Are you ready to take action towards your goals? In today’s episode, I’m continuing my mindset series and welcoming life & wellbeing coach Sarah Ortega to the show. Sarah shares her best tips for creating lasting change in your business with ease, plus how to take aligned daily action towards your goals. 

On Quianna Marie Weekly, we’re chatting about business growing pains, finding genuine connections, and celebrating wins of all sizes through the lens of a photographer at heart. Sprinkled throughout stories and interviews with past clients, photographers and other business owners this podcast is designed to help you step into your purpose and to truly create a life you’re proud of, a life worth photographing and sharing.

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Today’s episode is brought to you by The Green House, my resource garden for photographers! Let me help you AMPLIFY your heart online and in real life to turn bridesmaids into future brides through templates, workshops, and freebies!

Review The Show Notes:

Becoming Brave With Your Goal-Setting (3:55)

Finding True Alignment With Your Goals (7:02)

The Balance Between Gratitude And Grit (9:32)

Taking Action On Aligned Goals (12:08)

Using AI For Goal Lists (15:25)

Advice For Building Up Confidence (20:29)

When Your Goals Change Or No Longer Align (24:39)

Celebrating The Milestones Before Moving The Goalposts (31:44)

Setting Goals With Other People (36:58)

Key Tip From Sarah (43:17)

Connect With Sarah:

Instagram: instagram.com/sarahh.ortega

Morning Routine Workbook: view.flodesk.com/pages

Group Coaching Waitlist: https://sarahortega.myflodesk.com/z5vdm2co02

Review the Transcript:

Quianna: As we’re wrapping up Q2 and rolling into Q3 this season, it’s time for a gut check on our goals during the hype of the new year. It’s easy for many of us to feel excited for a fresh start, but we’re also in the debt of winter in the new year. This spring was popping off with the new offers, tons of growth, and sticking to those goals and pursuing new collaborations.

Let’s do a little bit of a business audit and check in with those resolutions and vision boards. Today I have the honor of introducing you to a soul sister that specializes in turning your goals into daily habits and routines. With small adjustments stacked over time, that can make a huge impact in your business health mindset, and even your relationships.

Sarah Ortega is a Latina life and wellbeing coach, and the founder of the Empo raha community. She helps ambitious women step into their confidence, take aligned action, and build a life they’re excited about without the burnout or perfectionism. Through her coaching workshops and community, Sarah guides women in breaking free from the all or nothing mindset, setting intentional goals and cultivating daily habits that fuel their joy and success.

Her mission is to empower women to embrace their authenticity, trust themselves, and create lasting change from a place of ease and empowerment. Today we’ll be finding alignment with our goals and daily actions and calendars. Check in on some goals that may need some changes or adjustments. Sarah shares more about going from overthinking to taking action.

We even dive deeper into sharing grace for being grateful for what we have and what we’ve accomplished while still striving for more, more money, more flexibility, and more opportunities for our families. Speaking of families, I love this conversation about setting goals together as a couple with your partner and with your family.

Managing expectations for her goals and turning those big, wild and crazy ideas into manageable steps that make an impact over time. This is the perfect episode to shake up our routine, get our priorities in order, and to hold each other accountable, to take action towards the deep work we’re meant to do without getting lost in all this busy work.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Sarah, one of my soul sisters that inspires me to get out and walk or enjoy a run daily and keeps me in check with my goals with a big Arizona hug full of sunshine. Please welcome Sarah Ortega. Welcome to Keana Marie Weekly. A podcast for creatives who love to celebrate wins big or small, by dancing in the kitchen photographers who are excited to serve their clients and friends who are ready to chase really, really big dreams.

You can find all of the resources mentioned in this episode@keanamarie.com slash podcast. Join me as I share weekly motivation chat about growing pains, finding genuine connections. And celebrating your wins through the lens of a photographer at heart. Come join me for a dance party. Ready? Let’s go.

Hey, hey, hey. Welcome to the party, Sarah. It is such an honor to have you. How are you, gorgeous?

Sarah: Hi Quianna. It’s an honor that I’m here. Thank you for sharing me with your audience. Everything’s going good. I feel energized. I’m ready for this conversation. Thank you again for just the opportunity. I was sharing on my stories earlier today how this was part of my vision board for 2025, so I’m checking it off and all thanks to you.

Quianna: Oh my gosh! Well, what an honor to have you write that down. Make it come to life and to literally call that in. And that’s what we’re gonna be talking about today. So I wanna get right into this first question. What exactly is a goal, Sarah, and what does goal setting mean to you?

Sarah: Well, I’m big on goal setting.

That’s, I feel like that’s the main thing that I support my clients with. Goal setting to me is. Really creating meaningful goals that are in alignment to you and that matter to you? I feel like just with society or sometimes, like even having incredible people around us that are achieving incredible things, it’s easy to adopt other people’s goals because, oh, like that seems cool.

