Taking time to celebrate 2014

I’ve been having a bit of a of “déjà vu” moment this morning.

Here’s how:  Back in 2013 – on January 18^th to be precise – I was having a bit of a stress because I hadn’t sent an email out to my list in literally months.  It had been such a busy year for me putting the foundations under my new business I hadn’t done any blogging at all.  And so I was stressing about what to write that could re-engage all these people who had signed up to receive my nuggets of sales wisdom – and then heard, well, silence.

And then an email popped in from a mentor of mine that solved two problems in one go.  First it stopped me focusing on the areas where I was “failing” and I started to dance a little internal jig for the progress I had made.   Second, it gave me an idea for something to share with my community.

Fast forward two full years and it is January 14^th and I have been having a bit of a stress because I haven’t sent an email to my community in quite some time.   Hm, sounding familiar?  And then I remembered that email of 2013!

So just like two years ago I am going to share my highs and lows of 2014 with you and also invite you to grab yourself a cuppa and spend 5 minutes answering these questions for yourself.  It can be so easy to ignore our green shoots of progress and think we’ve failed just because we haven’t yet got a mighty oak tree in the back garden.   So let’s take a moment and celebrate our 2014 before we move fully into 2015 (and yes, it’s perfectly OK to do that in mid-January – there are no rules here!).

What were my biggest achievements in 2014?

After 18 months of running small a small private group mentoring programme I took everything I had learned and launched my first 12 month Business from the Heart mentoring programme and am honoured that 18 wonderful women and one amazing (and very brave!) man have put their faith in me to be their guide and mentor for the next 12 months – we kick off on Saturday and I couldn’t be more excited!!

As a natural high-achiever who has run a pattern of energy “boom and bust” all my life I finally learned to truly listen to both my body and my intuition.  I learned to slow down more.   I took a bold move of taking the summer off because my spirit craved it… and the world didn’t cave in.

I moved back to London after 11 years away. And oh it feels so good to be “home”.

What were my magic moments in 2014?

My daily walk in the woods near my new home in South East London.

Strengthening my connection with ‘spirit’.   This year I have actively worked with spirit to co-create my life and business and it’s felt like harnessing a magic power that was always there for me but I wasn’t fully using.

Supporting a truly international audience of 120 people through my online programme – spanning the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

What were my biggest disappointments?

I didn’t get sales of my online programme automated and more widely available to a global audience in the way that I had intended.   120 people makes for a really viable business but 1200 people would be even more exiting!

I made some hiring mistakes that cost me dear in money, time, sanity and set back progress on key projects quite considerably.

As a result I didn’t get my business systems and processes streamlined and automated in a way that would allow me to reach and work with even more people.

What lessons did I learn?

I learned that we don’t have to do everything “right” and to have all the “right” pieces in place for a business to work and to grow.  Despite all the things I didn’t do as well as I wanted my business still grew by 60% compared to the previous year.

I learned that it is OK to slow down, take time out and that I will still be provided for if I put my faith in spirit.

I’ve learned that it’s not for me to decide whether I’m “good enough”.  That is for my clients to decide.  And from the evidence of their feedback, testimonials and results in the world they clearly think I am.  So it’s time for me to think it too.

What are my top 3 business goals for 2015

To get my “Get More Clients Saying Yes!” Programme to a wider audience of heart-centred business owners – across the globe!

To serve the clients in my Business from the Heart mentoring group and to support them fully to achieve the results that they want to create in the world – and to avoid some of my mistakes!

To travel more with my business – California and Bali are high on the list.

And – ahem! – to learn to write shorter emails – am working on it I promise.

Why am I absolutely 100% committed to achieving these top 3 goals?

Because I believe that running our own business is the greatest journey of personal and spiritual growth that there is, and I want as many other people as possible to succeed on that journey with me so that you too can make the difference that you know you are here to make.  And because I have a “gift” for authentic sales and business and I want to keep on sharing that.

I hope you’ve also taken a few minutes out of your day to answer these questions.   Now that we’ve reflected on just how far we’ve come in 2014 it’s ready to turn our attention to making 2015 the best year yet for our lives and businesses!

Wishing you success, joy and happiness for the year to come!