Jaime is a mom, a marathoner, and a mobile bookstore owner.
She also used to keep the most important parts of herself quiet. This year, she decided to stop.
🌟 Welcome to Interview with a Goal-Crusher! 🌟
Hi, I’m Coach Tony, and this is Interview with a Goal-Crusher.
Every month, I sit down with someone who’s crushing their goals and building a happier life in the process. These are real people, not gurus … just like you. Think of it as free mentoring … straight from people who’ve done the hard work and have the wins (and lessons) to prove it.
Are you ready for a dad joke?
I offer you this "dad joke" as a light amuse-bouche to entertain your mind before we get serious. My dad joke may be groan-worthy, but it's worth every penny you paid for it, right?
They say birds of a feather flock together, but do you know which birds really stick together? Velcrows.
Jaime Used Her Love of Books to Write Her Next Chapter
Happy April! Spring is finally here!
Like the seeds being planted in the now-thawed ground, I hope you are using this month to tend to the seeds of your goals. The second quarter is here and today is the perfect day to take the next step towards intentionally building the life you want to live.
Since it is the first Sunday of the month, I have a brand new Interview with a Goal-Crusher for you today. Even better, it is my favorite kind of interview.
Today’s interview is with someone I didn’t know personally beforehand. I met Jaime when I worked with her to include Seasons of Transformation in her mobile bookstore. Her story intrigued me and, the more I learned about her, the more I wanted to know.
This interview was my chance to learn AND share an inspirational goal-crusher story with you.
And I am so glad I did!
Let’s start with the basics. Who are you, and what do you do?
Hi, I’m Jaime.
I’m a middle-aged mom of three (7, 12, and 14), married, with two dogs and three cats. I work a 9–5, hold dual bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree, and I try to prioritize fitness. I ran my first marathon last year.
I’m creative, though not necessarily artistic, and I absolutely love to read.
I’m goal-oriented by nature. When I reach one goal, I’m usually already looking toward the next.
Right now, I’m focused on creating a life centered around the things I truly love: books, connection, storytelling.
That’s what led me to start my mobile bookstore, After Dark events, and pursue audiobook narration.
What motivated you to pursue your unique journey? What was your vision? Can you share your story?
My love for books and audiobooks is the foundation of everything I’m building.
Every year I choose a word of the year, and this year my word is “Awaken.” For me, that means flourishing. It means waking up parts of myself that I’ve kept quiet. Even though I lean introverted, I deeply love connecting and sharing with people.
Reading is so much more than words on a page to me. It’s powerful. It provides knowledge, escape, clarity, and sometimes confrontation. Even fanciful fiction can reveal something about you. If you connect deeply to a character or dynamic, ask yourself why.
For example, if you’re drawn to a strong, decisive character who takes control, maybe it’s because you’re mentally exhausted in your real life. Maybe you carry all the invisible labor at work or at home. Maybe the fantasy of someone else making the decisions feels like relief. That awareness can tell you something about what you might need or want to shift in your own life.
Books don’t just entertain us. They reflect us.
What was the very first step you took to get started?
The first step was talking to my husband and getting his support. Then I shared it with close friends and family. Saying it out loud made it real.
After that, I researched everything. Having an indie author friend to guide me through some of the industry nuances was incredibly helpful as well.
What were your biggest challenges in chasing your goals? How did you push through them?
My biggest challenge has honestly been myself.
I worry about taking time away from my kids. But when I talked to them about what I was building, they got excited. Now it feels like a family journey. One of my biggest goals is to model for them what it looks like to pursue something wholeheartedly. I want them to see action, not just hear advice.
I also struggle with self-doubt. When that creeps in, I talk it through with someone rational and grounded. And I remind myself that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Training for an actual marathon taught me that progress comes from consistency, not speed.
What goal-setting or success habits have worked well for you that you’d love to pass on to others?
Every year, I create a vision board and choose a word of the year. I hang the vision board somewhere visible, though I have to intentionally revisit it so it doesn’t just blend into the background.
I also speak my goals out loud. I care deeply about integrity, and I don’t like the idea of not following through. Saying it publicly creates accountability for me.
Then I research thoroughly and create a plan. When I trained for my marathon, I found a plan, laced up my running shoes, and followed it. I also joined a mom running group, which was invaluable. Surrounding yourself with people who are pursuing similar goals changes everything.
When it starts to feel overwhelming, I write out the steps. Getting it out of my head and onto paper makes it manageable. Then I focus on small, consistent action.
What else would you like my Operation Melt readers to know about you, your work, or the journey you’ve taken?
Of course, I fear failure. But I’ve had to ask myself: so what if I fail?
Would my kids think less of me? I don’t believe so. If they see me succeed, that’s amazing. If they see me fail but handle it with grace, that’s powerful too.
In my early twenties, I was a kickboxer. I had a goal to fight in the ring. I did it once. I lost. But I still did it. How many people can say they stepped into a ring and tried?
Sometimes success isn’t winning. It’s showing up.
What’s one thing you do that might look lazy or indulgent from the outside, but is actually essential to your success?
I take time completely to myself.
I need solitude. I need moments where my brain can rest. Lately, that looks like turning on a show and spending 30 minutes with a sticker-by-number book. It looks mindless from the outside, but it’s actually restorative. That quiet reset allows me to show up stronger everywhere else.
