Every year, I live my life by three guiding words. These words help me make decisions that are aligned with my vision and cause me to stretch beyond my comfort zone.

In this episode of The New Music Industry Podcast, I reflect on my three theme words from 2017, and share my theme words for 2018.

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Podcast Highlights:

00:14 – Goal setting and resolution

00:49 – Where I got the idea to set theme words for the year

01:10 – What happened as result of setting my intentions for 2017

01:16 – #1: Adventure

03:03 – #2: Collaboration

04:47 – #3: Health

06:27 – My three theme words for 2018

06:53 – #1: War

07:33 – #2: Initiative

08:35 – #3: Connection

09:16 – Final thoughts

Transcription:

“What’s your New Year’s resolution?”

This is a common question to ask this time of year.

And yet, the thing that I’ve found the most value in over the last few years is setting three theme words for the year instead of setting goals or resolutions.

I’ve found that these words can set the intention for the year, and if you keep them out in front of you where you can look at them and contemplate them regularly, you’ll be reminded of what’s important to you and what you’re looking to achieve that year.

If you set your intentions for the year and keep them in front of you, you'll be reminded of what's important to you and what you're looking to achieve.Share on X

You’ll find that people, circumstances, and events line up in unexpected and beautiful ways. Fresh opportunities will come your way if you remain open to the possibilities.

Setting theme words for the year is an idea I got from Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group. Since 2015, it has become a yearly practice for me, though I admit I almost gave up on last year. I’m glad I didn’t.

If you’ve never done this before, I would suggest giving it a try. And, maybe the stories I’m about to share will inspire you to do just that.

So, here are my three theme words from 2017, and what happened as result of holding these intentions for a year.

1. Adventure

I admit there was a lack of adventure in my life from 2014 all the way to the first half of 2017. That’s probably why I wanted to set “adventure” as one of my theme words for the year.

This is what I said in last year’s blog post about adventure:

Life can be too much “business as usual”. I’ve got to do things that make me come alive, and that means doing some things that might scare me.

So, how did adventure manifest in 2017?

I already talked about how I made some new friends in 2017, and that played a significant role in bringing about fresh experiences.

I know that a lot of you follow me on social media, and often comment on what I’m sharing, usually in person, including photos of the trips I’ve been taking and the blog posts I’ve been writing.

I’ve already mentioned a few times on the podcast that I spent a week in Chase, BC in August. One friend commented how he thought it was interesting that I approached my experiences there as though they were entirely new, even though they weren’t.

That’s the approach I took the entire summer. Sure, I’ve been to BC before, but I think it’s one of the first trips I’ve ever taken alone. So, the difference was that I got to experience everything for myself.

Many of my other adventures during the summer, and even fall months were driven by a new friend I had made, but I was also intentional about getting out into nature alone.

The most significant adventure was that of returning to Japan after 14 years for two weeks in November. It’s almost as if that trip was tailor-made for me, as I could never have planned for everything that followed. It was incredible.

My desire for adventure was fulfilled in many ways in 2017, and I plan to continue exploring in 2018, even if I don’t go overseas.

2. Collaboration

I was just beginning to collaborate with more people at the end of 2016....