Another year. Another mountain. Grab my hand.

We did it! We survived an entire year. Maybe you not only survived. Maybe you thrived. Perhaps you feel like you limped across the finish line declaring victory over yet another year. Possibly it was just that...another year. No matter what...we have entered a brand new year! I will admit I have had all the feels. Excitement. Fear. Sadness. Apprehension. Elation. But yesterday I felt mostly overwhelm. I'm standing at the bottom of the mountain. And as ambitious as I am..and trust me...I can be crazy tenacious...it's quite disconcerting. I even thought in my head...how do you eat an elephant, Lisa? One bite at a time. And then I laughed at myself for actually giving myself a pep talk that involved an elephant! But yet. It's true. Right? We can only do one thing at a time. One task. One goal.

We can only do one thing at a time. One task. One goal.

So I sat down at my desk and began going through a worksheet regarding my business goals. Where am I going? What do I want to accomplish? {gasp} Overwhelm. Step back. Deep breath. Baby steps. My brand. Let's look at my brand. Ok. I know my brand. I should know my brand. This is what I do. But then the questions dove into my story. I am a story-teller. Relational. It's at the heart of what I do. Digging deeper. "How do your loved ones describe you to other people?" Stop. I didn't know. How DO people see me? Do the see the me I think I am? Do they see the person I hope to be? Good grief this first real day of 2017 was set out to eat me alive. Stare at paper. Doodle with pen. Think. Think. Think. Nothing. Open Facebook...as one does. Scroll. Sigh. Focus Lisa! Wait. I'll throw the question out there. These people know me-ish. Right? Type. And you began to respond. And then I sat at my desk ... moved. It wasn't that it was an ego boost. It wasn't ever a pat on the back. I felt...seen. And more importantly...loved. My personality type loves hard and deep and strong. I never expect that kind of love in return. Foolish? Maybe. Ok, definitely. But it is a guardrail to my heart. It protects me from the intense hurt I feel as well. Clearly, I'm a woman of extremes. I feel intensely. But for the first time...maybe ever...outside of my faith...I felt truly seen.

I felt...seen. And more importantly...loved.

Social media can be dangerous. We all know that. And as an individual who utilizes all platforms to "be my brand" and "sell my wares," I'm even more aware of the dangers. I try to be very conscious of that. I try to balance the "pretty" with the down to earth. My desire has always been to be "real", not believe my press, and strive for authentic. Do I want to sell jewelry along the way? Of course. This is my livelihood. This is what I do. But I want you to keep coming back to my small space in the online world because you see more than the jewelry. And...you do. You really do. I felt yesterday. Really felt. And as exhausting and difficult and challenging as each piece of goal setting and business planning was - I looked at the mountain differently. Don't get me wrong...it's still a mountain. But. I am better equipped. Now I have gloves. Spikes. A helmet. Now I see the nooks and crannies where all I need to do is plant my foot and reach. You gave me tools. You gave me confidence. Now I can climb. Fearless.

Now I can climb. Fearless.

Fearless. My word for 2017. Let's do this whole new year thing. Shall we? Grab my hand. There are mountains that need climbing. Much much love, lisa P.S. If you live anywhere in the West Michigan area, I am having a trunk show open house and I'd love to see you there. The details are on Facebook, or scan the QR code below. I will be posting about it in my newsletter - if you aren't signed up yet, Click HERE