“So now 2011 is here and boy do I feel absolutely thrilled about it. Back in LA, in my office, and I am ready to just hit this year with everything I’ve got. Take all the building and everything I learned from last year and really just get after it. Donald Miller said something in his blog that I thought I would share with you. “I will not watch 2011, I will participate!” Simply said, simply powerful. This will be my theme for the year. I can’t wait to see what comes in 2011. I assure you I will be participating! Get up, get out, and DO! I really hope you all participate in 2011!”
I was so thrilled and hopeful of 2011. I knew things were coming, but I had absolutely no idea what I was in for.
Fast forward….
2011 is over! Just saying that sentence gives me the chills. I traveled more, laughed more, hurt more, saw more, learned more, worked more then any other year of my life. I stepped on 70+ airplanes, flew over 100,000 miles, and spent over 200 days on the road. I spent time in Haiti, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Ireland, London, and more… When you’re busy it usually seems like time is flying. Last year felt like the slowest. It feels like my trip to Haiti the first week of 2011 was years ago. Feelings from one extreme end juxtaposed with feelings from the other extreme. Hope and hopelessness, inspiration and depression, on top of the world and under the world.
2011 was the ultimate roller-coaster. It was extremely graphic to my senses.
I witnessed very real and up close death, poverty, suffering, and destruction. I saw pure evil, hurt, and devastation. Things I saw in Haiti, India, and Joplin will never leave me. Getting unexpected and horrifying news of a close friends death and helplessly watching my grandmother slip away. I had illness scares and clients screw me over. Anxiety became a tangible thing for me and a new battle I am still currently fighting.
On the other side…
I got to see positive change happening in the world. People humbly uniting for a greater cause. Lives being transformed, inspired, renewed. Spent invaluable time with my grandmother. Though she’ll be leaving soon, I can’t be more thankful for the time she was gifted. She can’t remember my name and can barely speak, but she lights up when I walk in her room. Unforgettable. My beautiful sister got married to the love of her life and my brother’s wife had a new baby boy. My dad and I got to see our first World Series game and arguably one of the best World Series games in history. Game 6. Go Cards! I won a freaking motorcycle, which paid off my loans. Yes, completely debt free because of my love for family history, 40 painful hours under a needle, and YOU voters. I saw hope given and hope received. I got to see and feel a new side of love and grace that I’ve only dreamed about.
One point during last year, I went 7 months without a break. No time for a day off. Traveling, shooting, or editing. Add sleep deprivation and exhaustion to the mix and you get cynicism.
2011 taught me a lot of things, but I feel the 4 below were most important.
- Focus on Today
Sometimes my job scares me. As a freelancer I am always a job away from unemployment. The price we pay to be our own boss is sometimes a heavy burden. What am I going to do after this job? Bills are getting tight. Is it always going to be this inconsistant? Should I live in LA, NY? Life can be chaotic and life can be still, some years will be insane and some will be mellow. This is something all too familiar for freelancers. We have a season where life is smiling on us! We are on top of the world, getting all kinds of offers, shooting gigs, compounding job after job and getting that phat bank roll, ya heeeaaard?!? Life is so good! Then in the dead of night another season rolls in with all it’s got. All the offers fall through, the clients disappear, the drought is upon you with no end in site, and you are all alone asking, “What in the hell just happened?” Too familiar right? When it’s good it’s great! When it’s bad it’s horrible! Whether it’s work, the future, moving, money, big decisions…It is important that you take each day, ONE at a time, and simply do the best you can. Don’t get caught up in worrying about things you can’t control. Working hard, stay positive, and fight one battle at a time. Which leads me to my next lesson..
- Be An Optimist
Life is heaven and hell. It is so easy to complain and concentrate on the bad in life, to make excuses for our shortcomings or the hand we’ve been dealt. Pessimism and cynicism are majorly self-focused. You think chasing your dreams is supposed to be easy? The goals we set for ourselves are supposed to just be handed to us? Life would be good without struggle? I wish life were as easy as saying “I am happy,” but it is not. It takes strength and leadership to focus on the good. To stay positive when things don’t go our way. We are all struggling and we are all fighting. As corny as this may be, I LOVE this speech in Rocky V. “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don´t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That´s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you worth, go out and get what you worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers saying, “You ain´t what you wanna be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain´t you! You´re better than that!”
Eric Epperson, Jeremy Cowart, Brett Baggett, John Carrington, and Chris Dowsett…you all made great positive examples for me in 2011.
- Community
YOU ARE NOT IN THIS FIGHT ALONE!
It is so important to surround yourself with other like minded people. People you can talk to, trust, and depend on. Having positive friends in our lives helps keep us accountable and harbors happiness. There is nothing like good conversation with people you fully trust. There is nothing like being accepted fully for who you truly are. Those friends are gifts that you should never let go of. True friends are not replacable. We were not meant to live and feel alone. Some of my friends really shined this year. Friends in OK, TN, Canada, MO, CA, NY, TX, and NE. You know who you are and I am grateful for you Every. Single. Day.
- REST
Rest is probably the most important thing I learned in 2011. Really? Rest? Yes! Getting rest is absolutely necessary for your mind, body, and soul to function properly. I haven’t slept properly for years, and got the least amount of sleep in 2011. I am now paying for it big time. Don’t get me wrong, I know I will still have jobs that require insane hours and impossible deadlines. That’s fine. That’s typical for freelancers and many other jobs. As long as you find balance between the two, you will be in a much better place, I promise you. Find Balance! A clear mind breeds ideas, inspiration, ambition, productivity and hundreds of other things. Never deprive yourself of something that God created solely because he knew you’d need it. The Sabbath.
Thanks to everyone who was a part of my 2011. Thanks for the help, encouragement, belief, and inspiration.
2012 is here and I hope to put everything I have learned into practice. I can’t wait to see what the last year of earth’s existence brings! Coughcough..
I say this every New Years and I truly mean it. Let’s make next year the best one yet!
Cale Glendening