Like maybe I wanna try that without pausing and really reflecting. Um. Like, does this actually matter to me? Is this rooted in my values? So something that I do offer my clients? I created a goal setting framework called Brave, very similar to the Smart Goal acronym, but I added just other things that I felt were missing because the Smart Goal acronym is great, or like strategy where I felt like it was missing the mindset piece of it all.

The brave framework is be for belief in yourself. R for reflecting on your YA for Attainable, very similar to the Smart Goal acronym. That one I just kept there, kept in there. V is for value based and. E is for execution, which is the where the me, the big sauce is. And like we create our, our goals from there.

But I feel like the foundation is like that belief in yourself and knowing that you’re capable of achieving what you want to achieve is essential for you to be able to go after your goals and like that first step that you need to take. Um, and then just really reflecting like. Is this having very, being very clear and, and the goals that you’re working on and that there are in alignment with you and how you want to execute that plan, making sure that you are having habits.

That align with that goal or even seasonality of life you might be going through like planning a wedding or buying a home and or transitioning to another job like that season’s gonna look a little bit different and allowing yourself grace and making sure, like, based on my season right now, does this fit?

Or like you might have one goal one season and it might not fit in a different season. So just making sure that there’s a lot of reflection there.

Quianna: Yes, I love that. And I’m so happy that you hit the ground running with this acronym here for Brave. I love that, and I feel like that’s really attainable.

Like I love a good checklist, so I love that before someone kind of begins the B-R-A-V-E, like all of those little checklists that you’ve just shared. How can we really discover what goal is meant for us? Like what is an alignment? I feel like sometimes, and you hit it right on the head. I really wanna dig deeper in this where you mentioned, wait a second, are you chasing these goals because ambitious women around you are chasing those goals and those goals become your own, and are they really meant for you?

So I’d love to kind of unpack that a little bit deeper. How do we find that alignment and how do we, how do we kind of discern which goal is ready for us de depending on that season?

Sarah: Yeah, no, definitely. I feel like this goes down to setting time, like journaling could be like a great exercise for you to do, and I.

Set uninterrupted time where you can really tap into what you are wanting to work on, being very specific in that season. So one tool would be like journaling and asking yourself what brings me joy? And like allowing that process, allowing that reflection or journal prompt to be messy. Like, I’m just gonna write anything that comes to mind.

I’m gonna set a timer maybe for five, 10 minutes, but I’m just gonna write everything without thinking, oh, well I can’t get paid for that. Or. This isn’t realistic, just throw it on paper to see what comes up and that’s gonna shed some light to one. What brings you joy, what you’re passionate about. Uh, another prompt would be.

If you are in the mission of, of giving back, maybe who do I wanna serve? Like if it’s like business related or if you’re just want wanting to give back to the community, what audience do I wanna serve? What community do I wanna serve? And also allowing that process and that reflection to be messy.

Because after that, after doing like a brain dump and not. Overthinking that process. The truth comes out like, you’re like, oh, I, I didn’t even know this was gonna come up. And like, then you can start brainstorming from there. What I wanna work on. Or thinking of like the pillars, do I wanna focus on health right now?

Do I wanna focus on finances right now and or family? And then breaking down the goal from there into what goal could be aligned to that particular area in my life that maybe needs a little bit more work. Uh, I would say. So there’s different avenues that you can take. Uh, I’m big on visualization as well, so providing, providing all the tools.

Um, I feel like visualization aligned within the journaling practice. Closing your eyes and like. Picturing your dream life like without limits, like what does that look like? One thing that you might realize is like, I’m already living certain elements of that dream life, which is something so beautiful, but oh, I could be doing better in this area.

Or like, how can I cultivate more in this particular area in my life to get closer to where I wanna go?

Quianna: Yes, I love that. And these are all beautiful tips. What would you say to someone that is living in that gratitude and knows how grateful they are and how fortunate we are, whether that’s with our family or our financial circumstances, and yet we still crave more?

Like what? Like can we walk through that where, right. Because I do feel like there’s this beautiful dance between gratitude and then grit, like going after that next step. So how can we as ambitious business owners find that balance?

Sarah: Yeah, I love this question. I’m big, I’m huge on gratitude. I feel like that is my, one of my biggest, uh, values.

And I’m also a big believer that gratitude and ambition can coexist. Um, one grounds us while the other one pushes us forward. And I feel like. If you’re able to embrace and really lean into the gratitude in your life, it creates this powerful energy that then attracts more good into your life. Like inevitably, those things are gonna come because you’re leaning so much into that gratitude and it’s a muscle that you’re like consistently working on.

And you become more grateful for even like the smallest of things in your day or like your home or like even I, I recently came across this word called glimmers, which instead of triggers, they’re like finding joys in your day. And that takes practice. Like if, if you are constantly working that muscle, that’s gonna inevitably happen.

