Welcome to another book review here at Createyou86.  The holiday's can be a tough time.  I can highly relate to this in that I had to let some toxic relationships go a few years ago that were very important people in my life.  This book would have been helpful to me back then.  At the end of each chapter there are discussion questions where you can think about, and get your own feelings on paper easily, and out of your head where they can tend to stew.  This book also gives simple ways to put what you read into practice in your own life.  
Jack Eason has been the executive director of Crossover Cups Mission for thirty years.  He also consults with a variety of nonprofit ministries, helping them  develop successful approaches to fundraising and development.  

Check out a few comments about The Loneliness Solution below.  To PREORDER the book CLICK HERE.

When I lived in California I didn't have many friends.  I found friendship in our weekly Bible Study group.  Even though these were older people, senior citizens even there was a bond there that I believe that we as young people brought to the table.  I have always looked for new ways to build bonds through loneliness.  I used to go sing at senior citizens homes at Christmas time because some of those people no longer have family, or their family has abandoned them.  It is the simple things that you never expect will build a bond, and end your loneliness.  For anyone who is feeling lonely this book is a great way to start to end that feeling in your life.  

 “Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):
Many thanks to Revel Publishers for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Let me know in the comments below:  When was the las time you felt lonely, and how did you come out of that loneliness?

Welcome to my One Book July 2020 week three update.  My fiancé, and I have finally had the opportunity to catch up, and both put our goals into our #Powersheets together.  I did end up getting my original box from Cultivate What Matters so I now have a years worth of power sheets (Two 6 month planners.). You might be wondering why we are both using the same powersheets planner.  The Powersheets that I purchased are being used as a relationship, and family goal setting planner.  A place where we can figure out what needs to happen in our relationship in order for it to flourish, and grow, and be healthy.  How are we doing this?  We both picked a different color marker, and have picked our goals, and are sharing space in order to get it all in the same book, and have it not be confusing.  I might do a future blog post about this if I can figure out how to do it without having to blur out all of the photos because of how personal it is.  I have kind of stalled in reading The One Thing because I started doing something I wouldn't have thought in a million years that I would be doing.  What is it you ask?  Bible Study.  I am by no means religious, but I enjoy the stories, and I like hearing different peoples perspectives, and how they dissect what is written.  I find it all really fascinating.  However, it has taken away from what I started out to do so I will definitely be back to The One Thing over the weekend (today is Friday), and using my commonplace book to keep the quotes that I find really interesting or prophetic.  I don't feel bad that I got off track because I enjoy trying new things.  You can also check out my YouTube Intro video to see what my original plan was.

I'll be back next week with another update.  I hope that you are enjoying this series.  I have watched so many YouTube videos of everyones One Book July videos I couldn't count them if I tried, and I am loving them.  

Let me know in the comments below: How has your July been?  Are you partaking in #onebookjuly2020 ? 

Welcome to my Week 2 update for #onebookjuly2020.  I am very excited to officially be in my #Powersheets, and believe it or not my first order that I made with Cultivate What Matters actually arrived today after 14 days sitting at the post office, and 7 previous days with UPS.  I have been working through my mid-year refresh prep-work pages.  It is 34 pages of prep, and it truly gets you started on making your best goals.  click the photo to see my unboxing video. 

I am also still reading The One Thing, and following along with Carie Harling.  I really enjoy the book, and it is reaffirming a lot of information that I already believed to be true about several different subjects (you should read it so I don't have to give it away!)  I am really enjoying collecting quotes from the book in my commonplace book. You can find tons of photos of these types of things on my Instagram Feed .  I am still in my EDC which is my Van Der Spek Touch Me, and I love it so much.  I got some new markers which I am really loving currently.  I hope that you are enjoying these little updates, and new YouTube videos each week as I work my way through One Book July.  This is truly my favorite time of the year in the planner community because I learn so much from all of the other planners in the community, and how other people function in their planners. 

Let me know in the comments below: What have you learned about someone else so far during #onebookjuly2020 ?

