Wrapping Up 2023 & Looking Toward 2024
I remember having a conversation with my son about life and alignment. He was going through a period of frustration in moving forward on a career path. I told him that it was normal, but that he could not fast forward, he could only move at a pace controlled by him and the universe, and that when he was trying to move faster than the universe, he was not in control and needed to be patient. What finally resonated with him was when I said, “When a man is not aligned with his purpose, he first gets frustrated, then angry, and then ultimately depressed.” My son was quiet for a bit and then replied, “When did you become a philosopher?” I told him that I’ve just lived longer and observed longer than he has.
This alignment with purpose is an important point to what changed for me in 2023. We all have dreams and visions. We all have God-given gifts that we don’t always get to open, use, and share with the world. Why? Sometimes out of fear. Sometimes out of doubt, or imposter syndrome. Many of us struggle with this. I know that I did, and still do. But self-doubt and fear are forms of quicksand. I’ve gone through many jobs in recent years and each has led to a dead-end within six months to a year. Why? Because I was not in aligned with my Creator or the Universe. I was focused on the small, the safe, and the comfortable.
With each job loss and self-examination of what to do next, the conversation with God went something like this, “I don’t get it. What do you want me to do?” and the divine reply of, “I’ve given you gifts you don’t use, and I want you to use them.” But I would once again find myself being pursued by recruiters for yet another new career opportunity that would keep me comfortable and pay the bills. I would take it and end up in the same predicament. So, this last go-round, I said, “OK, God. Here we go! It’s you and me. I’m taking the leap.” I started Gotta Look Up, created some content, and I found some great teammates to help me launch it and move it forward. In 2024, I’ll be looking for more great teammates who want to get involved and help me growth and extend the Gotta Look Up mission and message.
Little did I know that when I launched in October, with a message of Love, Forgiveness, and Peace, that October would open the doors of hate and war on a global scale. Maybe it was divine timing, but will anybody listen? Will anybody take messages of Love, Forgiveness and Peace to heart? My faith tells me that most people will find courage if they see others showing courage and speaking out for truth, love, and what is right, so keep going. Keep talking. Keep living in purpose. Keep trying to do the right things.
Some quotes to consider:
“We are all in this world together, and the only test of our character that matters is how we look after the least fortunate among us. How we look after each other, not how we look after ourselves. That’s all that really matters.”
Tommy Douglas
“In our fragile and crowded world, we can survive only together. We can truly be free, ultimately, only together. We can be human only together.
Desmond Tutu
“We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”
Jimmy Carter
“If we are together, nothing is impossible. If we are divided, all will fail.”
Winston Churchill
2024 could be a dangerous year if we are not careful. Hate, darkness and division are on the move. We need to counter them with Love, Light, Compassion and Understanding. There are forces of evil and totalitarianism that will continue to try to pull us apart as people, as a nation, and as a global community. What is their end game? In this election year, we need to be very conscious and careful about who we give our power to!!! We need to elect real leaders who see us as their fellow citizens and not as subjects to rule over.
It is imperative that we hold together as a nation. Do not listen to the liars that are trying to tear us apart. Love your neighbor. Love your fellow countrymen and women. Speak the truth. Do what is right. Stand tall even if you stand alone.
2023 was an amazing year for me personally. I won. I lost. I found purpose, courage, and faith, and as a result, I am now a different person. I took a leap and didn’t crash! I’m not soaring yet, but I’m flapping like mad and finding the right upward currents. I’m being shown the path one day at a time, one step at a time. There are times when I feel like something else is controlling the words that come into my head and are typed out into my messages and podcasts each week.
Many of my friends and family are probably wondering what got into me this past year. I have grown a lot in 2023 and Gotta Look Up has been a large part of that personal growth. It has been very fulfilling, but there are more places to go, more topics to explore, and more work to do! More to Look Up, Look Around, and Look Ahead for!
Here’s what to look for from Gotta Look Up in 2024:
Merchandise! We are working on branded lines of merchandise that will also be cause-related so we can invest in giving back to causes that resonate with the Gotta Look Up mission.
Challenges: Activities focused on optimizing productive screen time or increasing quality time with friends and family.
Field Reports: Visited places of importance around the USA and maybe the around world!
Interviews: I am reaching out to people I know who have overcome difficulties to help show others where they can find Trees of Joy and Anchors of Hope.
Events: You can’t have a message of decreasing screen time without building a community to get outside, meet for a meal, or do some good in the world!
Other Goals (Definite Maybes): Can’t share them yet, but I have bigger plans based on how Gotta Look Up grows in 2024.
