We all make sacrifices for the things we want, right?

This didn’t seem to occur to me until very recently.  I thought I could have it all:  World travel, an amazing San Francisco apartment, a full-time job running my own company, a position as President of a local non-profit, a founder at an always-evolving networking group, quality time with my family, an active social life, the perfect boyfriend, a great body, great hair, a BLOG, and oh yeah, a plush savings account…all at the age of 25.

Well, I’m here to tell you ladies and gentlemen, that it’s not possible.  2011 was a year full of mistakes, hard lessons, and most importantly, growth.  I feel pretty proud of what I accomplished in 2011, but if I keep up this pace in 2012, I’ll surely have a total breakdown, mentally and physically.  Like, go full-blown crazy.  Crazy like, Johnny Depp in Secret Window, crazy. (See that picture above? That would be me, writing in this blog, right before I completely lose my ish.)

My goal for 2011 was to have it all.  Everything.

My goal for 2012 is to have everything in moderation.

First comes, getting my finances in order.  I’m already off to a great start in 2012 with my career at all time high, and my finances, well, at least I have finances to talk about.  I recently created an account on Mint, a free website that keeps all of your finances, bills, and budgets neatly organized.  Mint sends me weekly emails to remind me of upcoming bills, and it also sends me encouraging emails to make sure I’m staying on track of my money saving goals, and how I can get back on track if I deviate by buying that pair of Louboutins (Mint doesn’t judge, it just politely tells me not to do that again, and how to make up that lost income).

Mint is increasingly important, as I just got a new, grown-up apartment in a newer building in the SOMA district of San Francisco (right by the Giants ballpark, thank you very much).  With that grown-up apartment, comes a grown-up rent, so staying on track financially will be a lot more crucial.

Staying in peak physical shape is really important for me, not only because I want to look good. When I look good, I feel good.  When I feel good, I have confidence.  When I have confidence, I get more work done, I get the new client, and I close the new deals.  It also helps when running around with my nieces and nephews.

Digitally Chic and my blog, are my creative and social outlets.  Digitally Chic is my SF networking group that I run with 2 other girls, Ashley & Angelica, and we’ve grown to over 300 members in a little over a year.  A lot of time and planning goes into our monthly events, as well as our extra events like our shopping crawl and scavenger hunt (more info coming soon).  I love DC because it’s a way to connect with the future leaders of this city, as well as make new friends, and gain further inspiration.

Of course, my family is #1 (saving the best for last).  Making time for them, even though they live pretty far away, it very important to me, which means my time and money has to be budgeted accordingly.  My family is where my true drive comes from and their support means the world to me.

So after looking back at 2011, I’ve cut a couple things from my schedule, and added a couple new things.  But, this brings me back to my original question, what did YOU have to give up to reach your goals?