30,000 Miles of Lessons in 2015

Strange title, right? In 2015, I traveled all over the United States for family, and for conferences. It was all by car, bus, or train. As I’ve heard from many people, driving or being on the road can be therapeutic. It is the same for me. There’s lot to see, new stories to hear from strangers, and plenty of time to reflect.

The number of miles traveled this year, didn’t matter, nor was listing how many miles, was a reason to brag. It is a play on words in the title. This article is not geared to be anything other than updates for those who have been supportive of my work, and wish to know what’s been going on, and what will happen in the future.

I think when the end of a year comes, it’s a time to gather my thoughts, see what I learned, see what I’ve improved on, and see what I can do going forward.

Here’s some of my own reflections from 2015, as well as goals for the next year.

Lessons learned and other lessons not quite mastered

Lesson 1: I don’t have to feel like I need to fight for a lot of things. I grew up poor, so what little I earned with my bare hands, I held onto tight, and was really proud of what I had accomplished. I should be proud, but the type of pride I had shown outwardly, mingled with my passion for what I do. While I do listen, when I’m was in my “moment”, I steamrolled over others when they may have had something of value to add to the conversation.

I’m not totally in the clear with this habit, but it’s improving… slowly. My lesson is to pay attention more, and try to let the other person or people I’m talking to, and above all, have their chance.

Lesson 2: Choose my words more carefully. While I don’t have a filter most of the time, I do with blogging. If you notice, I don’t cuss on my website. However, I was made aware by someone I greatly respect, that I was coming off as arrogant, even though I don’t mean to. This was something that was upsetting to hear, as I come from extremely humble beginnings. I believe the first lesson sometimes bleeds into this one.

This is something I still have to to work at quite a bit.

Lesson 3: I care and worry a lot about people that are close to me. Sometimes it creates a lot of stress for me, and I have to get away. However, that point takes a long time to get to, and I’ve let people hurt me badly, both in business and personally. As the oldest of my siblings, I often took care of everyone, so this has extended to my other types of relationships.

As my stepmom said to me, “Sometimes you just gotta step back, and let them live their life. They’ll discover the problem, and either fix it, or burn.”

She’s right. It doesn’t mean I stop helping others. It means that, for some people, I just let them find out the hard way, and hope they conquer that lesson.

Plans for 2016

These are just a few of the more important goals for 2016 that I have for my website.

1. New redesign for Blondish.net. It’s that time to finally upgrade the look and a little re-organizing.

2. Regularly podcast. I bought a new microphone with a pop filter, a noise cancelling shield, and a new computer.

3. Vlog once a week. I haven’t been active on video blogging at all. I usually post screencast tutorials and presentations, but haven’t shown my face on my own Youtube channel. It’s time to do so.

4. Catch up on re-podcasting my past presentations.

5. Finish a WordPress for Beginners-type ebook. Right now, I’m proofing it, and then will turn it over to someone else to proof and technically edit.

6. More blogging.

I hope regardless of the miles you’ve traveled or didn’t travel in 2015, that you’ve also reflected, and planned for the new year. You cannot complain if you do not make the necessary changes in your life or business, that keep holding you back. I wish you all the best in 2016.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned this year? What are some of your goals for next year?