Celebrating 2018, Looking Forward to 2019

Growing up, one of my favorite traditions was our family New Year’s Eve dinner. My parents, my three sisters, and I were most often somewhere in the Swiss mountains. The table was nicely decorated, the food lovely, and the atmosphere festive. My favorite part of the evening, however, was a tradition I remember my mother starting. We all (youngest to oldest) were asked to share what we were most proud of having accomplished this year, and what we were looking forward to in the New Year.

Somehow this tradition provided closure and appreciation for the year coming to a close, and also introduced the concept of New Year’s resolutions in a fun and casual way. Often times the conversation led to memories from the same conversation the previous year – and to laughs about what we thought would be our highlights versus what were our highlights. This tradition, as most traditions do, created a sense of continuity and family. For me, it became a ritual.

December 31st has since been a day of reflection, gratitude, closure. It is also a day of excitement, a day of butterflies in the belly. Tomorrow, I start anew.

Thank you 2018. It wasn’t always pretty, yet I am proud of my work accomplishments (teamwork, revenue targets achieved, a new product launched), and of my personal accomplishments (in my marriage, in my friendships, in my relationship with myself).

2019, I can’t wait to meet you. I am looking forward to the books I have not yet read; to the runs, I have not yet run; to the challenges, I have not yet faced.

Wherever you are right now, I hope you take a moment to reflect on your accomplishments this past year. Take a moment to pat yourself on the back for thriving, or for surviving. And to set your intentions for 2019.

Keep Showing Up

My last blog post was March 8th – more than 6 weeks ago. Ironically, it was about a fabulous talk I heard about beating burnout.  If you know me, you know that to write, I need to be in the right mind set. I need space in my head, in my heart. And well, March and April have provided a dearth of said space.

I love what I do, all of it, and I am grateful for every single day I get to do what I do. And still, sometimes, I get overwhelmed.

Perhaps it’s because the weather feels like it’s stuck in February.

Perhaps it’s because I have worked most recent weekends.

Perhaps it’s because someone close to me experienced a life or death situation (she thankfully lived).

After all, the why does not really matter. So I spent some time this weekend reminding myself to take my own advice. When my girlfriends call me and share that they are overwhelmed, these are my recommendations – which I am now acting on!

  • Focus on choice. I am choosing everything I am doing. No one is forcing me to travel as much, to work as much, to do what I do. I make these choices every day. And, well, while I don’t have the power to choose the weather or prevent accidents that happen, I choose how I react to things out of my control.
  • Look extra hot. One of my mottos is to always be overdressed, and there is no time that is more important than when things feel off. For me, that means kick ass heels and an extra bright red lip. It’s hard to have a horrible day when everyone keeps complimenting my shoes.
  • Make room for alone time. Which in crazy times means canceling two commitments per week.
  • Be kind. First to myself, which means exercising more, drinking less, eating healthier, sleeping more. And to others, because more likely than not, they are feeling the same way I do. A smile goes such a long way.
  • Be inspired by others. This morning’s encouragement from the Universe came in the form of an email from my friend Marc Ross on Boston marathon winner Desiree Linden. His concluding words were:

“Linden’s ability to persevere and succeed in exceptionally miserable physical circumstances is remarkable.

Linden’s ability to persevere and succeed in exceptionally challenging mental circumstances is remarkable.

To succeed in 2018, Linden had to find a deeper gear to compete.

Her pinned Tweet displays where she finds this deeper gear:

“Some days it just flows and I feel like I’m born to do this, other days it feels like I’m trudging through hell. Every day I make the choice to show up and see what I’ve got, and to try and be better.”

My advice: keep showing up.

#MondayMotivaton #TogetherForward”

I don’t think any advice can be more profound.

Make a choice to show up and keep showing up.

You might just achieve your goal.

So keep showing up. Today and every day.

