2016 has been a big year for me with many changes, challenges and also a few standout successes that I want to share with you. I've never been great at stopping to celebrate achievements and given that I've decided to focus on Gratitude in 2017, what better way than to have a look at my past year and to stop and drink a celebratory glass of champagne to the four greatest successes of the last year. Funny thing is, they all end in the letters "te".
Kate
One word - Kate - my part time assistant. She started working with me at the end of January 2016 and is revolutionising the way I work (one baby-step at a time).
2016 was my year to learn to Delegate and I'm so lucky to have found my amazing and fabulous assistant Kate who is so much more web savvy than me and has steered the website through a whole host of technical issues (it had gotten to a size where it had started breaking down) so that I've not got an improved and faster website so that you get a better user experience. She stayed up past midnight to talk to help desks in the USA to get things fixed as quickly as possible. Thats dedication and I'm forever grateful for her initiative and incredible work ethic, along with her fun and fabulous personality. Plus she worked uncomplainingly with me through the noise of power saws, nail guns, compressors and all sorts of tradesmen interruptions as my office was the one room in the house that was left almost untouched.
Renovate
This year, after 2 years of planning, we renovated our house. Not just in a small way. We basically rebuilt our house from the walls in, adding a second story and entirely rebuilding the existing ground floor, moving the rooms and creating a whole new space. We had to move out for 6 months (to a dodgy rental property) and moved back in a week before Christmas. It's not quite finished, there are a few little things to complete, but it's so fantastic to be back home and enjoying our new space (particularly as over the Christmas break we're having lots of family and friends to stay and we now have the room so they're not sleeping on the floor in my office). Oh, and I finally got, for the first time in my life, a walk-in-wardrobe!
I will be sharing with you soon more about this experience, once everything is finished, including photos of the house!
Ignite
In 2016 I finally got a new program launched. With all my blogs technical glitches (and there were sadly many which started in December 2015 and continued through til around August of 2016 when we finally got everything sorted out (and boy did that take up a lot of time and energy and more than a few tears along the way), it didn't leave lots of time for creativity and development. But with Kate's assistance in sorting out the stuff that just hurts my head, I managed to create the bones and fill in the content of my latest 12 month style program, Ignite Your Style Genius.
Congregate
And finally I want to say a big "thank you" to you. Yes you, who congregate here on the blog, on my Facebook, Instagram and other social media avenues. Who partake in my online programs ( Evolve Your Style and 7 Steps to Style) who share, who inspire and who become a family whose only wish for the others is that they too grow in confidence and style in their own unique way.
Your emails inspire me. Your enthusiasm, challenges and curiosity drive me and make me better at what I do. Your openness to change and new ideas, no matter your age or stage of life. That so many of you come up with the answers to each others style and colour dilemmas makes me truly happy - the students become the teachers - and that for me so so incredibly fulfilling, to witness your growth.
I love it when you share your expertise (and I get to publish it here on the blog - with fabulous dyeing tips from Bernadette and shoe buying from Debra, alterations tips from Toni and her Sewing Sisters), you all have skills that you can share and do so in a generous way.
Your comments here on the blog, your emails personally to me with your experiences really do make my days brighter and happier, and I hope that you get at least a little of that back for yourself!
Happy New Year!
Tell me, what are the successes you are grateful for from the past year?
