Serena Star Leonard - How to Succeed in 12 Months: Creating a Life You Love

First published 2014 by Wrightbooks
an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Australia
42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064

Office also in Melbourne

Serena Star-Leonard 2014

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Josh Durham, www.designbycommittee.com

Cover illustrations: Paul Dinovo

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and neither purports nor intends to be advice. Readers should not act on the basis of any matter in this publication without considering (and if appropriate, taking) professional advice with due regard to their own particular circumstances. The author and publisher expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a purchaser of this publication or not, in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

For Dorothy

For once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk with yo ur e yes turned skywards.

Anonymous

Serena Star-Leonard is passionate about helping people fulfil their big goals and dreams in life.

She is a Kiwi business coach, blogger and presenter, and the author of How to Retire in 12 Months. As well as coaching and writing, Serena runs Website Launchpad' courses, teaching people how to create lifestyle and income opportunities through blogging: www.in12months.com.

She is also one of the founders of Grassroots Internet Strategy, a small business resource for website owners: www.grassrootsinternetstrategy.com.au.

Serena is a keen amateur photographer, is inspired by the potential of the human spirit and is passionate about cooking and travel. She is always ready to jump in with her energy, her heart and a hot meal for those in need and is a blog ambassador for World Vision (Australia).

In hot climates, Serena loves to swim, scuba dive, snorkel and frolic in the water every chance she gets, which is pretty often as she has been travelling the world with her husband John since April 2012.

They have true location freedom and split their time between filming inspiring mini-documentaries and travel reviews for their passion project, Five Point Five' (www.fivepointfive.org), travelling, having adventures and writing blogs and books.

Connect with Serena:

1. Facebook: www.facebook.com/In12Months
2. Twitter: www.twitter.com/beingserenastar
3. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/serenastarleonard
4. Email:

This book follows our journey to create a passion project and design a life that I have daydreamed about for over a decade. We are now living that life, but appreciate that none of this would be possible without a whole community of people who have supported us at each step along the way.

My fantastic family and friends: you are so many wonderful people who are ready at every turn with laughs, inspiration, spare rooms, hot meals, crazy ideas and late-night calls. Thank you for making us feel at home all over the world.

Helen Burrows for your gorgeous partnership and keen eye in structuring and editing this book, Belle Gurd for your lovely bubbly help and expertise and everyone who shared their stories.

Thanks to my global online community. You are the innovative and courageous people who I coach, the go-getters who attend my courses, and the friendly supporters who read our newsletters and blogs and connect with me on social media. You are the core of my business and your support allows me to do what I do with my life for this I am truly grateful.

The people we have met along the way. You were complete strangers who have opened your hearts, homes, charities, businesses and projects to us. We are now clear that food, compassion and silliness breaks all barriers of language and culture. We are constantly blown away at the warmth we enjoy everywhere, from global charities to tiny shacks in remote villages, and we are honoured that you share your personal stories with us.

The readers of How to Retire in 12 Months. Seeing my first book become a bestseller is something I will always treasure. To all the fantastic people who bought, borrowed or gifted the book, thank you for your support, for taking the time to write reviews, and for the personal stories you have shared with me.

Last, but in no way least, my soul mate, husband, business partner, documentary film director and lifelong travel buddy John Leonard. Thanks for making every day an adventure.

In 2011, my book How to Retire in 12 Months came out in Australasia. It is a motivational business book that focuses on the art of blogging as a means of creating an income. Blogging is not for everyone, however, and I have many clients who are looking for alternative options for retiring, creating their dream lifestyle, or achieving important goals they are afraid to embark upon.

This sequel, How to Succeed in 12 Months: Creating a Life You Love, is designed to enable you to achieve all your big dreams. Whether you want to travel the world, start a business, make a difference or change the way you live your life, this book is for you.

The strategy behind my success (and yours) is based around acting on the big goals and dreams that many people ignore. It is taking action that will enable you to achieve the things that are important to you.

The book is designed to share what I learned through hard work, luck and dogged persistence. I have a passion for making complex, seemingly impossible ideas and dreams achievable, and I am thrilled to share what I have learned with you.

Serena Star-Leonard

Why this book?

I dream of a world where this book is not necessary. Where people know from an early age that anything is possible if they only try and dont give up. We are born with this notion, yet somewhere along the way we stop believing in ourselves and, as a result, we stop living like we can achieve anything.

Instead, we look up to people who are successful and who have confidence in their abilities. We aspire to be like these people, but at the same time we hold ourselves back by not believing that maybe we could achieve our own big goals too.

The main reasons why many of us dont achieve our lifelong dreams are because we either dont start, or we give up too quickly. It is no surprise, therefore, that the most successful people are often the most persistent.