I know that we’re almost a month into 2020 and I’m still posting 2019 recap posts but…it was a BIG year for me!!! I want to have this kind of stuff thoroughly documented so I can remember how this journey looked and felt along the way. 

I can’t feel too bad about wanting to take the time to reflect and celebrate. 2019 was my FIRST YEAR AS A FULL TIME BUSINESS OWNER! At 25!!! Never ever would I have thought this would be my reality.

This post is somewhat of a mix of documentation of what happened in the past year and notes from my Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets prep work. If you’re super goal-oriented and love to see progress, I highly recommend these!! 

I wasn’t the best at keeping up with them last year but looking over my prep work from the beginning of the year was so humbling and encouraging. Almost everything that I had written down as being a fear or concern of mine I accomplished or figured out. It’s exactly what I needed when I was reflecting and preparing for this next year.

So just as a start, here’s a rundown of 2019:

• Photographed 8 weddings and filmed 3 (as a team with Weston!)
• Started working more with my brother as my second shooter, and continued working alongside my trusted second shooter, Evan
• Started my 3rd spokesmodel team
• Photographed them on a YACHT!
• Finally cleaned up and organized my QuickBooks so I could truly know my numbers
• Started a Youtube channel!!!
• Intentionally scheduled “off” time to hang out with my friends
• Started going to therapy and loved it
• Had my first speaking gig at A Really Good Workshop
• Got involved with Alpha Chi again by helping UNCW’s chapter through a successful recruitment and volunteered as an interview for the Augusta installation
• Traveled from eastern NC to western NC and back in one week with a session every day
• Dressed up as the Avengers for Halloween (best group costume ever)
• Finished decorating my room and “office”
• Set up my file storage system so I don’t have to worry about losing any of my client’s memories
• Completed the Katelyn James’ Business Journey and hugged her at the KJBJ Live Event
• Published 142 blog posts!!!

And the biggest of all…matched my salary from my agency position!!!!

Even going back and writing all of that out makes me want to freaking celebrate!!! It’s so easy to look at a new year and be a little overwhelmed by all that still needs to be and can be done. Taking the time to write it all about and say “YEAH. I DID THAT.” is sooo important. 

2019 was hard for a lot of reasons but there were a lot of wins –– some tangible (like the list above) and some that weren’t.

In my 2020 PowerSheets Goal Planner, there is an exercise to write out what worked and what didn’t work from the previous year. This helps to really think about the things that you want to continue and seek more of vs. the things you want to purposefully cut out.

Here’s what some of mine were.

Wins: What Worked In The Last Year

• Spent less time stressed and more time enjoying my life
• Able to care about (and talk about) more than just work
• Really felt proud of myself
• Built a solid foundation of operations and systems so I could focus on then elevating it
• Was okay with growing slow (and realizing “slow” is actually relative)
• Planning ahead to make time for breaks, rest, and time off
• Prioritizing the gym and the effect it has on my head/feelings
• Going to therapy and talking things out / learning to process
• Spending more time with my girlfriends
• Investing in education but focusing more time on implementing what I’ve already learned and on the things I can teach myself
• Decorating my room and creating a space that energizes me every day
• Celebrating my wins!!!

Challenges: What Didn’t Work In The Last Year

• Getting really overwhelmed before and after big events, regardless of the outcome
• Putting too much pressure on myself
• Putting too many expectations on my relationships and not communicating what I needed or how I felt
• Not knowing or having things I do just for myself or just because I “want” to
• Trying to handle a lot of things on my own when I should just bring someone in to help (even if it costs a little extra)
• Getting wrapped up in being competitive and comparing myself to others
• Being nervous to reach out to people
• Feeling like I’m not “legit” enough
• Being afraid to ask questions because I don’t want to hear the answer
• Avoiding things I didn’t want to handle or deal with

The second list was definitely a lot harder to write than the first. I highly, highly recommend doing this though because so many of my goals came out of both of these lists. I want to be intentional about keeping the good and fixing the challenges. 

Lessons Learned: What Did The Good And Bad Teach Me?

We are constantly learning lessons. My nana gave me a little coffee table book one time with advice from people ranging in ages 4-100. It is SO cute to read all of the things they have learned in their lifetime –– no matter how long or short.

Part of the PowerSheets prep work is to also list out the lessons learned from those good and bad things. I really like the idea of writing this down every year and then compiling them one day for my future generations! 

Here are some of the top lessons learned in 2019:

• Avoidance won’t make problems go away (and definitely won’t make you feel better)
• “Quality time” with yourself is really important
• You have to show yourself your own love language
• You’ve probably achieved a lot more than you give yourself credit for
• Setting boundaries is YOUR responsibility…and if you think you don’t need them, you’re not digging deep enough
• Communication is the most important thing, and sometimes the hardest and takes a LOT of practice
• The gym is as much for your head as it is for your body
• This moment is so small and short compared to your entire life
• Writing things down is really important to me

2019 was a really, really good year. Even with the ups and downs. I am so looking forward to what’s next –– but before we can get there, we have to set some goals!

Tomorrow I will be posting my personal and business goals for the year so I can hold myself accountable and share with all of you! You know what they say, it helps to speak things into existence 🙂

If you are working on your PowerSheets or reflecting on your year, I would love to hear and celebrate your wins with you!