Day 1: Make or Break?

Posted by: Alison Chisnell on: December 1, 2012

• In: Advent
• 8 Comments

It’s finally here – Happy 1st of December and the first day of Advent! Which can mean only one thing for me and for my blog…wonderful daily guest posts between now and Christmas Eve…and who knows, perhaps even a little beyond?! I’ll be accepting posts up until 21st December and if I end up with more than 24 great blogs, I’ll just keep on posting until they have all been published. I’ve been overwhelmed by the wonderful response so far, so thank you!

This year’s Advent series is kicked off by Graham Frost, an extremely nice man who I recently had the pleasure of meeting for the first time at a ConnectingHR tweet-up. You can find him on Twitter @grafrost or on his website – I rather wished I had read his fascinating background beforehand, as I would have quizzed him much more thoroughly! I suspect (and hope) however, that there will be plenty of opportunities for this in the not too distant future…. 😉

So, without further delay, here are Graham’s reflections and resolutions on the year that has been 2012…

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I approached 2012 with my usual positive attitude. Underneath, there was some trepidation. Business-wise, I knew that if my passion didn’t take off in 2012 I would probably have to get a job again. Making a difference means a lot to me, and I know I can do more of that working for myself.

I was quite sceptical about the Olympics. However, as they approached, I was as caught up in the fever as anyone else, and found myself wishing with all my heart that I had volunteered to be a Games Maker. For those of us who work with people, I think the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics provided the best example in my lifetime of how to get a large group of people united around a mission and values. The greatest part for me was that no-one was making any money out of it. Well, apart from a few multi-nationals…!

As I type this, Barack Obama has just won a second term in the White House. Will we see any massive changes? I won’t hold my breath, but he is marginally better for the world than Romney would have been.

In 2012, I was nominated as the 4^th most influential customer service expert on Twitter and joined the Engage for Success movement. Not bad for someone who was a complete stranger to Twitter just two years ago.

Someone who connected with me on LinkedIn just a few weeks ago is becoming very special in my life, both personally and professionally. You just never know where social media is going to take you.

In my favourite sport, England fell off their perch as no. 1 cricket team in the world, and the women’s team continued to beat almost everyone and get virtually no publicity. My favourite song of the year is from Melody Gardot, although Gregory Porter is a close second.

Next year, I’m hoping for a little more peace, a little more equality, and a little more justice in the world. I want to continue to make a difference to people’s lives in any small way that I can. I want someone special to continue being so. And I want England to retain The Ashes. That would be the icing on the cake.

Tags: Advent Blogs