2009 Word-of-the-Year: ABUNDANCE

Note: December is Word-of-the-Year Month at Christine’s Blog. As we roll into another New Year, each day will feature a new guest author who chose one word as a way of setting intention for her whole year. Today’s guest is Kathy Troidle-Jackson. More about Kathy below.

Christine Kane’s suggestion to choose a word of the year instead of declaring a bunch of New Year’s resolutions has totally changed my life. I jumped at the chance to write a guest post about my experience with it.

Now instead of beating myself up that I’ve fallen off the wagon of yet another resolution, fostering more disappointment than joy, I “Uplevel my Year” by focusing on a single word. The word means different things at different times for me but always helps me think positively about whatever is going on in my life.

My word for 2009 was “Abundance.” The very thought of it still scares me, excites me, terrifies me, thrills me. There are many definitions for it but the one that resonates with me most is in Wikipedia where Abundance is defined as “Post scarcity or post-scarcity; describes a hypothetical form of economy or society, often explored in science fiction, in which things such as goods, services and information are free, or practically free.” It’s so much more than economic abundance as I have learned.

When I chose it we were, of course, in the middle of a terrible economy – 401Ks at record lows, unemployment rising, banks going out of business, huge companies needing government bailouts to survive. David and I had just completed a major home renovation. We had depleted most of our savings and still were not completely finished. David retired from IBM and was in struggling working as a consultant in a company that wasn’t taking off in the poor economy. Mine and other companies were doing layoffs right and left. We found ourselves pinching pennies and tightening those already tightened belts and feeling depressed and on edge every day.

By focusing on Abundance, even at the most scary times, I was able to look beyond the pressures of the debt and find ways of attracting wealth.

Here is just a sampling of some of the abundance that has come into our lives in 2009:

~ Despite the status of our bank accounts, we signed up for courses like Christine Kane’s Uplevel Your Business, Pam Slim’s “Escape from Cubicle Nation,” David got certified in the Wine Spirits and Trust (WSET) Intermediate and Advanced courses, I signed up for Tonya Leigh Williams’ “Lucious and Lean Living” Program.

~ Through these groups, we met amazing entrepeneurs who were starting and rocking their own businesses and lives. We connected to them and others on Twitter and Facebook and have found a tremendous abundance of support there for getting our own businesses rolling.

~ The economy has started to turn around and we were able to refinance, pay down our loans and credit cards and start building our businesses.

~ At work, I was able to turn my passion for helping women advance into a way to meet women at my client that I wouldn’t have met otherwise by hosting a joint women’s group event. This has built my reputation and set me apart from my peers.

~ Once David’s confidence was built with the wine certification under his belt, he easily secured a job at our local winery, Hudson-Chatham Winery and rapidly advanced to Director of Sales helping them double their business in just a few short months. He has earned tremendous respect and gets more and more responsibilities every day, building his peep network along the way.

~ David is now using the revenues he’s getting from the winery to launch his own local wine and business consulting company.

~ We organized and ran our first successful wine tour in Tuscany out of a beautiful villa called Ripertoli.

~ I have been inspired to start my writing career and have self published my first book, “White Dog Haikus and Things We Learned from our Westie” on Lulu inspired by the wonderful 5 ½ year old Westie we rescued and have ideas for many more. All the proceeds from my book sales will go to the Westie Rescue.

So instead of feeling badly looking back at some list of resolutions that fell by the wayside throughout the year as I choose new ones, I feel filled and overflowing with abundance in so many ways.

My word of the year for 2010 is Success. I am not sure what it means for me yet but I am excited just thinking about it.

So pick your word of the year and go for it! I am here to tell you that it can change your life in huge ways.

____________________

Kathy Troidle Jackson is married to the love of her life, is a long time IBMer, a new Westie owner and dog lover, and has recently launched her writing career with the book “White Dog Haikus and Things We Have Learned from Our Westie” self-published on lulu.com. All the proceeds from my book sales will go to the Westie Rescue. She enjoys anything involving her dog, singing, writing, good food and wine, and connecting with people.

Tagged as: christine kane, kathy troidle, new years resolutions, pam slim, uplevel your business, word-of-the-year

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