Issue No. 2 July 20, 2018

SELF • BUSINESS • SPIRITUAL • FUN

THEPRIORITIZEDLIFE ISSUE NO. O2 • JULY 20, 2018 • FREE

WHAT'S YOUR PURPOSE?

7-STEP AUDIT: AUTORESPONDERS

IS IT TIME TO DITCH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?

3 Questions That Will Help You Find Your Purpose

7 Easy Steps to Audit Your Autoresponders

Review What’s Working and Ditch the Rest

Have you found your true calling?

The Crossroads of Should and Must $12

by Elle Luna www.theprioritizedlife.com/shop

Elle Luna presents a choice we all have to make. “Should” is what we feel we ought to be doing, or what is expected of us. “Must” is the thing we dream of doing, our heart’s desire. Pick up your copy in the TPL store, and find your calling!

02 | The Prioritized Life

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Table of Contents

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Editor's Note

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Is It Time To Ditch Your Social Media?

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Blogs to Watch

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Podcasts to Watch

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The 7-Step Autoresponder Audit

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3 Questions To Help You Find Your Purpose

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August Free Coloring Page

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August Planner Pages

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Charity of the Month: Charity Miles

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Be a Contributor

FROM THE EDITOR

JUST A NOTE Miranda Merten - Editor-In-Chief Founder, The Prioritized Life

WRITTEN BY MIRANDA MERTEN

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If there's one thing I am tired of, it's settling for things. Why on Earth do we spend our hardearned money to be disappointed and let down with shitty customer service? I don't splurge on things too often, but when I do, I expect it to be correct. Case in point, I went to Starbucks today, and I don't always order a fancy drink.

Usually, it's a simple hot or iced coffee and maybe a hot chocolate

for my daughter. So when I decide to upgrade my order, you can imagine how upset I am when the order is incorrect. Do I complain?

Not usually. My complaints come in the form of venting when I get home, and further disappointment that I don't stand up for myself.

Enough already. My new goal is to speak up and get what I paid for, and you should too.

52 SMALL CHANGES: LET GO OF A GOAL

#6

Take a look at your goals, and try letting go of one of them this week. Sounds totally counterintuitive doesn't it? Here's the deal. We get so gung-ho about our goals (especially in the new year) that we create too many! Six huge goals plus a bunch of smaller ones to finish in one year usually tends to be a ridiculous feat.

Start with dropping one - the least crucial or important - and see how you feel.

Ideally, work on completing 1 or 2 large goals at a time.

IS IT TIME TO DITCH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA? One of the goals we usually set include "being better at social media", or something along those lines. We look at what we are currently doing - tweeting here and there, a little Insta and Facebook - and we decide to come up with a whole new posting plan that involves all 5 major social media platforms. Eventually (about 2 weeks), that elaborate plan turns into a few tweets a week, and you are back to square one.

So, is it time to ditch it? No, I don't mean ditch it altogether, but you definitely need to pare down that elaborate plan.

Effective social media management includes conducting strategic reviews of your social media on a routine basis.

Reviewing your social media platforms is a great way to determine what is working and what isn’t. Then take decisive action and modify your operations.

Customers - Review your customer behavior patterns on a quarterly basis. Where are you getting your most engagement?

Has anything changed? Use the data tools available within your social media platform. These tools will tell you everything you need to know about the quantity and quality of your social media posts and community engagement.

Systems - Make certain you are staying up to date with the technology associated with your most successful social media tools. If you need to upgrade your membership or change the way you use the tool to maximize your reach, shift and make changes to keep up with the changing times. Once you have done your reviews, do the following: - Set a goal for the next quarter: i.e. I want to increase engagement by 15%. I want my new graphic to be shared 10k times.

- Collect data- Collect the data through the next quarter. All social media platforms have analytics for your review.

- Review the data- Break down the data as it relates to your goals.

- Modify - Modify your operations along the way with the goal to meet or exceed your goals for the quarter.

- Implement new ideas - If a social media platform is underperforming or there has been a big switch in the mindset of your ideal customer, switch up your tactics and try something entirely new.

- Ditch what isn’t working- Don’t hang on to a sinking ship. Ditch what isn’t working or is causing you too much time and headache. You don't have to be all the places, all the time. Choose your standout 1 or 2 places to be.

Bottom line, don't try to do the absolute most! Do what works - It's best to stand firmly in one place than haphazardly spread across five.

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Blog Watch Who doesn't love new blogs to read and follow? My favorites are usually women centered and cater to creating your best life. I've stumbled across a good amount, and sharing is caring! So here is a round up of blogs you should be checking out. Don't forget to visit my blog: www.theprioritizedlife.com for my views on living your best life.

