It’s time to take stock of how I did living my words for 2017 and introduce three new words for 2018. Not that this year’s or prior years really go away. It gives emphasis on what I should pay attention to as I navigate the year ahead. I said I’d reinvent myself this year and in some ways I have. Others not so much yet. It was a year of much newness I’ve embraced with gusto. Explore: I continued to wander around cities I go for business and ventured a bit beyond to others and into the French countryside for a decadently magical experience. Much remains to be explored. There is still room to be more exceptional and I focused much on communication this year – written and verbal. Always room to improve.
Intentional
We live in the age of distraction and I find myself often distracted. Hey look, squirrel! We check our phones too much, spending too much time consuming sound bites rather than engaging in the kind of thinking that contributes to growth and creativity and richer experiences. I commit to being more intentional in my actions and the activities in which I engage including time with others where I am more fully present. I think this year will be one where more of us engage in a digital detox and take back our time. Life in analog is rich and the digital doesn’t always live up to the promise of more productivity and more time for what matters. Here’s to a year of living intentionally.
Simple
We often make things harder than they need to be because we don’t take time to connect the dots whether that’s in how we communicate and connect with others to how we work. And what we say. There’s an art to simplicity. Simple is simply hard. And it takes time. It takes more time to write succinctly. More time to edit for clarity and in the photo world, to select the absolute best work that says exactly what you want it to say. In marketing, simple is pure magic. It’s where engagement happens effortlessly because you took the time to demonstrate how you solve real problems better than anyone else. No matter how complex your product, you can distill it down to the crux of what you do. But it takes work. And I plan to engage in the elegant art of simplicity. It builds on being exceptional in all I do.
Focus
Connected with being distracted by all of the digital inputs and interruptions is a loss of focus. This is a reminder to get clear about priorities in all areas of life – work, ambition, parenting, friendships and fun. It’s deciding what really matters and pursuing it with gusto and grace. It’s about making a difference after a year that arguably left many of us so distracted and disillusioned. Let’s focus and make good things happen.