I intend on making this year, because that’s what would make me happy to make this year. And if you were to ask me why 97, and not 100?  I couldn’t tell you.  $97,000 just feels right.  She’s in mah bones, and I intend on manifesting the hell out of that bitch–worksheets and all.A little simple math with my trusty dusty web-based calculator tells me that in order to gross $97K this year, each month I’ve got to pull approximately $8083.

I’m not quite there, but I’m well on my way, and that feels good.

If my projections are correct, I should be earning a good $3k more than that by May.

We shall see.

SO.

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To that end, I’d like to extend a special invitation. Not to your typical wine and cheese party, but to a different kind of shindig.

-A VIP kind of shindig where, instead of small talk, we’re going to talk CASH.  We’re going to talk ninety seven thousand dollahs cash.

I’d like to formally invite you to follow along with me and get the insider’s scoop on how I bring my goal of ninety seven thousand dollahs to fruition (because I WILL), and learn exactly how I earn every cent this year as a blogger & digital entrepreneur traveling Latin America.

You’ll become privy to my monthly financials, see how I’m earning my money, follow along with the process as I create new products and e-courses, learn exactly how I do everything (from strategical to tactical how-to), discover my favorite tricks, hear about the challenges I face (and how I overcome them), and use the info as a model so you can learn from my mistakes + successes, and how YOU can go forth and make your own $97K.

And yes, there are screenshots.  I know you were hoping there would be.It’s meant to be primarily a teaching resource, but will also serve as a type of written documentary that shows what it takes to make this type of lifestyle happen.  I think the info will be an extremely useful resource, which is why I’ve decided to share the goods.

However.

It’s not something I need to splash all over ze internet.  Me and my goods are kind of private like that sometimes.

Therefore.

It’s going to be available, but only for ballers who want to ball. (Read:  Only for those who are really serious.)  You don’t have to dress up in your best penguin suit to attend this little VIP shindig, but there is a small investment involved, and for four reasons:

1) To keep things exclusive2) To validate the value that I provide3) To personally help me reach my goal this year4) Because it’s worth it, baby.-

The name of this exclusive VIP, TMFproject shindig is called Ninety Seven in ‘11.

-Clevah, I know.She’s the cost of two grape martinis to get in – just $20 bucks a month.  You’ll receive all of the juicy insider info directly to your email inbox once a week.

And ye shall learn the behind-the-scenes everythingon my biz as a blogger + digital entrepreneur.You can cancel at any time by simply hitting the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of any message.  I promise I won’t know, and I won’t be mad.

And if you really aren’t satisfied? I’ll even refund your money, no questions asked, if you send me an email with the words, “I think I prefer two grape martinis instead, Ash” and done. Money refunded. No hard feelings.

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To sign up + join the exclusive

Ninety Seven in ‘11

VIP membership club,

click here,

lovah.

-Once you sign up, you’ll automatically have access to the first piece of content I’ve created, detailing my current financials as a blogger & digital entrepreneur.Turns out, commitment to a goal isn’t so bad.

Commitment to a relationship?  Now that’s a different story; one in which I think I SHALL just let the chips fall where they may.

As long as they don’t fall infront of my ninety seven thousand dollahs, that is.

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Click here to sign up!

It’s go time, baby!

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-TweetThanks for rating this! Now tell the world how you feel via Twitter.(Nah, it's cool; just take me back.)MOODTHINGYHow does this post make you feel?

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Tags: digital entrepreneur, goal-setting, making money online, ninety seven in '11, ninety seven in eleven, online entrepreneur, salary of a blogger, setting income goals