Welcome to a new month, a new blog series, and my favorite time of the year in the planner community which happens to be #Onebookjuly2020.  This year I had grand plans to start on July first, but there have been a few bumps in the road.  While I normally only have one book as a planner (my EDC Van Der Spek Touch Me in personal size), I purchased the Cultivate What Matters Powersheets for the second half of the year during their summer refresh to start setting some major personal, and relationship goals for both my fiancé, and myself.  However, the delivery is taking longer than expected.  Cultivate What Matters has been very helpful in this matter, has expedited a new shipment for me, and it should be here ASAP.  As soon as the items come in I'll be doing an unboxing on Youtube, and posting photos on Instagram.  The other part of onebookjuly2020 that I am taking part in is the read-a-long that Carie Harling is doing with the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.  Along with the read-a-long I am writing down my favorite quotes, and tidbits in my brand new Leuchtturm Commonplace Book that I also started for this challenge.  If you are taking part in the #onebookjuly2020 challenge I hope your first week is going well, and if you aren't....WHY NOT?  

Let me know in the comments below:  What did you do for the July 4th holiday if you  celebrate?

INTRO
I did not know much about this topic, and though that as planners it was natural to go above, and beyond in our actions such as projects, goals, and life goals.  I want to learn when enough is enough, and how this law can help us as planners to accomplish greater things.
By doing further research into the topic I can better assess myself as a planner, and give insight to other planners like myself about goals, and goal planning.  This topic is important to study because most planning people are goal oriented, and once they meet one goal they try to aim higher, and higher.  It is important to find out whew as planners do this, and if it really helps to aim higher or if we should make completely new goals based on reaching a singular goal.  This study will advance new knowledge and new ways of understanding because making goals, how we set goals, how we plan, and how to move forward are important to the planning community.  I hope that this case study will shed light on how these things can be updated, and how planning in general can be changed to be better, and lead to better, more powerful planning sessions and life goals.

QUOTES ON LAW 47

"There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous."

"Understand: In the realm of power, you must be guided by reason.  To let a momentary thrill or an emotional victory influence or guide your moves will prove fatal."

"When you attain success, step back cautious.  When you gain victory understand the part played by the particular circumstances of a situation, and never simply repeat the same actions again and again."

​"History is littered with the ruins of victorious empires and the corpses of leaders who could not learn to stop and consolidate their gains."

"Success plays strange tricks on the mind.  It makes you feel invulnerable while also making you more hostile and emotional when people challenge your power."

"Power makes you less able to adapt to circumstances.  You come to believe your character is more responsible for your success than your strategies and planning."

"The powerful vary their rhythms and patterns, change course, adapt to circumstances, and learn to  improvise."

"People who go past the mark are often motivated by desire to please a master by proving their dedication."

LAW 47
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril.  In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far you make more enemies than you defeat.  Do not allow success to go to your head.  There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning.  Set a goal, and when you reach it stop. 
​As a planner this law is completely contradictory to everything I stand for as a planner.  Why do we plan higher after reaching our goals?  I started planning in my late 20's and had so many goals for myself.  As I keep setting goals for myself I kept feeling like I needed to acquire more stuff for my planner.  At this point I am around seven years into planning journey, and the amount of stuff that I have accumulated is pretty crazy.  I currently set goals for several areas of life including home, school, and relationships.  

LITERATURE REVIEW  
The 48 Laws of Power contributes the three laws that this case study is based on.  This book explains the meaning of the laws, historical significance, and how the laws can be applied in life.  
Illimitablemen.com has done extensive research into the 48 laws, and how they can be applied.  The book does not include any information on how to succeed through use of the laws, but gives historical references to look back on, and dissect.  There is not much research done on the topic unless you delve deeper into machiavellianism.  While reading excerpts of "Management" by Richard L. Daft I found ways of setting goals that companies would use, but can definitely be used as personal goal setting.  The Harvard Business Review also has many articles about goal setting, planning, and how to be most effective.  However, throughout the HBR Podcasts it was never brought up to exceed expectations, but to focus on issues at hand, and not feeling guilty if you fail.  The HBR classic article by Jim Collins talks about how companies should use, and keep up to date on catalytic mechanisms.  This specific article can be related to personal use as well.  

CATALYTIC MECHANISMS
Catalytic mechanisms are to visions what the central elements of the U.S. Constitution are to the Declaration of Independence-devices that translate lofty aspirations into concrete reality."

"Catalytic mechanisms share 5 distinct characteristics:

1. A catalytic mechanism produces desired results in unpredictable ways.
2. Distributes power for the benefit of the overall system, often to the great discomfort of those who traditionally hold power.
3. Has teeth.
4. Ejects viruses.

     5.   Produces an ongoing effect."​

CREATE A CATALYTIC MECHANISM
Don't just add, remove.
Create don't copy.
Use money, but not only money.
Allow your mechanism to evolve.
Build an integrated set.

