About The COA

One morning, Julie was driving to work listening to Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. Despite having read and listened to the book more than once, this particular morning one portion of the book struck her as being especially relevant to her life and the lives of her friends. The section in which Rubin discussed her resolution to "ASK FOR HELP" by forming a writers' strategy group and in which she shared the idea of forming a goals group or a Community of Aspirants mirrored many of the discussions Julie and her friends had over email and in person.

Julie and her friends, Jennifer and Liz had sporadically done "monthly challenges" and often discussed goals and strategies to achieve those goals. Also, they just liked hanging out together and didn't have enough regular occasion to get together for coffee, brunch, and catching up. As soon as she got to work, Julie emailed Jennifer and Liz and they set a coffee date for that Sunday morning.

Over lattes, their Community of Aspirants--COA for short-- was born. As they discussed their own personal goals and motivations, some themes emerged to set the stage for this blog. While each friend's specific goals were personal to their own situations, their aspirations connected to the following four themes:

• Finance: Saving more money generally, saving for something big and specific and paying off debt were key among the goals mentioned.
• Fitness: Was their ever a more universal goal than getting in better shape?
• Career: Including variations on the question "What do I want to be when I 'grow up' and how do I get there?"
• "Adultiness": A word Julie made up to include everything from clutter clearing to being the most authentic version of one's self.

This blog is a way for The COA to reflect on their goals and their progress between their monthly meetings. Learn more about the members on their "About" pages.