It’s always worth taking time to look back on the year before…..to reflect on personal experiences, to evaluate successes and failures, and to get excited about the future.
In my case 2011 turned out to be the most significant year of my professional life – To many of you this will come as a surprise as I sold my former company (Pepperjam) in 2009, which was a reasonably significant professional success and about 1 1/2 years prior to that published my first book.
Why wouldn’t the acquisition of PJ to a publicly traded company or writing a book be the coolest or “most significant” years of my life?
Clearly both were great years…and there have been many others that have been very important to my professional life.
However, past accomplishments (while significant at that time) are little more than stepping stones to future opportunities and achievements.
In fact, if you consciously and effortfully leverage past experiences and achievements….one by one by one…..you build incredible momentum that serves to position yourself for even great future accomplishments.
Think about it.
Many entrepreneurs who enjoy successful exits end up never being seen again. That’s unfortunate. It’s an opportunity lost.
Other entrepreneurs achieve a certain level of “success” and have great difficulty managing it. In some ways – I too have experienced the difficulty….at least as it relates to managing expectations of others. One of the most challenging things is
The truth is – life isn’t about any destination per say, but about the journey.
It’s about the experience.
It’s about what’s possible, not what’s already been accomplished.
As I look back on 2011 here are a few of the most significant experiences I cherish, the milestones reached (personally and professionally), and a few of the things that I accomplished professionally that make me especially enthusiastic about 2012.
January 2011
– Meet with numerous prominent venture capitalists to raise money for a new venture I’m carefully contemplating; numerous investors take interest and are very supportive
– Begin discussions with several major prospective business partners, including one that quickly asks me to stop talking with other investors….that partner (Times Shamrock Communications) ends up leading a major investment in my new start-up, which would later be called ReferLocal.com.
February 2011
– My wife Robyn gives birth to our third child (a boy!!!) – Jackson Martin Jones; that makes three under three……two boys (Kris Jr. and Jackson) and one girl (Lauren)
March 2011
– I start expanding my