All your life, you’ve been told the new year is the time for re-invention and that the change must begin January 1st. We make the same promises each year, new year, new me, and then we end the year disappointed when we don’t achieve our goals. Which results in terrible self-talk and the resolve to get it right the next year. Does that sound familiar? If so, there’s no need to beat yourself up. We’ve all been fed the same lie.
If you want this year to be the year you finally take steps to leverage your education and your expertise to build something for yourself, but you’re worried that you can’t succeed because you tried that before and you failed, I want you to put those fears to rest. You can do this. You just need the right guide. People want you to believe that you must hit the ground running in January if you want to accomplish all of your goals by December 31st. They’re wrong.
Hello Genius, welcome back to another episode of the Own Your Genius podcast—the space where we encourage you to use your education and experiences to create dope businesses. I’m your host, Brand Attorney LaConya Murray, owner of Off the Mark IP Solutions and founder of MARKEDlegal.
Most of my life, I thought something was wrong with me because I had no desire to push to get things done during December and the first of the year.
I always joke that spring is my season because that’s when my natural push will show up. It makes sense when you consider that in nature, winter is the time for rest and preparation. Spiritually, winter represents deep introspection, the need for rest and release, and it holds promise of renewal, rebirth, and the deepest growth that prepares for spring’s new life. So, if going hard in January seems out of alignment, you’re not wrong.
I’m here to tell you that this can be the year that your expertise and experience work for you, especially if you avoid the January push. If you move with intention and take aligned action, you will accomplish your goals this year without starting over or burning out.
I’ve been in business for 13 years. I spent the first of those years with New Year, Me mindset. While I was able to help plenty of business owners protect their brand, each year felt like I was starting from scratch. The problem was I had two goals since I was 16 years old. First goal was to go to law school and then the second goal was to start my own law practice.
I took the less conventional route, but I did it. In 2011, I graduated law school and then in 2012 I opened up my law practice. Now what? Now that I achieved my goals, I was doing the work with but something was off. I love my clients, but the work seemed unintentional, like I was constantly moving the goalpost and I was on.
And I was until I did these two things.
Articulate Your Highest Intention
The first thing I did was to take a beat to dig deeper into my why to articulate my highest intention. When you start your business, everyone tells you to define your why. My why was so that I can be present for my kids without working through my lunch break so I can make it to their school play. And then I also wanted to help people protect and understand the value of their intellectual property so they will stop making decisions that resulted in them losing it. And those are pretty good whys.
But intention requires you to become a four year old that’s constantly asking why when you give them an answer. So why is being present for my kids important? What am I really seeking? Why do I care if people value their intellectual property? Why do I want to have, lots of money? Your highest intention is the overarching why behind everything that you do. It reflects your core values, your purpose and desired state of being.
- Core Values
- These are the principles you live by—your non-negotiables.
- Your highest intention is an expression of those values in action.
- Example: If your core value is freedom, your highest intention might be “to create a life and business that allows me to operate without constraints.”
- Purpose
- Purpose answers the question: Why am I here? What impact do I want to make?
- Your highest intention aligns with your purpose because it’s not just about achieving things—it’s about fulfilling your reason for being.
- Example: If your purpose is empowering entrepreneurs, your highest intention could be “to guide others toward building businesses that honor their intellectual property and creativity.”
- Desired State of Being
- This is about how you want to feel and show up every day.
- It’s less about doing and more about being—peaceful, abundant, joyful, confident.
- Example: If your desired state is peace and abundance, your highest intention might be “to operate from a place of calm confidence while creating wealth through service.”
Set Aligned Goals
When your goals flow from your highest intention, they feel aligned and energizing, not forced. You avoid chasing achievements that look good on paper but don’t feel good to your soul. Once you set your highest intentions, use it as a filter for every proposed goal. You want to ask yourself,
- does this goal support my highest intention?
- Will achieving this goal help me live my values and purpose?
- Does this process of pursuing this goal feel align with my desired state of being?
- Next, use your highest intention to create goals for different areas of your life: business, personal well being, and financial. These are big picture goals that move you toward your highest intention. The key is to limit your goals to less than 5 each year. Example:
- Launch MARKEDlegal membership successfully.
- Increase recurring revenue by 20%.
- Improve personal well-being (self-care routine).
- Strengthen visibility through speaking engagements.
Finally, don’t give yourself 12 months to achieve each goal. If you give yourself 12 months, you’ll take 12 months.
Brian Moran and Michael Lennington explain this in The 12 Week Year: the longer the timeline, the more room for procrastination and distraction.
Instead, align your goals with your highest intention and compress your focus into 12 weeks. Choose one or two aspects of a goal and go all in for that quarter.
Example for Q1:
- Annual Goal: Launch MARKEDlegal membership
- Quarterly Focus: Finalize tech stack, create marketing plan, run ads
This approach keeps your energy concentrated, creates urgency, and ensures every action supports your highest intention—so you accomplish more in less time without burnout.
Recap
Let’s bring it all together.
When you set goals from your highest intention, you create continuity instead of feeling like you’re starting over every year. Your intention anchors you in purpose, so you’re not chasing goals that don’t matter to you. It shifts your focus from just doing to truly being—so you experience more fulfillment and resilience, even if progress takes longer than expected. And most importantly, it builds sustainable momentum. Instead of sprinting toward a finish line and burning out, your intention guides your daily decisions, helping you choose strategies that feel aligned, not frantic.
Your highest intention becomes your North Star, keeping you moving forward without the pressure of starting over or hustling to exhaustion. Goals become milestones—not finish lines.
If you’re ready to make this the year your expertise works for you, I invite you to join us inside MARKEDlegal.
MARKEDlegal isn’t just about legal protection—it’s about supporting you as you build a business that’s intentional, aligned, and protected. Our membership includes a dedicated mindset space to help you clarify your intentions and stay focused, plus all the legal resources you need to safeguard your brand and your ideas.
And if you’re tired of trading time for dollars, MARKEDlegal also provides resources to help you position your intellectual property for profit. We’re here to help you leverage your expertise, protect your creations, and build revenue streams that don’t depend on your hours.
You don’t have to do this alone. If you’re ready to combine intention, legal confidence, and profitable IP strategies, visit markedlegal.com to learn more and join our community. Let’s make this your year of aligned action, protection, and profit.
You can learn more at markedlegal.com
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Until next time, keep building your business, growing your brand, and owning your genius.
