So tomorrow is my birthday. I had written down this list of 30 things to do before I was thirty (several years ago, of course) and I cannot for the life of me find it! I am so disappointed. I searched and searched both of my computers. I looked in every folder (probably wasting a ton of time). Because I wanted to share it here to see what I have done and what I haven’t yet get to.

I did find a very funny post from when I turned 30. Now this was on my old blog site before moving over here to ElizabethScala.com. So maybe that’s why the formatting is so rough… but if you want a chuckle, have a look into the blast from the past.

Well besides the celebratory wishes and birthday fun to come this week (and month, actually… my husband likes to celebrate birthday ‘months’), this time of year gives me great opportunity to pause and reflect. Also to share this state of introspection with you and challenge you to create your own bucket-list of nursing milestones and events.

In fact, I’ll do two things with you. Yikes! In a very public way, I will share my own goals on this eve of my birthday. And then, two- I will encourage you to think about your nursing goals and share with you some special tips for how you can excel in your own nursing career.

[Tweet “Here Are My (Gulp) Very Public Nursing Goals!”]

1. I’ll keep it to four… so that I can reach these things before I am 40. First, with respect to my business overall. As my business IS my nursing career. Or at least I desire it to be. By the year 2020, so that will be when I am… 39, so right on the cusp… I will be fully employed by my nurse entrepreneur business.
2. My books- over the course of next year, I will complete a joint venture book that will be fully done by summer, 2016. This way I can work with this joint venture partner on selling and speaking about the book cross country!
3. Speaking of cross country… I’m taking this goal to my spot as a co-host of RNFM Radio. We had a host planning meeting last month… in fact, we plan to do these regularly now… and what came from it is some very serious growth goals. I can’t share all of the details here, but for me personally, my goal is to have this show go cross country and in-person by the time I am 40. I’d love to be riding around in an awesome Winnebago with my two co-hosts, traveling the country and hosting the live aspect of RNFM Radio.
4. The Art of Nursing. That program is my baby. It impacts so many lives. I get to interview AMAZING speakers each year, all the while learning from their knowledge. I get to work with organizations from across the country to make their Nurse’s Week more meaningful. I get to have fun as a host and interact with some freaking amazing nurse professionals. By the time I am 40, I’d love to have reached at least 50 organizations with this fabulous program. If not more!

OK… Now it’s Your Turn! Let’s Set Some Goals for Your Nursing Bucket-List.

And here’s how to ensure success…

1. Ensure emotion. If you aren’t jazzed up by your goal, if it doesn’t light you up inside and out- then there’s no sense even writing it down. You’ve got to feel really excited by the goal you are setting. Evoke emotion and allow the enthusiasm to pull you forward towards success.
2. Visualize success. Speaking of success, let’s talk visualization. On two levels. If you don’t believe you can do it, you’re likely going to get in your own way on some level. Even if you have a teeny sense of doubt, start working on building your confidence first. Before you take any action. I’m not saying it isn’t do-able… you just want to be sure that your mind-body-spirit is on board with your master plan.
3. Start small. I’m not saying start small with a small goal. I mean take baby steps. Be sure to set a number of goals and take steps that you will actually have time, energy and resources to do. For example, my goals above. I only made 4 of them. Yes, I have six years before I am 40… but these are big goals. I didn’t want to set a number so huge that nothing was then accomplished!
4. Take action. OK. What are you still doing here? LOL. Finishing the blog post, I hope. And then… it’s time to take action. If even only one action per day to move you closer to your goals. That’s what I do as a nurse entrepreneur. I take one action. Just one. And that one action per day moves me closer to my grand scheme of things.

I’d love to hear what I missed. What would you add to the list above? How do you think you might set some new nursing goals in order to more fully enjoy your nursing career? Share a comment below and thanks for reading!

About the Author: As a keynote speaker, bestselling author and virtual conference host, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the bestselling author of ‘Nursing from Within‘, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.