ready, set . . . audacious.

Posted on January 8, 2014 by April Lee • 18 Comments

i have been revisiting my word of the year from 2013.
wave.

it turned out to be such an accurate description of that season of my life.
of both the tumult and wonder i experienced.
of the uncertainty and the fascination.

this year i want to risk more.
i want to ride the most powerful wave that rolls in.

i haven’t exactly been living in a cocoon of security.
in the last several years i have ventured further and further out.
broadening the parameters of my comfort zone.
even moreso in the past twelve months.

but there are still challenges i’ve shied away from.
a want-to list untapped.
unwrapped opportunities still waiting.
personally and professionally.

because my fears show up now and then.
when i don’t reach out.
when i voice unrealistic concerns.
when i find a way out of doing something that scares me.

i hold myself back in those instances.
i feel myself shrink.
i let fear become the driver instead of me.

and i feel as if i’ve let myself down,
done myself a disservice,
allowed my weaknesses to overcome me.

so i’ve been making a conscious effort to expand my world.
by starting my own company.
by choosing to become a citizen of the world.

neither of these undertakings felt natural or easy to me at first.
especially since i had more of a tendency to “play by the rules” when i was younger.
through the years i have slowly stretched myself further each day.
and i have begun to appreciate and embrace those oh-so-necessary gray areas.

now i rule my life.
and i want it to be one without regrets.

i had a hard time deciding on my word of the year for 2014.
lots of possibilities (seventeen in fact!).
but that perfect “this is it” feeling escaped my grasp.

i initially selected the word RISK.
then shunned it a few days later.
partly because of its somewhat negative connotation.
and partly because it just felt too stereotypical.

during this process i described my business dreams to my husband.
and he said they reminded him of “big hairy audacious goals” from the book built to last.

at that moment i knew i had my word.
it sounded absolutely right.

this is my year to be AUDACIOUS.

extraordinarily bold.
daring, fearless.
extremely original.
highly inventive.
unrestrained by convention.
courageous, intrepid.
dauntless, venturesome.
brazen.

audacious.

there is so much i want to accomplish.
and sometimes i don’t feel as if i have enough.
enough energy.
enough time.
enough know-how.
enough guts.

but i’m knocking those anemic thoughts right out of my head.
i’m forging ahead with confidence.
with no remorse for past slip-ups.
no disappointment regarding so-close-but-never-made-it efforts.

i’m seizing the day.
making everything count.
getting things done.
moving steadily forward.
capturing my dreams.

behaving audaciously.

who presumes i shouldn’t?
who says i can’t?

certainly not me.

oh! i also want to share my 2014 vision board with you.
it’s loud and busy and colorful and wordy.
and exactly how i want it.
inspiring me every day from my studio wall.

what i want to do.
where i want to go.
how i wish to feel.

after i finished creating it, i realized something else.
the words i chose are not only visions for myself.
they embody what i want for my clients as well.

to never settle.
to travel deeper.
to discover.
to take action.
to bring on the fireworks.
to soar.