2020 is about to enter it's final month.  To say it has been a strange year would be a colossal understatement, but where it has disrupted our daily lives, our children's' schooling and our business endeavors, it has also created substantial opportunities. 

I tend to travel a considerable amount during any given year, so being forced to more or less shelter in place, I used that "found" time to work on a number of things this year. 

For starters, I turned 50 this year.  It's a pretty monumental milestone for most, and my landmark birthday was celebrated during a voluntary 14 day quarantine, as our family had been on a cruise in the Caribbean when the first wave of the pandemic hit the United States.  When we left the Florida coast, there were four cases in the state, and by the time we got back a week later, there were 400. 

I can't complain a lot as my home and office are a mile and a half apart and I work by myself, so I wasn't disrupted a great deal.  But I did have a lot more time to think.  Think about how my Mom suffered so much in 2019 going through four back surgeries and was largely incapacitated for much of the year.  I made eight trips to help them last year and being around people who are largely incapacitated made me realize that I don't want to be in that condition when I'm older.  

So I spend a large part of 2020 working on myself.  I lost 30+ pounds, exercised every day of the week, started taking supplements, weening myself off of various medications, meditating, breathing, and generally getting into all around better condition. 

I spent a lot of time writing, too.  I published one book, The Brass Tacks Guide to Real Estate Entrepreneurship (www.BrassTacksBooks.com/REE) and have another on the way shortly after that.  I got a lot of marketing assets built and in place including several new websites.  I started a new podcast and am now four episodes in.  And I accomplished a number of other things as well. 

It just goes to show that you can make lemonade from lemons if you like at the bright side of any situation.  I've had more focused time and attention this year, for no other reason that I haven't had much choice. 

Don't get me wrong, I miss traveling terribly.  It is one of my passions.  And for someone with wanderlust, 2020 has been a challenge to say the least.  

It now seems like there is some light at the end of the Covid tunnel.  So as we turn the page on the calendar for the final time in 2020, I intend to make the most of December.  Yes, it's a time for family and the Holidays, but it's also a time for planning and ideas, renewal, and the excitement of what lies ahead and getting back to some semblance of normal. 

For that, I am extremely thankful. 

Happy Holidays!

Todd

The Adventure Consultant by Todd Smith

Subscribe to our Newsletter!