Welcome to 2024! Are you ready for it and excited for what it holds? Or are you not so thrilled?

Whichever camp you are in, I want to inspire you to embrace what the future holds to make this a year of growth.

I’ll do that by sharing my word and outlook for the year, as informed by an inventory I took to round out a solid 2023. Are you ready?

 My word for 2024 is momentum. I’m sure you know what momentum means, but let’s examine  the definition: 

momentum /mō-mĕn′təm/

noun

1. A quantity used to measure the motion of a body, equal to the product of the body's mass and its velocity.
2. The force or energy exhibited by a moving body.
   "The ball did not have enough momentum to reach the goalposts."
3. The driving force or advancing strength of a development or course of events.
   "The effort to reform public education has been gaining momentum."

I bolded number three because it most applies to the force I am describing. What I want for you and me.

2024 is going to be a year of continued growth. Let’s look at how the development started, and then we’ll wrap up by applying it to how you can see growth and momentum in 2024. 

Living from abundance

“You can’t pour from an empty cup,” the saying goes. If you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to share with others. But here is where it gets interesting: everyone has something. Probably a lot more you think, that you can use to bless others.

To exercise living from abundance, I centered on gratitude and realizing I have everything I need without lacking. Realizing my abundance, I sought to be generous. In being generous, my abundance was not depleted but maintained and even grew!

Have you ever had that happen, where you give something and find that what you receive is more than you gave? It’s a fantastic experience!

Furthermore, I found abundance in the richness of friendships, faith, family relationships, and more. But we’ll get to the “more” in a minute.

Abundance does have a material element. But a key to it is mindset. If you focus on your blessings, more emerge. Have you ever found that to be true?

But it's not all roses.

Seeking opportunity

2023 was a banner year for business and relationships. But it didn’t start that way. One of the things I learned was that when I was lacking in an area of opportunity, I sought it out. 

I’ve been down a dark road and come through on the other side joyfully. 

The economy is tough, but I grew Carry Courage despite that. 

How? By seeking opportunity. 

I invested in vendor fair opportunities to meet like-minded small business owners and the lovely ladies who buy our products.

I made connections with small local shops to create mutually beneficial retail arrangements. 

Whether I felt like it or not, I kept posting content online to share my journey and find others who resonated with it. 

The sum of my efforts equaled growth over time. 

But I’d be remiss to skip over the final critical component.

Prayer and personal development

Many people build companies through sheer discipline and self-will. Those are critical ingredients, to be sure. But prayer for my business was the key to bringing it all together.

Why do it alone when you can petition the Almighty on your behalf? I prayed diligently that God would cause my business to grow, and it did. Coupled with the efforts I put in.

Personal development can’t be overlooked either. I’ve been investing in a coach that helps me focus on growing personally and professionally. That equips me with the right mindset to forge ahead despite setbacks. 

Building on momentum in 2024

Now that I’ve shared with you my playbook on how 2023 turned into such a wonderful year, let’s look at what it means for this year.

I will continue to live from abundance and be generous. Cherishing my friends and family is now embedded in my daily life. 

Doing uncomfortable things to generate different results? I’m used to it now, so I’ll continue. My investment in services that help build my business has yielded a substantial return, so I will maintain those also!

Conclusion

I hope sharing my journey has helped you. Even if it gives you one idea you can use to make 2024 better than last year, it is worth it.

I'd love to hear what you’re dreaming of in the new year. Feel free to drop a comment.

Thank you for reading! Here’s to your momentum in 2024!