Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Bye Bye 2009 You Were Awesome....But I have Big Plans for 2010


So I had a wonderful christmas with my family and friends. I hope you had a wonderful christmas as well but the new year is just a few days away. I have to admit the new year always freaks me out a little and the older I get the more it freaks me out.




Simply because I look back at the year and see what I could have done.



However as they say coulda, shoulda, woulda. There is no point looking back at the past year and wishing for the things we didn't achieve. Instead we should look at the things we did achieve in the past year. 2009 was actually pretty amazing for me, a lot of things changed(my brother moved to california, my sister went to college etc) but at the same time so many amazing things happened. Here is just a random sampling of the awesome things that happened in 2009.




#1  - The Release of my book "The Guys The Roses &The Regrets; The Girl to Girl Dating Guide"

On Valentines day 2009 my book "The Guys The Roses & The Regrets" was finally released! I cannot tell you how amazing it was to finally have my work out there. After years of working to get it done it was finally done and then in the weeks of its release it became an Amazon best seller. That was the icing on the cake for me. I was so happy people were actually reading my words and being helped by them. So yes the release of my book was by far the best thing to happen to me in 2009.







#2 - Being Featured in WOW Performance Magazine alongside Michelle Obama

I wrote the article for the inaugural WOW Performance Magazine in May 2009 and even after I submitted the article I had no idea who was going to be on the cover. Then in July I was attending a retreat for CEO's in Las Vegas. I knew that the publisher of the WOW performance magazine was going to be there so I e-mailed her before hand and asked about the progress of the magazine.


A week before I left she e-mailed me back and attached the jpeg of the cover of the magazine. I was beyond happy when I saw Michelle Obama on the cover. It was a huge honor to be in the same magazine as the first lady. The publisher also informed me they would be handing out promo copies at the event in Vegas. So when I got to the retreat in Vegas and we got to the day they were handing the magazines out, I was freakishly excited. I got my shiny glossy copy in my hands, flipped to page 16 and there was my article. Then to make it even better people asked me to sign their copies! It was a great experience and a great honor to be featured in the inaugural issue of WOW Performance Magazine alongside Michelle Obama in 2009.



#3 - Being the Featured Author for the Orange County Library System

So this happened just a couple of weeks ago but it was pretty darn cool. I got invited to be one of the featured authors for the Orange County Library System so I had posters up all over Orlando, I had an ad in the Libraries Magazine and I was all over the website. I got to do a talk at the Downtown Orlando Central Library about my book "The Guys The Roses & The Regrets" and afterwards I did a book sale/signing. All in all it was a great experience and helped me to get "The Guys The Roses & The Regrets" out into the Orlando community.

 



#4 - Starting My Own Online Magazine

Now this one is still a work in progress so thats why its at the end but I did actually start my own online magazine this year. Its a new magazine for teen girls that encourages them to live a remarkable life by realising their own beauty, developing their character and making a lasting difference in the world. The magazine will be officially launched in the first quarter of 2010 but even getting it started was a huge achievement for me in 2009.

So thats just a few things I got done in 2009 and I am very thankful for everything I've achieved. God has blessed me to be able to do all these things and inspire other people along the way. Yet 2010 is just around the corner and I have some big plans for the new year. Granted life has its twists and turns, who knows if I'll get them all done but I think its best to shoot for the moon even if you miss you'll land among the stars. Some of my goals for 2010 are to publish another book (the follow up book to "The Guys The Roses & The Regrets"), get my magazine officially launched, go to Uganda in summer for a mission trip and so much more!

There is so much I want to do and the beautiful part is the new years only just begining. I'll be praying that 2010 turns how to be just as amazing as 2009 but what about you? What are your goals or resolutions for the new year? Let me know and whatever they are I pray you'll achieve your goals for 2010 as well.

I will keep you updated with my goals via this blog,twitter, myspace and all the other wonderful social networks I am on but until next time, be blessed, stay strong and I'll see you in 2010.

Happy New Year,

Grace Hatton

2 comments:

Nancy Heinrich-Growing Healthy Kids said...

Grace - what an amazing year you've had. Wonder what next year's list will have on it! Enjoy the ride.

Grace Hatton said...

Thanks Nancy for the comment, I hope 2010 is awesome for you as well =]