If you could go back and give 18-year-old you one piece of advice, what would it be and why?
Have more self-confidence. Don’t rely so heavily on other people’s opinions.
I believe I would have reached certain goals sooner and avoided some unnecessary detours if I had trusted myself more.
Where can people go to learn more about you or connect with your work?
TheVelvetBookmark.net or my FB page for The Velvet Bookmark.
Like many goal-crushers, Jaime turned a passion into a profession.
She has a love for books, which led her to create a business that shares her passion with others.
A few things that jumped out to me in her story include:
- Choosing a word of the year: what a great alternative to New Year’s Resolutions! Focusing on a word as a theme for the year is an excellent way to stay focused while allowing for new discoveries, ideas, and ah-has to be incorporated into your plan.
- “So what if I fail?”: Jaime asks herself this question when her fear of failure appears and uses it to reclaim her power. I continue to see this familiar theme with goal-crushers: be afraid and do it anyway.
- Stop giving other people a vote: Jaime said she would tell her eighteen-year-old self not to rely so heavily on other people’s opinions. That’s a great reminder of the comparison trap and how giving other people a vote can be hazardous to our goals and happiness. If you want it, that’s all the explaining you need to do.
Those are just a handful of the many points that resonated from Jaime’s story.
Building an Intentional Life One Project at a Time
Beyond those points, Jaime’s story is a real-life example of how my Project Manage Your Life (PMYL) principles work. While all six principles appeared in her story, here are three examples of how she’s using them to build an intentional life centered around the things she loves.
✅ Commit to SMART goals:
Jaime doesn’t just set goals. She uses several reinforcement strategies included in the Project Manage Your Life system.
She keeps her goals visible by hanging her vision board and word of the year in a conspicuous place.
She speaks her goals out loud to other people to make them more real.
Most importantly, she builds her goals around a strong “why.” She is focused on creating a life centered around the things she truly loves. Plus she is working to be a good role model for her kids. As she said, “If they see me succeed, that’s amazing. If they see me fail but handle it with grace, that’s powerful too.”
Jaime knows people are watching and she is being a true leader with her goals.
✅ Build a plan that works for you:
Jaime embraces the power of a good plan that works for her, and she does it her way. As she explained, having a structured plan on paper instead of trying to keep it all in her head is what makes a goal feel less overwhelming.
She starts by researching how to achieve her goal. Then she gets a plan onto paper and sticks to it.
The way she approaches her goals is unique to her and involves prioritization, balance and trade-offs.
For example, she recently shared that she actually graduated high school six months early so she could join the military and be back in time to start college with her friends (using the military to help pay for tuition). She gave up prom and graduation for an early start on building a life of intention.
Jaime is living proof that your goals can work if you work for them.
✅ Don’t Go It Alone
Throughout her story, Jaime explained that she has surrounded herself with a tribe that helps fuel her goal-crushing endeavors.
Jaime explained that her first step to creating her bookstore was to talk to her husband to get his support. Then she shared it with other people to make it more real.
When she started her research to build her plan, she sought expertise and input from an author friend.
To help her prepare for her marathon, she joined a mom running group that helped her reach the finish line.
As Jaime explained, “Surrounding yourself with people who are pursuing similar goals changes everything.”
Plus, Jaime’s kids play a big role in her goal-crushing success. She wants them to see her showing up, trying, succeeding and learning from failures. This is a powerful motivator to keep pushing and trying, even when it’s hard.
Through every step of Jaime’s story, she modeled what it means to be a goal-crusher and how structured efforts (like Project Manage Your Life) are the secret weapon to getting started, building momentum and reaching the finish line.
Are Your Goals Fireproof?
Jaime’s story was full of positive energy. She knows that you can’t achieve big goals on a foundation of negativity.
Protecting your positive energy isn’t always easy. It’s even harder when you are surrounded by negativity in the world around you.
Do you feel like the world around you is one big dumpster fire?
Even when there is a dumpster fire around you, you don’t have to get burnt.
The next Goal Crusher Coffee Chat will help.
Fireproof Your Positivity
Protecting your positivity when the world’s a dumpster fire.
In this session, I will open up my Coach’s Notebook and share a few of the strategies that work best for my clients when protecting their positive energy.
Then, during our roundtable, we will each answer one simple question:
What’s one thing you can do this week to fireproof your positivity?
If you’re tired of your goals and energy feeling flammable, this conversation is for you.
Click below or visit OperationMelt.com/CoffeeChat to save your spot for this free event.
Jaime turned inward to figure out what she truly wanted. Then she turned outward to build it. She did it one intentional step at a time. You can too.
You’re here for a reason. Let’s take the next step.
Meet Coach Tony
Tony Weaver is a master life coach, technologist, consultant, writer, and founder of Operation Melt.
He helps project managers and other left-brained high-achievers pursue their biggest goals.
Through free resources, personalized coaching, and his proven Project Manage Your Life system, Tony empowers clients to move their dreams from “someday” to success… one step at a time.
Learn more about Project Manage Your Life, the system my clients and I use to crush our goals, at OperationMelt.com/PMYL/
Meet Coach Tony