Happy last Friday of 2023! Goodness gracious.
This is Jason Cannon with Ibis Books, and today I am engaging in blatant, outright thievery.
I am stealing an idea from one of my clients, a business leader and Chief of Staff expert named Emily. I do some ghostwriting and story coaching for her. She's out near Seattle! (The wonders of the internet, right?)
She was riffing with me about "New Year's Resolutions," and she shared how she is testing out a new mindset as 2023 flips to 2024.
Instead of only looking ahead and setting bunches of goals that will likely crash'n'burn before January flips to February, she is doing some hard core reflection, and asking herself: "Who Would Have Ever Thought?"
As in: "Who would have ever thought that in 2023 I would launch a podcast???" She sure did, even though she is (well, WAS) terrified of public speaking.
So the reverse engineering goes like this. Think about yourself on December 31, 2024. Yes, 2024. And imagine yourself asking Who would have ever thought?
What wonderful things might pop up for you to enjoy and accomplish next year?
In terms of Ibis Books, here's what the 2023 version of "Who Would Have Ever Thought??" might go...
WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT...
- That Ibis would launch two collections of poetry, four memoirs, and a children's book, all in one year??
- That I would have two smash hit world premieres? The Stevie Wonder cabaret at Florida Studio Theatre, and the one-man show CLOWNS LIKE ME with the newly formed Lifeline Productions, using art to dent the stigmas around mental health?
- That I'd run my first dang full marathon?
- That we'd find a forever home for a Rottie named Mahgeetah?
- That in addition to Emily, I'd find wonderful clients ranging from West Virginia to Chicago to Texas to Switzerland to Australia?? (Seriously. Internet. Wow.)
None of this was accomplished on my own. If I were giving a Who would have ever thought awards show speech, the orchestra would have to play me off long before I got through my thank-you's.
I bet if you pull an Emily and ask yourself Who would have ever thought??... you'll find plenty of 2023 goodness to celebrate and be grateful for.
I wish you not just a Happy New Year, but a 2024 jam-packed with a new and awesome batch of Who would have ever thoughts.
Jason "Thief of Good Ideas" Cannon
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