Starting the year off with positive vibes for everyone!

These last few days we’ve seen the annual slew of typical stories us media types love to do around New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

It could be a “look back and look ahead” column, a “year in photos” spread, a “our best stories” news piece, a “story of the year” or “people of the year” or (insert topic) of the year round-up, etcetera, etcetera.

And normally I would do something similar, but it didn’t feel like 2023 deserved much of a look back. In fact, my first column idea I told to my beautiful wife was going to have the theme of “F*** 2023!”

After all, from a personal perspective, we lost a lot of amazing people last year (the first time I get to write “last year” in 2024). Four people in my immediate circles (three family members and a good friend) are no longer with us in the physical form.

All four brought amazing contributions to the world – and not just their immediate family, but to their communities as well.

There were also many losses for people I know that were not in my immediate circle, which contributed to a less than festive holiday season (no snow also had a hand) as we were left missing the ones who weren’t around to share the cheer.

I was going to go further into all of 2023’s downs with not enough ups to balance (though there were plenty of good times had and career-wise I’ve been more focused than ever on my goals).

Then, my old friend from way back in the day, Frank Waszkun asked a question to everyone on LinkedIn. The question (I’m paraphrasing slightly) was to describe your outlook for 2024 in one word.

I reflected on that and came up with “optimistic.” Let’s all commit to being optimistic about 2024 and commit to being our best selves as much as possible this year.

My optimism is not because 2024 could not be worse than 2023, but because I have reachable goals on both a personal and professional level that require me to look ahead with positive vibes to achieve them.

The seeds have been planted over the last few years, they’ve been nurtured, and now it’s time to help them grow.

Of course, I’ll need support and help, but that’s where the positive energy comes to play. I’ve been lucky to have kept great relationships with intelligent, motivated, and successful individuals (not all success is simply dollars and cents) that I know are cheering for me.

Here’s the best part, I’m cheering for them too. I’m cheering for all of you and all of us to have a fruitful and fantastic 2024.

I’ll leave this post short and sweet with a heartfelt “Happy New Year to all!”