Here it is, the final week of a year that has changed and challenged so many. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this since the whole pandemic began, as if a New Year brings new hope for the future and new energy to tackle whatever comes our way in 2021. We all know deep down inside, however, that another new year is just that – a new year. There’s no magic fairy dust that gets sprinkled on us where we wake up on January 1 and suddenly everything is different, as much as we might like that to be the case (sorry if I just burst your bubble).
With all of that being said though, it does feel good to do a little reflection on what the year that will soon be behind us has brought and taught, and do a little intention-setting for the year to come.
It’s quite possible that I fit into the minority when I say…gulp…that 2020 was actually a pretty good year! Hopefully I didn’t just lose most of the audience reading this by saying that, but I can’t deny that a lot of awesome things came my way this year, both personally and professionally.
When I think of one word that encapsulates all that 2020 was for me, the word I think of is “improvement.” The focus for me this year was all about improving everything I have going on in my life – from business to personal, from home to office. I spent a lot of time and money this year improving everything around me. Perhaps this was my subconscious coping mechanism to get through the things I couldn’t control (because we all know there was plenty of that in 2020). Either way, the focus on improvement made 2020 a pretty damn good year, despite the challenges we all undeniably faced. There’s this old adage that says what we focus on expands, and I have to say that the focus on improvement led to a lot of it in all aspects of my life. Here’s a short list of some of those improvements.
Home
Remodelled our ensuite so that’s it’s functional (it’s not finished, but it’s functional)
Made huge strides on getting my kitchen finished after a 2 year hiatus – we got the right side pantry cabinets put in, the upper cabinets on the left side put up, replaced the OTR microwave that crapped out this summer, replaced the dishwasher that was too tall, got all the new flooring installed and I scored big on a second hand solid wood & granite island that I refinished to be a pop of colour.
We ripped out our deck and 1980s aluminum pool – this was a big feat. We bought a new pool in its place, planted grass seed and I look forward to planting some gardens next summer that didn’t quite get done this year in that extra space.
I painted our front door to add some curb appeal to our home, we replaced the rusted out and broken front light, the rusted out numbers and our rusted out mailbox (see a trend here?) I also replaced the old gold looking door handle & touch entry system. These projects were super easy, it made me wonder why I didn’t do this years before.
Yesterday I found myself repainting our entry way to the home to match the kitchen so there’s some good flow with the new flooring & baseboards.
We also replaced the basement windows at our rental.
Office
I moved into a kick ass new office that I’m absolutely in love with. It took a lot of work to make it feel like a second home including – painting every wall & every door, installing new flooring in the two offices, ripping out what used to be a makeshift closet and installing a countertop, sink and mini fridge so we have a kitchenette – and then fixing the flooring in there too. Did I mention ripping out the sink that was just in the middle of the conference room?
I got all the signage put up this summer and it looks great!
Business
The real estate brokerage went through a complete re-brand, lost an agent who relocated and gained a new agent.
I officially became an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation – that was a big win.
I also got my certification through the John Maxwell Team for coaching, speaking & leadership.
I revamped both of the websites for Noble Choice Coaching and Seller Direct Northern Homes Realty and worked on some super cool videos for both businesses.
All of my taxes and bookkeeping was caught up while we were forced to stay inside during the spring.
Noble Media Corporation became its own brand so that I could market 3D tours and some other services I do – this is my official side hustle hobby business.
I launched the “Be a Better Business Owner” 6 month coaching package and have worked with some amazing people this year as their Coach.
2020 is ending on a high note as I hired my daughter as my personal assistant at the beginning of December – this was a big decision with a lot of risks but so far I’m really happy with how things are working out.
My contract with FuseSocial kept me busy throughout the year.
I had two speaking gigs - a workshop on Entrepreneurship in Fort McMurray for Launch Wood Buffalo and Keynote for the Wood Buffalo Sport Connection AGM.
Going into 2021 with the very first EntrePROneur Masterclass – a group coaching program I intend to run multiple times per year - this took a lot of planning and work and I'm super stoked for the first cohort.
Personal
I worked with 5 coaches this year – yes 5 coaches – to boost my businesses and keep me focused this year. 3 of them were a trade for services (I coach you and you coach me kinda deal) and the other two were paid and are continuing into 2021. BEST DECISIONS EVER!!!
Despite Covid restrictions messing up some of our vacation plans out of country and province, we still managed to line up two mini vacations – we went to Boyle for my son’s birthday to an AirBnB, and we headed to the mountains in Banff for my birthday in September. Our way to make the best of a bad situation.
My Dad was able to come out for a visit in the summer and we had a great time.
I got to attend a couple of conferences – the Power of Success in person in February with two of my real estate ladies, and Niurka’s Business Quantum Leap which was held virtually instead of in person in the spring.
I bought an iPad mini with an apple pencil which has totally changed my organizational habits for the better. I also officially became an iPhone user after all these years (if you knew how against iPhones I was until now, you'd know that was a big deal!)
My hubby and I celebrated 15 years together and 8 years married.
We got a dog! I'm still trying to determine whether or not that was a good move though - oh puppies are cute but those looks are deceiving!
I was also named on the Brainz Magazine’s 500 Global List of 2020.
2020 for me will be remembered as the year that I didn’t let the things I couldn’t control get the best of me. It will be the year that I compared to one of the worst years of my life and then looked at as “not that bad.” It’ll be the year of opportunity, the year I grew in so many ways, and the year that I truly counted my blessings for what they are. It’ll be the year that reinforced the notion of adapting when you have to, and not only surviving, but also figuring out ways to thrive. Thanks 2020, it’s been a blast. Cheers to another New Year and all the unlimited possibility that comes along with that!