Okay, this post starts with a bit of dark history. On New Years day 2001, on my way home from a great New Years eve celebration in Luna Park, after watching the Fireworks launch off Sydney Harbour bridge, I was attacked and had my nose broken as well as my collar bone.

It left me with a deviated septum and a literal chip on my shoulder. And suffice to say I never go to public gatherings for New Years. But that was 17 years ago, and I have well moved on from it, just the physical consequences remain.

So that might seem quite a bit of a downer to start with, but I do stand by the title of this post, happy and prosperous.   2017, was a mixed year for a lot of us. A lot has happened, tragic and heinous terrorist acts, in London, Manchester, Miami, Paris and plenty in the middle east. Those are the headliners of course and I am sure personally and professionally we all suffered our own challenges, tragedies and personal losses.

But we also had our triumphs.

My greatest one this year for me was to graduate with my MSc, which has directly helped in keeping me employed, passionate and curious. I survived Christmas, I survived the summer, I still have my wife and 2 kids, the most important people to me. I am lucky and appreciative of the fact that I have a roof over my head I can still afford to pay for and long may it continue. I have so much to be thankful for. And I reflect that due to luck, circumstances and yes even my own professionalism, I made it to another year. More scars added, this time to my heart more grey on the noggin.

It is perfectly true that there is much darkness in this world. A lot of things are rising from the dark that both the political left right and center are terrified of. We all have our bogeymen, politically, personally, financially. But even if 2017 was an awful year for you, you made it to 2018. You did that, possibly with help, but you did it.

2018, no matter where you are starting from, can the year that is the standout for you in the most positive ways. If it’s not been going well for you, this year is going to be so much better. I promise you it will, because you are going to make it happen. You are going to make the happy and prosperous happen for you.  And if you have no faith in yourself, that’s fine. I won’t hold it against you if you fake it to make it. And I endorse that strategy, it’s working for me.

2018, is about to be a very different for me. I have a very different job, going from influence marketing to sales analytics.  very different spaces and With only just over a month in the role it’s overwhelming. But I love it, I love the steep learning curve, learning new tools and the corporate enterprise sales model. And I’m already making a difference, with some design thinking and Agile methodology I learned during my MSc. I’m loving it.

I’m in a good place, because I’m working off a personal creed that I’m holding to and carrying forward into 2018.

It is simply “Do what is meaningful, not what is expedient”. That is a creed I’m moving forward with and also having a more abundant perception of the world. And what I mean by that is I am going to make myself remember that every challenge holds within it a tremendous opportunity  to take advantage of. Maybe that will help  you make a resolution, set a goal or work something out for yourself. I hope it does.

And if I can do anything at all to help you achieve that, reach out and let me know.

For now, as we get started with this brand New Year, let me wish each of you that comes to this blog a tremendously happy and prosperous New Year to you and yours. I know I’m going to.

Now go enjoy the first day of this fabulous year.