I like to think that 2020 was just one bad day.
Not sure about you, but did every day this year seem to roll into one? Well, I have chosen to look at it this way because it’s much easier to brush off one bad day than a year.
I recall my excitement, even relief when the clock struck 12am on 1 Jan 2020. This was going to be a year full of huge potential, remember all the marketers with their Clear Vision in 2020 mantras. It just had a positive vibe to it!
Who would have expected the Covid-19 curveball!
I am not here to dwell on the C word (I had my pity party earlier this year when my travel business collapsed overnight – yes none of you were invited as we were in isolation – this is something you can be grateful for), I am here to actually say I am grateful for it. What I have been grateful for:
Back in March I made decision to move back home to Brisbane to be with my family. I did not expect it to last for 8 months, but this opportunity will most likely never present itself again so I embraced the time there. The highlight was being able to spend more time with my kids who are based in Brisbane. Our relationship has strengthened so much which would never have happened with my normal quarterly visits back home.
My beloved 95yr old grandmother passed away which if I was still in Melbourne, I would have been unable to be with her for the last days of her life or even go to her funeral.
With my travel business now in hibernation, it allowed me to completely focus on my passion – Fresh Networking.
With Zoom it provided Fresh with the opportunity to expand interstate and grow our hubs from 18 to 24. It also allowed us to operate differently, no longer having to meet face to face, we have become more time efficient.
The government grants that have allowed us not only to survive, but thrive. Without these grants we would have just been treading water, we have been able to invest in marketing and system improvements which has allowed us to finish the year off stronger than ever before.
I became a MAMIL (middle-age man in lycra) with getting back on a bike to lose those extra Covid Kilos. I was attacked by magpies 13 times, which originally, I cursed them, but finally I embraced them like a coach as they encouraged me to peddle faster to escape them. Nothing like a bit of torture to motivate.
Finally, the Fresh community is what I am most grateful for. I have heard and also seen so many acts of kindness within our community which is so humbling. There is no doubt that mental health is and will continue to be an ongoing concern as a result of this pandemic, but the support people have provided to each other is amazing. I truly believe communities really show their strength during times of adversity, one example is how we rally together with our bushfires. Our Freshies this year provided many shoulders to cry on, offers of help, encouragement, pats on the back, many virtual hugs whilst still referring business to one another where possible. Business did not stop, it just got done differently for many.
With Christmas fast approaching and in the spirit of giving this brings me to our vision for 2021, instead of sharing the love, let’s Share the Fresh.
Let’s not keep Fresh to ourselves; shout it out to the rest of the world. I am so proud to be associated with so many amazing Freshies and it’s warranted that I want to share our amazing tribe to other business owners.
The people that Fresh has brought into my life over the past 6 years is what I am most grateful for, as I am sure many other Freshies would agree.
Finally, lets remember to think local to support our economy and where possible to Think Fresh First.