Getting stuck in an elevator…

The highlight of my 2018 Mardi Gras weekend was not the parades, not the costumes, not the beads. Rather, it was getting stuck in the elevator at Palace Café after the annual “Friday before Mardi Gras” luncheon I am fortunate enough to be invited to.

We (our host, my BFF Angie, and a dozen others) had an amazing time in the Wine Room, eating, drinking, laughing, chatting. We were only on the third floor, but somehow taking the elevator seemed to be the right way to leave. So, a number of us did just that – with our lovely waiter. (The rest of us, the smart ones, walked down the two flights of stairs). The elevator begins to descend, and then suddenly stops.

At first, we all giggle. Then we try to pry the doors open (amid much debate as to if this was a good idea or not). Then a few of us just sit down and more or less calmly drink our drinks (feeling very grateful for open container laws). Finally, about 26 minutes later (which seemed like a few hours), we are rescued by firemen who look every bit like what I always thought firemen looked like.

We collectively decide to name our group The Krewe of Otis.

In all seriousness, these 26 minutes helped me remember a few key truths.

  1. In praise of patience. I am not patient. But getting frustrated and angry about a situation completely out of my control would not have made the firemen come to the rescue any faster.
  2. Kindness always. We each took turns calming each other down, calmly and gently, when one was about to lose it (I am not the only one quite uncomfortable in small spaces apparently).
  3. Trust the process. Someone will realize the elevator is stuck. Someone will try to help. If that fails, someone will call the proper authorities. They will then come fix this. Everything will be just fine.
  4. Laughter is the best medicine. At some point after realization and worry, we just started laughing again. After all, nothing diffuses tension and stress like a good giggle.
  5. Good friends make everything better. How glad am I that I got stuck there with good friends…

Happy Ash Wednesday!

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At the start of our Lunch

2018 Goals 

I am in Los Angeles today (well, technically, Manhattan Beach) for an all-day meeting that was just cancelled this past Friday morning. After initial frustration, I decided instead that sometimes, cancelled plans are a gift from the Universe. It is January 22, 2018, and I am already feeling overwhelmed and behind. Actually, if I am really honest, so far this month (this year) I have felt organized on January 3rd and 4th

Somehow the year started so intensely that I am still figuring out my 2018 goals, 2018 budget, 2018 marketing plan. So today, the Universe gave me the gift of catch up. After a run by the ocean to clear my head, a Fast Eddy juice from Sunlife Organics, I am sitting outdoors in the sun thinking about my goals.

 My Alchimie Forever goals are focused on revenue growth, a new product launch (fabulous retinol serum in the making), and continued profitability. Also, I commit to redoing all of our Youtube videos which really need a lot of improvement (don’t watch them!). I will work to delegate more, which should be made easier by the arrival of our newest team member Emma, Sales & Marketing Project Manager.

 My personal goals involve both recurring resolutions and new commitments:

  • Drink more water (I think this has been on my list most years…).
  • Continue my one-day juice cleanser per month (and actually, today is January’s day… when in SoCal…).
  • Carry less paper around with me – if you know me, you know my Céline tote that goes anywhere I go, which weighs an average of about 22-25lbs. Apparently my back pain may be related to this…
  • Exercise three days per week – consistently. This week will be the first 2018 week where this actually happens.
  • Read more. Specifically, finish reading the stack of books on my bedroom floor that remain “pending” since I “Marie Kondoed” my book shelves over a year ago.
  • Clean out my closet. Apparently, the average woman wears only about 30% of her closet. This is probably my case, so I need to do something with at least 50% of the remaining 70%.
  • Be kinder. In particular to the TSA employees at the airport who sometimes get on my nerve. And maybe also to myself (reminding myself for example that finalizing 2018 goals on Jan 22 is not the worst possible thing in the world).

I like to have a word that defines each year for me – like a leitmotiv. I don’t have my word yet for 2018… I am hoping I will by the end of this day during which I will be catching up, but also letting my brain roam around freely in the California sunshine.

Happy 2018!