My 2020 Year in Review
I haven’t written a year in review since 2014, when my world turned upside down from suicide loss. In fact, I had written that year’s post before my loss and made a slight edit to include it after it went out… but never wrote one again. Much of what was normal for me ceased to be relevant, including my annual Year in Review.
This year, I want to give it a go again.
What went well:
I published my memoir, finally!
Unravel took me five years to write and publish.
I started writing it unknowingly in the first six months after my loss. Once I realized what I was writing, I had to stop to finish living out the ending. And even once I was done living it out, I still put off writing it because I knew it would be the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. It was. But it was cathartic and healing too.
I’m so proud of what I created and how it’s continued to help so many sweet souls worldwide navigate their own rising up and coming back. Even more exciting, it hit #1 New Release in FIVE categories!!
I published our second Awesome Life Tips® book!
Awesome Life Tips®: 365 Tips for the Dark Night of the Soul was six years in the making.
We culled through everything I wrote about loss, growth, healing, and doing hard things from the past six years and put it into this tips book, and I feel so good about what it became. After my loss, I couldn’t resonate with my original tips book because it lacked the depth that the new one has. I hope that it brings a bit of comfort, inspiration, and guidance to others walking through their own dark night of the soul.
I launched our podcast, Tales from the Journey!
This podcast has been brewing in my heart and soul for probably two years.
The podcast serves two purposes:
First, to help further the conversation on Call of the Void about what it takes to rise up and come back in the aftermath of challenging chapters and big life transitions, uncovering your purpose as you do.
And second, it’s the first phase of research for The Institute, which focuses on further developing, testing, and proving our life-purpose development methodology so we can apply it across various industries, audiences, and markets. The Institute is my life’s work and will a beast in and of itself to bring to life!!
I’ve been having incredible conversations with purpose-driven people from ALL walks of life, and I’m so proud of what we’ve created for this. We also went next-level, hiring Your Voice Better to help us produce it!
Subscribe and start listening now!
I bought a Christmas tree!
Even better? I fully celebrated Christmas.
My loss happened on the winter solstice of 2014, and I flew to the funeral on Christmas day. Needless to say, Christmas hasn’t historically been a merry season for me or something I was able to participate in. I got close last year when I made and mailed my Grandma’s biscochito cookies to my family.
But this year? This year I bought a tree, hung my stocking, made cookies, and gave gifts. That’s significant. Christmas decorations shining brightly at night still don’t hit my nervous system quite right, but I’m continuing to heal and reclaim things I’ve lost, and that’s all that matters.
I took a lot of adventures and solo trips over the summer.
Solo travel, exploring new places, and having new experiences is a balm for my soul.
Especially during a pandemic when it’s the safest way to travel!
I’m the happiest when I’m roaming, playing outside, and sitting by a campfire somewhere far away from cell service. I took weekend trips to Crested Butte all summer, basking in the 15°-20° cooler temps. I went to the desert and swam in the river. I trekked to Idaho and Wyoming and found the sweetest little spots.
It made my heart oh so happy!
You can follow my adventures on Instagram.
What went not-so-well:
Hello pandemic!
Truthfully, there are good and bad aspects of the pandemic for me.
I’ve personally not minded the slow-down in places to go, people to see, and travel for work. That said, I do miss my people. I hate that people are sick and dying. It breaks my heart to see so many individuals, families, and businesses impacted.
While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pausing in a pandemic, I do wish I’d moved into more action on things I wanted to do this year.
We didn’t hit #1 Bestseller with either book.
#1 New Release is truly awesome, and we did hit #3, #4, and #5 bestseller with Unravel back in January… which is WOW!! But, we didn’t get #1 Bestseller despite having the numbers to do so.
Why? Because we did a pre-order of the ebook a month before the book came out, which skewed our numbers. There was uncertainty around whether those sales would count on launch day, and they didn’t. Lesson learned. When self-publishing, don’t do a pre-order. Push ALL sales on launch day.
I tried really hard to move and failed.
First, I asked my dad about moving home to New Mexico for six months to save up money and pay off debt. I want to buy land, and I want to make it happen rapidly!
He said yes, and then the plan changed a month later.
So I started exploring where I could go with a lower cost of living and access to wide-open nature. After exploring Idaho and Wyoming, I settled on Montana! I applied to multiple apartments and never heard back, or they weren’t renting to out of state people with Covid going on. I got approved for one apartment, but someone scooped it up before putting down my deposit!! Argh.
Ultimately, it all worked out. I rekindled my relationship, resigned my lease for six more months, and am now getting ready to look for something more affordable here in Colorado.
I spent too much time on work that doesn’t light me up.
When the pandemic hit, I stuck with some things that didn’t really feel aligned for me anymore because it brought in consistent income in an uncertain time (are we all sick of that phrase, or what?!)
While ultimately it all worked out well and led to some fantastic opportunities and connections, it also heavily detracted from things that were important to me and is leading to a lot of reprioritizing in the New Year
What’s coming in 2021:
Twice this year, I’ve had clear visions for what’s next drop-in.
I’ve seriously never been more excited about my life or business.
I want to buy land and have a mostly off the grid farm!
This vision came clear to me over the summer, and I made this vlog about it:
The short: I want a different life. I want to immerse myself in nature, live in sync with the seasons, grow my food, and have tons of animals. I want a chunk of land that’s my own, and I don’t even care what I live in!
So I’ve been aligning myself, my life, and my work around this. The first step is lowering my cost of living to rapidly pay off my remaining debt this year and start saving to quickly purchase land.
I’m repositioning our media company and working towards a new, clear vision!
I’ve struggled with integrating all aspects of our brands and offerings clearly and cohesively for a good while. But, I finally see how to fit it all together. A detailed organizational chart dropped in for me in terms of brands, websites, funnels, and offerings. It will be a ton of work, but I’m so excited to start bringing that vision to life.
I’ve been working on my 2021 strategic plan, and I’ll share a new vlog about all of this soon.
Overall, 2020 was an interesting year, as it was for many.
It asked me to heal and grow in ways I didn’t plan to, but will be forever grateful for.
Regardless of what went well and what went not-so-well, I hope you celebrate making it through this wild year. Whatever you did was more than enough, and whatever you didn’t get to will be there when you’re ready.
Trust the unfolding.
We are always being shaped by life and our experiences.
Just keep leaning in.
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