Hello, late starters. It’s your host, Andrea Vahl And today is Christmas day. And if you do celebrate that Merry Christmas, if you celebrate some other holiday, I wish you all the best and all the joy for that. I just wanted to make a different episode. So today we’re doing something a little bit different because I didn’t want an interview for someone to come out on today when maybe People aren’t listening to podcasts.

So I wanted to give everyone the best shot at a great podcast audience. And if you are listening in, thank you for listening. So let’s get started with some of my thoughts for the end of 2023.

Hello, dreamers. Welcome to the late starters club, giving you the inspiration, mindset, and tools you need to start something midlife and beyond remember, it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

So today I am thinking about this season that’s maybe a little bit slower and I don’t know if you are slowing down or maybe it’s just too busy for you.

Maybe you’re just running around trying to get all the things done. I know how that is, but I think for some of us it’s maybe a little bit slower in our businesses. Things have a different energy right now and I definitely find that the end of the year is a time of reflection, a time of kind of assessment and really starting to look ahead to the next year.

And as I’m doing that, I wanted to share some things that were on my mind about how I’m reflecting and what I’m thinking about, because if you’re an entrepreneur or starting anything new or a late starter, considering a pivot or starting a new venture this might help you as well.

Look back and assess how far you’ve come this year. Celebrate all that you have accomplished and be grateful even for the things that did not go as planned.

Andrea Vahl: So one of the things I’m really, I really love to do at the end of the year is just look back. And kind of assess where I’ve come. I’m doing that with my comedy, with my business, and really taking a look at the path. And so when I’m looking at that, I’m looking back with gratitude. So that’s the first tip I wanted to give for you today is just really look back on your year with gratitude and take a look at how far you’ve come.

What you’ve accomplished and maybe what didn’t go so well and even give that gratitude because all of those lessons are just Growth opportunities, right? We are growing. We’re making mistakes at this time of life. And we are, growing into a new person all the time. And I think those kind of lessons can help us and help shape who we’re, who we are becoming.

So a couple of things that I’ve looked back with at the beginning of the year, I set goals. And I’m, I’m taking a look at them and I’m, I’m just reviewing that list and reviewing that document that I’ve created and saying, did this happen? Did this happen? And the fun thing is that a lot of my comedy goals.

Did happen. So I am excited about that. I set some goals for publishing content. I set some goals for how often I was going to perform and how many open mics I was going to go to. And that’s been super fun. I just actually came back from Japan last week. I did an open mic in Tokyo. So that was super amazing.

It was really scary. And I was terrified, honestly, to go in there and do it, but I went in and I did it and it turned out great. It was great. Lots of comedians were doing their sets in. Everyone was, everyone did it in English. Actually, they had the opportunity to do it in Japanese or English and everyone did it in English.

And my set went great. It was super fun. They actually invited me back for a different show. They couldn’t So that was a big win. I look, and I’m also looking back at my work goals and some of those did not go as well for my business. Just things happened. And I think one of the things I’m realizing is that I didn’t maybe set the right goals for my business that were sustainable for where my energy has been at this time and also some things were out of my control. And so what I always like to try and do when I’m setting goals is to only set goals that are under my control. And that involves like publishing content or, a certain number of outreach or a certain number of Activity types that are definitely under my control than I could do or certain, number of videos that I’m going to make, for example, for a course.

Those goals did not go as well, but I’m still giving gratitude for how my business has gone. I had a down year this year. And that being said, it’s still amazing, it’s still amazing. And I am so thankful for the amazing customers. I have amazing clients that I will get to work with the types of opportunities that come my way.

And I’m just giving all of those things gratitude. And I’m excited to start planning for 2024. Another. Thing I’m giving gratitude for is just some of my workout goals went really well. And that was some of the things, my competitions went really well. We actually won. This is starting to turn into like, a little like I’m bragging, but I think that’s the thing too, is that we don’t often brag enough. And we don’t often celebrate our wins enough. And that is something that I am so guilty of. So I am super grateful that my team won the camp gladiator team division in our age group at the national competition. And that was something that I. I was not even, again, not under my control, but we just trained as hard as we could.

And we were out there every weekend training and I love my team. I’m so grateful for my team. They are amazing and fierce competitors. And I’m just so grateful that I got that opportunity to train with some amazing people. So gratitude is just so important. And again, And celebration of those wins is important, but also gratitude for the things that didn’t go right.

Remember to give yourself some grace

Andrea Vahl: So the next thing I am doing is giving myself a little bit of grace. And when I’m looking at things that aren’t going as well, and I’m again, just saying, hey, let’s just give ourselves a little compassion around those things. Let’s understand that things can be really hard. Things can be really challenging out there and we’re still making progress.

We’re still. Able to move forward. Sometimes not as fast as we want. Sometimes things don’t go the way we pictured. There’s disappointment, certainly, but we’re giving ourselves grace in that moment.

Look to start setting your 2024 goals

Andrea Vahl: And the third thing I’m looking at is my goals. And while I’m spending a little bit more time, During December, just having a little bit of downtime resting a little bit.

I’m starting to think about planning for 2024 and what I want to put down for goals. I’m going to talk more about that on our. January 1st episode. That’s going to be coming out because I do have a very specific structure I go through and planning process I go through for my goals. And I’m going to share some of that on on the January 1st episode.

But I do start imagining my goals. I start, marinating on them a little bit, but also giving myself some downtime. I think that’s super important. And it’s also important. To give your goals a little space and just sit with them a little bit before you really dive in and start planning because you want to make sure things are really aligned with what you’re wanting to do. It’s not some outside force. It’s really coming from within.

So Those are some of my things that I’m doing this kind of quieter week business wise, even though I know lots of other things are going on. I’m just giving myself again, going back to that grace, giving myself a little grace that things aren’t.

Maybe pushing through as quickly as they can, or maybe this month is a little bit down financially for some people who are entrepreneurs or who have a cyclical pattern. I know for me, historically, December has always been one of my slowest months and I’m just honoring that and. Taking some time to rest during this time.

So I hope you also have some time to rest some downtime, some time to spend with family, friends, or doing things that you really want to do. And that will really re energize you for the coming new year. So thank you guys. I’m giving you guys some gratitude and just really appreciating you as a listener.

Thank you for tuning in. I just hearing your messages and hearing the reviews that you’ve given me has just really keeps me going. And I appreciate all that feedback and thank you for. For you, the listener, and here’s to a wonderful 2024. Can’t wait to have some of our fantastic guests coming up.

I’m super excited, so thanks everyone and talk to you again soon.

Hope that was helpful and make sure you grab the free guide top tools for late starters on the website at late starters club. com and let’s turn dreaming into doing.