What I Learned From 2024

At this time of the year I love taking some time  to perform one of my favourite rituals which is creating a blueprint for the new year.

I love to sit down in the Drawing Room with a cup of Earl Grey and create my New Year Vision. From there I set my goals for the year ahead, then my desired outcomes for the first 90 days, , the key areas of focus & the contribution I want to make in the world.

This is a process I go through with my clients at the beginning of every new year as it’s so important to put the foundations in place for all the successes and changes you want to accomplish.

This is great preparation for the year ahead and avoids the “New Year, New Me” panic choices and inevitable failure.

However, the first thing I do can be quite upsetting, triggering, hurtful. I take time to identify the main lessons and insights from the year that has just been. What promises did I break? Which goals did I not achieve? Where did I let myself or others down? What could I have done better, or committed to, more fully?

This 2 stage strategy really is such an empowering process and after doing it, for 2024, I wanted to share my key learnings with you in the hope that they can serve & inspire you to create the results you want in your life & business in the coming year.

Here are 10 Things I’ve Learned in 2024:

1.  Live from Hell Yes or Hell No

This is a great lesson I learnt from a book I read, written by an incredible human being, Rich Litvin. He talks about making decisions from Hell Yes or Hell No space.

Far too often when we make decisions, we do it from a place of indecisiveness. He suggests we always ask ourselves if we can be or feel 100% on board about doing something whether it’s a business decision or a personal one. If you can’t can’t, then it is a Hell No.

Either going all in or not at all, there is no space in between.

For me in 2024, the best decisions I made (though not always the easiest) were from Hell Yes or Hell No. As Warren Buffet famously said, it is about knowing what the 1% of opportunities are to say yes to and rejecting the other 99% that come your way.

The Lesson: Trust your gut. Go all IN when you do something or don’t do it. You’ll know if it feels right when you listen to your inner voice.

2. Commit to Mastery 

Like my first point, committing to mastery for me means going deeper into the key practices that create the best results in all areas of my life from family, finance, fitness, fun, all things professional and personal.

The Lesson: When things get tough, challenging or difficult, stay on course instead of changing direction. There are times when it’s worth testing another approach but set yourself a time frame by which you will end your exploration.

3. Everyone has an opinion- Follow yours, not theirs

It’s all too easy to let what other people think cloud our judgement or make us question our decisions, but the truth is that everybody has an opinion, an opinion over how you should live your life, base your decisions, what you should or shouldn’t do, be or have.

When you let go of who you think you need to be for other people and the world around you, you’ll then discover who you really are.

The lesson: STOP pleasing others and  worrying what the world thinks of you, and begin following your own voice and intuition

4. Feed your mind- Daily! 

One of my favourite things to do is to read. I like to study something daily for at least 30 minutes that contributes to my overall vision…but also strengthens my mindset.

Living such a fast-paced life with so much uncertainty around us, working on your mindset and core character is one of the most empowering things you can do for your success.

It’s also about becoming more as a person to achieve more. Tony Robbins said, “It's not about the goal. It's about growing to become the person that can accomplish that goal”

The Lesson: Work Harder on yourself and allow it to speak through every action, decision and way you show up in the world.

5. Time for Giving.

As Tony Robbins says, “The secret to living is giving”. One of the greatest practices that feeds your heart, soul, and spirit is contributing to causes and the people around us. Giving without expectation of reward, giving to something greater than ourselves.

Taking time to give and serve throughout the year grounds me, reminds me that we live in the top 10% of wealth in the world and our problems are not really ever problems. It also reminds me why I do what I do as a coach.

I invite you to find your favourite causes, charities and acts of service and then this year, set a goal or vision of the impact you want to make in these areas.

I guarantee you, you will feel a deep sense of fulfilment from doing this.

The Lesson: Take time out to give, contribute & enjoy the many rewards it brings.

6. Spend time with inspiring people and inspired places

Spend time with people and in the places that bring out the best in you and inspire your thinking.

The more you place your self in uplifting environments, the more extraordinary your thinking and creativity becomes. It’s a huge gift to yourself.

The Lesson: You become who you spend time with and in environments where you spend the most time. Choose wisely.

7. Feal the fear and do it anyway.

Are there things you haven’t done because of the fear of what may go wrong? A new business or career, a relationship or a physical challenge?

If so, I can tell you that everybody experiences the same thing. The truth is you only live once. “We regret the things we don’t do more than the things we do.”— Mark Twain

The second truth is that failure is actually the very gift that we grow from. Every failure has laid the foundations upon which you have built many of your proudest achievements.

The Lesson: Feel the fear & take a leap…..you will be inspired by the very result.

8. Think bigger, biggest…think Impossible 

A great quote  I came across this year is that “We set goals from what we think we can have or deserve, and not what we can actually achieve”

It’s amazing how our thinking and ego gets in the way of us tuning in to our potential.

A question I love to ask my clients is what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

I love asking this question and then really seeing the possibilities  that come because of it, noticing where we have played small so we can find the glimpses of excellence in what could be, if we allow ourselves to think bigger

So, what would you do if you couldn’t fail?

The Lesson: Think bigger, think beyond your limitations and set yourself the impossible goals which you will prove to yourself are possible with your creativity, resourcefulness and intellect. If you think you can achieve the goal, it’s not big enough. It should scare you, at least a little.

9. Be Coachable

As a coach, I love having my own coaches and  mentors that can look into my world and show me where the gaps are in my performance and what’s holding me back from succeeding.

Through the work I do, I always believe that you can only impact people, serve & lead them if I constantly strive to improve my own skills and abilities.

There are leaders that try to lead…and then there are leaders who actually lead.

The Lesson: Be Coachable. To be a great leader in or at anything, be lead-able.

Do the work on yourself first, make sure you are fine tuning your own skills to excellence so that every way you lead others comes across with much more conviction from you having done this for yourself.

10.  Prioritise your Health

Here is a saying I know you have heard plenty of times, so one more time won’t hurt. Health is wealth!

At times over the last year whenever I have neglected my health from what I eat through to how much I move my body, this always comes back to bite me negatively from lower energy, tiredness and bad decisions.

Put your health first, take care of your body and  your mind and you will feel and perform so much better.

The Lesson: You have this body for life, don’t abuse or disrespect it. Care for it and nourish it, and it will look after you.

I hope these take aways and insights will provide massive value to you and can serve you in growing your business, maximising your potential and making 2025 your best year yet.

If you’d like to have a coaching conversation with me on how we can make 2025 your best year yet and ensure you achieve your business/life vision & goals, why not book a discovery  call or email me on ijgnorton@hotmail.com

Here is to you reader and I hope you make this year the best year so far and one to remember.

Live Fierce,

With love and light

Ian