Remember me? I can’t blame you if you don’t. It’s been way too long. Well I’m back and hopefully with a little more consistency–no promises though.  A lot has happened and a lot is about to happen. Now would be a perfect time for me to reflect on it all.

Here are the 5 happenings since my last post:

1) The quickest four years of my life. They say you don’t really know what you’ve got until it’s gone and this sad cliche could never be truer since graduating college. I blinked in 2009 and the best year of my college career was over. I blinked again and was handed a $100,000 piece of paper and was told, “Best of luck in the real-world.” College was awesome though–the bold intro for this paragraph is a little deceiving. It should also say, “the best four years of my life.” Because before college, I was afraid of wanting anything. I figured wanting would lead to trying, and trying would lead to failure. Then freshmen year I met 7 of my newest best friends. I took a scary leap from studying business to focus on communications and public relations. Since making all of these bold decisions in college, I find that I can’t stop wanting. Now I want to travel to places I’ve never been on a business trip. I want to learn more about the world. I want to surprise myself. I want to be important. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to win and have people happy for me.  want to lose and get over it. I want to be afraid of the unknown. I want an interesting and surprising life. It’s not that I think I’m going to get all of these things. I just want the possibility of getting them. And I truly believe that going to college and to the University of New Hampshire represented this possibility. The possibility that things are going to be constantly changing, and I can’t wait.

2) The time to build a brighter future is now. I’m currently a communications specialist for a clean energy project that is being proposed in New Hampshire, the Northern Pass. It has been an unbelievable experience and opportunity that has progressively developed my work ethic and I couldn’t be more appreciative for the mentoring by I am receiving by such an amazing leadership.

3) The country called. Late last October I received an invitation to Lake Placid to assist the women’s national team with video in preparation for their journey to Sochi for the 2014 winter Olympics. After a long weekend in New York for the Four Nations tournament, I continued on with the team traveling all over New England and Minnesota working closely with the coaches and women breaking down film. It was an absolute honor and experience that I’ll never forget.

 

4) We walk the same path, but I wear different shoes. Lately I’ve been working really hard on public speaking. With having a few more speaking opportunities under my belt, I’m slowly becoming more and more comfortable talking in front of large audiences about a subject that isn’t all so comfortable for me. In the moment, speaking to all of these young influential minds is and has been the most rewarding experience. Every school has been so warm and welcoming, every student has been so quiet and respectful and no matter how critical I get of myself of how I think I did, once I remind myself of all of this–it makes it so worth it.

4.5) It’s the little things. Whether it’s a total stranger tweeting how the @littlemotivator tweets makes his/her day. A colleague texting saying how appreciative they are of the work that has been done. Waking up at 7am on Sundays to teach 5/6 year olds how to play the game of hockey. Grabbing a cup of coffee with your best friend every Sunday. A manager allowing you to sit in a meeting with company executives. Or spending the last 5 minutes of Trinity’s hockey practice each day, passing the puck around with your brother. It’s these little moments, these little details and acts of kindness that will always have a special place in my heart.

Today’s Pep Talk: Every day is a new opportunity to reinvent yourself. You’re always in motion. You decide every day: forward or backward. It didn’t take long to realize how quickly life moves after graduation. I have found joy in reading and writing everything down. Part of my daily morning routine involves reading local, regional, and national news stories. I enjoy reading articles from Inc, Thought Catalog and Elite Daily. Sticky notes and daily To-Do lists have played a vital role in increasing my efficiency and effectiveness.

The best investment one can make, is by investing in themselves. Passion attracts opportunities. Find time to spend alone, doing what you love. If you can’t find the time, make the time. No matter how experienced you think you are, you can always use more. You might not be the best, but people take notice of those that continually strive to be better. Be one of those people that remain positive and transform small opportunities into something much larger. It takes guts to put yourself out there and try, but the rewards are far greater than the courage it takes to start your journey. You can’t rush something you want to last forever. Take a chance, because you never know how absolutely perfect something can turn out to be.