31 Dec Reflections, and 2019 Resolutions

I’ve never been terribly big on resolutions, but we needed some major changes going into 2018.

2017 was a very difficult year for us. It’s something we’ve talked about a few times – no secrets here. Entering our first year of marriage, our third year of building these businesses, and it seemed like we were hitting one roadblock after another. After triaging our business during personal attacks and a forced rebrand, we entered 2018 battered and bruised. Going into the new year was not inspiring, resolutions were not happening, and we honestly didn’t even want to think of the struggles we endured in 2017 – the ripple-effects of which are still felt today.

But, we did recognize that some major changes needed to be made. As the spring approached in 2018, Bryce and I made a pact to make it “our” year. To choose marriage over everything else.

We agreed to stop overanalyzing the growing businesses and let them run their course. No longer were we going to antagonize over numbers, goals, and worked hours. This last year, we stopped saying “yes” to directionless endeavors and had a laser focus on building the foundation to a truly special marriage.

Sidenote: I image many couples who work together have to go through this “reorientation” of sorts.

Two people as driven as Bryce and I, are easily distracted by work. We are easily worked up over trivial stuff like failed deals and lost clients. It takes a LOT of effort to pull back to that 1,000-foot view of what really matters. And, at the end of the day, EVERY day, the stuff that matters is our relationship.

So 2018 was our Year of Marriage. We traveled to many wonderful places. We spent a LOT of time nurturing our friendships and relationships with the people we care about. While 2018 was a dreadful year for production, it wasn’t our focus. And, honestly, 2018 was pretty positive. Not a lot of bad came of it and instead was filled with so much love and happiness and curiosity that at times my heart would burst with happiness. But the wonderful times we had this year came from a lot of sacrifices, hard lessons learned, and shushed ego.

We don’t know exactly what 2019 has planned for us, but we feel like the problems of 2017, and the rebuilding of 2018, have prepared us for a special year. Bryce and I want to say a special thank you for following us along on our journey. We are so grateful for the opportunity to work, serve, create, and share this wonderful life with each and every one of you. It’s from this place that I’m so excited to share some of our resolutions – both business and personal – for 2019.

Our 2019 Resolutions

• Complete a Whole30 – for 90 days?
• Wake up earlier (like 5:30am – yes, Bryce, 5:30am.)
• Nurture new business partnerships and commit to mutual growth.
• Have an incredible second anniversary (every one counts!).
• Continue a meditation routine.
• Run another half marathon (Stef, not Bryce).
• Be better at putting my laundry away (Stef, not Bryce).
• Visit a new country. Maybe a couple.
• Mentor more amazing agents. Hire more amazing agents.
• Prospect 12 hours a week.
• Create more blog and video content for agents and consumers.
• Is this the year we start a podcast? Vlog? Maybe.
• Pay off our remaining debt.
• Be more silly (both of us).
• Grow beyond the negative voices in our minds.
• Expect good and greatness.

A few of our fav photos from 2018. Farewell to another year!