photo credit: alexkerhead

The end of December is always full of parties and year-end lists. This one is no different, except, well, there are decade-end lists, too.

It’s a good time to stop and think about what you accomplish this year, and what you want to accomplish next year.

Did you have goals for your business and for yourself? Did you accomplish them? Do you have goals for next year? Are they aggressive enough, or are you sandbagging? Can you push yourself to do more?

Was 2009 the year you took a risk? Made big changes? Got laid off? Figured out next steps? Went back to school?

Is 2010 the year you’ll make a big change in your career? Start a business? Go back to school?

A year is a long time while you’re living it, but easy to compress into a snapshot in retrospect. What you take away as the memorable moments from 2009 will define what the year meant in your life. You have a chance to influence what those will be in 2010. What will you remember?

Happy Monday! Go get ‘em, tiger.

photo credit: melalouise

This year, I started a web marketing optimization company (called [meta]marketer) and we’re truly doing well. I found a business partner I respect and admire and who shares many of my core values, and we hired someone with a lot of smarts and talent and who also wants to make a positive influence on the the world. We’re small, but we’re growing, and we have big plans.

And then there’s this blog, which has been a great opportunity for me to focus my thoughts and remind myself why it’s important to me to lead with integrity and be a force for positive change in the business community, however small my impact. Sometimes it’s a lot to keep up with, especially when I’m up to my ears in leads I need to follow up with and client meetings to attend to, but it’s worth having a place to come back to and renew my passion for good in business.

And of course, there’s my life partner, who, despite being wired for art and beauty and hedonism and everything non-corporate, understands my corporate idealism and patiently puts up with my excessive work hours and workload.

I’m healthy, I’m happy, I have good prospects ahead of me, and I love the people around me.

If that’s not success, I don’t know what is.

I hope you have a wonderful, happy, healthy Thanksgiving and a restful long weekend, and that you come back to work next Monday recharged and ready to do good work.