The biggest question on my mind is:

Does the ball really drop in Times Square on New Years’ Eve if there’s no screaming crowd around to watch it?

Yep, it’s been that kind of year.

But in the middle of the most trying, challenging times are discoveries. Sometimes big ones.

Here are the five biggest impact discoveries I made over the last 12 months, how I used them to swim instead of sink.

And how you can use them to fly!

2020 announced early on it wasn’t going to be business as usual.

7 days in, my dad died.

He was 95 but still in decent shape, and it happened quickly.

So we were immediately plunged into shock and grief. Not to mention funeral, memorial service, letting everyone know, figuring out how much of his stuff we wanted to keep. And who wanted it most.

Plus, the rent on his pricey independent living apartment wasn’t going to stop just because he was gone.

But that sense of Emergency carried us. It’s amazing just how much we got done.

Until COVID struck in a nasty way that shut down access to his facility.

And our ability to move the rest of his stuff out.

And that sense of direction, urgency and progress was replaced by a frustrating sense of limbo that put our mourning and closure process on hold.

Until they let us back in … six months later.

In Emergency you rally.

In Uncertainty, you KNOW something needs to be done, but you’re held back from doing it.

And while I don’t wish Emergency on anyone, at times the Uncertainty felt worse.

The key is to find some grain of certainty to focus on, even if it’s small.

We moved ahead researching moving / donation / disposal options because we knew when they reopened access the window might be short lived if the pandemic flared up again.

Uncertainty can hypnotize you into waiting or doing nothing.

The key is finding some thread of action you can take in the face of that.

When unexpected things happen, sometimes we go into crazy mode.

That’s actually a good thing.

It’s a survival mechanism that ensures we have the energy to deal with an emergency or perceived survival threat (see #1 above).

But when the threat is ambiguous (like a pandemic, where we don’t know how its going to play out) as opposed to direct (a tiger!) all that mobilized energy has nowhere to go.

So we go into overwhelm … trying to figure out which of a hundred different responses is the best. Which only makes things worse.

Instead … find something specific to channel all that energy into. Just make sure it’s something you can start and complete, or else it just adds to the mind spinning.

• Make 50 phone calls to prospects.
• Research all those networking groups you now have access to because they are all virtual.
• Or do what I did: Revamp your coaching group to help participants thrive in the new environment.

When you realize you don’t have to make things crazier, you can take the actions that get you the results you want.

Sure, there are mindset hacks that can get you out of a rut. But action can work faster.

Think of it this way:  If you’re in a room that stinks, you can spend hours convincing your brain it really doesn’t stink.  Or you can open a window and spray some Fabreze.

It takes practice to slow down a speeding brain.  Action or changing your environment can change it instantly.

In the months after my Dad died (and as the pandemic set in)  a drive out the desert completely changed by outlook. Being smack dab in the middle of all that empty space helped me to get a handle on things, relax and see what was really going on more clearly.

Crucial Key:  Make the action a habit.  A single action done once to try to change a chronic mindset issue is not likely make a lasting impact.

I tend to be a hermit, so this one is a challenge.  

But I’ve found staying positive and proactive when you’re surrounded by folks who aren’t is like swimming upstream. In cold water. With both hands tied behind your back.

When the pandemic hit, I was fortunate that none of my clients and associates freaked. Which made me think, “If they’re not freaking, why should I be freaked for them?”  

It created a “non-freak bubble” which helped us all find resourceful ways to keep moving ahead.

One client had her most financially successful year ever. Another had her most successful event ever.

Yes, things are hard.  It can feel scary. But there are openings.

And hanging out with folks who help you see them can be the difference between muddling through and thriving.

When a plane is taking off, it doesn’t meander aimlessly down the runway.

It accelerates. You can feel it, even if you’re reading a magazine and pretending you’re not feeling the g-forces pressing you back in your seat.

In the same way, the speed with which you make and implement new decisions can determine how effectively you escape negative circumstances.

This doesn’t mean you make panicky, rash decisions.

It does mean endlessly pondering possibilities and going into analysis paralysis often devolves into an icky downward spiral of stuckness.

When in-store coffee grinders all disappeared in response to the virus, I bought my own. Because “no coffee” was not an option.

Eventually I found a better solution (pre-ground coffee ordered online).

So I now have a coffee grinder that I don’t use. But I never went without coffee.

Decision Velocity often means your initial direction won’t be 100% on target.

But because you’re moving, it’s a lot easier to find the direction that is.

This list could have been three or four times as long. In a year when adaptation and improvisation are constant, you either innovate or stagnate.

Sometimes there’s no time to even think. You’re simply responding.

But the big a-ha comes from realizing your best ideas and directions emerge from chaos.

Not that I want another 2020 in 2021. 

But we will all be taking what we discovered in the last 12 months into the next 12 … and beyond.

And when I say better clients, I don’t just mean that ones who love you. But the ones who pay you.  That’s an awesome combo that makes your business so much more fulfilling.

If you’re wondering where you can find them, I can help. With 21 specific suggestions that can make your high end client search a whole lot easier.  Take a look!