Hiya, January!
I love the exercise my one-time boss/mentor at Facebook, Carolyn Everson, had us do at the beginning of the new year. Each member of Carolyn’s team wrote a vision statement for the next year based on the prompt: “It is now December 2019, what does extraordinary success look like across work, family, community, health, friends?” We would share our vision statements, then revisit them each quarter. It was okay to tweak them along the way. The idea is that you put a plan in place against each part of your vision and you hold yourself accountable to it. The more clarity you have on what you want to happen in your life, the more likely it is to happen. I still like to jump into a fresh new year this way!
I won’t bore you with the full details of my vision (to be honest, I am still writing it) but here is what I envision reading when, twelve months from now, I look back on 2019.
DECEMBER 31, 2019
Dear Claire,
Livewell had a year to remember in 2019. I think we’re growing up nicely! Our two favorite words for the year were focus and discipline – in our design strategy, our marketing and how we operated the business. Our team has stayed lean and nimble and we realized after five years that the best way to do this is a focus on doing a few things well. We continued to refine and expand our collection by adding a few more design elements to the Anguilla and Nailhead collections and brought back two Livewell classic pieces (hint: dog tag and cross). We were excited to establish Livewell Custom -- a new part of our business that co-creates beautiful designs with our customers. We stayed on brand with our messaging – mix your metals, a few beautiful pieces and Livewell is the white tee and jeans of jewelry.
I am savvier about the booming world around me because I committed to “get smart” with one online course or conference a month – think Skill Share, Master Class or Fast Company Conference. The areas that I focused on were 1) where I struggle and need better-thinking tools 2) where I think the world is moving and 3) what inspires me.
I am healthier and leaner than ever before. I finally hydrated like a maniac and eliminated “just sweets” from my diet. I have not eaten one single Oreo all year and measured my water intake daily. I can finally do 5 chin ups by myself.
I created a discipline around me and my husband’s favorite phrase, “water what grows.” Each month (scheduled), we took stock of our life and identified what was working and what was not. We continued to eliminate what is getting in our way and we added more of what is working. This practice has resulted in one new and thriving business idea.
Signed, Me
Whatever your tradition is for starting off the New Year in a happy, healthy way, I wish you an exceptional year ahead of living well.
XO, CLAIRE
