2020 gave us a gift. It kicked us off of autopilot!
When the ball dropped in New York’s Times Square to usher in the first moments of 2020, noisemakers, kisses, and confetti filled the scene. We were all so happy and excited to start a new year of goals and experiences. We had plans to work and resolutions to conquer. We had hope.
Then one day, just a couple months later, it all became...different.
2020 pulled the rug out from under our feet. Business plans and events were cancelled, parties and celebrations were postponed, and our goals were stopped in their tracks.
Initially, we felt out of sorts, and weren’t sure what to do.
Initially.
But then, we learned to work remotely, we learned to attend school from home, we learned to have Zoom coffee meetings and birthday parties.
Companies began to realize that they could get as much, if not more, done with people working from home.
It kicked us off of autopilot and forced us all to find new ways to generate revenue and cut expenses for businesses, large and small.
Direct to consumer became the go-to business model, as that was the ONLY way to do business when the big box stores closed during the initial lock-down.
Forced to do things in a new way, it helped us to see that maybe there are better ways to do business. We never would have known that if we hadn’t been forced to change things up and do it differently.
Those who adjusted found that they were able to do more than they had ever done before. By working online, some of those people saw higher sales than they ever had before!
Many who were initially uncomfortable with the ‘new normal,’ might not ever go back now.
It is because 2020 gave us those gifts that 2021 will be a year of possibilities. No matter what the next several months bring us, we’ve seen it before and we know how to work with it. We’ve been there and we’ve done that, and we know that, if we adjust, we can still make things happen.
This is a year to get focused; and that begins with direction.
Anyone who knows me knows how planning is a huge part of my life. As a big fan of goals and planning, I encourage you to do one thing before you start thinking about your plans and goals - choose one guiding principle. Make that something that can be summed up in one word or short phrase. That’s going to be your theme for the entire year.
It might be a word like brave, strong, persistent, purposeful or authentic, or a phrase like ‘I am healthy,’ ‘I grow my business daily,’ or ‘I can learn new things every day.’
My theme is intentional; I am going to be intentional about everything I do in 2021.
When you get clear on that word or phrase - your word or phrase - you can build your goals and do all of your planning around it.
Practice that word or phrase by reminding yourself of it every day. Set alarms on your phone to go off every couple of hours to just remind you of that intention. Begin to live it so that, when 2021 begins, you are already in forward motion.
2021 is a year to get refocused. 2020 gave us a gift. If we take advantage of the lessons learned, we can make this coming year the best your business has ever seen.
