I hope you had a safe and nourishing holiday season.

And before we dive into The Game-changers I want to take a quick pause and honour that we made it through another (insert a hundred different adjectives…hard, wild, beautiful, brutal, amazing…) year!

I’m a huge advocate for reflection.

Alignment and freedom start with truly understanding who you are, what you value and what you want.

Clarity is the most powerful driver in your business and life. And at times, finding it can feel like one hell of a long walk in the dark.

Like many, I’ve experienced lots of changes in the last few years that required a whole new understanding of myself and my world.

And after what feels like decades of navel gazing (as my Dad calls it), healing, learning and out right excavation, as we move into this new year, in so many ways, I am different and ready for 2022.

One of the most powerful parts of the DDA reflection and planning process is to identify The Game-changers. The changes, shifts, decisions, actions (started or stopped) that had the biggest impact in your business and life.

They’re not always the bold leaps taken but the smaller shifts, habits, and practices that cause the biggest ripples.

It’s one question asked in two different contexts.

First, in review – What were the real Game-changers of last year (or quarter etc.)?

Next, forecasting – What will be the real Game-changers of the year ahead (or quarter etc.)? You may wonder how it’s possible to foresee what some of the Game-changers may be but when you play with this question you’ll realize how much you already know.

To do this, look at your vision and goals for the year ahead and walk yourself to the end of the year, “look back” on the last 12 months and ask yourself… What were the real Game-changers?

And for good measure, throw in this one… What got in the way?

This will very quickly guide you to see what had the biggest impact, where the potential is so you can focus and clear the blocks.

So, here are my Game-changers and some lessons of 2021.
My hope is that it may provide you with some valuable insights as you reflect on your business and life.

BUSINESS:

(1) Changes in program structures and offers.

• The DDA Business Academy Changed: Enhanced the training, added more touch points for direct strategy and moved to to a rolling open. This provided an overall better program, experience and results, flexibility and greater access for our clients and a welcome move away from strict launch cycles.
• The DDA Method Program Closed: The right but difficult decision. The format wasn’t serving clients in the best possible way and I recognized that I wasn’t thriving with the ongoing split in focus running two twelve month long programs.
  
  The program closed with transparency, integrity and by providing even more value to our clients and I quickly found renewed focus and energy.
• The Entrepreneurs’ Money Immersion Launched: This course has been inside The DDA Business Academy and I’d been called to run it as an independent program for years.
  
  So after several synchronistic inquiries and with more capacity, it went live in the Spring. Not only was it successful, I absolutely loved running the program which will launch again in early 2022!

Lesson: Listen to your intuition and pay very close attention to what your clients are asking for! You can create products and offers that not only serve your clients but are also in alignment with what works for you!

(2) One word: Systems. We invested a tremendous amount of time and resources into upgrading and streamlining our systems, policies and procedures. We changed our onboarding process and client management, automated everything we could and built out our SOPs. This was key in being able to expand the team.

Lesson: Your systems can make or break your business and they can make or break you. Invest in expertise and support and build your systems AS IFyour business has tripled.

(3) Hired Two New Team Members. My long time, co-pilot made the difficult decision to leave her position. This provided an incredible invitation to return to my vision so I could really identify the team this business needs to grow.

Then I hired AS IF that 18 month vision has already come to fruition and found two incredible women to join the team.

Lesson: Making tough yet aligned decisions creates a ripple that will require those impacted to make a choice. It’s often a call to rise and grow in their own way and how they respond is not your responsibility.

Taking action AS IF your business (and life) is already at the next level of evolution is the fastest way to success. Which brings us full circle to how critical it is to find clarity first.

PERSONAL LIFE:

(1) I stayed the course with my mental, spiritual and health practices.After immersing myself in structured therapies and learning new practices to heal my brain and body in 2020, this year I took a break from therapy, slowed down and simply stayed the course.

I still experienced some anxiety and had several Groundhog Day moments but continued to consistently implement what works and ultimately through integration and new experiences, built a whole new level of trust in myself.

Lesson: Trust is your greatest companion. Honour the different seasons in your life, get all the support when you need it and stay the course.

(2) I took more time off, traveled and had fun with those I love. This summer I spent a lot of time with my son, my friends and family. I ventured more locally, went to Shuswap Lake, visited Bowen Island, travelled to Montreal and spontaneously landed on a beautiful lake in Ontario with a very special person who’s come into my life.

I laughed more this summer than I have in years and was reminded of the free-spirited girl who spent over a decade running around the world.

Lesson: Time with loved ones and laughter in new places is some of the best medicine. And how privileged and grateful I am to have these experiences.

(3) I practiced surrendering, letting go and receiving. Unexpected things that happened this year and the more I leaned back, released the grip and trusted… the more I realized that ultimately, I was receiving exactly what I was meant to.

Lesson: For me, there’s a sweet spot held in clarity and focused action and alignment and surrender. The masculine and the feminine. Your plan and the divine’s.

It’s a dance. One that seems to get easier based on the depth of clarity I hold and the more I let go of the attachment to exactly how it’s going to unfold.

I would love to know what your Game-changers were for 2021!

I look forward to sharing what’s on deck for 2022 in the next dispatch.

Here’s to powerfully leaning into this New Year, honouring the season you’re in and choosing the music you’re going to dance to.

PS: I’ve got some new free tools headed your way this year! Stay tuned!