10 Most Important Things I learned in 2014

2014 was a year of mixed feelings for me. My husband was critically ill from June through July, and I almost thought we were going to lose him. But he recovered, and the second half of 2014 was filled with much joy.

This is Reg in August, after his bout with diverticulitis had been successfully dealt with.

As this is the final post I will be writing for this blog this year, I’d like to share some of my life moments of the past year in the 10 most important things I learned in 2014:

1. Having a really good doctor help gets you through the most trying times. My husband adores his doctor, and we are still making the 45-minute drive each way so that he can see Dr. Wiebe. Having a doctor you know and trust is especially critical when you have an unexplained condition in which the physician must partner with specialists and help you jump the queue to get faster medical service.

2. Good things can come out of tragedies. Through my husband’s illness, I learned I had much more fortitude than I was aware of. And I think the difficulties we encountered brought forth a deeper level of respect and appreciation for one another.

3. Hard work pays off. Self-publishing my book, “Chocolatour: A Quest for the world’s Best Chocolate” has been an amazing experience. But my hard work and professional partnerships rewarded me with an international award for my book. I won a bronze medal in the 2014 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. That has truly been the highlight of my writing career (to date!)

4.  A good book doesn’t sell itself. Getting good reviews and winning an award will not sell a book by itself. You’ve really got to market your book–and yourself as an author–in order to keep your book on the minds of people, so that when they are ready to buy, they think of you!

5. Being active and effective on social media takes a lot of time and effort. But it is essential to building my author’s platform and enables me to expand my reach and meet many of the fascinating people in the world of fine chocolate who are being profiled on my chocolate travel blog, and in my book.

6. That I really need to establish a mailing of people interested in my work as a chocolate writer, blogger, expert, speaker, and tour guide. I’ve heard it said by every expert in the marketing field: you need to create an e-newsletter to connect with your tribe, readers, and audience. I resolve to work on this next month, and hope to have the inaugural edition out in early February.

7. That the expression of gratitude is one of the most import virtues one can possess. I’ve really learned how important it is to appreciate everyone and everything good in my life. Have you?

8. I learned that I have pretty good intuitive powers when it comes to reading people. This was really reinforced by an unfortunate situation in my writing world. Trust your instincts!

9. I learned that as an extrovert, blogging provides a terrific outlet for my thoughts, feelings, and knowledge. Come February, I will have been blogging for  six years! Yes, this blog was launched in Feb, 2009, and I’ve stuck to a twice-monthly posting schedule ever since launching the travel blog as a separate entity. But I still love it!

10. I learned that blogging is meaningless unless there is a conversation going on. So I really appreciate everyone who reads, shares, and comments on my posts. Without you, I’d be talking into the wind, and that’s no fun!

I hope that 2014 provided some meaningful lessons for you as well. Please share! What is the most important thing you learned this year?

I look forward to continuing our discussion and our community in 2015. Until then, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thanks very much to everyone who has been a part of my personal and professional life. This blog is a blend of both, and being a Gemini, that feels good. 🙂