New Year New You with Lisa Jacobs: Day Two

It’s day two of the annual New Year for a New You series with me, Lisa Jacobs! Welcome back for your next dose of review and reflection. If this is your first year joining me, here’s how it works: I’ll offer you a new list of prompts and review questions every day through Monday, January 2.

:: Day 1
:: Day 2 (you’re here)
:: Day 3
:: Day 4
:: Day 5
:: Day 6 
:: Day 7

Each day, I answer the same questions and post them as examples. You’ll find my thoughts from the previous day before the next set of prompts are issued. If you want to blog your answers as well, I’d love to read them. Please link up in the comments below or use #yby2017 on social.

At whatever place you start or pace you take, I’m honored you’re here.

Yesterday, we started with a list of ten questions to help us appreciate 2016. I answered these questions as examples when I wrote Your Best Year 2017, but after a big move and a lot of transition, I’m grateful for the chance to fill them out again.

Here are my answers …

Appreciating 2016

:: What was time very well spent this year?

A great deal of time was invested in change this year, and I think it was very well spent. I started January with the ball already rolling. I was reeling from the giant success of Your Best Year 2016, preparing for my three-day workshop on CreativeLive, coaching clients one-on-one, and working with my new hire, Kara Benz (@boho.berry – she was training to be my operations manager, but her business took off before she was able to fully take on that role).

It was a buzz of activity, and for the first time in my professional career, I was making serious money. I was also scared to death. That’s the funny thing about success – the more you gain, the more you have to lose! But, investing all that New Year energy into creating serious momentum for my career was time very well spent.

The time spent in the latter part of my year was actual, physical movement – as in, my husband and I didn’t sit down for what seemed like months. We made strategic decisions to upgrade our lives (new home, new schools, new beginnings), and then we immediately moved on them. This helped us avoid wasting any time.

And in between all of that, there was a lot of time spent trying to figure out how to manage stress and fear. We were definitely running down a steep hill, trying to steady our legs beneath us as we went.

:: What was money very well spent this year?

I paid for help and support. That was the best money I spent all year for my personal wellbeing. I couldn’t have managed such a break-out year without hiring Kara, a bi-weekly housecleaning crew, and later Jennie Rensink (my current assistant training to become my operations manager).

A close second to that money well spent are the vacations I took with my family this year. As most of you know, I created monthly income challenges for myself (as explained in Your Best Year 2017) and rewarded myself for meeting them. Two of those rewards were major vacations: A 7-day Disney Cruise and a spontaneous 5-day trip to San Francisco.

Both were amazing and will be treasured family memories for years to come.

Finally, we bought a beautiful home with gorgeous upgrades inside. It alleviated more than two hours’ commute for my husband each day, brought us to one of the best school districts in the state, and has every convenience we could imagine. I absolutely love it.

:: What are your favorite memories of 2016?

• Taking calls with Kara and treasured clients
• Teaching on CreativeLive
• Exploring San Francisco with my family (I’ve been 3 times in 1 year – I LOVE SF!)
• Finishing my course, Complete Copywriting and my best-selling workbook, Your Best Year 2017 with Jennie’s support
• Taking a day to go to Hershey Park with my family – one of the *best* memories we made this year
• Finding our new home, and knowing it was for us
• Going on our first Disney Cruise
• Realizing Jennie had taken care of every last detail while I was away!
• Walking my children to school (versus their previous 30-minute commute)
• Seeing my children adapt and quickly begin to thrive at their new schools
• Going to Top Golf!
• Christmas shopping + everyday explorations with my husband
• First holidays in our new home

:: What did you accomplish or complete this year?

I crushed my income goal, all the while creating business assets that will continue to pay out for years to come. I made tough decisions and embraced change.

I trusted my business to provide and talented people to support me.

:: Did you make any progress on long-term goals?

I’m without long-term goals at the moment, but that won’t last. I’m in as much home as I care to own. My family is healthy and happy and well, and I’m so grateful. I love the career track I’m on right now. I feel like I’ve met quite a few long-term goals, and I feel called to set more.

:: What felt successful about the year, as a whole?

I am so proud of the changes we made this year. If we (my family of six) didn’t like something about our lives, we took action toward improvement. And I feel about it in a similar way I feel about pregnancy and labor after a long nine months, when I’m finally gazing at the miracle of a new human being in my arms that was created out of love.

The year was hard and it was long, but I birthed change, and now I’m able to gaze at the whole process with love and admiration.

:: Did you overcome any obstacles or mental blocks this year?

I barrel-rolled through uncertainty in a way that I never have before, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I had nearly as many nervous breakdowns as I did goals crossed off.

I think the biggest mental block I overcame this year was him-hawing about the decisions that would greatly improve our lives. My husband and I worked together to trust our plan and push forward with it, even when obstacles or our own fear seemed to be working against us.

:: What did you learn about yourself after all that happened in 2016?

I learned new limits for myself. I learned that if I can dream it and commit to it, I can achieve it. That was an extremely valuable lesson in both professional and personal realms.

:: Who nurtured or supported you most this year?

My husband’s support never fails to astound me. My children literally cheer when I do well. Kara and Jennie (professional support) were a phenomenal addition to my life. The bi-weekly house cleaning crew we hired for our home made me feel extremely taken care of as well.

:: Who did you enjoy nurturing and supporting?

My family of six are EVERYTHING, and I am so grateful to take care of them. I was also very appreciative of professional friendships, such as the one I’ve formed with Kara (Boho Berry) and Christina Scalera. I can’t say enough good things about surrounding yourself with people you respect and admire, and I loved spending IRL (in real life) time with both ladies.

This is one area I’m looking to expand in 2017. I have a very close-knit circle of trust, and I think it’s time I opened up and let more good people into it.

Here is a list of questions for today’s review

Enjoy some alone time in a quiet space (a journal or day planner from 2016 will come in handy, if you have one) and write down your answers to the following questions.

1. What was time wasted this year?
2. What was money wasted this year?
3. What was the biggest challenge you faced this year?
4. If anything, what would you change about how you handled that challenge?
5. Are you ending the year with any unfinished business?
6. Are there any outstanding goals you’d like to let go of?
7. What was your worst setback in 2016?
8. Which bad habits or unhealthy patterns did you engage in that you’d like to give up once and for all?
9. What or whom held you back this year? Did anything make you shrink into yourself or feel defensive about your dreams?
10. How did you hold yourself back this year? Which beliefs | ideas | excuses stopped you from pushing forward?

Thank you for joining me on Day 2 of this 7-day series! See you tomorrow with a new list of prompts + my example answers to today’s questions.  It’s time to make your big dreams happen already. Here’s to your best year yet,