Good morning and Happy New Year!

I hope you had a fun New Years Eve and you are inspired and energized this morning! I am! I posted a quick video earlier about my year for the word: LEAD. I encourage you to pick a theme/phrase/quote/verse/word for your year too.

Why pick a theme for the year?
Don’t just let 2015 happen to you. Take charge! Be intentional with your time and efforts! Choosing a theme for your year will help you do that.

Choosing My Theme

Last year I chose Inspire, which I think helped me to actually launch my video series and publish my best selling book. A little theme can do a lot of good! This year I chose Lead – what does that mean to me?

• Being a leader. I have led groups most of my life, clubs in highschool, groups in college, departments in my career, but as a solopreneur it’s harder to really embrace being a leader because you’re alone most of the time. I like this definition of a leader, especially for solopreneurs:
  
  If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. – John Quincy Adams {tweet this!}

  I also like the qualities listed in Titus 1:7-14 and Romans 12:8 (ESV)So I want to be above reproach, I want to lead with zeal, I want to be hospitable, upright, diligent, all those things.

• Practicing what I preach and staying in MY sweet spot. I started with my marketing course – I actually did the exercises for myself along with everyone else rather than just advising like I would for a client. Why is it we can drop knowledge bombs on everyone else but have trouble listening to ourselves!? In terms of my sweet spot, you will see more videos because since I want to be speaking and be guests on TV shows, podcasts, etc, video makes more sense. If I were advising me I’d say if you want to pursue video then you should do more video. duh!  
• Thinking of my people. I continue to ask myself, is this really leading by example for others who want to pursue their dream and launch their own business? Is this great for ME or is it great for THEM? So much B2B content out there is self-indulgent, I need to be on guard, especially with said videos. Is this video going to encourage and inspire AND equip or is it just fluff?
• Thinking of my kiddo. Self-explanatory. I have a toddler now, this whole parenting thing is getting real!
• Less busy, More focused. In 2014 I spent way to much time on social media, way to much time learning and reading online, and not enough time executing. Business is not the goal. I want to start outsourcing more, socializing less, and using my time more effectively.
• Reading more books. I know this may seem contrary to the above bullet, but online you can get sucked into rabit holes. Reading actual books is totally different for me. I want to catch up on some of the classics I’ve missed over the years from Gladwell, Godin, etc.

How to Apply Your Theme

Take some time to journal out what your theme means to you and how to apply it. I’m not talking hours here, just a few minutes. Share it with a few people to get accountability (you can comment here, for example!) and then post it somewhere you’ll see it everyday. Hopefully you already have a mission/vision posted somewhere for yourself, and your 2015 theme will fit nicely right next to it.

Here’s to your best year yet!

I wanna know! What is your theme for the year??

Happy New Year Quick Pep Talk: