Best year ever!

Happy New Year to all of you, I hope 2020 has been good to you so far! I have planned to make this my best year ever. Why not join me?

Those words are pretty big for a Norwegian, but I am serious. I have finally worked up enough courage to go all in to create the best year ever! 🥳🎉🤸🏼‍♂️ I will make sure I make the year as good as possible for the people around me too.

Why.

I spent a year in the USA from 15 to 16. I was a senior at highschool and lived with my wonderful extended family. I made so many friends – some of them lifelong. I have come to realize that the reason I never felt as a foreigner living there, is probably that my nature is just as much, (if not more), like a typical American, than a typical Norwegian. My spirit and mindset are more what I would call American-inspired, while views and beliefs are likely more Norwegian – or Scandinavian.

A few years ago I took a class in Leadership, this has made a profound impact on me. A significant part of the program was to study old litterature from great men like Ibsen, Shakespeare, Dante, Nietzsche and Aristotle, and read their work through a “new-leadership-theory-lens”. You might think I am exaggerating now, but seriously, a completely new world opened itself to me. The world of getting to know me. Like, truly getting to know myself and understand how I work.

Around four or five years ago, when I still worked as a marketing manager in a bank, our overall goal was to do whatever we could to become the preferred bank for entrepreneurs. Our CEO and C-level leaders had allready realized we needed to work on new principles, and transform from an old and industrialized business model, to a new one, based on new technology and digital and growth mindsets.

These three stories are defining moments related to my Why 2020:

1. My key takeaway from a year in USA: My nature is anchored in so much positive energy, I am going to release as much as possible of it this year.
2. My key takeaway from working closely with entrepreneurs: They are all about chasing dreams, becoming more joyful. I believe we all need more of that, especially now.
3. My key takeaway working in an incredibly inspiring workplace: What a CEO and a couple of other leaders with growth mindsets can do for an organization.

My Why 2020 is to help as many people and businesses as possible with New Growth.

What.

New Growth.

Businesses need to find purpose. Why does a business exist, and why should it’s customers or employees prefer one business to another? Did you know that 90% of the western worlds workforce are not engaged in their jobs? That fact tells me that most workplaces are not happy places. And how are unhappy and indifferent emplyees supposed to make customers and communities thrive?

We need more joy in the world. More joyful people. We need to ignite and enlighten eachother, inspire eachother more. Pay more forward. I once read a question that went something like this: What is it that grows the more you share from it? L O V E. I love that. And we all know it’s a fact. The more you give, the more you receive. So why not do more of it?

One of my colleagues talks about Beautiful Businesses. I am reading his book now on Why beauty is key to everything. I agree, beauty is balance, caring, understanding and everything good. Businesses and people. We can not continue to steal from nature and not give back. Businesses have been stealing energy and joy from people for so long, but today a growing number of beautiful businesses decide to regenerate. Give back. To communities, society and people. (And many of them make more value than anything we’ve ever seen before). How great is that.

How.

This blog is dedicated to everyone who seek more joy and inspiration through self-learning. I am convinced that each and every single one of us have something that is of value to others. I need to walk my talk. I will share as much as I possibly can on how to find more joy through New Growth. Grow oneself in new ways and dimensions.

And being an entrepreneur, I will share my ups and downs in my quest to help businesses find New Growth. Hopefully this will inspire many more who need to make changes. That way we can reduce the group of 90% disengaged employees, and grow the number of engaged and joyful people at work.

I am working on a podcast too. Goal for that is to share insight, inspiration and experience between businesses. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s out.

So, are you in? Will you join me in making 2020 the best year ever?

If you are, here is your first assignment, or homework if you like…. 😉. Reflect on 2019, what expectations did you have a year ago? Where did you want to be by the end of the year? Are you there? Did you have any goals, and did you reach them? If not – what held you back? Did you meet obstacles? In your relationships? At work? Health issues? In every obstacle there is a source of learning. Write down what you learned, and be done with the obstacles.

I am so excited! I hope you are too! Until next time – peace & love!