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3 January 2012
Dancing, reflecting and, of course, new year resolutions
Well that was
an interesting year, for more reasons than I would be
happy to admit in public. And really, my year didn’t
even start until April. As usual it flew by far too
quickly to notice exactly what went on, but some days
stand out clearly as memory makers. My favourite was
quite possibly the Flashmob which @Suebeedoo found by
randomly Googling when she should have been working. At
four of my absolute favourite places in London –
Greenwich, Southbank, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden
– a few of us, along with about 300 strangers, sang and
danced without a care in the world, and for once people
smiled rather than picking us out of the crowd as
weirdoes. In fact a lot of my best things last year
involved singing and dancing around the capital – the
Rocky Horror Show in Leicester Square, the outrageous
and very funny comedy club, various parties, Bar
mitzvahs, engagements, karaoke, a lovely wedding, JR’s
sunset pretend Beatles concert and picnic in Canary
Wharf… (But sadly no Halloween party at Bro-Lo’s.)
Those of you who follow me on Twitter might have noticed
that I also dance about at home a lot, usually to 80s
club stuff, and there’s a simple reason I do that:
because I still can.
This year’s
got off to a very acceptable start too… loads of fun at
Mel’s on Saturday, excellent ice cream cake, mojitos
that looked like a garden and games that had us
crumbling in laughter. I wasn’t allowed to wear my
pirate’s outfit but Steve showed everyone the photos
anyway, so I really might as well have worn it! Bed at
4am – very late for me – then up again at 10 to get
ready for parties on New Year’s Day at Gill’s, then SP’s.
Everyone in normal clothes.
Anyway, my
mentors say I should forget dancing and dressing up
today and reflect on strategic successes. Liking techno
pop and fancy dress doesn’t mean I’m not commercially
savvy, but there’s a time and a place, so I’m told. So
I’m pleased to note that I exceeded my business plan
during 2011. As you may have noticed, I rebranded and,
even as we speak, I am creating a new website. (This
will keep me busy for the next few evenings so here’s
hoping no one force-forfeits me in any on-line scrabble
games!) Rebuilding a business after an unexpected break
isn’t easy, but the networking has fallen into place
more seamlessly than I dreamed possible. My diary is
filling up with training dates, motivational talks and
strategic planning sessions for the next few months and
it’s starting to look worrying whether I’ll have time
for lunch dates as regularly as I’d like…
I definitely
peaked a bit early this year with the festivities and
now Wizzard is getting on my nerves. But they do offer
sound advice when they say ‘Look to the future now, it’s
only just begun.’ We all know that this is the time for
new beginnings. I don’t know if you make New Year
resolutions, I definitely have never met anyone who
sticks to them if they do. But I’m making plans anyway
- to write my book, be a bit more tolerant, spend more
time helping at the therapy centre, make dinner at least
twice a week, prune the roses on time and follow up all
business enquiries within four hours. Not
unreasonable. Hopefully I can manage at least one of
them.
So take your
cup of kindness yet and have an amazing year ahead –
healthy, successful, profitable, fun and, most
importantly, happy. Starting today. As we shrieked
with the flashmob: all you need is love; and I know it’s
gonna be – a lovely dayyyy… Follow me into 2012 and
make every day lovely: @WeekendWitch. Or
Ren@imaginativetraining.com
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