A lot of people are sharing all the successes and wins from 2023, but don’t be fooled.
It is great to celebrate and share our wins as it gives us a feeling of personal momentum and it can help inspire others.
But let’s not forget that any meaningful win came with a bunch of challenges, struggles, and failures.
For myself – I published my first book, which meant a lot of poorly written ideas, tedious editing, and what felt like endless rewriting. It didn’t stop there. Timelines were pushed and pushed… I spent a full day trying to decide between matte or shiny finish. And it was just plain funny at how painful it was when I kept tripping up while recording the audiobook version – I felt like I could barely read my own book.
So having a book out and getting to #1 on amazon certainly feels nice, but don’t be fooled. It is paired with countless mistakes and failures. And not to mention, it would not have been possible without the incredible help from my support team.
A second interesting win for me was completing the Heroic Public Speaking Course – they are probably the best speaking program in the world. It was an incredible program that helped me grow in countless ways. And as you might imagine, it pushed my comfort zones as I stumbled over my words on stage and dropped a few F-bombs…
I knew working on my keynote speech was something I wanted to do and that I would benefit from joining a program and getting coached. But I will admit that I underestimated how much of a craft it is to be an elite speaker. The ability to connect, engage, and create an experience for an audience takes incredible skill and countless hours of practice.
So I need to thank Michael and Amy Port and the whole HPS team and my fellow classmates for helping me develop my skill set. I look forward to applying what I’ve learned in the few gigs I already have lined up. And don’t be fooled, I still have a lot of work to do and I will continue to be refining my craft.
Lastly, I recently launched my new personal website – CLICK HERE to check it out. This was another comfort zone stretch. This has been like launching a whole new business. It is something I’ve held off from doing as I’ve focused on building CEP Mindset. Even though I felt now was the time between the book launching and finishing the speaking course, I still had feelings of self-doubt and worries about what others would think.
It was certainly a good test in applying what I teach everyday to others, to myself. I leaned on my Mentor Todd Herman as well as my right hand at CEP coach Nicholas. I had to intentionally make the shift to let go of my insecurities about how it might be received and instead focus on owning all the work I’ve put in.
I don’t pretend to know everything because I certainly don’t. But I do own all the knowledge and insights that I have gained from my personal, academic, and professional experiences. Our system and process of coaching high-performers mindsets works and we got a lot of proof – I own that. I didn’t just make up a bunch of stuff and throw it in a book. Instead, it is the accumulation of all the work I’ve put in over the last 20+ years of my life – I own that. I have been speaking for years, but now I’ve put in the work to enhance my skills and developed a process to continue to refine my craft – I own that.
So I wrote this post to share my 2023, but more importantly to encourage you to reflect.
Make sure to own your wins to help build your personal momentum.
Make sure to own your struggles and failures as they are part of your wins.
Make sure to own the work you have put in – don’t you dare downplay yourself.
Keep putting in the work and enjoying the journey.
All the best in 2024.