2020 it is finally. Happy New Year 2020!

What I call the teen years are now behind us and boy, didn't they behave like true teenagers?!? In case I've lost you, I'm calling the years between 2013 - 2019 teen years because of the "teen" element in the pronounciation i.e. thirteen, fourteen, fifteen..... I am also saying those years behaved like true teenagers because like it has often been said, the years between 13 - 19 in a child's life are both disorienting and full of self discoveries. This is usually the make or break time or most people. For me that's how the just concluded "teenage years" have been to me. I'm glad they are now over and look forward to the exciting 20s; after all, don't they say the 20s are the best decade of anyone's life? Anyway, that's a blog for another day.

I don't know about other religions but I know a good number of Christians crossed over to the "20s" while in church, with their spiritual leaders making declarations about what to expect in 2020.  I too caught my word which is Arise N Shine. I won't delve into the preaching but there are some very profound revelations I want to address based on what my beloved Pastor taught us last night.

You are expecting to have a great 2020, right? Great. So am I. But what will it take to have a great 2020? What will it take for you to Shine in 2020? To answer this question I need to borrow my Pastor's script. 

For you to Shine you first need to Arise. So I went back to find out what the word arise actually means and according to my usual online dictionary, I found some very interesting definitions:

1. to begin to occur or to exist : to come into being or to attention [meaning something was not there before but now it is].
2. to originate from a source​ [meaning something new that comes out of something that was already there e.g. a river that arises from 2 different sources].
3. to get up or stand up​ [meaning someone was either sitting or sleeping, then they get up on their feet].
4. to move upward [like someone who was in a valley and found a way of going out of the valley to the higher grounds]

Backed by the above definitions I came up with a few conclusions:

1. For something to begin to occur or exist that was not there before some innovation has to happen. That means someone must acquire new insights, knowledge, skills, expertise, information, etc, and use it to cause something that will draw attention to themselves and their invention. 
2. The other option is to get connected to something that is already existing but throuh your own creativity come up with something new. For this to happen, what I can quickly think of is having the right associations, the right connections and the right partners. All these put together will provide you with the right opportunities at the right time.
3. The 3rd revelation I got from the 3rd definition is that you will need to wake up from you sleep, or you get up from where you are sitting! In other words, it is time to stop sitting on your behind. It is time to stand up, because when you stand up, you will have no other option but to take steps.
4. The 4th revelation is about moving upward. I believe this means changing levels from where you are to a higher level.

Regardless of which revelation/conclusion you opt for from the four I've given above, there is one very clear thing; an ACTION from you is required. In other words, for you to Shine this year, you will have to Arise i.e. stand up and DO something! 

Yes declarations were made last night. I've seen different variations but all of them are pointing towards an extra ordinary 2020. But I'm [not] sorry to burst your bubble. Unless you are prepared to succeed in 2020 you will still be here same time next year wondering what happened to the year that was meant to be your best year yet.​

So how do you prepare to succeed? Here are just a few questions to help you prepare to Shine:

1. What expectations do you have for 2020? 
2. Do you have goals you'd like to achieve this year? 
3. Have you put a plan in place to achieve those goals? 
4. Have you identified the areas you need to improve on (for personal development), the people you need to surround yourself with, the available opportunities to you, etc?
5. What are you prepared to do in order to Shine in 2020?
6. What are you prepared to stop doing in order to Shine in 2020?
7. What changes are you prepared to make to your life from this minute in order to Shine in 2020?

These are just a few questions to help you prepare but you can get more details and tips on this from my book The Routeen. If you haven't gotten yourself a copy yet you should.

Coming back to my post, maybe last year disappointed you because you probably didn't achieve the things you wanted to achieve. Before you decide that the goals you had last year are not worth pursuing this year, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How has my life been like over the past 12 months?
2. What went well that I am grateful for?
3. What didn’t go so well or could have gone better? Hardships? Setbacks? Challenges? 
4. What caused those things not to go as planned?
5. What is missing in my life right now that I expected to have by now?
6. In how many ways has my life changed over the past 12 months?
7. How have my experiences shaped me? How as a result have I changed as a person?
8. Did I develop any new skills, and how do they now serve me?
9. Did I gain any valuable knowledge? How can I use it this year?
10. How have I been of value to others over the past year, and what insights have I gained?
11. Did I achieve my desired outcomes? Why or why not?​
12. What valuable lessons did I learn over the course of the year that can now serve me moving forward?​
13. How can I build on the past year for the New Year?

As I conclude this post let me bring something to your attention: Based on the various declarations I've seen around the world about this year, I don't think it is a coincidence that this year happens to be a Leap Year. You can Leap several levels above where you are today but only if you decide to ARISE (take action) today! To borrow my Pastor's script again, you shinning (succeeding) this year will be as a result of you arising (doing whatever you have to do to ensure you succeed).

Remember, nothing will change this year unless and until you decide to bring change to the year. The good news is, you still have 366 opportunities called days to make this year the best year you have ever had. Don't waste ANY of them. 

Choose to start your "20s" on a shinning note!

Be Ignited. Be Inspired. Be influenced. Become the best version of yourself you'll ever be!