There is an African Proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
So, there are many people that I need to thank. I draw inspiration from a lot of different sources, so I won’t be able to name everyone who has had a positive impact on my life here or we’ll be here for days. But I do want to mention those who had the most impact on me in getting Gotta Look Up out there.
First, to my God. I thank you for the gift of life and for each day to learn more about my gifts and where to share them. With Him, all things are possible. Prayers do get answered if you listen with your soul, not your ears, and if you understand that you must do the work. I need to continue to work on increasing my faith in order to lessen my fear and do better work.
Also, a bonus Tom-ism:
“If you do God’s work, He will help you do yours.”
To the ladies at the “EntertainHer Podcast,”: I started listening to them to better understand how high value women think and what motivates them. Most importantly, they had a branding expert on one of their episodes named Janis Sadoyama with Innovative Domains. I reached out to Janis because I needed someone with the talent to take my chicken scratches and crazy ideas and make them into a real brand, and real merchandise designs. Janis helped bring my vision to life which gave me the courage to take the leap this year and start the Gotta Look Up journey. (OK, she may have actually shoved me off the ledge, but either way, she got me flying.)
Erica Lippy: Her “Passion Love Pursuit” podcast and Podcast Guide helped me form what I am doing with Gotta Look Up. She’s also one of the best people you’ll ever meet.
Trent Shelton: His book, “The Greatest You” is a Tree of Joy and an Anchor of Hope for me. It awakened me to what is possible. Read his books, listen to his podcasts, follow him on social media, and watch your life improve.
Bob Goff: His book “Love Does”, and his podcast are motivation to me. I was introduced to Bob’s work from someone at a company that was trying to meet with me at a trade show, but had no value to what I was doing, so I tried to avoid the meeting. They tracked me down at our booth and somehow the conversation led to my vision and passion and a challenge to read “Love Does.” Funny how the Universe works sometimes! A meeting I didn’t want to take professionally led to great growth personally.
Ed Mylett: His book “The Power of One More” is a must read to better understand what you are capable of and what life challenges can be overcome. The Ed Mylett Show podcast is a must listen as well.
Bill Perkins book “Die With Zero.” This book changed my perspective on how to manage money and balance what is most important in terms of financial dividends and experience dividends.
To my friends and family for their support as I took this leap of faith. Your words of encouragement are uplifting and mean the world to me.
And especially to my late father, who challenged me to do this many years ago. I did it Dad!
So, my challenges to everyone in 2024 are:
Let’s all be positive COGs!
Let’s turn fear to action.
Let’s turn racism to gracism. We can eliminate racism by treating all people with grace.
Let’s be hopeful and helpful.
Let’s forgive and let go, but not forget.
Let’s get out of the quicksand through Trees of Joy and Anchors of Hope.
Let’s turn hate into LOVE!
Let’s be the strong hands that hold other hands.
Let’s be the strong shoulders that help carry others’ burdens.
Let’s be thoughtful minds that remember to show people that they matter.
Let’s be the strong hearts that love our neighbors.
Let’s be the shining light in darkness!
Let’s LIVE with passion and purpose rather than just exist!
Let’s have faith in ourselves and our Creator to live the lives of our dreams!
Here’s your Tom-ism to close 2023 and enter 2024 with more conviction. This affirmation is what motivated me to launch Gotta Look Up and try to make a positive difference in the world:
“Stop being the world’s best kept secret.”
What does this mean? It means that we have all been created for a purpose. We’ve all been given gifts unique to fulfilling our unique purpose. Open the gifts that your creator gave you and have the courage and faith to share them! The world needs them! You won’t always see the results of sharing your gifts, but they make a difference. Don’t leave them unopened!
To close, I’m going to share lyrics from two songs from opposite ends of the music spectrum. First, some profound lyrics from one of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite bands, Bon Jovi. And that song is “My Life.”
“IT’S MY LIFE
AND IT’S NOW OR NEVER
I AIN’T GONNA LIVE FOREVER.
I JUST WANT TO LIVE WHILE I’M ALIVE.”
And the second set of lyrics is from the film “The Sound of Music” which is always on television around Christmas season. (And productive screen time in my opinion!):
“CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN
FORD EVERY STREAM
FOLLOW EVERY RAINBOW
‘TIL YOU FIND YOUR DREAM.”
GOTTA LOOK UP!
GOTTA LOOK AROUND!
GOTTA LOOK AHEAD… TO 2024 ...AND BEYOND!
I LOVE YOU GUYS! PEACE!