And knowing and trusting and like I get to be grateful for my life now, but still want more for my life. Because we’re always evolving. Um, so if we are always evolving, why not evolve in a positive way, in a thriving way where we’re making the most of this life that we were given? So I feel like that’s definitely like a reframe that we need to sit with and know that both can coexist, both can be true at the same time.

And that doesn’t mean that if we want more, we’re ungrateful for the things that we already have.

Quianna: Yes. I love the way you explain that because that is something that I’ve struggled with honestly for like, for my whole life where I am. I’m so grateful. I’m aware of, of just all the opportunities that have come my way.

I am aware of the love that my family and support give me, and. Also backed by the hard work and the luck that comes with all of that, right? But there’s also a piece of me that’s like, and I want more, but I also need to make time to celebrate those things. Right? What are some ways that, and like maybe some strategies that we can actually find alignment with those goals and take action.

Like how can we actually turn these goals into a checklist? Or into routines to help us get there. Like how can we turn these tangible goals, like this dream life that we’re craving or this next milestone that we’re trying to hit in our business, and actually turn that into a daily task.

Sarah: So starting with that clarity and like that messy start of like, okay, this is, I don’t even know what the goal is.

So like first create, getting to that point where, okay, now it’s clear. And from there, making it even more clear and more specific and more measurable. And then breaking it down to. Ridiculously attainable goals within that goal. I feel like the smallest that you can break it down like, okay, this is a big goal, this is a big umbrella, and then how can I make it even more specific, more like break it down into smaller steps and more smaller steps.

Get to the point where it’s like, okay, this is the daily action, or these are my weekly items that I’m breaking, that I’m committing myself to. Showing up, uh, like on each given day, checking those things off. So I feel like we sometimes overcomplicate things and think like, oh, I need to know, like the end of the staircase.

Like, no, like if we break it down so ridiculously attainable, we can accomp, we can check things like three things off in a given day and that builds confidence in yourself. And like, okay, I’m showing up, I’m taking action. I am moving the needle forward. And then checking also that plan where like, is this really taking me to, to this goal?

Or I’m like, or I’m, do I need to adapt to something else or pivot and, and make sure that it’s still going? Towards where I wanna go to. You could also leverage, I would say, AI to help you with this or a coach, like get yourself a coach. It’s very powerful when you have someone in your corner to cheer you on to, to help you create that plan, because sometimes that that is overwhelming.

But if you don’t work with a coach leveraging ai, which is right now something big, Che GPT, if you’re familiar with Che GPT, and putting that in there, like, okay, break this down and give me daily items that I can check off. And then that starts building that confidence in you, and then maybe having a check-in with yourself, either like weekly or biweekly and analyzing your progress.

Like, okay, this actually feels really good. I feel like I am moving the needle forward. I am simplifying my routine somehow because it’s so aligned and specific to what I wanna work on. To add to that, I would also say to make sure that it is simple. Like if it, I think the key here is maybe it, it is gonna be challenging ’cause there are some challenging things, but not overwhelming.

If you do sense some overwhelm, it might be time to analyze that plan and make sure that it, it does fit with what you’re working towards.

Quianna: Yes. These are all so helpful. So I wanna circle back right away. I wanna like do a boomerang and I wanna go right back to where you mentioned AI and chat, GPT. Do you have an example of a prompt that we could feed chat GPT for a goal?

Like let’s say for example, we’re trying to. Book more clients, right? Like, so we, summertime is coming up. We are excited to have some cash injections and we’d like to connect with more clients. Like what’s something that you would actually type into chat GBT to create that goal list for you? I.

Sarah: Yeah. Um, I do like to use chat, GPT, kind of like a virtual assistant or like my secretary.

So to start off, I give it like my audience, like, okay, this is who I am. I’m a life and wellbeing coach. This is who I’m serving. This is the problem that I’m tackling. I wanna grow my business and kind of do the, the messy action that I talked about earlier. Based on that, and based on what you know of me, could you give me five examples of some goals that I can work on?

From there, maybe selecting one or two goals that you’re gonna be focused on. And tell him, I say him, tell pt, can you break this down to and create a tangible plan for me that I can kick off this week? And. Just continue feeding it until you get something that you feel comfortable with, that you can instantly take action on.

And I feel the more that you use it, the more that it starts understanding the persona that you are, the what you’re trying to solve, what you’re trying to help with, the more accurate that. Whatever plan it feeds you, uh, it’s gonna populate. I also suggest bookmarking that if you’re like working on other things and that has nothing to do with your business, maybe bookmarking that to continue communicating through that same thread so it knows what to work off of and it doesn’t get confused.

I feel like sometimes I use AI for other areas of my life and it starts getting confused. Like, who, who am I speaking to? What, what email are we writing right now? So I think that’s also important, but again, there’s no, I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong way. Uh, I’ve found a groove that works for me where I’m like, okay, this sounds.

