Like everybody else in 2020, I didn't see it coming. I didn't realize standing on that stage in January, 2020, at the launch of my one-woman-show Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale? that in just a few months, my dream would get grounded. For an entire year. If you're a funny motivational speaker like me, you understand just how depressing it is to have your stage taken away. Especially to be told that to survive, you need to figure out how to do your craft on a computer instead. 

But I did it.

And it wasn't really fun.

And it sure wasn't easy.

And I'm not really convinced I like the finished product.

But I did it.

And for THAT I will celebrate. Because I did something that scared me, and regardless of how it turned out, the success was in having the courage to jump.

So now that I am (hopefully) standing near the end of this particular adventure, I want to certainly pause and find the gift in it. I want to look for the lessons that I was meant to learn. I want to see what I think God might have used the darkness to teach me.

So here goes.

1.  Life is short and you aren't guaranteed tomorrow. (I knew that, but now I REALLY know that.)

2.  So if life is short, stop caring so much about what others think about your work. Just do it already. (Nobody's paying attention anyway.)

3.  Be careful that you are not so busy planning for one day, that you don't realize this is your one day.  (Your work can wait - go visit your mother.)

4.  So seize the moment and do what brings you joy - even if it's not that marketable.  (Well, as long as it is legal and good for you. All those Ritz cracker casseroles I'm probably going to regret.)

5.  If you think people are idiots, opinionated, and downright hateful - get off social media.  (There are way more good people in the world than what you're seeing through that lens.)

6.  Double up on your grace, you'll need it yourself one day.  (People are doing the best they can. Stop judging them.)

7.  Politics sucks. (Self-explanatory.)

8.  You like being around people more than you thought you do.  (Even introverts can't survive on lock down forever.)

9.  Stop believing people when they tell you this is the new normal. (It's not. If there's one thing constant about life, it's change. It will always change.)

10. Your gift knows no limits and sometimes finding a new playground to play, is exactly what needed to happen. (Stages comes in all shapes and sizes.)

11. Bonus:  Something will always be around the corner that you don't see coming - and you will get through it with strength - I promise.  

I'm sure there was even more I needed to learn in 2020. But I'm a slow learner. 

I would love to know what you learned in 2020. Care to comment?