CATALYTIC MECHANISM QUOTES
"Take 3M for decades, its executives have dreamed of having a constant flow of terrific new products.  To achieve that end, in 1956, the company instituted a catalytic mechanism that is by now well known: Scientists are urged to spend 15% of their time experimenting and inventing in an area of their own choice."

 "A catalytic mechanism should be a idiosyncratic adaptation, if not a wholesale creation, for a unique situation."

"New catalytic mechanisms sometimes produce unintended negative consequences and need correction."

"One catalytic mechanism is good; several that reinforce one another as a set is even better."

"Catalytic mechanisms alone will not create greatness; they need a dream to guide them but if you can blend huge intangible aspirations with simple tangible catalytic mechanisms then you'll have the magic combination from which sustained excellence grows."

"Personal catalytic mechanisms have all the benefits of organizational mechanism: They put bite into good intentions, dramatically increasing the odds of actually being true to your personal vision instead of letting your dreams remain unrealized."

METHOD
I selected Law 47 to study because as someone in the planning community this law seems to go against common thoughts and beliefs that are held among planners.  The strategies that I have used to research this topic includes the internet, reading the book The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, and from reading several other books related to Law 47 as well as online articles or studies pertaining to this book or specific law.

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PODCASTS

If/Then Planning

563: Escape Your Comfort Zone

504: Achieve Your Goals Finally

IMPORTANT QUOTES FROM THESE PODCASTS

"What's much easier for your brain to do is to do replacement behaviors."

"What happens is we set goals for ourselves and then we choose actions all day long, everyday that support those goals, and often, those choices we're making are not fully conscious choices.  Our brains are guiding us because your brain knows what your goals are."

"We're constantly making choices to try to get closer to all of our goals, and a lot of them run on autopilot, but in order for your brain to make good choices about what to do at every point during the day-again, largely unconsciously we're making these choices - it [your brain] really needs to know very specifically what it is you want to achieve."

"It uses a lot less willpower to follow through on a plan you already have than it does to try to spontaneously make the right choice in that moment when you are vulnerable."

"Goal setting and planning how you're going to reach a goal should always be a process that is an evolving process."

SPECIFIC GOAL SETTING STEPS

• Pick a couple things to prioritize.
• Be really specific.
• Really focus on replacement behaviors, and making new habits out of those behaviors.
• Have a plan for temptation.
• Be flexible.

The following is from Management by Richard L. Daft
- Planning is the most fundamental of the four management functions.
- A goal is a desired future state that the organization wants to realize.
​- Planning is the act of determining goals and defining the means of achieving them.
- A plan is a blueprint specifying the resource allocations, schedules, and other actions necessary for attaining goals.

DISCUSSION
The research problem I have been investigating is the 47th law of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene which states: "Do not go past the mark you aimed for.  In victory learn when to stop."  I have done extensive research about goal setting, and my own experiences not only as a planner, but as a goal setter.  
While reading parts of Management by Richard L. Daft I found that personal and organizational goal setting criteria aren't all that different.  Even listening to multiple episodes of the HBR Podcast and interviews nowhere does the information say to reset goals.  On the contrary, why should we stop goal setting, and how do we set higher goals if we have to stop?  Are we going to plateau, and "be all we can be?"  These findings were pretty unexpected because  it is burnt, and trained into our brains at a very young age that we should always aim higher with our goals after we have achieved them.  We do this with weight loss, saving money, and many other goals that we might have in our lives.  Lets see how this translates to goal planning in general.

GOAL PLANNING

1. 1.  Develop the plan.
   -define mission / vision.
   -set goal.
   2.  Translate The Plan.
   -define tactical plans and objectives.
   -develop a strategy map (mind map).
   -define contingency plans and scenarios.
   -identify intelligence teams (your tribe).
   3.  Plan operations.
   -define operational goals and plans.
   -select measures and targets (task tracker).
   -set stretch goals.
   -crisis planning.
   4.Execute the plan.
   -management by objective.
   -performance dashboards (how the plan is going).
   -single use plans.
   -decentralized responsibility (delegate).
   5.  Monitor and learn.
   -hold planning reviews.
   -hold operational reviews.

-Nowhere in these goal planning steps did it mention to reset your goals.
-Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton "Mastering The Management System", Harvard Business Review (January 2008) pg. 63, 77.

