Mellowing Out and Looking Back…

getting reflective with the team (photo courtesy of the Indy Star)

We’re in the odd time of year where we’re starting to wrap up our programming for 2015 and it gets me all reflective about what this year has meant.

It’s been truly unbelievable, and in a month and holiday season that is all about being appreciative and thankful; it’s pretty overwhelming to look back at the last 11 months and pause to give thanks to all of those little things that have happened and culminated with where I stand today.

It’s been a year full of big victories: hiring staff, growing our sponsor base, landing major grants, launching Portland operations with Nine13sports Northwest, SKL, Best & Brightest, positive press, a new office, committee seats, building meaningful relationships across the community, and serving thousands of youth with my vision. It’s more than I ever could have dreamed of as I looked forward a year ago.

For me, I think the biggest change over the last twelve months is finding peace both professionally and personally. Somewhere along the path of 2015, I stopped feeling like I had to prove my point and vision. I stopped celebrating victories as a way to throw up a middle finger at those that told me my idea was never going to work, and I think most importantly, I realized that there weren’t many people left who were playing the role of naysayer.

it’s been a wild year with a lot of incredible opportunities to spread the word on Nine13

Even with my competitive/win at all costs/leave them bloody and blinded personality, the sense of calm that has developed over these last months has me in a much more mellow place in my life. After pouring every waking minute into work for these last two years after the spin-off, not to mention the two years before that dealing with co-founders, I’m finally at a point where I can figure out what else I want to focus on outside of work that makes me happy and gives me a feeling of being complete. As much as I was dreading turning twenty-nine and how much I wrestled with that, I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year and 2016 holds.

I know I’ve got one hell of a team both professionally and personally–and with that sort of support, the sky is the limit.

Thanks to all of you for being part of this adventure as well. The readership on the blog has grown more so in 2015 than ever before and the support and advice from you all have made this journey even better. My goal is to write more in the months ahead and begin to share some bits and pieces from the in-process book…so stay tuned.

Cheers,

-th