by Heather Green
What a year 2016 has been! People died that have never died before, Brexit and the New President Elect of the US rocked the world, and the earth never stopped spinning despite all the chaos. Amidst all the changes, scary uncertainties, and emotions looming the one thing we can always count on is that nothing ever stays the same.
So how do we start new, why do we even need to start new, and why is starting over an important part of life?
From 1919-1921 the printing industry was at its highest point. Papers, magazines, phone books were driving the economy and making good money. Fast forward 70 years to the birth of the internet and within a couple years the printing industry saw its sharpest declines forcing several magazines, newspapers and other print material to make a huge shift. Some of those companies weren’t ready ( even though they had 70 years to plan) and because of that they were forced to close their doors. Other companies like the Wall Street Journal, NY Times ran with the times and moved to digital formatting and followed the trends. because of that they are still around. Yes, some people still buy newspapers and magazines but those numbers pale in comparison to those people reading online and on their phones. Just because something technically works, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on being ready for change. 
For me personally, 2016 was the year of WOW! In a good and bad way. I met so many of my personal goals and expectations only to be met with equal amount of pressure and stress in other ways. And as much as I wanted things to stay the same, to stay comfortable, to stay do able, I was stuck in phone book mode and was resistant to mold with the times.
Starting over is not only important its necessary if you want to see growth. For one month I was able to commit to eating “clean”. I gave up cookies, sweets, I ate nothing but leans meats, and no beer ( that was big for me!) I lost weight and felt good, but I also stopped losing weight. My body became complacent and I hit a plateau. In order to see growth and see results you have to be ready to switch it up. When I added one glass of wine back, and a cookie treat here and there I saw my body start to change again. Because change is what fuels our drive.
Starting new is scary, but equally important as starting over. Many people confuse or lump starting new and staring over into one category. And they both need to be challenged if you want to see a different result.
In order to start my weight loss process I needed to start over with new eating habits, and I needed to start new with how I approached and lived through food. For 8 years of my career I enjoyed a very secure niche market. I knew my customers, I cold handle my workload and things flowed. Then the market changed and I wasnt ready to start over or start new. For 2 years my business suffered. I was aggravated instead of productive, I was scrambling instead of planning and because of that I learned a hard lesson.
So how and what do I mean by starting over and starting new?
In 2016 my President of FAB events stepped down and pushed me to start new and start over. Obviously this wasnt something I prepared for nor wanted but it encouraged me to put real effort and thought into starting over and new. But how? And who? And what? In order to be effective in starting new you have to remember that you don’t and wont have all the answers. I went through the stages of stress, being scared, feeling overwhelmed and then I sat myself down and started making a plan.
I could either let fear and stress defeat me or I could move forward working towards results.
I made a column of things I felt we were currently doing right, things we were missing the boat on, things I just didn’t like to do, things I didn’t understand, and goals I had for FAB Events. Then I spoke to my partners about it. Many times we are scared to talk to someone about change and our ideas. And because of that ideas die before they are ever born. The important part of the list, things I didn’t understand, is a crucial part because it ties into missing the boat. When I brought my list to my partners they had great feedback and we started with a great launching pad for a new beginning.
Once you are ready to start over, now you have to start with some new habits. Take the list of things that didn’t work and write an idea by its side. I once did a convention that sucked so bad. It was the worst, the energy, the crowd, the money wasted. I only attended out of guilt and fear that I would sever a good business relationship. So when the opportunity came around to plan for 2017, I decided that didn’t work and I was going to start over with a different mindset. Not only will I save the funds I wasted, I will also have that time make plans for something that would be more beneficial and productive.
If you balanced your books and at the end of the year saw a loss, its time to make a list of what didn’t work. If you found that you are charging too little and as a result you weren’t making enough to turn a profit its time to start new with a new price structure.
If you found yourself needing more help, struggling to call clients back and lagging on your bookkeeping, its time to start new with a different approach to your business and think about hiring someone part time to help with your bookings and paper work. If you spent lots of time trying to make a relationship ( business or personal) work and it kept showing you that a fresh start is needed now is a better time than ever to follow the directions of the universe.
No one knows what 2017 has in store for us. You can get a head start by being reading for a change, a change that will bring you happiness, prosperity, freedom, and growth. You might not have all the tools, money, or time. But the sooner you start moving the easier the process will be.
I am spending this weekend making my new goal digging vision board. I say it every year, and I will remind you once more. If you don’t have a map, how do you know where you want to go? Your vision board isn’t set in stone, it can change, expand, increase, decrease and it should throughout the year. You aren’t a tree you can move and grow. Get started on your plan to start new. 01-01-17 is a a mental porthole to a new beginning. In reality its just another day, but for our minds its a new start to a new season. Use that power, harness it and whatever you do, make plans to inlcude happiness in your future. Because a happy you is the best version of you!
Happy New Years friends. I will share my vision board next week and I look forward to seeing your vision boards too! Enjoy your family, your health and your friends. All the money in the world cant buy you more time to do any of that 
xoxoxox Heather Green
