Stopped doing this and never looked back

Leaving Saturday to beat Thanksgiving travel rush, I'm running around rushing to get packed...

(I hate packing and put it off to the last minute. Always)

I find some rumpled pages of legal paper with yellow post-it notes. 

"What's this mess?!"

My 2019 goals!! (Yikes! haven't seen these in a while.)

I felt that split second weird disconnect you get when you go back a time really fast in your head - one year in half a sec.

Had these been on my to-do list all year?! (yep)

{Clock ticking, still not packed}

Shoving pages in my computer bag...

"I'll deal with it on the train" I thought, and I actually smiled

(That's foreshadowing for you non-English majors ; )

On the train, I grabbed a coffee, took my usual seat in the café car, put my headphones on and started working through my mile-high stack of business reading...

when I saw this question:

"What was your favorite business experience in 2019?"

My favorite business experience? ummm...thinking...

If it asked "What was your worst business experience of 2019?"  I'd have 5 things fighting for the top spot. 

It’s too easy to recall the times you cratered. Am I right?

Cue non-drug related flashback to...

2008 Breckenridge Colorado:

Back then, I was a full-on goal-junkie, gym-addict, get-it-done maniac, etc.

I thought nothing of learning to speak fluent Spanish and learning to snow board in the same season.

(Spanish didn’t happen. Snowboarding did.)

Somewhere between Spanish class and learning to snowboard, I read three words that stopped further use of me as a punching bag for, well, me.

( which was what happened when I didn't achieve my insane goals.)

These words shifted a ton of weight off my shoulders.

Focus on results.

Up to that point, I spend a lot of time looking at the un-checked items because I thought that drove me, but they aren't the accelerator, they're the parking brake.

When you look forward to "what's next" from a place of "I did this"  it feels freaking amazing. Seriously, it's that simple. Try it. 

Once you start reading, you can't stop. Get the emails.

And it works for other people too. 

When you direct other people's focus to their results, they see and appreciate them (and you). It's a boost not a drag.

Go ahead and set crazy high goals, just don't beat yourself up (or anyone else) if they don't happen. 

Got a team meeting this week?  Highlight people's results instead of looming deadlines. Look at people's faces when you do, what do you see? 

For everything you didn't get to,

there's something you got done that…

 ➤  Wasn't even on the list but you did it and it moved the needle majorly!   ➤  Came up unexpectedly and you stepped up (take a bow)  ➤  Exploded and insisted on being dealt with. You dealt ➤  Got delegated to or dumped on you and you handled it...with class  ➤  Somehow ended up on your plate and you...cleaned the plate.

Which of these is you?

You delivered results this year. Focus on them. Write about them. Wear them like a badge of honor. ( Hit reply and tell me about it!)

You're still here 👊 

xoxox Court.

P.S. Don’t know what to put in your reusmé… results. P.S.S. Drawing a blank on your LinkedIn About summary or experience section… results! P.S.S. Oh, I finally thought of it! My favorite business experience for 2019 was launching LinkedIn Boost and that was not on the list!