Wow, can you believe 2012 is about to come to a close? I can’t. This year has just flown by. Naturally, at this point in December, I begin to think about all that has happened this past year and then I remembered that exactly a year ago I wrote the “Six New Year’s Resolutions that will Change Your Life” series.  So, I thought it would be fun to revisit them and ask you how you did.
Then, starting Friday, I’m going to introduce five new resolutions for 2013 that will blow you away.
But, before we get to 2013, let’s look back at those 2012 resolutions.

1. Serve Your Donor—Did you spend your year coming up with fantastic ideas on how to provide outrageous customer service for your donors?  The idea was not to “sell” to your donor, but to “serve your donor.”  How did you do?  If you took a pen and paper right now and had to list all the ways you served your donor, could you come up with 20 really quickly.  If not, there is more work to be done.
2. Love Your Work—If you have been reading our blog for any length of time you will know that Richard and I firmly believe that if you don’t love major gift fundraising there is no sense in doing it.  Unfortunately, there are still lots of people in our profession who don’t love it, but still are in it.  Why be in a situation that brings you down, causes anxiety and stress and could be making you physically sick?  Find work you love.
3. Set Goals—Last year I stressed that setting goals helps you focus and stay accountable.  There are three areas in which to set goals: caseload goals, professional goals, and personal goals.  How did you do in 2012?
4. Make Mistakes—I received a lot of responses on this post from folks who told me how glad they were that I was bringing this to light.  We’re generally afraid to make mistakes and therefore we don’t take risks.  If you don’t take risks you don’t move forward and you stagnate.  I hope you made many mistakes in 2012.  I sure did!!
5. Be Curious—Ask More Questions—I said to make 2012  “The Year of Curiosity.”  Did you?  Richard and I have found that the best MGOs ask the most questions.  They ask questions because they know that they will only get to authentic answers when they allow donors to be real with them.  That takes real engagement with donors.  That only happens when you are curious.
6. Seek Joy.  Finally, the last resolution of 2012 was to constantly seek joy in all you do.  This is a tough one, I know.  I’m sure there were a lot of things that went wrong in 2012, but guess what?  You’re still here.  You learned from those tough times and often, through those hard moments, joy was waiting on the other side.  In fact, if you look back at 2012 you will see a lot of joy.

Well, there they are.  How did you do with your resolutions in 2012?  If you are like me, I’m sure you blew a number of them.  The good news is that in 2013 you can start anew and re-commit yourself.
I love resolutions.  So, next time I’ll start my new series on the “Five Resolutions that will make 2013 your BEST YEAR EVER!
Jeff
Series Details:

• #1: Take Time for Reflection
• #2: Prioritize Your Life
• #3: Do Less
• #4: Practice Gratitude
• #5: Move Forward