New Year? Not Until You Look Back: It’s Just About… Life.

Of all the things I have written about this year, this is critical. This is it the last hurrah for 2013. The moments, hundreds, if not thousands of them, big and small, happy and sad. This is what makes a year, every year. Some better, some worse, all make up the larger picture of life. A story, if you’re lucky and if you’re reading this means you’re at least breathing, and your story is still being written.

I heard a line recently which is a great one to think about, no matter whether you consider this year to be a good one, a bad one, or somewhere in between. Try saying this to yourself every day in the coming year: “I am a movie star and the script of my life is epic.” Say it, because it’s true. There is and there will be no other movie like yours, no one else will write the same script of life that you are, it is and will stand alone for all time.

But if you are to start thinking about this script, you must go back, read the last act, take notes and do so with gratitude. Like I said, it’s critical.

This blog is my New Year’s Card to you, to the world, and to the center of my universe, the three other people in the featured image on this blog, my family. I spent the entire day yesterday reflecting on the past year with three “frentors”, (friends and mentors), and all of it…all of it, every thing which happened good and bad found its way back to this inner circle, my wife Debbie, my daughters Sophie and Emily. Back in May my bride reached a huge milestone, having defeated breast cancer and celebrating one-year cancer-free. Hands down the best and “richest” day of the year, because health is wealth.

May 10, 2013 One Year Cancer-Free

Out of more than 50 children, my oldest, Sophie, was elected President of the National Junior Honor Society in her 8th grade class and continues to work her butt off with voice lessons and aspirations of getting into a school for the arts and pursuing a dream.

My youngest, Emily, scored quarter after quarter of straight “A’s” as she wrapped up elementary school and then began middle school making the honor roll. She also pitched her way in girls softball onto the All-Star team.

Emily Brodinsky

In that game and in a moment I will long remember, after being pulled by the coach in a less-than-stellar pitching performance, and then going down swinging twice in the game, Emily came back up and with two strikes on her, squared up and hit a clean shot up the middle. In that moment, Emily taught me a lesson. And that lesson was echoed throughout the year in the fight Debbie showed to overcome her health challenge and the challenge Sophie faced to create a speech and a message to convince others to elect her to a position which will become a shining star on her resume. The life lesson I learned? Never, ever, ever give up.

My family teaches me every day. And I do my best to take notice. This year, I too lay a challenge at my feet, not only to start this blog, but to write a book about one of my family’s greatest struggles, because I believed the message important enough to share. As I embarked on a journey for which I knew almost nothing and had no road map to get me there, I kept thinking of a message I had heard earlier in the year: “Success is not about genetics, intelligence or gifts, it’s about a dream, vision and grit.” Somehow, someway and with a good deal of help and the magic of those who came into my life to assist, I got it done. It Takes 2. Surviving Breast Cancer: A Spouse’s Story is the result of that effort. It became a #1 Best Seller on Amazon and we give part of the proceeds of all sales back to charity. And with the foundation of this book, I am just getting started in sharing the message in a bigger way with others.

Then there’s this blog. As of today, “It’s Just About… Life” and “The Sunday Series” have been welcomed by more than 26,000 participants, viewed this year in 53 countries, not including the United States. In this grand world we live in, you can make an impact with an idea, a message and an internet connection. To connect and provide value, that’s my goal. To become more, by helping others do the same. Words have power, so does the act of reflecting on gratitude.

So do the same exercise I just did, but in much greater, deeper detail. And WRITE IT DOWN! I challenge you, before you think about 2014, to reflect on this past year and do it by writing down all you have to be grateful for in this past year. It’s almost impossible to look ahead with clarity, and a bigger, better plan, until you look back at all that you have accomplished, the abundance which already exists in your life. From that you can see what to build on, and what you should work on. We all have challenges, and they are the same for most, health, love, work, money. Life can be a battlefield, but to the victor go the spoils. Look at what battles you have already fought, then create a strategy, a plan, and then get up to the front lines and then fight like your life depends on it, because it does.

2014 is your best year ever. It is. For you, for me, for everyone. Believe it, then go out and achieve it.

Happy New Year from the Brodinsky Family

Until next time (2014), thanks for taking the time.

Mark