To say I've had a challenging past 12 months would be an understatement.

My divorce was finalized in early spring. We sold our home at a huge financial loss (all mine, lucky me) in early summer. I sold practically everything I owned two weeks later, said goodbye to my friends and family in Michigan, then hopped a plane to Texas to be with my son. Then 70 days of 100+ degree temperatures followed (it was the hottest three months ever!).

Along with those challenges I managed to pick up some insight along the way. I'd like to share this with you here:

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While my divorce wasn't pure hell like I imagine some are...it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns either. Nothing is. Accept it. Consider it a metaphor for life.

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Resentment is a bitch. It will take as many years off your life as a-pack-a-day habit. It clouds an otherwise rational mind.

Thich Nhat Hanh said, "If we are angry, we are the anger".

Don't be the anger. No one will want to be around you.

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Seth Godin recently wrote, "Remarkable work often comes from making choices when everyone else feels as though there is no choice. Difficult choices involve painful sacrifices, advance planning or just plain guts. Saying you have no choice cuts off all options, absolves responsibility and is the dream killer."

I've never read anything more true.

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Steve Jobs said, "We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?"

Bold thinking like this and the action it requires...will...piss...people...off!

Here's what I came to realize this year based on personal experience:

For every person you piss off you have the potential to positively impact an exponentially greater number of people.

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Don't stand still...or you might get hit by a car.

Literally.

I was six inches away from being taken out by a speeding vehicle because I waffled back and forth in my decision to cross an intersection.

I waited...and waited some more...then decided to cross...then almost got killed.

Don't hesitate. Don't drift in indecision. Just (insert expletive) go!

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The world would be a much cooler place if we just recognized the similarities between ourselves and others instead of focusing on the differences.

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Thanks for being a much-appreciated part of my past 12 months.

I wish you all the very best in the coming year.