A Pensive Look at 2011…and what’s in store for 2012!

Today is the last day of 2011.

My gosh, what a wild ride.

I can definitely say this year has been one of the most painful ones I've ever experienced, and yet…one of the most appreciated as well.

Some of the lowlights:

I gave unconditional trust to someone who promised to return a favor I had done before…and then chose not to.  Alas, I was not given any warning.

This devastated me beyond mortal comprehension….and killed the innocence, and indeed, the person I was, back then.

• Then again, of course, perhaps that person needed killing.
  

I emerged from that situation a far more cynical and jaded person, which aided me greatly during the past 4 months where I ramped up my business beautifully.  I've always said, the most precious gifts your guardian angel has to give…the more agony and trials by fire you have to endure.

I will be *very* happy *never* to go through that ever again.

My friend died of cancer.

Sheila Weisfeld was one of a kind.  Our friendship was one of those things that just happened rather bizarrely.  I was given permission to honor her memory by building her memorial site over at www.sheliaweisfeld.com – so glad I was able to do this.

Other friends took me for granted regarding website design.

Hopefully I've learned me lesson by now!!  A few weeks ago, I offered to finish up a site for a friend and right around Xmas, sent the update and and haven't heard hide nor hair since.

Sigh.  Honestly, I have nobody except myself to blame.  :-/

Some of the highlights:

I found out who truly cared outside of my family.

When I was down and out, not too many people reached out to me.  'Matter of fact, only a few did.   I understand how many people just view things as "live and let live", but wow, those single acts of kindness really made a deep deep impression.

I'll never forget them.

I virtually met Janelle Kleppin!

This utterly magnificent woman answered a heartfelt tweet of mine back in March, when I queried the Internet if anyone could crochet me pomegranates that I could give to the Sheila mentioned above.

Janelle responded, and not only made them for me for free, she shipped 'em too!

That kind of action….wow.

I'll truly *never* ever forget that!

I wrote about it over at

Give Back To Strangers That Help

It turns out that Janelle does Squidoo and Internet marketing too, so we've developed quite the friendship online.

Woot!

I virtually met Kathe Lucas and Denise Hall!

These beyond brilliant ladies run Wacky Central, a place for great-quality Internet marketing gifts for low wacky prices.

I've been following them now for 2+ years; they are incredibly magnificent, ethical and honest marketers and it has been a privilege to network with them.

I virtually met Coby Wright!

I've only seriously started marketing on the Warrior Forum now since Sept.  But Coby was a very helpful guy to me with regards to Skype and other thingeees……and now I'm a co-host in his List Building MasterMind chat.

Woot!

I proved that *nothing* could get me down.

The utter disaster that ate my soul that I had mentioned earlier…I had two choices.

I could either give into the pain or say, f*ck that, I will overcome.

I chose the second.

And I am *incredibly* proud of that.

I always chose to do the right thing, even when it was to my disadvantage.

This is actually kinda sorta huge with me.  It is also reflected in one of my favorite sayings:

"A coward knows the right thing to do…but is afraid to do it."

I can honestly say…I have *never* been a coward.

Now, true, granted…if *I* could return to the past and redo *some* actions, I definitely would!  I put others ahead of me and had those actions interpreted quite negatively indeed….if I could redo them, I'd have put myself first, last and in between.

Ah well, lesson learned!

I do hope that some year, the person in question will realize the above.

My business rocked!

Because of my spectacular fail, as recounted in

• How To Brilliantly Turn Failure Into Money for 2012

I *totally* revamped my business and it grew exponentially.

We're talking glorious.  Really, really….glorious.

Woot!

My family rocked!

I celebrated my 18th anniversary with my husband, and my 4 kids have grown quite magnificently indeed.  No sigh yet of teenage rebellion, and still…they all come to me whenever problems emerge in their lives.

*That* is a success above and beyond anything else.  Truly.

• So where will I go in 2012?

Well, ideally…I want to continue with the business model I have created.  I plan on creating 1 or 2 products every week, continuing to build my list, and continuing to benefit my customers.

It's a business model that definitely is viable, definitely works…and will deliver to my family big huge bunches of goodness indeed!

So that be my take on 2011 and how I'm viewing 2012…it will just get better and better.

How 'bout you?

Grow strong,

Barbara Ling