The “Word of the Year” thing has become pretty popular among women entrepreneurs over the past few years. I didn’t participate my first year because I basically had no idea what I was doing anyway, lol. The following year, I chose “Speak” because I wanted to speak up more and find more speaking opportunities. I considered it a good foundation for leadership, so it fit perfectly.

The following year, 2019, I chose “Magic.” This was a fun one. I wanted to re-examine anything in my life that didn’t feel like magic and decide if I should change it, cut back on it, or say “no” to it altogether.

This year, my word is “Rise.”

I’ve run into the word a lot in my work over the past year, especially in working with women leaders who talk about the “rise of the feminine.” It felt like a good way to look at how I want to be in my business this year.

1. Bread rises. I know this sounds like a strange thing to think about for business, but hear me out. Bread would be a pile of sludge without the thriving microorganisms—yeast—that create the air that puffs it up. With the power of those tiny little guys, bread rises, takes shape, and becomes something that we love. For a business to do the same, we need lots of little steps, smart moves, connections, and good choices that will create the impact for rising. This year, I plan on doing some baking in my business.
2. The sun rises. Obviously. It brings light, promise, warmth. And it does it each day, renewing life. Calling to the flowers to open. Encouraging living things to wake up and make a new start. My business will ebb and flow, and I need to trust that I can start new each day, like the sun. And like the sun, the right people for me to work with are never that far away. They may be just on the horizon.
3. People rise. We rise to the occasion. We rise when we need to say something important. We rise for a standing ovation. To me, this means being visible, standing behind my truths, and speaking when the time is right. It means stepping up when I’m not necessarily ready, but maybe my soul is. It means trusting my intuition and stretching my limits. Rising means doing big things in a world of small things. It’s about reaching out a hand, forging new paths, and thinking differently.

All this is with a goal of the next level, whatever that looks like. To show up and shine. To breathe, lead, create, and keep pushing forward. I believe that anyone with any creativity should be striving for the same. This year, for me, it will be absolutely intentional in everything I do.

What’s your word? What does it mean for who you will be in 2020?