12 Best Lessons Learned From 2016 Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Issue 208

As another year comes to an end and things quiet down around me, I find this time to be the perfect opportunity to reflect, recharge and reposition myself for the new year.

I would like to share my 12 best lessons learned from 2016 with you:

  1. Continued commitment to the creation of unique intellectual property. One of the key attributes of great thought leaders is their prolific publishing of amazing content in multiple media formats. I am proud to keep this trend going by publishing my three books this year among other creations while challenging my clients to do the same.
  2. Surround myself with genius. It’s through the books I read, the content I consume, the innovative leaders I network with, the unique relationships I create with fascinating thinkers, my amazing clients and my team.
  3. Invest in myself. Each year I select several personal and business growth experiences that challenge my thinking and allow me to think bigger.
  4. The biggest change comes from within and with the support of others. 14 weeks ago, I decided to make dramatic changes to improve my health and nutrition. I did so by removing all bad carbs, sweets and most dairy from my diet. I started to walk an hour a day and hired my trainer to push and inspire me three times a week. The mental and physical transformation has been astonishing including reducing my weight by 38 pounds so far.
  5. Remove the toxicity in my life. This health and nutrition upgrade has made me realize that removing this toxicity applies to other areas of my life such as terminating relationships that were no longer productive and reassessing beliefs and habits that needed change or elimination.
  6. Thinking and down time. I am passionate and love what I do but I also realize that the lines of demarcation between work and pleasure are foggy. Earlier this year, I made the decision not to work on the weekends, take off Friday afternoons and take breaks during the day to generate energy for thinking time and other enjoyments.
  7. Leverage my strengths and prior successes. Unlike the popular book title, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, and I know this may sound counterintuitive, but I strongly believe that what got me here actually will get me there!
  8. Create powerful and lasting rituals. Every Sunday evening I review the prior week, its major accomplishments and challenges and plan the key goals to accomplish next week. Each morning I journal and commit to several micro wins to undertake that day and each evening I write down three things I am grateful for.
  9. My calendar is my secret weapon. I view my calendar as my digital accountability partner. It became a game-changer when I realized the need to not only schedule and execute my appointments and tasks but to make sure I break down and schedule my dreams and my exciting huge projects.
  10. Developing my hobby. Although music is in my DNA, this year, I advanced my photography hobby to a new level, which has brought me tremendous joy and pride and has also created some amazing adventures, precious moments and a spiritual connection.
  11. Create greater impact through greater value. With the omnipresence of smartphones, almost 50% of the world’s population is currently connected to the Internet, which is the equivalent to 3.5 billion users. Billions more will be added and connected in the next few years. As this growth continues, more individuals and organizations are in need of our products, services and our transformational impact. Among several exciting new products and services we are working on launching in 2017, the one to help individuals and organizations create their amazing content and digital empire is at the top of the list.
  12. Supported by my loving family.

Thank you for your support and Happy New Year.

Consider this time for reflection, recharge and reposition yourself for an amazing 2017.

Get your copy of my latest new books available now on my Amazon’s author page.

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