Tweet

What A Beautiful Year

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: It was a weird year, and in many ways, a difficult year. It was a year of uncertainty, even a year of adversity for many people. It was a mean year for politics, a brutal year for business, and a disastrous year for the economy. But it was also a beautiful year....

What A Beautiful Year

Don't Lose Sight Of What Makes Life Worth Living It was a weird year, and in many ways, a difficult year. It was a year of uncertainty, even a year of adversity for many people. It was a mean year for politics, a brutal year for business, and a disastrous year for the economy. But it was also a beautiful year.

At the end of 2011, people seeking inspiration (and those, like my clients, who seek to be more inspirational as leaders) would be well-served to look back on the year with a view toward appreciating the beauty they might've missed in the daily stress of dealing with the cares of the world. Focusing on the bad stuff will only feed your inner "Victim." Whether or not you own your own business, you'd be better off feeding your inner "Entrepreneur" - the take-charge, better part of your own nature.

I had a beautiful year... and so did you. In my case, I have the good fortune to be able to look back on great beauty, from January's brunch overlooking the Pacific to July's tee-shot overlooking the valleys of Telluride. But some of the most wonderful beauty is in the everyday stuff. If you are able to read this, you have a blessed life full of beauty if you'll only look around to see it.

Just a few days ago, I had a senses-filling feast of beauty as I joined some friends to sing Christmas carols at an outdoor shopping center. My friends, world-class singers, might've seen the event as "just another gig." That takes nothing from them... we all miss (or fail to fully appreciate) some of the most profound beauty in our lives. But for me, the combination of several kinds of beauty... the sound of our marvelous harmonies, the feel of the crisp air, the sight of the festive decorations, the aroma of a wood-burning fire, and even the flavor of the particularly-tasty coffee I enjoyed on our break... filled me with holiday joy. I was in the moment, and I think my love of the beauty around me was infectious at times to those around me, from my friends to the new people I had the privilege to meet.

I found the evening inspiring, and I know that I must be inspired myself before I can be an inspirational leader for others. For that reason, I try to seek out opportunities to feed my inner Entrepreneur, and the more I do so, the easier it becomes to find beauty and inspiration all around me. The same is true for my clients, and the same will be true for you.

Your inner Victim is not looking for inspiration, nor for beauty. That part of you (and it's a part of all of us) wants to see the dreary, even the ugly in life. It sees the world as bad, and always getting worse. So if you find you're missing a lot of the beauty in your life (or if you read the assertion above - the one about how beautiful your life is - with a thought of "That doesn't apply to me"), consider which side of your own nature you've been feeding. Give your inner Entrepreneur a good meal, and see if you don't start finding beauty and inspirational all around you, every day.

Count your blessings. Seek out inspiration. And take a moment or two to look back at the beauty of your life in 2011. It'll be fulfilling to you in ways you may not be able to articulate... and it'll be a great exercise to prepare you to appreciate a beautiful 2012.

Related Articles
  Italy vs Holland
  You Need to Feel Good No Matter What!
  Why Swim with Sharks When You Can Swim with Dolphins
  Estee Lauder Beautiful
  Is It Urgent?
  Dixie Cream Donut Co (US) Awards Middle East Franchise Rights
  Lesson #5: Have a Message
  Introverts - More of a Transparent than Social Butterfly
  Colors In The Web
  A Beautiful and Loving Life
  Baggage is Beautiful
  Lesson #4: Leave A Strong Impression
  Perfect Vacation at Caribbean Luxury Resorts
  Smart Women Are Great Gardeners
  What Kind of Freedom Choices Are You Making For 2011?
  Tips on Creating New Resolutions and Personal Goals
  An Uncertain Trumpet Makes Only Noise and Will Not Deliver Your Business Results
  Big Beautiful Bamboo
  What Makes You Happy? 10 Habits
  Do you sell products or dreams

Article Tags: entrepreneurship, health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility



Related Forum Posts
How to valuate a business - Hi Garth - here is how we did it at Northern Crown Capital when I was helping them raise venture capital for Toronto-based entrepreneurs. Assume the start date is 2003 so 2008 projections are 5 years out: How Northern Crown Capital Valuates a Business 2008 Financial Projections Earnings Before Tax $5,865,000 Tax Rate 42% Taxes $2,463,300 Net Earnings $3,401,700 Amount Seeking to Raise Today $3,500,000 Discounted Value of Future Opportunity, 5 Years Out 2008 P/E Ratio 15 Value of Company in 2008 $51,025,500 Discount Rate Applied 30% Year 2008 $51,025,500 Year 2007 $35,717,850 Year 2006 $25,002,495 Year 2005 $17,501,747 Year 2004 $12,251,223 Value of Company at Investment in 2003 $12,251,223 Less: Investment Amount $3,500,000 Present Value $8,751,223 Discount for Risk & Private Company 40% Less: Discount for Risk & Private Company $3,500,489 Private Company Value $5,250,734 Present Value (What the Owner Keeps) $5,250,734 60.00% Financing (What the Investor Gets) $3,500,000 40.00% Total $8,750,734 100.00% I hope this helps!
Re: HAPPY NEW YEAR! - Happy New Year!
New Year - New Resolutions? - Anybody got any goals they'd like to share for the New Year?
Re: Hi Everybody - Thanks a million GT Have a Happy New Year
Re: Happy New Year - Happy New Year Everyone! Here's to reaching your goals and beyond in this new year and new decade!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

In the Year 2020 . . . Process

Fear Factors in Small Business: Sales & Marketing

Qualities of Leadership Part 1

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.