I’ve had a very relaxing New Year’s Eve for the most part, with the exception of having to change Amazon links on 10 new lenses I just published…long story for a different post…
My son went to work this morning then took me to the store when he got home. Right now, he’s working security at one of the busiest bars in downtown Tempe until 3am.
My honey spent most of his day running around junk yards… his idea of alone time I’m thinking at this point. 🙂 When he got home, he asked if I wanted to go watch the fireworks in Tempe or maybe go see a movie.
Well, the movie theatres all closed by 10pm so that was gonna be a no-go (fine with me since I’m not big on sitting inside a theatre). So, since it was colder than I like and I wasn’t really in the mood for huge crowds, we headed out about 11:30pm and drove over towards Tempe. Instead of going out into the craziness, we grabbed In ‘N’ Out burgers, parked the car on an open parking lot with a perfect view of the midnight fireworks display…so cool!
Yep… that’s all we did. Well, he also kissed me at midnite and told me he loves me (that’s a rare comment from that man’s mouth so it was special!)
On the way home we were talking about what all happened with us during 2012. And what was really sad is that we really couldn’t come up with as much as I would have liked… not compared to what I had left 2011 expecting anyway.
The two of us:
– started a new job in January that nearly crippled both of us by July… I’m STILL healing.
– quit that job and started driving together in August at a job that actually pays us for what we do… you have NO idea how many companies in the trucking industry don’t!
– got to see a dual rainbow in Texas and an ENTIRE rainbow (end to end and everything in between) in New Mexico.
My son:
– completed two more semesters at Arizona State University with flying colors… he wasn’t sure he’d ever go back.
– went from unemployed for nearly 2.5 years to having 2 jobs.
– made it thru the first major steps of the Tempe PD hiring process and got a letter saying they are holding his application for the next time they open hiring (should be Spring)
– has applied to two other police departments who (finally) opened their hiring
– just started his own business because he’s finally sick and tired of others running his life and wants the life we used to have back
My sweetheart’s daughter:
– you know what? I started to put some things here, but I’m just going to leave it at she and the grandbaby are healthy. 😉
And me… why is it so tough to figure out what I’ve done? :/
I know most people go through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m just going to do the not-so-great and great (if I have to label which ones are which then I’ve probably had a better year than I thought!)
– published 16 Squidoo lenses… 12 of them just this month.
– started 2 Kindle books… neither are done so I didn’t finish the challenge.
– put together a Niche Research package that people really liked… and haven’t gotten my other 3 finished yet.
– bought at least 30 – 50 shiny new objects… one of which was a product to show me what to do with the rest of them! 🙂
– recorded 6 vlogs… I’m definitely behind on my 30-day challenge but I’m sticking with it & meeting awesome people.
– managed to get past a few health issues… with more to work on this year.
– changed computers 4 times re-installed everything… if I have to do it again this year, your next “post” will be via the USPS. 🙂
– outsourced several Squidoo lenses… realized that I can let some things go.
– let go of some of my perfectionism… what I thought was a never-ending battle, isn’t.
– started posting regularly on my DebiJ.com blog… AND figured out how to set up the automatic backup… Yay!
– met some incredible online marketers that I’ve become friends with and am looking forward to learning more about this year!
I’m sure there’s more that I accomplished… there’s also more that I didn’t.
My goal for 2012 was to get my sweetheart and myself out of our job so that I can focus full-time on my business. I love driving big trucks but the lifestyle is killing us… literally. I spent 2011 learning about the different ways to make money online. I also dipped my toe into quite a few of them to see which ones I like and which ones don’t really work for my personality. So all in all, I was ok with that.
This year? Not so much. Once I figured out in 2011 what I liked and how to do it, I fully expected to use that knowledge this year to start earning enough to be off the truck by the end of 2012. By August, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. The thing is that with my personality, it’s really easy to keep kicking myself over what I DIDN’T accomplish rather than what I did, especially when the basic goal is SO important. I just don’t know how long my health is going to hold up on this job.
Headed into 2013, I don’t have my daily list of tasks written out… the whole step-by-step thing. That bugs me but I expect to get it done before going back to work.
But, in spite of my frustration over last year, I’m truly walking into this year very optimistic and excited. I’m going to keep moving forward one step at a time until I’m back on top.
I’ve met some incredible supportive people online who are willing to thow me a line when I need it and kick my ass when I don’t. And they’re people I like, admire and trust so I’m willing to do the same for them.
With that kind of community backing you up, how can you possibly lose unless you quit…and I’m just WAY to stubborn for THAT!
Here’s to 2013 and the growing success of our community and our businesses! Do you have at least one major focus for this year? I look forward to hearing about it!
Until then…
Hey Debi,
Happy New Year to you!I hope that 2013 will be the year in which you and your family achieve all your goals.
I think it’s important to focus on what you have achieved and how much you’ve learned this year. It’s easy to beat ourselves up when we think about what we didn’t achieve, and not so easy to recognise where we did do well.
Maybe as women and mothers it’s more natural for us to feel guilty about focusing on our own development.