CONCLUSION
My conclusion to this case study is that law 47 of the 47 Laws of Power is justified in saying to stop once you have reached your victory whatever that may be.  All of the research that I have done for this post over a few years time have shown me that nowhere in planning content that I have seen about goal setting does anyone talk about resetting goals for higher achievement.

Let me know in the comments:  Do you normally keep reaching for new achievements after reaching a goal or do you start a whole different goal?

Welcome to the last post in the Conversations With My Planner Girls Self blog series here at Createyou86.  I wanted to do a quick post, and let you know all of the planners that I have been using for June.

1. Standard Pumpkin Spice Foxy Fix (Podcasting, and Blogging)
2. Personal Van Der Spek Touch Me (Every Day Carry)
3. Recollections Mini (Podcast Ideas)
4. A5 Carpe Diem (Homebinder)
5. Personal Color Crush Webster's Pages Light Pink (Personal Care)
6. I bought a Miguel Ruiz notebook this week for a commonplace book.
7. I purchased a Moterm Standard in Litchi Coffee Grey (because I miss using a travelers notebook, and it comes with tons of extra goodies.)(watch out for a Youtube unboxing when it arrives.)

​I am really looking forward to July because for the planning community July has become important with #OneBookJuly, and I take part every year.  This will be the next series happening here at Createyou86.  I have also been podcasting each week.

​Let me know in the comments: Have you ever taken part in #OneBookJuly ?  

​Welcome to the second post in the Conversations With My Planner Girl Self blog series here at Createyou86. This post will be all about my new Homebinder.  What is a homebinder?  You might be thinking.  I consider a homebinder a catch all for anything that has to do with my home or vehicle.  This is a planner that will be staying at home.  This planner is A5 so that I have plenty of room to write, and log any pertinent information.  For my binder I purchased a Carpe Diem A5 binder for $10.00.  Carpe Diem was having a spring clearance sale, and I purchased a pack of monthly dividers for $2.00 which I taped together to create my 12 dividers, and a pack of three clear bookmarks for $1.00.  Twelve dividers may seem like a lot of dividers, but I am using all but one of the sections.  I used the Carpe Diem tab sticker pack to rename the dividers.  Here are my sections

1. Lists.
2. Home needs (larger purchases that we want to make for the home (bookcases, etc.)
3. Monthly budget.
4. Home decor tracking (mostly holiday).  I live in a one bedroom apartment, and storage is scarce.  I want to make sure I'm not purchasing too many things for one holiday that I then have to find storage for.
5. Family medical information.
6. Favorite recipes (for when we have no idea what we want.  This also includes a $75/ week meal plan.)
7. Vehicle maintenance.
8.  Cleaning Schedule (as well as a declutter checklist for spring cleaning or otherwise.)
9. Blank section (If you have any ideas please let me know in the comments!)
10. Holiday planning (Thanksgiving and Christmas.)
11. Life plans, and organization (trips etc.)
12. Notes (note paper.)

I have only been using this for about a month, but I have loved filling out all of the information, and knowing that I have it all in one convenient place in my home.  Also with an A5 there is still plenty of room to add more if I need to.  Also be sure to check out my FIRST PODCAST in a year and a half.  It is associated with this series so definitely check it out. 

Let me know in the comments below if you have a home binder, and what yours consists of.

Welcome to another post here at Createyou86.  This is an annual post as of December 2018.  I don't think it matters what month it is posted in because things change in the planner community so frequently that favorites, and dislikes change frequently as well.  You can hear the podcast episode where I did my first Planner Anti Haul HERE.  A Planner anti-haul is just a list of items that based on my current likes, and dislikes are products that I will never purchase from the planner community or items that I have purchased that I was disappointed in or regret purchasing.  Some of the items remain the same, but some have changed. My list is as follows:

