This week contains the final days of 2009. Like most people, you may be looking back at the past year and feeling a bit regretful about all the things you did poorly or failed to do. And so the next few days will include making some resolutions about what you will do better in 2010.

Making goals is a healthy thing.

But only focusing on what you did wrong (or not at all) in order to build up for 2010 is going to keep you from attaining the higher heights you truly aspire to.

And while it’s true we can learn a lot from our mistakes (and a lot more from the mistakes of others), it’s also instructive – and somewhat therapeutic – to learn from our successes, too.

Proclaim Your Accomplishments Over Regrets

So this week, I’d like to challenge you to spend some time thinking about the things you DID accomplish in 2009.

  • If you started your business in the last 12 months, congratulations! You’ve stuck your neck out while other people are stuck in their routines. And if you’re still in business a year later – you’re way ahead of most entrepreneurs.
  • If you made your first affiliate sale, or sold your first information product – congratulations!
  • If you added even one more subscriber to your list this past year, it means you conquered the technical hurdles of creating your list – now you just need to build it up more.
  • If you cut out wasteful expenses, unsubscribed from a handful of market molesters, or found a way too save $100 each month with a particular program – congratulations!
  • If you created a website or blog that is now showing up in the search engines and giving people information and solutions – congratulations! You’re now helping people around the world, even while you sleep.

Take a few minutes and take stock of what you accomplished. This should help keep in perspective your successes as you consider what 2010 holds in store for you.

This positive reflection is important for me to do as well, so I’ll share what 2009 looked like for me.

My 2009 Report Card

Sure, there are a lot of things that I didn’t do as well as I hoped to this year. And other areas that I want to do a lot better. But here are a few business-related results I’m proud of…

  • Created and launched the following websites during 2009: DiscoverButterflyMarketing.com, IMSuccessLibrary.com, DiscoverSplitTesting.com, TwitterSeduction.com, DiscoverMasterminds.com, CreateYourOwnAffiliateProgram.com, HalftimeSale.com 2, and DiscoverNing.com.
  • Was a featured speaker, trainer or faculty member at Ken McArthur’s JV Alert and IMPACT seminars, Ross Goldberg’s Masters Seminar, Mike Filsaime’s Butterfly Marketing Workshop, and Adam Urbanski’s Attract Clients Like Crazy Bootcamp. I set out to teach at live events more often, and I was successful at that.
  • Taught Teleseminar Formula 2.0 and 3.0 and helped about 150 more students start using teleseminars in their businesses.
  • Created a 30 Day Autoresponder Challenge that has helped over 1000 people improve their list building.
  • Met some awesome people that have joined my JV circle of friends, like Nicole Dean, Lynn Terry, Mark Shilensky, David Perdew, among many others.
  • Added to my streak of consecutive months earning over $10,000 – now at 31!
  • Took three cruises, and took my longest vacation ever – almost 6 weeks to New York, UK, and Poland. My “Ponglish” also increased :)  I also took a cross-country road trip to Las Vegas to teach Filsaime’s workshop.
  • Published 60 videos to YouTube.
  • Wrote 160 blog posts.
  • Held 2 in-person mini-mastermind get togethers to meet some of my best clients in New York and London. Also met up with a few IMSuccessTribe members during the Vegas road trip.
  • Conducted over 100 teleseminars, including free calls, paid teleclasses, mastermind sessions, and coaching calls.
  • Continued meeting with my accountability partner each week, averaging 3 or 4 sessions each week all year.
  • Published my blog to the Amazon marketplace (for the Kindle).
  • Approached the completion of my fourth year in business as an internet marketing trainer.
  • Outsourced more business activities than ever before.
  • Wrote 90% of my book Take Action, Revise Later
  • Planned and opened registration for SIMPLE, a live internet marketing training experience to be held in February 2010, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

I’m sure I’m missing a few things in there, but looking back at this list, I’m very proud of what the 2009 report card shows for me. And when my brain wanders over to the regrets of the past 12 months – the things I didn’t finish or could have done much better – this list can help keep it all in perspective.

Later in the week, I’ll set some goals for 2010, too, and invite you to do the same. But I encourage you to do this report card exercise first.

So, what are you most proud of in 2009? No matter how big or small you feel it is, in the scheme of things it moved you forward and its success will propel you forward in 2010!

Bob Jenkins

p.s. Please share an accomplishment or two with a comment below!

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