Here’s to a prosperous New Year!
Karen recently posted..Welcome to 2013
Thanks Karen!
It’s odd. It’s not so much guilt as just a major sense of frustration. I’ve spent so much time discovering which direction is best for me and learning what the steps are to get me there that not having the time to implement is just ticking me off! That’s good from the standpoint that it keeps me motivated to use every spare minute I have to grow my business. And not so good from the side of the frustration growing. 🙂
2013 however is looking much better, just because I’ve found a way to get some tasks completed, in SPITE of my hours! Here’s to moving forward!
debij recently posted..Happy New Year! A Look Back at 2012
Hi Debi, thank you so much for popping over to MLBO and sharing your story earlier.
I can so relate to your post here, it’s so frustrating when we look back and don’t meet our own expectations – especially when failure isn’t an option!
It will happen for you – you’re on the right track. Stay focused, ignore the shiny objects and keep moving forward one step at a time 🙂
Have a wonderful 2013 – make it a great one!
Jan recently posted..It’s that time again – The Ultimate Blog Challenge
Thanks for stopping by Jan!
I have no doubts about getting there because I was successful with my first business when I knew NOTHING about running a business or marketing or networking or taxes or…. well, you get it.
Back then I expected it to take longer because I didn’t know anything but I had a ton of time available and I ended up making it happen really fast (I earned $8,000 within the first 3 months). Of course then I had just moved 2,000 miles from anyone I knew, had bought my first home, and then got told my employer didn’t have any new contracts… sort of a “do or die” scenario.
Now I expect it to move faster because I KNOW what it takes… but now I have no time. It has been SO tempting to walk away from my job before it does any more damage to my health, but I drive team with my sweetheart so that would put him out of job or back over-the-road and that just won’t work for me either.
But, I AM moving forward faster now than I was last year and it’s only the first of the year! I released the frustration and am starting this year fresh with all the things I know I learned from last year! 🙂
debij recently posted..Happy New Year! A Look Back at 2012
Congratulations on a successful 2012! My focus for 2013 will to be to continue working on my blog and possibly put together an ebook. Good luck in 2013!
David Landen recently posted..December 2012 Monthly Income Report
Thanks David. 2013 should be great!
debij recently posted..Review – Squick by Britt Malka
Hey Debi,
Thanks for summing up your entire year. It’s interesting to me and probably helpful for you.
I’m not yet in focus and planning mode for the new year. Well… I always have plans but I haven’t written these down to make them concrete yet.
Good job on the lenses! I wish you more TIME for 2013. 🙂
Peggy Baron recently posted..Choices and Risks
Once I got past the frustration… Yes, VERY helpful. And remembering the frustration should keep me moving forward in a better direction or 2013!
And I’m glad you stopped by. One, I’ve missed seeing you around and two, it’s good to see I’m not the only one that’s running behind. 🙂 Are you in need of some butt kicking or what? 🙂
Happy new year. I hope it’s all that you ask for!
debij recently posted..Weekly Check In Vlog, Plans for 2013, Ready for a Journal Challenge?
I think it is so important to create ourselves for what we HAVE achieved in the past year, even if it isn’t everything we want to have done – rather set the goalposts high, accomplish a lot and still have things to do, then set them low, accomplish it and not really be where you want to be! It helps to keep us getting up in the morning 🙂
Of course there needs to be some sort of realism to the goals that we want to achieve!
I am going to stop making excuses, stop buying shiny objects and start taking action and getting results 🙂 Focus on one area till I’ve worked it out, then let it tick away in the background and start the next area until I have diversified and they are all up and running and gathering momentum, and I’m not dependant on any one area.
Good luck with your plans.
Tamsin recently posted..Taking Action!
A couple big things for me are that I stopped keeping track of what I had been doing so there wasn’t a true way for me to evaluate where I dropped the ball and what I achieved in spite of…
The other thing is with your thoughts on focusing on one are, get it built and THEN move on. I absolutely agree. That was something I did with my first business and it made a huge difference to my bottom line. But I have to keep that in mind regularly or I find (sometimes too late) that I’ve gotten sidetracked before my first project IS self-sustaining! 🙂 Big mistake…
debij recently posted..Squidoo Lens Challenge Update
Well, your journal challenge has got me to start recording what I do in a day (some days nothing when I’m pulling 10 hours at work :() – but then I have an idea of what I’ve achieved at the end of the week for my roundup vlog. And if I have some goals of what I want to achieve over the year, break them down per month ….. I have a hope. The test is in the review of what I’ve done and not getting sidetracked, as you’ve found out 🙂
Tamsin recently posted..Taking Action!
Good to hear! I know it’s made me stay on top of what I’m doing. Even if it’s nothing, I’ve jotted down how I feel when I get up…tired, ill, energized…and then the same around midday/early evening. It’s letting me know if I’m still getting small stuff done even in spite of not so great starts… and whether I get more or less done on those really good days. 🙂
debij recently posted..Weekly Check In Vlog, Plans for 2013, Ready for a Journal Challenge?