The day was January 20, 2021. My friend who lives/works in South Africa said this to me as we hopped on a Zoom call with a small group of people.
"Congratulations my friend."
To be frank, I was taken back by his comment because it was out of context.
Congratulations? For what?
In all seriousness - and without advocating for one candidate over the other - I want to take a moment to congratulate my American colleagues for completing the process of electing a new leader of your country. Regardless of how you got there, you eventually elected someone. Elections are an event stamped in history that should be celebrated.
When I remembered my manners, I thanked my friend.
And then I started to marinate on the fact that we as a country have elected 46 leaders in the history of our nation.
Six in my lifetime.
If you asked me to name which President led to the best quality of life for my family, I'm not sure that I could tell you with 100% certainty.
I remember certain things being better under one leader versus another.
But I don't have an overwhelming 'a-ha!' answer where I can say that life became 10x better based on who sat in the Oval Office.
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."
Ralph Waldo Emerson penned the sentence above.
I fully acknowledge that barriers exist in this world.
Gender.
Nationality.
Sexual orientation.
Religious beliefs.
...just to name a few.
And I recognize my privilege in this world. There is a lot of it!
Raised middle class.
Male.
American born.
Cisgender.
That being said: I believe that Emerson's words can apply to everybody.
Ultimately, the human being you become will be influenced directly by the person you decide to be.
To me, it's about Living with Intention
During our q4 all hands company meeting, I shared my mindset with the team looking to the new year.
I want to thrive - not just survive - in 2021.
As David C Baker pointed out earlier this week, a new leader will occupy in the highest office in the land every 4 to 8 years.
Their policies will affect me personally.
But as a private citizen with a $0 lobbying budget at my disposal I can only control so much of the policy they implement beyond visiting the voting booth every 4 years.
Ultimately it's up to me to decide who I want to become.
At the same time as I was marinating on all of the above, an amazing person and entrepreneur friend who I recently got to know better (talking about you, Madonna!) shared two questions she asks herself every single morning when she wakes up.
Why am I alive today?
What makes today great for me?
Okay Mike. This view from here is really taking an unusual turn.
You are correct.
I don't normally focus so intensely on mindset, purpose and intention in this column.
Frankly, it's been a topic that was long overdue.
Because my own View from Here right here and right now is that it's time to move forward as a Country so that we can ALL take a swing at thriving to the best of our ability in 2021.
Regardless of which candidate you supported...
No matter who you voted for: congratulations on participating in the process.
As Americans, we have certain rights, privileges and abilities that others do not have on this Earth.
So take a moment to say congratulations to yourself.
I'll wait.
.
.
.
.
Great! Now that you have patted yourself on the back, let's move forward together.
How are you going to thrive in 2021?
I work hard to develop and practice an abundant mindset.
You've probably noticed a lot of statements in the plural throughout this update.
"Let's" or "We" instead of "I"
So tell me: how are you going to thrive in 2021?
I've got a LinkedIn post collecting answers.
Let me know yours by logging on LinkedIn to get a shot of inspiration from folks in my professional network.
