Thinking Thinks About 2009

"My thinks are what get me in trouble." JoJo in Seussical the Musical
It's a brand new year. Time to think some new thinks...
2008 was a year of great turmoil - the drought, crazy gas prices, pre-election paralysis, massive layoffs, unprecedented bailouts, plunging real estate values, massive foreclosures.
In 2008, I witnessed changes I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Still, like that cute little curly-headed girl in the musical Annie, I believe that the storm is over and that the sun WILL come out tomorrow.
Although 2008 was a year of financial devastation for many, I believe that 2009 will be an unprecedented year of financial opportunity.
My personal theme for 2008 was "Happy and Healthy in 08."
Despite the turmoil, I would say that I had a pretty happy and healthy year overall. Although I had a lot of successes on the business front, I 'd say my biggest accomplishment - by far - was in losing 50 pounds! Yes, five-o, fifty! Yippee! Let me tell you, when you lose 50 pounds, you are a heck of a lot happier and healthier! Whoo hoo!
My theme for this next year: "2009 is My Year to Shine!" I'm already off on a good start!
This year, I'm going to continue to focus on a couple of things that are GUARANTEED to yield results - my health and my education.
I'm going to continue to learn about ways to get healthier and to have more energy. I'm going to start sharing what I have learned with others. I hope that I can help a lot of people break through some of the barriers that held me back for years and contributed to my declining health.
I'm going to continue to learn about ways to improve my business - how to help my ATCM franchisees make more money, how to develop a digital "community" that complements our ATCM print magazines, how to use the internet to build my businesses.
As the old saying goes, "we teach that which we most need to learn."
To that end, I am excited to be launching my Kick Butt Business Building Series where I will use 21st century tools to help other small business owners learn how to build their businesses.
By using teleseminars, webinars, virtual meetings and other internet-based technologies, I will be teaching entrepreneurs around the world about many aspects of business building. I will have a strong focus on marketing - especially the integration of using multiple channels to reach people - online and offline.
I'm doing a lot of thinking about the trends I see emerging in 2009 - trends affecting business, health, relationships and more. The future is looking VERY INTERESTING indeed