Creamy white clouds spread like buttercream frosting across the periwinkle blue background.
Pink, yellow and orange beams blazing through sparkle off  the palm fronds that are dancing in the breeze at the top of the tree outside my window. I sit on the soft worn sofa next to the window that faces the dark grey ocean. A chocolate brown and white plaid wool blanket that was a souvenir from a trip I took to Italy with my father twenty five years ago is spread over my legs and tucked under my feet.

I welcome the morning view as I hunt and peck the keyboard on my Samsung smartphone. (Which has not been that smart these days, but that’s another story)

Sipping hot tea and honey to heal my cough and nagging laryngitis. One by one I hear my neighbors’ cars start as they head out for the first day back to work in the new year.

The first Monday of the new year. That’s when the real new year starts. Last year ended with a four day weekend so, today is when it really starts.

The past four days were still filled with friends and family, food, parties, organizing, guests, sleeping in, reading, lounging in pajamas whispering my words and sucking cough drops…

But, today is when everyone goes back to their routine. When the hours and minutes are stacked up with work, checking off to do lists, meetings and marketing yourself to sell what it is that you do. Today is when you decide if you will continue to do what you’ve always done and do it the way you’ve always done it. Or, you can decide to do it a new way.

Only you can make the choice to do it with more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Only you can decide to do it with more boldness, courage, strength, creativity, tenacity and intention.

Whatever you have listed this year to improve, get better at or make new…today is the day it all begins.

For me, I have a list of projects that I am working to accomplish. Some are continuing existing works and some are a blank canvas just waiting to be splashed upon.

We can all accomplish our goals by allowing the “Elbs” do their magic. My friend, Roy Williams taught me about elbs and their magic fourteen years ago. “Elbs are Exponential Little Bits, tiny but relentless changes that compound to make a miracle. The power of an elb lies not in its size, but in its daily occurrence. For an elb to work its Exponential magic, the Little Bit must happen every day… every day… every day. ”

By doing a little something every day, you can accomplish whatever you set out to do.  The little bits begin to compound and before you know if they take on a life of their own. But, you must continue to them every day.

Relationships, being the most important value in my life take a high priority of cultivation this year. That means time, effort and energy. It also means pruning, weeding and cutting away. In my last post I mentioned that I want to focus on not letting the urgent crowd out the important in my life.

I think this ultimately means learning when to say “No”. We don’t have to do it all. We don’t have to go to all the meetings, volunteer for every committee, take every client, go to every class, concert or game, accept every invitation. Asking yourself before each commitment, “Does this help me accomplish my ultimate goal?” If not, then say “No”.

Here’s to your new year! I hope you accomplish what you set out to do and I wish you peace and prosperity
in every area of your life.

Sean and I were giving a ride to our class instructor. We were driving from the Red Roof Inn on i-35 in South Austin to the Wizard Academy. We stayed at the hotel closest to the school, which was fifteen miles away. This was back when the academy was hosted at Williams Marketing in the tiny town of Buda.

Before campus property was purchased. Before Chapel Dulcinea was stately perched on the cliff side. Before students slept wrapped in Egyptian cotton sheets in private mansion rooms in the hill country. Before the Wizard’s tower reached into the clouds and library shelves were packed with books. Before bronze plaques carried names of the donors that made the dream a reality.  Before the wine cellar was stocked with exquisite bottles from far away vineyards and Don Quixote hung from every wall. Before Daniel Whittington was vice-chancellor, giving tours of Scotland. Before thousands of wisards began travelling from around the world to study at the most progressive, out of the box thinking, 21st century business school. Heck, this was even before Sean Taylor graduated from high school.

Classes met in the upper room with no windows. Tables arranged in rows that could seat no more than ten people in the room that would get overheated quickly. The walls were off white and the carpet was gray. It was the beginning of a dream, and we were excited to be part of it. Sean and I were eager students, anxious to learn whatever we could from Roy Williams, aka “the Wizard of Ads”, Dr. Nick Grant and Dean Rotbart, the man in the back seat of our car.

I had read about him through Roy’s writings, although I had not met him in person until now. I already knew that Dean was a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and he had been a regular columnist for the Wall Street Journal.

I was extremely shy and didn’t talk much back then. I had been working on pushing myself to engage with people, but I still had a long way to go. In an effort to get to know our new friend better, I asked him a few questions about his life and interests. Conjuring up small talk was painful for this extreme introvert. Masterfully he dodged my questions and within a flash, he had spun the conversation on its heels. Before I knew it, I found myself breathlessly talking to him about my passion for portrait photography and a rattling on about business ideas that had been bouncing around in my brain.

Fifteen miles later, we arrived to our destination, a tiny speck on the map, and my life had changed.  All of the sudden, I  had a clearer vision for what I wanted to do with my life. Dean ended our conversation by clarifying back to me my true passion for photographing people and I needed to be doing that.

At the time, I had been teaching a few scrapbooking classes at a local store as a personal exercise to overcome my fear of speaking in front of people. I was at a place in my life to make a decision. Contemplating going back to school, having another child, and starting a business. Up until then, I only had  one camera and a couple banged up lenses. I would take pictures of my children and my friend’s babies. But, I was never for hire.

After returning home from Austin that week, I possessed the confidence to start my portrait business. Within a year, my basement became a studio and office and I started booking sessions every week. That was twelve years ago and I am still pursuing my passion of photography as well as other business ventures.

A frequent saying at the Wizard Academy is the most precious gift we are given is the gift of each other. Truer words were never spoken. I believe, when you operate in your gifting, living out your life’s purpose, lives around you will be touched and changed for the better. That’s what my friend Dean did for me over a decade ago. I’m sure he still has no idea the impact that our thirty minute conversation had on my life. He was just doing we what he does best, interviewing people and uncovering their story in their own words and presenting it back to them.

What is that thing that causes your heart to skip a beat when you talk about it. Are you on the edge of making a big decision? Wanting to take the plunge? It might be time for you to go for a little ride and have a conversation with a friend. It just might change your life.