BLOGS GUARANTEED TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. IMPLEMENT WISELY. Verily https://verilymag.com The premise of Verily is simple: a women’s magazine that can be beautiful, inspiring—and not make you feel bad about yourself. #MissionAccomplished. Inspiring stories and real blog articles you won't find anywhere else.

Boho Berry https://www.bohoberry.com Monthly book clubs and challenges to help spark your inner creativity. Not to mention, she has a course for better handwriting! Where do you see that? Check it out!

Life Goals Mag http://lifegoalsmag.com Founded by Coley Lane, this online magazine is all about consciously choosing to work towards being the best versions of ourselves that we can be. Topics include career, lifestyle, personal growth, wellness, relationships and spiritual growth.

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Podcast Watch Do you fancy listening more than reading? Well, I've got some podcasts for you! We don't always have the luxury of sitting down with our tea or coffee (or wine!) and reading words. In those cases, we need something a little more portable and effortless. Enter podcasts! Add these gems to your playlist for instant life enhancement.

HAVE A LISTEN. YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING. Happier with Gretchen Rubin www.gretchenrubin.com/podcasts Gretchen Rubin hosts two podcasts dedicated to being happier in life. The Happier Podcast and A Little Happier. Great tips about little things you can do for happiness and good habits.

Surviving Twenty Something https://survivingtwentysomething.co/audio Enjoy this mixture of light-hearted, funny, thoughtful, and real ass conversations. Mia interviews successful, interesting people on their journeys to doing what they love.

The School of Greatness https://lewishowes.com/blog The goal of the School of Greatness is to share inspiring stories from the most brilliant business minds, world class athletes and influential celebrities on the planet to help you find out what makes great people great.

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Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

BUSINESS + MONEY

THE 7-STEP AUTORESPONDER Audit Is Your Autoresponder Working For You and Your Current Audience?

WRITTEN BY MIRANDA MERTEN

Are you ready to audit your list and find out what’s working, what isn’t, and where there’s room for improvement? If you ask me, it’s one of the most productive and rewarding tasks you can tackle this week. It all starts by taking a closer look at what you have in place right now.

Be honest. When is the last time you’ve really taken a look at your optin form? How about your welcome email?

Do you know what it says and how you’re welcoming your new subscribers? How about the lead magnet you’re using?

It’s time to take stock of all that and the first step is to sign up for your own list. Sign up for your list, note the steps and process that your reader goes through, and review all of your messages to make sure your wording is up to date and continuing to serve your purpose.

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Sign Up For Your Own List And Review The Process Try to look at each piece of the process from your subscribers’ point of view. How easy is the process? Is your welcome email up to date with current information?

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Take A Closer Look At Your Lead Magnet It's a good idea to change your lead magnet from time to time. How attractive is the optin offer? Is the headline catchy? Do you help your readers solve a problem?

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Review Your Download Page This is the page your subscribers land on after they confirm their opt-in. Thank your subscribers, give them access to the lead magnet, and have a way for them to contact you. If relevant, provide an upgrade offer.

How Welcoming Is Your Welcome Email?

Give your readers a warm welcome. Tell them a little about you and your site. Set expectations. You can greatly improve your email open rates if you let them know what’s coming and why they don’t want to miss it.

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Are Your Messages Serving Your Customers?

Define your target audience and your ideal subscriber. Are you serving them with the content you're sharing?

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Are Your Messages Serving You And Making You Money?

Check your metrics! There’s a lot you can learn from your stats and from what your readers tell you.

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Develop A Game Plan For The Future It’s important to make a plan to keep improving your autoresponder and the messages going forward. Make it recurring (depending on how many you currently have set up). Consider setting up different opt-in funnels for your target market sub-sets to allow you to speak directly to them and their particular needs. Grow your list by setting up new funnels and autoresponders regularly.

 Q U E S T I O N S T H A T 3 WILL HELP YOU FIND YOUR PURPOSE

For some people, finding their purpose in life comes easy.

The purpose finds them and it becomes glaringly obvious what they should be doing to live a happy and fulfilled life. For most of us though, things aren’t that obvious and it’s completely normal to struggle with finding something purposeful to do. If that’s you, here are three questions you may want to ask yourself to help guide you to a starting point.

Before we move on to the actual questions, I want to share that this is often a process. There is no right or wrong answer. You simply start by making the choice to life a purpose driven life and then start to figure out what that purpose may be. You don’t have to get that answer on day one. Instead, try a few things, see what feels right and what doesn’t and come to your own perfect answer organically and over time. In short, work on it, but don’t stress out about it.

Now let’s move on to the questions. They are designed to get you thinking about what your purpose may be.

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They are a starting point and a great way to brainstorm possibilities until you come across something that feels just right.

