January 4, 2020

When I was a kid, I used to dream about how old I would be in the year 2000 (37) and what the world would be like (flying cars and Jetsons architecture). I never even bothered to imagine how old I’d be way off in 2020.  

But now that the world and I are actually older than I ever pictured, I realize that my childhood imaginings of my future self helped me to create a vision that was hopeful — even when the path wasn’t always clear.

After all, dreaming is all about envisioning a better future, with infinite possibilities.  

In a year that feels auspicious in possibilities (2020 vision, anyone?) and absolutely frightening and chaotic at the same time (getting on the political merry-go-round again), I know that the best way to create a new vision for a new decade is to stop and be grateful for all that motivated me in the past and helped to create my future.

Here’s to all the teachers who helped me to dream and taught me how to create, grow and think. My history professors, my acting professors, and even my hated math teachers. And here’s my law professors who gave me an ethical compass to work and live by.  

Here’s to all those who motivated me to pay attention to my body and care for it as a miracle that should be both cherished and challenged. Fitness instructors both virtual and actual, as well as the medical and wellness professionals who not only care for me but help ensure I care for myself.  

Here’s to all those who inspired me with their own creative talent and dedication — especially those artists who forced me to think, feel and understand with their work on stages, screens, walls and pages.  

Here’s to all those I serve, who inspire me with their courage to grow and take their leadership to the edge and show up with passion for those they serve every day.  

Here’s to those who serve others in office with honor, in the military with bravery, and in non-profits with selflessness. 

Here’s to my loved ones who are braver and more resilient than they know, and who motivate me every day to be a better human.  

And here’s to the last decade.  For me, it started with unknowns, both financially and professionally, and has closed with new skills borne of necessity and passion including: growing a business supporting leaders all over the world from Morocco to Milwaukee and every place in between; returning to the stage after 13 years; and writing this column for the last 10 years.  

This last decade roared to a close with a year that felt like a race to the finish line for us.  In the last six months we did what most people take years to do: sold our house, emptied that house, and moved — all while working and traveling to places near and far. 

That downsizing ended an era in our lives. We no longer are raising kids but instead are now hoping that all the work we put into raising them, well, worked.  

We no longer seek advice and counsel from our parents, but are advising and caring for them.  

We no longer aspire to the things we aspired to when we were a young married couple focused on ourselves, our aspirations instead shifted to focus on our children and their world.

As this new decade begins, and as I’ve reached an age I never imagined I’d be, I believe our aspirations haven’t diminished but will be even bigger because now they are all about impact and legacy.  

Here’s to the next decade and beyond. I can only imagine all our possibilities, both personal and shared

As first published in the Democrat + Chronicle and on the USA Today Network