Part II of II
Here are more lessons I learned during the past year:
Express Lane – Remember the Information Superhighway? That’s so last century. Web 1.0 brought us static pages. Web 2.0 provided interactive connectivity. Web 3.0 is here, and as Peter Diamandis noted in his November 18 ‘Abundance’ newsletter: “During the next 2 to 5 years, the convergence of 5G, AI, a trillion sensors and VR/AR will enable us to both map our physical world into virtual space and superimpose a digital layer onto our physical environments.” This technology leap will impact how you receive news, how companies advertise, and how you shop. Diamandis is a visionary and worth a weekly 10-minute read.
Continuing Ed – After deciding to become a coach 16 years ago, I sought the most successful coach I could find who would agree to teach Kathy and me how to build a sustainable practice. Taking that approach, I never attained certification… which was no big deal until people started asking me about it a couple years ago. So, in March 2017, I began the journey to gain credentialing from the International Coach Federation – and after 150 classroom and mentoring hours, plus 500 new hours of coaching clients, I earned the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designation in May. Sitting in a classroom for day-long weekend training, having a Master Certified Coach critique several of my recorded client sessions and passing a certification test enhanced my coaching skills and instilled renewed energy in me.
Savings Grace – It’s amazing how quickly 37 years passed since I was last in a classroom in college – and retirement is visible on the horizon… albeit probably in 2028. We are three semesters of college tuition and apartment rent away from our youngest coming off the family payroll, so we’ll soon be getting a raise. The volatile stock market this year reminded me of the importance of diversification, especially in the twilight of a career. Those ‘don’t worry about the ups and downs’ long-range views I had after the 2008 crash have changed to ‘I really don’t want there to be another major correction now that I’m getting close.’
Giddy Up – The best quote I saw for the first time this year is from the late writer Alfred A. Montapert, who published ‘The Supreme Philosophy of Man’ in 1970: “Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.”
Gift Giving – If you’re looking for an end-of-year goodwill gesture, please consider contributing to an organization that helps those devastated by the California wildfires. One that’s doing good things is Direct Relief (100 score on Charity Navigator), which has worked around the globe for 70 years to ‘improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency situations.’ Every contributed dollar designated for California wildfire recovery goes directly to local aid, with none for administrative or fundraising purposes.
I’ll conclude with this from Kelly Clarkson, who was the talk of Twitter during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade for singing live in freezing temperatures instead of lip-synching: “The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what kind of a year you’ve had – it’s a fresh start.”
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Seasons Greetings. May 2019 be your best year yet… and continued success in all things.