This sounds like me. Like I can use this, I can personalize this to my audience, and it’s giving me what I need. Where my partner, for example, uses it very different and it works for him, like he found, like his flow on how he wants to feed it. He’s more analytical and more specific, and I’m more like, oh, I’m gonna do a, I’m gonna be a little bit messier.

So finding your flow and allowing yourself to allow, giving yourself that flexibility. To play around with it, play around with the tool, and until you’re like, okay, this feels right. And also being really honest with yourself. I feel like there’s this small risk of, uh, authenticity or integrity within ai, um, that you can’t just copy and paste like I.

You want to be really honest with yourself, like, is this me? Is this my voice? Like I also don’t wanna adopt an AI voice. I still wanna be me, and this is just a tool that I’m using to be more efficient and to support me in what I’m already creating. But the core is me. It’s my passion, it’s my heart, it’s my creativity.

Quianna: Yes. Oh, I love this so much. I’m always in my chat GBT cursor, always. And I love that. And I love how you mentioned too, like you have to finesse it, right? So you have to feed it more information than you think about what to expect from you, like how to respond. And then I love how you mentioned like even when things get spit out at you, cool, maybe there’s five tasks.

You know, that get generated and then go through one or two and like really finesse it and go through that. Like, okay, and now that you have this information, can you turn that into a weekly task list and a daily grind or however, like whatever verbiage you use to create those checklists, I think are gonna be so helpful.

Sarah: I think like going, you can make, you can do so much with it, but like, kind of like what I spoke to about ear earlier. Taking that daily action, keeping those promises to yourself, you can even feel it at that. Like, Hey, I want to keep a promise to myself every single day. Can you show me what that looks like?

And then it’ll prompt you some ideas and you’re like, okay, this, this is doable. The, I can do this. Uh, or it feels exciting ’cause it just gave me something that I didn’t think about before.

Quianna: So one thing that I’ve noticed in my experience with business growth, just being in my mid thirties now, almost my forties, I’ve noticed that confidence has played a lot in goal setting, right?

Like I, I feel like sometimes I may not set a goal because I’m not confident that I can actually accomplish that, right? Or sometimes I think, gosh, you know, if, if I just achieved this one goal, then I will be confident. Right? Like there’s this like kind of like tracker going back and forth with confidence and chasing those really big dreams.

What advice do you have for someone I. That it needs to find the confidence to chase after these goals. And, and like you mentioned earlier, I kind of wanna circle back to like, sometimes these, these goals, like this brain dump is so messy and so big. Like it feels scary to say, Hey, I, I’m going to book a client for this amount of money exchange.

Right? Or, oh, I have my dream house that I’m working towards. And it, it feels scary, like, like viscerally, like in our body. So what advice do you have for building up that confidence to, to know that we’re worth these really big goals?

Sarah: Uh, I feel like that fear or that anxiety or whatever you physically feel is there for a reason.

Um, for most of us, like we’re multi-passionate. We are high achievers, we are dreamers. Um, but there is that. Small fear or anxiety, and I think it’s because we care, because this is something that we’re not taking lightly. So it is there as feedback. I don’t like to say like, oh, you’re gonna overcome fear, because I don’t think we ever truly overcome something like that.

We’re human and we’re always gonna experience that to a certain level. But we’re able to manage it differently and we’re able to move past that or take action despite the fear being there, like acknowledging, okay, fear is here with me. He’s gonna be my companion, but we’re gonna go, we’re gonna go and do it anyway.

I think doing things, doing hard things that then translate to other things. I. Like maybe getting a hard workout in that could be like a, a smaller example of like, I’m gonna do something hard. I’m gonna, I’ve never run, but I’m gonna run a mile. And like, oh, I was, I am starting to build that confidence because I did something hard.

So I would say that is one of the things in other ways that you have more control over, like your workouts or maybe waking up earlier or whatever feels challenging and hard, you can go ahead and do that and it starts building that confidence in you. The fear aspect of it, stepping outside of your comfort zone.

And I think the best way to do this, which might not be or the most welcomed, uh, response is you have to do it. You have to take action and like really hold yourself with. That fear and step into those rooms, like maybe take on step out of your comfort zone in a smaller way, but then from there you’re like, oh my God, I did that and it felt so amazing and it’s so in alignment, and it showed me how capable I am.

I always love repeating, like, if I have the opportunity, it’s because I’m ready. And just repeating that has given me so much confidence to enter in rooms, literally shaking. Or like, I host workshops and I tell people like, I’m nervous every single time. I’ve done workshops a lot, but every single time I’m a little bit nervous.

But because I care, this is something that I, I love doing and I wanna be able to provide value. Um, so acknowledging that that’s where that’s coming from, and it’s not because I’m not capable of doing something. So then the more I do it, the more I’m like, okay, well I did this, like I’m gonna put myself out there for this other thing, or I’m gonna attend this event by myself, which could be a scary thing for some people, but then after you do it, it just gets easier by taking that action.

Another small example could be like showing up online. I feel like in the beginning I was terrified to go on stories. Now I’m like, I can go on stories and it’s easy. A new challenge came up like, oh, I, I wanna go live. But now I like, okay, I checked off the stories. I’m good with stories. I’m confident. How do I do live?

Like I’m, I’m nervous. And it’s by doing it like, okay, I did it. Did that feel in alignment? ’cause sometimes you either will get the feedback of like, that felt great. I’m like, I’m capable. I loved it. And then it might feel like, okay, I did it. I feel like I crushed it, but it’s not, it’s not my thing. And that’s, that’s totally okay as well.

Quianna: Mm. Oh, I love that. I love how confidence builds. Piece by piece through action, like you actually have to do the thing. I love that. And you know what, what just came through too, and I actually kind of wanna pivot the conversation a little bit where you mentioned, you know, maybe you try something new and it’s.

It. It’s not because you sucked that you wanna change your mind. Right? I wanna make, be clear about that, but it just doesn’t feel in alignment. So can we kind of take the conversation to what happens when your goals change? What happens when you maybe get closer to it or you wake up one morning and realize.

Gosh, I’ve been striving for this vision or this role in my, my job or this new business milestone, and it doesn’t feel aligned anymore. So what advice do you have for someone that may be experiencing a pivot or maybe realizing this goal? I’ve been working really hard towards just, isn’t it?

Sarah: Yes. I see this all the time with my clients and it’s something that I love.

Reconstructing for them and then seeing like the clarity that they gain after, um, I feel like we are so, like, oh, well, we have to stick to something and we have to follow through. And like there’s s like, I have to finish this book even though it’s a horrible book and I’m not enjoying it at all. And that, that goes with goals too sometimes.

Like, oh, well if I don’t do this thing, uh, I’m failing, or I’m not keeping my word. But I feel like we have to really, again, reassess our goals. There’s. So taking it back a little, when a goal is in an alignment, there’s some cues that you can look out for as feedback to like, okay, maybe I need to take a moment to really think about this goal that may not be in alignment any longer.

And that is, if you like, the key is challenging, but not overwhelming. So overwhelm is one of the first cues and feedback. Maybe I need to sit down and like take a moment to see what this looks like. And again, just leaning into being super honest with yourself. At the end of the day, you are the creator of these goals.

No one’s gonna look at this. So just being really honest with you and quieting everyone else’s noise. So overwhelm is one. If you’re sensing a lot of resistance towards this goal or if you’re like showing up and it feels dreadful, um, and you’re maybe leading to burnout. Again, this is a cue to reassess this particular goal.

Having a very strong why with that goal for because we do understand like sometimes motivation isn’t gonna be there and it’s, do I quit because it’s not in alignment? Or do I have to really lean in my why and do the hard thing today and still show up because this goal actually is in alignment and it matters to me.

Um, so there’s a few cues of like really assessing that. Assessing the alignment in that particular goal. I do have an example, uh, in my own personal life. I, for the longest time, I didn’t identify as a runner. I’m like, I’m not a runner. I have a heart murmur. I can’t do it. So like the longest I ran was maybe.

Three miles ever in my life. Um, my partner is a runner and this was maybe three years ago or two years ago. He’s like, let’s go run. I’m like, okay, let’s go. Um, like, but I’m only gonna do three miles ’cause like that’s all I can do. I didn’t have a walk, I didn’t have anything to like track it. I was just following him and I was running and I’m like, this feels, this feels longer than three miles.

We finished the run and he’s like, you did 4.2 or something. And I’m like, oh my God, I’ve never done this before. But it made me feel, I love that sense of like, oh, I, I’m so capable, I can do hard things. So after that, I signed up for a half marathon. And my why, my big why around that goal was like, I wanna show myself how capable I am to achieve this and break that limiting belief that I set.

Myself for most of my life, like I’m not a runner, which then translates to other things. So that was my big why, like I just wanna complete it. Literally, that was it. Like I wanted to complete a half marathon. That was the goal. I trained for it. I completed the half marathon and it felt great. I checked off like it was very in alignment with that particular goal that I wanted.

And then fast forward to like a year after, I kind of knew I didn’t love long distance. Like my sweet spot is like a 10 k and out of fomo, everyone signed up for like another half. I’m like, oh, well everyone’s doing it, so I’m gonna do it. And then I start training and I’m like, this. This isn’t in alignment anymore.

I’m like here adopting other people’s goals. My big goal that I already accomplished of completing a half marathon is done and it no longer applies to this season of life. And it took me a few weeks to like, no, well, I already signed up for it. I already paid. Like, what are people gonna think? What is my partner going to think?

