First Toast of the New Year
I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living.
I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.
All that you sought and didn’t find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it out with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed but didn’t dare to do, all that you hoped for but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have – these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.
I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to him who said, “Behold I make all things new.”
I am the New Year.
~Author Unknown
ANTICIPATION? AMBIVALENCE? New Year’s Eve has many conflicting moments – hopes, fears, regrets, excitement, all dressed up in one euphoric, glittering bash! The opportunity with each New Year is that fresh new page, a calendar, scheduler of new adventures, an oasis from the humdrum of daily living and working, a chance to refresh, recommit, and be renewed. If only we can seize the day!
2022 was a good year for many of us, a so-so year for others. But that was yesterday. What’s past is truly behind us, irretrievable, finished… and needs to stay there, the anguish, remorse, lost deals, even those once-in-a-lifetime, big-deal successes. What is ahead of us is what really matters now. Will 2023 be your best year ever?
To move forward, toss out that old calendar of unfilled spaces, wasted opportunities, and ignored relationships. Look at the clean, blank pages marked “2023.” Each of us determines what’s filled in each day or left blank. Each of us has the ability to do the right thing for our business or put it off – relentless prospecting, managing every lead and transaction. Staying engaged in the marketplace. We’re able, but are we willing to do what is critical? Contrary to popular opinion, we have more control of our destiny than we care to admit. But we must reaffirm our beliefs, polish our skills, set aggressive goals and ACT upon them, not just argue away those aspirations, or let others tell us we’re foolish or unrealistic. Our toughest critic is that nagging naysayer inside each of us reminding us to stay within our zones of complacency, to venture out never ever! Maybe it’s time to throw them out too, the cynicism and self-doubt, the desire to be merely acceptable rather than excellent. To grow steadily and permanently, we must be singularly focused and determined. We must quickly assimilate the new normal of today’s economy and propel ourselves toward far greater things. Otherwise, it’s another purposeless year of waiting and wandering and worrying for good luck to show up. The wait can be long and excruciating, and self-defeating.
We at CBC Metro Brokers are proud of our achievements in 2022, our preeminence within the worldwide CBC network, our 150% increase in commercial revenue, our significantly higher per-person-productivity, where more agents are contributing to our collective growth and stellar reputation. Our services to you were expanded in 2022, not cut back. But I’m not satisfied or should you be. Think bigger and better, a dollar short of impossibility. Make that your first toast of the New Year!
Written by Marty Rueter