1. What Am I Good At? Start by making a list of everything you are good at. It’s much easier to pass on a skill or work in an area where you have experience in. For example, you may be great at planning meals and living frugally. You can pass that knowledge on by helping low-income moms in your community stretch their food dollars as far as possible.

Don’t limit yourself to what you’ve learned in College or where you excel at work. Instead think about all the little skills you’ve taught yourself in your spare time. Don’t forget about hobbies. Those woodworking skills you’ve acquired over the years can come in handy when you’re building nesting boxes, or are creating an after-school club for at risk youth. No skill is too small or insignificant when it comes to living with purpose and making an impact.

2. What’s Important To Me? What Do I Value?

Another great starting point is to think about everything that’s important to you and that you value. Maybe it’s climate change, maybe it’s making sure that children in your community have enough food, or maybe it’s insuring the safety of abused women.

Start with your values and see what opportunities there are in your own community, or online to get involved in. While you can certainly start your own organization, or do something on your own to make a difference, it’s often easier to start by working with people who have experience in the field.

3. What Needs To I See In My Community?

Last but not least, look at what’s going on in your community. This can be your local community, or an online one that you’re a part of. Start to pay attention to the needs of your people and see if there’s something you can do to help.

The needs aren’t always obvious. Be prepared to read between the lines. By simply paying attention and starting to look for a need that needs to be filled, you’ll quickly find opportunities to make a difference.

Above all keep your mind and eyes open. You will come across your purpose. It may just not be exactly what you had in mind to begin with. It’s a journey and a process, but that’s also what keeps life interesting and full of surprises.

If you need more guidance, pick up a copy of The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna, in The Prioritized Life Store: www.theprioritizedlife.com/shop/ 13 | The Prioritized Life

SUMMER MEMORIES Ahhh. Nothing says childhood quite like the cool, fizzy, sweet refreshment of an ice cream soda. We don't usually have these treats a lot, but they are a great end cap statement to the end of summer.

For some families, it becomes a ritual. For others, just a throwback to a nostalgic time in their lives. Whatever your reason, make sure you enjoy this childhood favorite today.

June 20, 2018 is officially National Ice Cream Soda day!

How do you fancy it? Root beer? Coke? Something completely different? Whatever your poison is, make sure to pound one back for me as well.

Summer is almost over, and this is the perfect way to draw it to a close before the kids head back to school. Happy ice cream soda day!

TO MAKE THIS TREAT:

PHOTO: KROGER

NATIONAL ICE CREAM SODA DAY

You'll need a tall glass, your favorite fizzy soda beverage, and a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Pour the soda into the glass, top it with a scoop of ice cream (add some whipped cream if you dare), pop in a straw and a long spoon. Enjoy!

Did you know it's also "Capture the Sunset Week"?

One of the things I decided to do when I created this project was to take the time to enjoy the little things in life. Enjoy the things that you don't normally appreciate. We don't stop to think that some people never get the chance to see a sunset - those born blind, those forced to spend their lives in captivity or in Alaska where they have to wait months - and they can't view nature's little gifts.

This week, take the time to enjoy the sunset, at least once. Take a picture if it suits the moment!

Lastly, share these moments with someone you care about, and don't forget to let them know you love them.

CAPTURE THE SUNSET WEEK

Charity of the Month:

CharityMiles Want to earn money for charity doing something you already do anyway? Charity Miles lets you turn a neighborhood jog or weekend hike into a fundraiser for good.

Just choose a charity and get moving! The app tracks your movement. For every mile you log, you help to earn money for your chosen charity. Easy peasy!

Choose from over 40 charities that are making a big impact on health, children, animals, the environment, education, veterans and more.

Be The Change When you move for charity, you are telling yourself a story about what’s important to you. https://charitymiles.org

Warning: Side effects may include empathy, mindfulness and gratitude :)

COLOR INTO ZEN CAPTURE THE SUNSET WEEK

JULY COLORING WORKSHEET Adults Like Coloring Too! Download Your FREE Sheet! www.theprioritizedlife.com/coloring

COLOR INTO ZEN BACK TO SCHOOL

AUGUST PLANNER WORKSHEETS Adults Like Coloring Too! Download Your FREE Sheet! www.theprioritizedlife.com/coloring

SELF • BUSINESS • SPIRITUAL • FUN

BE A CONTRIBUTOR! Do you have great stories to share? Contribute to The Prioritized Life blog or newsletter magazine: www.theprioritizedlife.com/contribute

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SELF • BUSINESS • SPIRITUAL • FUN

THEPRIORITIZEDLIFE ISSUE NO. O2 • JULY 20, 2018 • FREE

www.theprioritizedlife.com