Like I’m, I’m failing. But then I had to give myself my own advice. Like, no, I get to pivot. This doesn’t make me a failure. And what if I sign up for a 10 K? That feels good, and it’s a complete different goal. Um, so giving ourselves that permission. We only have this one life to be wasting time on goals that are, that are no longer in alignment.

Like I wanna go to a dance class. And I do have a lot of respect for runners because the training it takes is timely and it is tiring. And I’m like, no, I wanna dance more. I wanna take more dance classes. I wanna go to Pilates more. And now this training is interfering with something that now is a bigger goal for me in this season.

Yes.

Quianna: Oh my gosh. I’m so happy you shared that story. ’cause I feel like that is so relatable, even if we’re not runners, even if we don’t identify as a runner, because I think that’s like a slippery slope that can happen, right? Is once you set a goal for yourself, whether it’s personal or for business or.

Whatever. And then you get yourself in those crowds. You start meeting new friends, like you mentioned earlier, others’ goals can become our own. And then we have to like reflect and we have to think, wait a second, is this really in alignment with me? And I feel like all of us can apply that to any type of business or any type of personal goal.

It’s so good. And what advice would you have for someone that feels like they’re constantly moving the goalpost? So celebrating is, is so important to me. I love celebrating. I mean, if it’s any Taco Tuesday or celebrating, if I clean out my car, we’re celebrating if, right? Like it doesn’t matter, the holiday, the birthday.

I love celebrating and especially celebrating my loved ones and my friends. But for me. Taking the time to celebrate my personal wins. Sometimes just kind of gets like, okay, cool. Check. Oh, that was cool. I’m, I might make a post about it or not, to be honest. And then I’m onto the next goal. So what advice do you have for someone to honestly remind us to pause and to celebrate and embrace those milestones before we just keep moving the goalpost?

Sarah: Yeah. I feel like this is a constant theme for high achievers and like we’re, we’re always working towards something. But I feel like if we don’t take that moment to pause and celebrate and give ourselves those flowers that we so deserve, it starts becoming like we’re just going with emotions and like nothing feels as exciting anymore because we keep moving that goalpost.

The goals don’t feel as fulfilled as fulfilling because again, we’re like not acknowledging that. That win. Um, something that I am big on through my coaching practice, either one-on-one coaching or my group coaching is celebrating small and big wins. That’s how we kick off all of our calls, and I’ve had clients come in.

Because they’ve never worked that muscle or like they’ve struggled to even like think of like one win. I’m like, okay, think of the smallest, the smallest win that you can think of this past week. So I would always like push and encourage them. And it’s a muscle, it’s a muscle that you have to work just like gratitude.

The more that you practice it, the easier that it becomes. Like, yes, like, like you said, I washed my car. I’m gonna go to a Taco Tuesday and and give myself a treat. It makes it exciting what that particular client that was having such a hard time then through the work that we did, and just like her knowing like, oh, Sarah’s gonna ask me on the call what my win is.

She had it top of mind and now she’s able to come up with not just one, but like multiple wins, like either small or big wins. And I’m like, this is incredible because it’s adding, again to that confidence to then pursue more things. It makes goals, achieving goals more exciting because there’s that reward at the end.

Or even throughout the journey as you’re hitting those milestones, giving yourself something and that celebration in itself could be something very simple like Taco Tuesday, or I’m gonna go get myself a treat or. I’m going to do a spa, like whatever that looks like, maybe creating, I do, I do have this practice of creating a celebration list.

So again, allowing that process to be messy in the beginning and then making it like cleaning it up, circling like what actually super excites you? Like, oh yes, I wanna buy myself a new workout outfit, or I’m going to take a trip with my family, whatever. Some, a reward, like an exciting reward is to you write it down in that list and whenever you’re achieving a goal, making it a practice, like checking in with yourself, taking that pause not only for that celebration, what lessons were learned.

How can I move forward, like really taking that goal in to move forward with intention, to move forward with everything that you gained and maybe things that you lost during that goal process.

Pulling out your celebration list, like, okay, how am I gonna celebrate this? Maybe have like a small wins celebration list, big win celebration list, picking something up from there. Again, it doesn’t have to be anything big, but if you take a moment of pause, it allows for that reflection and that acknowledgement by yourself flowers, or give yourself those words that feel like flowers.

Quianna: Yes. Oh, this is so beautiful. And I’ve even noticed too, in my own experience, when I do create intention with celebrating, oh my gosh, like it’s contagious, like celebrating, it’s contagious, right? So, and you’re literally, you’re thanking God. You are celebrating with the universe. And I feel like it’s just like, okay, cool.

So now that this has happened, what’s next? Right? Like you look for those glimmers, like we mentioned before, you look for these tiny wins that are just popping up all the time and. I feel like when we are, like we have that on our radar, when we have celebration moments on our radar, it like they come quicker and they come faster because we’re open to them.

