Top 10 Takeaways From 2017

2017…well, what can I say and where do I begin? 

I am grateful! The universe did not see fit for me to transition from my physical form, and for that reason, I am thankful. The benefits this year has brought me have been wonderful and life-changing, and my eyes were opened once more to the beauty of life. This year has taught me to cherish every moment and to take advantage of opportunities in the lifetime of those opportunities.

Here are my top 10 takeaways from 2017: 

1. Success takes time. I just knew I would launch my startup on March 1, 2017, but I tried to scale too early and ran out of cash. Looking back now, that was the best thing to have happened in that I learned to adapt and pivot. Now that we have course-corrected and have patent pending products, the present goal is to raise $150 – $200k and go to market with what could be a >$100 million cosmetics brand.  
2. Adapt quickly. Life is dynamic and everything does not always go according to plan. It is important to change when change happens.
3. Live your truth. Through honest self-assessment, I realized there was a gap between what I believed and the person I showed to the world. This way of being stemmed from a subconscious desire to be respected and liked. I now challenge myself daily to remove the filters and honor my truth through authentic living.  
4. It’s okay to ask for help. I’m a strong-willed, Type A personality and I’ve always been a go-it-alone person. I discovered, however, there is strength (and accountability) when you are operating as part of a system. 
5. Be more spontaneous. I love structure, and organize my life around a daily plan. Even so, I experienced some of my most fruitful moments this year when I stepped out of my comfort zone and injected spontaneity into my routine.
6. Try something new. In April of this year, out of the wild blue yonder, I decided to start a podcast. I initially planned to do this as a short-lived experiment. Well, that “experiment” lasted 100 episodes and was listened to in nearly two hundred countries. I’m currently preparing for Season 2.
7. Become a mentor. My primary mentees are my children. Effective mentorship transcends advice-giving and entails modeling what you are teaching. One of my principal investments centers on teaching financial independence, and my first two children have begun charting their path to financial freedom. You can check out their work here, and here.
8. Prioritize your health. Self-care has been defined as giving the best of you instead of what’s left of you. Earlier this year, I decided to prioritize my mental and physical health by exercising daily. My daily exercise routine consists of guided meditation, 15-minute plank workout, 15-minute abs, and 10 minute arms/legs.
9. Be willing to make sacrifices to achieve your goal. If you have a burning desire to achieve a goal, then you must accept that there will be tradeoffs. You must make peace with the decision to give up something in order to realize your goal.
10. Launch a business. If you are driven by novelty as I am—if the freedom of time means everything to you, then you should consider creating an idea, product, service or process, and taking that idea to market. Entrepreneurship is a platform for reinventing oneself, accelerating one’s learning, leveraging innovation and unlimited earning potential.  

What were your top learning moments in 2017, and where do you see yourself in 2018?