Most will agree that from a political and economic perspective, 2009 was a year of transformation. With a new President and new Democrat Congress, our political landscape certainly transformed. And while 2008 started the financial firestorm, 2009 was really the year of economic adjustment for the United States. We transformed from a nation of carefree abundance to a new reality of cautious consumption. Anxiety and uncertainty became our new economic reality.

While the macro-transformation of our political and economic world was occurring this past year, I personally experienced a micro-transformation during 2009. It is this personal transformation I would like to share with you today. If you are like me, you may feel the macro-transformation of politics and economics is not something that is within our control in our daily lives. But the personal or micro-transformation that I experienced has occurred directly from my choices and effort. The result has been a profound, and most likely long-lasting, shift in the quality of my life. Would you consider transforming your life in 2010?

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The week between Christmas and New Years has become a week in which many businesses shut their doors. Employees are asked to take vacation or personal time off. This practice evolved during the last 10-15 years because regular work often became impossible or impractical. If half of your co-workers are taking time off and many of your vendors and suppliers are also operating at half-staff or not at all … how much work can be accomplished? So rather than open the corporate doors at all, many companies have made the decision to just close for the holidays.

A useful activity that could still be performed during this week is File It or Throw it Away. As a sole-proprietor, I’ll be using the quiet time of the Holidays to continue cleaning up ‘stuff’ from the past year and preparing to start 2010 fresh. That includes thinning file drawers, cleaning my office desk, and very important in our electronic age – cleaning the computer desktop and files. By accident, I discovered an easy way to find files on my computer that should be ‘Re-Filed or Thrown Away’!

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‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Gump’s House,

not a creature was shrimpin’, not even a mouse.

Little Forrest’s stocking hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

Forrest and Jenny were snuggled in bed,

while new Nike sneakers danced in their heads.

Mamma Gump in her ´kerchief, Lt. Dan in his cap,

had settled their buttocks for a long winter’s nap.

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 How do you define stress? For this discussion, I will forgo the medical terminology that includes increasing levels of adrenaline in the body that lead to increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. Rather, I’ll simply define stress as the uneasy feeling or anxiety that can swamp each of us during the Holiday season. Stress is that overwhelming feeling that occurs from too much to do and not enough time. It’s the burden of trying to meet either our own or others’ expectations when time and resources are limited.

Things like shopping for gifts, setting up the tree, wrapping the gifts, baking cookies, visiting friends, sending out cards, kids off from school, seeing family, inclement weather, traveling, busy airports, crowded roads, etc, etc. Why do we feel obligated to do all of these things? Why do we feel guilty if we don’t do these things? If a feeling of relief hits you when the Christmas season is over, then consider you might be taking on too much!

While not wanting to be too Grinch-like, I’ve come up with a few suggestions to give yourself a break from stress for Christmas. Now that could be a very nice present.

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I don’t know about you, but too often I procrastinate completing a project because it just isn’t perfect. Do you ever do this? For many of us, this behavior most likely started in our early years when we heard something like, ‘If something is worth doing, then do it right’. Did we then transpose that into something like, ‘Since I can’t do it right, I may as well not do it at all’?

The reality of most situations is that perfection is not required. Good Enough is usually, well … good enough. This simple chart shows the relationship between the quality obtained and time spent. It’s easy to notice that at as some point, there are diminishing returns for your effort.

 Do you personally know the point when your efforts are being wasted on incremental improvements?

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 These past few weeks I’ve had my head in a cloud … Cloud Computing. Simply defined, cloud computing is using internet based services or software instead of single applications loaded on your computer’s desktop. My goal in using the Cloud is efficiency through interconnectivity. It means I won’t have to turn on one application for one specific thing and a second application for another specific task. They will all be interconnected.

Imagine connecting all of the complex tech and communication related tasks and devices in your life.  I’ve learned about MS Outlook and Google Apps, how to integrate SalesForce with a speaker industry event calendar, eSpeaker’s eVentPRO, and even how to tie them together with an email management / daily calendar program with the option of using AJAX technology. Oh yeah, it needs to integrate with my Blackberry … and there is more! As a professional speaker who maintains a home office and a traveling road office (my MacBook portable computer / Blackberry) … my goal was to set up a system that would be equally effective when I’m traveling as when I’m at home. And I didn’t want to spend a lot of time transferring files and remembering to sync both systems – I wanted the syncing and integration to be automatic and seamless.

So how did I learn all of this? How did I manage to get this system up and running in a few weeks time? I worked hard by sticking my head in the cloud and doing good research, then used customer service personnel to fill in the information gaps. How did I manage to get outstanding telephone support from multiple different companies? It was easy! I was polite and appreciative.

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 Which is a better option for a Christmas Tree? An artificial or a cut live tree? Or maybe a live tree that you plant in the yard after the Christmas season is over? For reasons probably having to do with tradition, people have strong beliefs about their Christmas Tree. How about you?

I’ve heard all the arguments. The cut live tree (LT) smells great! The artificial tree (AT) just doesn’t have that same authenticity. The LT needs to be watered. It drops its needles and it’s a fire hazard – it’s just messy. The AT is convenient and lasts for years. They’ve improved the quality of the AT so they no longer look plastic-y. The LT has more character. It’s not perfectly shaped like the AT, it’s somehow more personal. The LT is a waste of natural resources to cut and use for only few weeks and dispose. And on-and-on the arguments go. Do you have a preference? I’ve discovered a new tradition and I love it … and I won’t apologize for cutting my own tree and joy it brings!

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Do you remember as a child walking down the street and finding a penny? You probably exclaimed, “Wow! My lucky day!” Or maybe the phone rings and it’s a friend calling with an extra ticket to the game or concert – another lucky opportunity! Opportunity is defined as an appropriate or favorable time for advancement or success. Or maybe in your business, you learn that a competitor has unexpectedly changed their business strategy which leaves a market segment opening for you. What will you do?

In all of these situations, circumstances or luck presented itself as an opportunity. The circumstances are not something you can control. Praying for pennies on the street or fantasizing about phone calls from generous friends or hoping for competitors to abandon a market segment are not useful energies. Praying and fantasizing and hoping are fine, but they do not predictably lead to advancement or success. A response or action to the opportunity is required to realize success. So what do you do when opportunities land in your lap or at your feet?

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A knock came on my front door last Friday evening about 5:15pm. It was my neighbor and she said, “Let’s go! The whole block is walking down to Main Street for the Christmas Tree lighting.” In less than 2 minutes, I was out my front door and into another neighbor’s house filling my insulated mug with coffee and Kahlua. Three moms, five children, Mrs. Miller, the couple from the stone house and myself all walked the 6+ blocks to Main. The kids were excited, the moms focused on talking with each other while keeping an eye on the rambunctious young ones. I walked with Mrs. Miller for several blocks and learned more about her 60+ years living in the same house across the street then I had the three previous years. Why does it take us so long to find time for important things like this?

When group arrived at Main, we waited a few minutes kitty-corner to the Post Office where the town Christmas Tree stood tall in darkness. Why were we stopped at this spot? Santa Claus was supposed to arrive in a parade.

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