On December 29th, 2009 Michael Hyatt posted a very thought provoking article on processing what the last year has contained. You can read it here. The gist is that there are 7 questions you should ask yourself about the last year. This post is my attempt to process these questions for myself from a business perspective. I will be doing resolution/goal setting posts next week, but here is a look back.
- If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
I would have to say suspense. Two Miles Solutions, LLC will be celebrating its 3rd birthday in March of 2010 so we are still on that upward curve where you don’t know sometimes where that next paycheck is coming from. This is especially true given what the economic climate in our country was this year. All that being said, Two Miles Solutions, LLC is ending the year on a great foot and things look very good for 2010. - What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring?
– Gaining a deeper understanding…this was a year where I grew a lot as an individual, from a business owner perspective, I have learned quite a lot about the politics that you have to play as a business owner sometimes and as much as you try and stay out of the BS, it finds you. I have learned how to use a lot of cool tools this year and have developed quite the toolbox for myself to help other customers.
– Survival of the Fittest…as most of you know this was a tough year economically for a lot of people because of the recession, many businesses shut down, but Two Miles Solutions, LLC is still alive and kicking and looking forward to what 2010 will contain. - What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
I think the first thing I have to say is that I survived. A lot of business owners I know had to close shop this year. I am proud to say that Two Miles Solutions, LLC is right on the verge of some really cool things that look to be shaping up for the 2010 calendar year. - What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?
This one is a personal question that I don’t feel I should post for the world to see. - What disappointments or regrets did you experience this last year?
There are a few projects that I worked on this year that should have gained traction but for one reason or another didn’t. All four projects hold the promise of residual income that will allow me to spend less time working and more time with my family, but for reasons I can’t elaborate to the entire world (most if not all of them completely out of my control) none of them turned out the way we expected. Things are looking better for 2010 on all four projects, but we will see. - What was missing from last year as you look back?
Sleep. Most people who know me know that I don’t get a whole lot of sleep. I hope to change this in 2010 and going forward. - What were major life-lessons you learned this past year?
– When with your family, you need to disconnect from the office. This is a huge thing for me given that I work from home. What this means for me is that sometimes I leave my cell phone in my office so that I am not checking my email at the dinner table.
– Sometimes you just need a break. As much as I would like to think that I am superman, I am not, sometimes I just need to stop and relax.
Hopefully, you found this post insightful, I would recommend doing the same as you get ready to start the new year and set goals for the upcoming year. You can’t figure out where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.