My word for 2023 (and why it might be yours too)
It’s time to get familiar with your dictionary. © Unsplash
Is May too late to announce a New Year’s resolution? It doesn’t matter. Resolutions are out. Words are in.
There’s a movement picking up pace every January. In those first, quiet, reflective days of the New Year, we’re setting aside rigid resolutions and choosing our words instead.
As a wordsmith of sorts (and someone who has set many a resolution in the past and failed), this is a trend I can get on board with.
It’s less about setting lofty goals (run a marathon, became fluent in French) and even loftier promises (get up at 5am every morning, speak français for an hour a day) and more about setting a singular intention—summed up in a single word—for the year.
Something that will guide you, a place you want to operate from, or a feeling you want more of.
Flow. Move. Focus. Surrender. Adventure. Solitude. Money. Romance.
Is there anything more refreshing than the blank slate a new year brings? © Unsplash
If you’re new to the idea, pinning all your hopes and dreams for the year on one word might feel like a stretch.
This year, I decided to try it for the first time and surprised myself with how quickly the word presented itself.
(I know, I know. It is May. But with my birthday passing in late March, technically my year is just getting started. We all know January doesn’t count.)
My word for 2023? Or 32? (But shh, who’s counting 🤫.)
Connection.
Because it’s at the heart of everything I’m setting out to do this year with the launch of Jess Foley Communications.
Having an absolute ball at one of the Sydney travel media scene’s infamous Christmas parties, circa 2015. © My personal photo album
How the pursuit of connection is guiding my entire year
This year isn’t about making X amount of $ a month, signing X number of clients or hitting XXXX followers on my new Instagram account.
To be honest I couldn’t care less about any of that. None of it is why I founded Jess Foley Communications.
This year is about:
Connecting with my community, new and old. I LOVE being a part of the Australian tourism and hospitality community. The smiles in the photo above say it all! After stepping away to go overseas, I’m so excited to be back reconnecting with old faces and, hopefully, meeting plenty of new ones as I introduce myself to the West Australian travel, food and wine community. Is that you? I’d love to meet you, say hi.
Connecting my clients with my community and with new audiences. I want to put the knowledge, experience and Australia-wide network of travel and food media connections I’ve gained over the years in the hands of WA tourism operators, restaurateurs, winemakers and experience-makers. I want connections and relationships that last, for my clients and for me.
Connecting with myself. Sometimes life gets us a little lost along the way. This year I’m reconnecting myself and my business with the things I know and love (travel and food), the communities I’ve been missing (travel and food) and what I do best (connect people within them).
Are you making connection a priority for your brand?
Without a connection, there’s little separating you and the brand next door. © Unsplash
Relationships require connection. Connection breeds loyalty.
A loyal customer will:
a) increase the amount of money they spend with you,
b) choose you over a competitor,
c) recommend you to other customers, or
d) all of the above. Winning, right?
Tell me — what’s your word for 2023?
Pop it in the comment box below because I’d love to hear it. No wrong answers!