We’re open to receiving them because we are pausing to celebrate. And like you said, it could be so tiny. It could be buying yourself $12 flowers at Trader Joe’s, or it could just be cuddling with your dog and enjoying an afternoon walk, like whatever that little reward is. Adding those to your goal, like checklist, I think is so important.

Definitely.

Sarah: Yeah. And like you said, it’s, it’s energy and it feels good like after you start experiencing it, because if you’ve never experienced it, you’re like, no, like, let’s move on. Let’s do the next thing. But once you’ve experienced that celebration, you’re like, oh, I wanna, I want, I’m deserving of this.

Like, let’s treat myself like the queen that I am. And it deserves it’s deserving of, it feels good. It makes me excited for even the goals to come and, yeah.

Quianna: Yes. I love this. So oftentimes goal setting can be very personal, right? When we talk about setting goals, it’s what are my business goals, my financial goals, my fitness goals, like everything typically is really personal to our own self-development and our growth.

And I kind of wanna lead the conversation to setting goals with your partner, setting goals in your family, like having family goals, what advice do you have for navigating those types of goals Where we’re not only holding ourselves accountable, but maybe we’re bringing other people in on this goal or this like projected win that we’re trying to accomplish together?

Sarah: I’ll give two practices. I would say one’s more structured and like planning. But vision boarding like in the beginning of the year, or if you wanna implement a similar practice, I feel like that brings about like, okay, let’s work on all of the goals that we’re working on for 2025, for example, leave a bucket for collaboration, either like with your family, like if family’s a bucket.

What can we add here that we wanna work on together as partners? What, what can we add here in this bucket that we wanna work on together? That’s now what, like one of my pillars that I do with my partner. So we first work on like our personal goals, our business goals, and then our couples goals that we wanna do together, either.

Travel or like with the home. So I feel like that’s more of like a fun activity that you can bring your family in. You can bring your partner in or your girlfriends as well, and see where that overlap. Is like even within sharing your personal goals or your business goals, and then your friend shares hers and you are like, oh, we can, we can do something together.

Like, let’s bring this to life. That actually did happen to me last year with one of my girlfriends. We were in a book club and it’s that communication. I think she shared something about like, oh, I kind of wanna do like a women’s event, um, and like do a yoga segment. But like, I. I’m like a little scared to like put myself out there and I’m like, I wanna do a women’s event.

Like why don’t we collaborate together? And like we found the overlap and I had my first in percent event last August, and it just happened from conversation, which brings me to the other practice of less structure, but having that continuous communication, I feel like. Your audience? Me. You like, we’re dreamers.

We’re, we’re always thinking of our goals. Uh, what we wanna work on. We’re passionate. My partner’s also like a creative and passionate, so like, we’re always having conversations like, oh, this is what I’m thinking about and like, I wanna do this and I wanna work on this. And then he tells me what he wants to work on.

And then finding that overlap just inevitably happened and you are like, oh, we should do that together and like, join forces. Some prompts to think about again is like, what, what are you passionate about? Or like in collaboration, who do you wanna serve? If it’s like a, a particular community that you wanna serve, let’s inforce this and bring our magic together to bring this to life.

And I feel like I. You’ll notice that alignment just within that conversation, and sometimes that feels so natural, like, I wanna work with this person. I love their energy, I love what they bring to the table. Let’s do something with that.

Quianna: Yes. Oh my gosh, I love this. And I really think really it’s the same strategies whether you’re doing it alone or with others, right?

It’s just bringing in that, that communication piece and. And also doing those checkpoints, right? Like having that accountability piece where we may, we may set a goal for our family or as a couple and for our home, and then we think, oh, okay, cool. And how are we actually taking action on this? Like, did you do what you say you were going to do?

Or have we been saving the money for this next vacation that we’re planning or this renovation, right? So. It almost creates this team effort, which can, you know, I think for some people, and for some relationships, it may feel, ooh, like this feels kind of hard because you’re having to depend on somebody else.

Or you can look at it from the perspective. No, it actually just adds more fuel to the fire. This can get done faster when we do it together. Just like you said, collaborating with your friend for your women’s event, that is incredible and that should be celebrated. And this is the beauty of sharing your goals.

Actually speaking them out loud, writing them down, making them tangible, making them real, and then also verbalizing them. I go back and forth on this all the time because I feel like there is a piece of wanting to keep your goals on your heart and not wanting anybody to take your idea or right, like to take your big business idea or, you know, to, to just put yourself out there can feel really scary.

I. Then I also believe on the flip side, no actually there’s power in the words you speak. Like you are literally making sound waves that go out into the universe and you know, they’re just unanswered prayers that can come back to you. But if you are not, I. Mentioning those things. If you’re not bringing them up into conversation, how are you going to find people to get you one step closer, right?

Like, so I go back and forth with that all the time. Um, but I really do see the power in sharing your truth, sharing your missions, opening your heart to serve others. And the more you do that, the faster you’re gonna find alignment with others to create that momentum.