1. ​Planner printable.  This includes planner pages, and stickers.  This is mostly because I don't have a printer that prints double sided, nor do I have a sticker printer, and I don't want to have to cut them myself.  I'd much rather give my money to a company that can do this for me.
2. ​Kawaii anything.  Sometimes Kawaii looks cute, but that is rare that I feel that, and it kind of weirds me out to be honest.  Plus so many of the stickers look the same to me.  It really is a trend that I just can't get into.
3. ​Stickers.  Let me explain.  Specifically List stickers (with the hearts), Foiled stickers, and Glossy stickers.  I have never actually used a list sticker in my entire time of planning except in my blog planner where it gives me the perfect amount of spaces to plan a blog series, but I don't really consider listing to be planning.  I know that probably sounds a bit crazy, but it is just how my brain works. I think that foiled stickers look messy, and hard to read, and glossy stickers make it impossible to write anything unless you are using a sharpie, and even then they have a tendency to smudge.  
4. Disney anything.  I have been to Disney more times than I can count or care to, and Disney is just too childish for me.  while I have all kinds of wild stickers in my planner Mickey, and Minnie aren't characters that I would ever be proud to show off.  Disney hasn't ever been apart of my personal or planner personality, and I don't see it happening anytime in the future.
5. Happy Planners.  While I own a few Happy planners, and sticker books there is a lot that the company needs to improve.  I highly dislike the disks because they are not secure, the pages bend near the disks, and the disks break.  I am using a happy notes notebook for just that, notes, and as a lefty I find it extremely hard to write with the disks.  I also find most of their products too childish.  They really should listen to their customers, and offer more neutral, adult looking planners.  They also do 3,000,000 different HOT MESS releases per year, and most of the sticker releases are repeats throughout the sticker books.  No other planner company feels the need to do this, and they do just fine.   Suffice to say I won't purchase anymore happy planners due to the mere fact that they are cheaply made, and people end up changing out the rings to metal disks made by other companies anyway.

While these are my dislikes right now they could definitely change further into the year.  I hope that you enjoyed this post, and that you get a chance to check out the podcast from a few years ago that inspired this post.  That podcast was a lot of fun.

Let me know in the comments below.  What are some of your planner anti-haul items so far for 2020?

​

Welcome to another Blog post here at Createyou86.  It has been a while since I posted anything about planning, and organization, and there is good reason for that.  I have been back in school, and still in recovery from surgery, but mostly school.  The amount of work was out of this world, but I finished off the semester with a 3.566 GPA which is very exciting.  
Tonight I had an amazing conversation with Lucinda from Organized Planner Chic on The Createyou86 Podcast, and the conversation was all about our 2018 Planner Anti-Haul.  This episode is all about items that we will never purchase in the planner community, and things that we don't really understand within the planner community.  I got this idea from The Planner Girl Chatter Podcast and I not only thought that it was extremely funny, but I liked the conversation that was had surrounding the planner community.  I had so much fun doing this episode that I decided that it needed an accompanying blog post.  My anti-haul list, and the full podcast episode is posted below.  
I really hope that you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed creating it, and podcasting about it.  This is a great post if you are looking for gift ideas for your planner friends for the holidays, or if you might want to create your own anti-haul list as well.

1. Erin Condren Planners / Happy Planners (I'm a ring planner through and through)
2. Crappy hand-drawn / Not cut correctly stickers
3. Disney anything
4. Tiny Travelers Notebooks (micro and key-chain size)
5. The face cup from Target (it was available for a short time at Five Below for $5)
6. The same clip-art being used by Etsy shops (enough said)
7. Normal paperclips, and weird designed metal paperclips (bikes, circles, spirals, envelopes etc.)
8. Glossy stickers / Kawaii stickers / Heart checklists (give us some variety)
9. Simply Gilded washi tape (hype/pre-orders/reselling for hundreds of dollars)
10. No white space planning (too busy, not enough room to plan, are you saving the pages that you spent money on for all of those stickers?)
11. Washi Tape (I'm over it.  I have too much of it, and i made a promised that when i filled my washi bag that I would stop  buying it.  I have reached maximum capacity.  Depending on where you get your washi from it can be pretty crappy quality.  Paper washi that you have to cut, and take off of the paper (Hobby Lobby) sucks!, and in 2019 I am committed to shopping my stash.
12. Puffy stickers (literally nobody uses these in their planners because they take up room, and you can't write over them when you turn the page.  Please stop putting these types of stickers in subscription boxes!)
13. Floral Kits (The Planner Society is very unapproachable because it is all florals.  I don't know many people who want to have to use florals in their planner every month.  It gets old!  The only floral kit i bought twice was the Amore kit from Sara Elizabeth Plans on Etsy)
14. Planner bands (I don't get the concept, and it seems super annoying to have to close your planner by using one of these.  I feel like if you need a planner band you should probably look into Travelers Notebooks!)

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW TO HEAR THE PODCAST!

If you loved this post share it with a friend who you think would benefit from it!

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: WHAT IS YOUR #1 ANTI-HAUL ITEM?