Finishing strong is not about finishing first. Finishing strong is about finishing! Crossing the finish line fuels you!

I’m wide awake right now at 3AM. Some new ideas for 2020 woke me up and while doing some research I came across an article. An 80-year-old woman graduated with a 3.69 GPA. I saved the article because I knew it would be something that would inspire my community.

Right now we are days away from watching the ball drop and some of you have checked out completely. I’m not talking about those who are taking time off to be with family and friends. This is not referring to those taking some self-care time. I mean those of you who said “I’ll start fresh in 2020” because you feel you failed in 2019.

2019 is not over until the ball drops!

Now back to the story of the 80-year-old woman. Whew! I sat for a moment skimming the article. What makes you finish something at the age of 80? Why did you finish it?

(Original article: https://www.blacknews.com/news/donzella-washington-80-year-old-woman-graduates-college-alabama-am-university/)

I could see my life’s list of to do’s in my head. (You can probably see your list or vision board in your head right now too right?) As I went back to the article a few things stood out.

1. She is a powerhouse for going back to school. This has been an internal battle I have had for a while. Going back after a break is a true test of your strength. I have to say this tho. If you have been thinking about it then go for it!

Take that leap! It may be the shift you need to get things on track in your business.

2. She is a powerhouse for getting a 3.6 GPA! #periodt That means she returned with a determination to finish strong. I’ve been shouting this from the mountain tops as we close out 2019.

Oh, and I have been putting in the work as well. Podcast content, networking, supporting and doing some work when it comes to the back office of my business.

3. She is a powerhouse for doing this at the age of 80. We often fear to look at the things we didn’t complete as failures. We carry that disappointment and regret with us.

…but we don’t have to carry it!

If you didn’t complete it then…don’t continue to beat yourself up about it. Instead, take action and move towards getting it accomplished. Yes, even if that means working on it little by little.

(Original article: https://www.blacknews.com/news/donzella-washington-80-year-old-woman-graduates-college-alabama-am-university/)

You know how it feels to have that piece of skin next to your nail cut? There is a small piece sticking up reminding you that it there. Oh, and you feel it every time you hit it or it gets caught on something. Ouch!!!!

That right there can bring a grown man to tears.

Unfinished things in our business and life bring that same feeling. My challenge to you is to finish something in these last few days of 2019. It can be one thing that was on your to-do list this week or one thing that you had on your vision board for 2019. Go all-in on that one task and show it who is boss!

This will ignite a fire on the inside of you so you start 2020 with the momentum from that accomplished task. So how do you block out the negative thoughts and get one thing done? How do you shut down the feeling of failure to reach success?

My affirmation!

Start shifting what you say about yourself today! Create intentional and specific affirmations that you will say over yourself as you end 2019. I have one that I made after I was in a challenge earlier in the year. The key for me was to create one that was unique to my journey. That meant I had to define what success looked like for me.

“Today, I am a successful Christian small business owner that leads with service, creates opportunities and empowers one person to find their voice!”

I wrote this out in my journal daily for about a week. I started saying it out loud in the mornings as well.

My action!

Have you ever had a head full of ideas and errands? Things get overlooked. So I began writing things down on index cards. Why an index card? Well, unless you have the hand the size of a mouse you can’t overload an index card. Believe me, because I have tried.

Also, by using index cards I can rip them up and recycle them as I finish the things on the card. This saves me from having a bunch of notebooks. Let me correct that. It stops me from having more notebooks. Lol

Write out what you need to do. This will help you to delegate tasks, eliminate things that are not needed and see your progress in real-time.

Doing these two things will shift some things for you as you go into 2020. Let’s finish the year strong. I would love to know your affirmation. You can share it with me in the comments.

With over ten years of writing, Altovise uses her platforms to create opportunities for women to have their voices heard. Founder of the World Voice League, she educates and empowers through courses, a weekly accountability call, blogging, books, and the #SpeakEasy Podcast.