Sarah: A hundred percent. And yeah, I loved what you said about speaking that out and just courageously, courageously speaking about your dreams also gives other others permissions to speak about theirs.

And it’s that ripple effect of like, yeah, this, I might not have an opportunity right in front of me, but there’s someone in the room that could lead to an opportunity in the future to some collaboration to. A path that I didn’t even think was possible by speaking of that and being obviously like careful with.

Your surroundings. I think alignment is a big piece that I worked on and entering spaces where I feel I can trust that environment. I can trust the people even if they’re strangers, but like, okay, I’m in an expensive place where I feel safe to share this. Compared to other places where energetically I’m like, ah, I, I might keep my goals to myself.

Like there might be some unnecessary judgment that I don’t want to open up to in this. Season of my life. Uh, and there, there are gonna be certain people like that, but in most cases, if you are entering aligned spaces, if you are surrounding yourself with aligned people, that’s just gonna become easier and like exciting.

Like, oh, I, I wanna share this with this person. Hear their feedback, or just opening it up to the room.

Quianna: Oh, this has been so beautiful. Oh my goodness, Sarah. So one question that I love to ask every guest, what is your key tip? I know you’ve dropped a lot of really good knowledge for us, and, uh, honestly, I, I feels like a lot of really soul homework is what I like to call it.

So it’s on homework, but they’re really good action steps to lead us closer to our goals. But what key tip would you like to share today? Something that you wish you knew sooner or something you’d like to share with entrepreneurs today?

Sarah: Yeah, I think. Just knowing that your dreams don’t need a perfect version of you.

They need a present version of you. So making sure that you’re building systems that support your energy, your rest, your joy are part of the strategy, and you are going to achieve so much more from this space of. Instead of being burnt out and in that hamster wheel that’s not supporting the life that you want to create,

Quianna: that is absolutely beautiful.

And the perfect drop like mic drop moment. Oh my gosh, Sarah, that was beautiful. And I feel like we need to repeat that, that your dreams don’t need the perfect version of you. They just need a present version. Like you need to have your boots on the ground. Your arms wide open and doing messy action, just taking it day by day, checking off those tasks and those to-do lists that do feel in alignment with you.

I mean, that was beautiful and I, I love these key tips because like seriously, out of all of these years of the podcast, nobody’s repeated something yet. Like everybody has these mic drop moments that I love hearing, and that was absolutely beautiful.

Sarah: I, I’m a huge believer in that and I feel like that really transformed just the way that I show up.

And I’m like, I’m so much better for my community, for my business, for my family, showing up in this way and making sure that I’m also taking care of me and simplifying the process.

Quianna: Oh my gosh. Well, how can we connect with you and be your BFF?

Sarah: Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram. @sarahh.ortega

Um, you can find out all the things that I have going on there, and I will be opening my coaching, um, my signature group coaching program in June. So I’ll have a wait list for anyone that’s interested in being the first to hear about that program. Um, and we can add it to the, to the keynote.

Quianna: Incredible.

Thank you so much for your time today. And I just have to mention that we actually connected at a mastermind with Annette and Felicia as the host. And if you’re listening, thinking, where can I find my Sarah? Where can I find friendships like this? It really is getting in the room, right? So maybe a goal that we can set together, um, for listening who, if you’re listening, um, is definitely just showing up and investing in yourself, you deserve.

To be brought to that higher education, to be in alignment with women that are also chasing really, really big goals. So thank you, Sarah. It was such a joy chatting with you.

Sarah: Thank you, Quianna. Thank you for the opportunity and I can’t wait to stay in touch!

Quianna: Yep. I told you that was gonna be a good one. I hope it left you feeling inspired and shooken up a bit to make some daily habit updates.

You and I were put on this earth for a reason, my love. It’s not up to us to change the world, but it is up to us to answer the calling, to show up, make an impact, and to live life on our own terms. Please make sure to follow along with Sarah at @sarahh.ortega

Grab her FREE MORNING ROUTINE WORKBOOK and follow along for her motivation, inspiration, and encouragement. We are cheering for you and only want the best for you. So thanks so much for joining this chat today. It’s truly an honor to do life and business with you. If you found this episode helpful, please leave a five star review.

I read every single one and it helps amplify the show to connect with more heart-centered and passionate business owners like us. May this week be filled with opportunities. Lots of tiny and a couple big celebrations for you and your family. Thanks so much for joining this mindset series. Make sure to check out QuiannaMarie.com/shop for more education, encouragement, and strategies to help your business bloom through all.

Seasons. Can’t wait to chat next week, k. Love you. Bye. That’s a wrap on another episode of Kiana Marie Weekly. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. You can find the resources and show notes for this episode and more QuiannaMarie.com/podcast, I’d be honored if you’d show your support by leaving a review and rating on your favorite podcast app.

Until next time, keep on on dancing.

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