It’s that time. Once again. (Wait, no, I’m not complaining. I’m really, really glad to be present, alive!)
The last vestiges of 2013 have washed away. Each new wave. Each surge of the tide. Each twist, turn and bend in the road ahead may be somewhat of a mystery, but it is God’s gift to us … to see a fresh path and to receive where it leads us.
Last year was great. So many wonderful things happened. New projects were born. Yet, ahead is a brand new year, full of opportunities. Stretching out before us, like the winding yellow brick road of Oz, is the wonderful miracle of 2014.
This could be your year. The year that is full of untold potential. The year when all access is cleared and any obstacles that have blocked your progress are moved out of the way.
I was surprised to learn that Sheryl Sandberg is “Leaning In” to the women of China and they are hearing her message. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and author of “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” gave a speech last fall in Beijing. She was there to promote the Chinese translation of her book, which has been selling briskly in China and is particularly appealing to the still minute numbers of Chinese businesswomen.
If we are to heed the voices of those who have been world changers in the past, I feel it is critical to do these things in 2014:
1. Transform lives. Make your ideas work for others. Like Sheryl Sandberg, don’t be reticent about sharing what you have discovered.
2. Disconnect from the grid of being ordinary and of repeating the same old thing. Go deep, be strong, do something different.
3. Love what you do. In fact, love your life and what you give way, way more than you ever have in the past. Start from where you are and build upon what matters most to you—your school, your team, your business, your friends, your family, your church, your community.
4. Be fearless. Approach this new year, rich with things you have never seen, sprinkled with places you have never visited, and filled with tasks you never dreamed you could accomplish.
No matter what promises this year holds, know that possibilities are a part of it.
Vision is just the shape your dreams take in those moments before your faith kicks in. Vision is how you describe the future just before you’re ready to move ahead with real conviction. And it’s okay if you approach 2014 one vision at a time
You be the solution to a problem the world has. You be that one with the key. You be the agent of change. Inspire trust and hope in others, then help pass it on. You be the visionary, the achiever.
#Betheinspiration.