Good Life Project - Close the Books: On Learning, Letting Go and Lighting Up

Episode Date: December 30, 2015

At the end of every year, business owners and accountants do something we might want to consider also doing in our personal lives.They "close the books."What does that mean? They look back over everything that's happened in the last 12 months, make sure it's as accurate as possible, understand what went into each debit and credit, then ask what makes sense to continue in the year to come, what makes sense to end and what makes sense to change.They look for any areas where the numbers don't seem to match up, where there's some kind of aberration or question or anomaly and try to figure out what actually happened. They reconcile the numbers and, if they can't, they place a note explaining why.Then, when they've learned what they can learn, fixed what they can fix, explained what they need to explain, they close the books. They let it all go and turn their energy to the next 12-month window, opening a new book and penning the first entry.So, here's my question...What if we did this not just in our financial lives, but in our personal lives, too?What if, at the end of every year, we created a deliberate process of:LearningReconcilingLetting go, andRefocusingHow might that allow us to step into the coming year not snuffed out and battle-scarred, but lit up and filled with possibility?That's what this week's Good Life Project Riff is all about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Apple Watch Series X is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you 8 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X.

Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required. Charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th.

Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot if we need him. Y'all need a pilot? Flight risk. It's interesting.

There's this concept in business. It's called closing the books. And it makes a lot of sense. And it came up in a conversation that I was having with somebody who was a participant in the 2015 Good Life Project Immersion Program, which is this sort of seven-month intensive accelerated personal and business growth training. We just had about an hour-long phone call a couple of days ago, and it brought this sailing back to me. And during that call, she basically took the hour to, she wanted to kind of walk through, she wanted to do this process with me where we started out with the first moment that we met, dove deep into an intensive retreat in Costa Rica, and then time together in Chicago, and then time at camp. And at each juncture along the

way, what she wanted to do was kind of like explore with me and say, hey, listen, this is how I experienced it. These were the things where there were big surprises and big shifts in expectation. Here's where there were amazing awakenings. Here's where I had to let go. And here's where I really struggled and where there were challenges. And here's how, you know, I moved forward and brought what I learned into the next experience. And then she would move to the next one and the next where, and at the end of that conversation, she said, you know, I really just kind of wanted to walk through this with you and share the experience with you. And in my mind, kind of close the books on this.

And I started to giggle and she's kind of like, what's going on? I said, you know, it's kind of funny that you mentioned that because I had been planning on actually creating just a final good life project riff called Closing the Books. So it's funny that you actually just walked me through this process and then use that exact phrase. And if you've never heard the phrase before, it actually comes out of the business world. And it's an accounting phrase originally. And it's basically what you do at the end of every year in business, or even in your personal accounting, is that you kind of look back over the course of the year, and you ask a series of questions, you know, you say, Okay, you know, let me look at the expense side of the equation, the debit side of my books and my finances and my accounting. And what are all the things that I spent money on?

Where's the money? Where's the expense? The things that went out? And were they intelligent? And would I repeat them? And are there things that I need to change? Are there things where I felt really good about it? And then are there things where there's a lot of wasted money? Are there recurring expenses that I need to change? Are there things where I felt really good about it? And then are there things where there's a lot of wasted money? Are there recurring expenses that I need

to stop? You know, from a business standpoint, it's pretty clear from a personal, sometimes we get muddled. So, you know, if you were running a business and you were paying for the gym memberships of your employees, and you realize that after January, none of your employees had attended the gym, it'd be pretty clear that, you know, you would stop paying for that. But on a personal basis, we end up doing that all the time and never just looking back and analyzing saying, huh, that really isn't working, I either need to start attending, or I need to actually stop paying. And then you look at the contribution side of the equation. So we look at the expenses, and then we look at, okay, what came into our finances, our bank account, our business account? Like, what were the inputs, the revenue sources, the income? What were the things that I actually, I can't really figure out. I've never spent the time to actually figure out whether it was filling or emptying. And let me just take a moment now and really suss it out. Let me make a short list of the things that

happened over the last year where, you know, they were, I really just haven't looked at the numbers well enough. And there are aberrations like there, you know, we can't reconcile two numbers and see if I can actually figure out what happened and reconcile them. And then what can I learn from looking back at this entire year? What are the big things that I've discovered? How can I adapt and use that information, that data to plan and create something better in the year to come? And then at the end of this process, when you've kind of looked back, you say, you know what, I've learned what I need to learn. I've reconciled what I'm capable of reconciling at this moment in time. I've taken whatever I can learn and, you know, I've packaged it in a way where I can apply it moving forward. And you literally close

the books on the year. And it came from, you know, back in the days where you would literally have a physical ledger book. And at the end of the year. And it came from back in the days where you would literally have a physical ledger book. And at the end of the year, you would do all of that work and just close the books, literally close the books on the year. And it's not like that year didn't happen. It's not like you forget about it, but you make a decision

that you've done what you need to do to process it. And it will inform you and how you invest moving forward. But there's nothing left to be done. So you close the books and you move forward. You let it go. You just let it go. Because staying with that, keeping the books open, serves no constructive purpose any longer. So my question is, what if you actually did this

with your life, not just your finances, not just with your business? You know, I got into the habit for a number of years of writing a year-end article or post, a reflection, where I would essentially do this. And I would look back and see what worked, what didn't work, what can I learn from it, how can I adapt, and then I would sort of project, this is how I want to grow things moving forward. And in fact, the one that I wrote in January of 2012, which was a reflection on the prior year, ended up turning into a nearly 40-page Warren Buffett-style annual report that birthed this last step. I've missed this last step. And that was the step of closing the books on the year that just unfolded in my personal life. And I think maybe because I didn't feel like I had everything reconciled, maybe because I just didn't put in the effort to look back and say, okay, you know, looking back on the year that's just unfolded, what were the debits to my personal life account? What were the things that emptied it out?

What was the outflow? Was it intelligent? Did it make sense? Did it somehow serve as an investment? It could be time, love, effort, energy spent with different people, with different projects, with different ideas and resources. For the ones that I'm feeling really weren't worth it, you know, what can I learn moving forward? And how can I cut off the things that I'm continuing to invest in that just aren't

serving any legit purpose? And know that moving forward, I won't continue to do that. And then what were the things that filled my personal life account? You know, what were the things that contributed meaningfully to it and to the world and, and the relationships and the activities and the ventures, the things that actually filled me up and left me better than I was before? And how did those happen? You know, with whatever level of control I had over them, can I see if I can learn from how to make them happen more often or more deeply, so that more of my life can be filling rather than emptying? And then where are the gaps? What are the moments where there are debits and increases where I just don't understand what happened? And can I spend a little bit of time and see if I can reconcile?

Can I reconcile so that I'm at peace? I feel like I've learned what I need to learn from whatever that moment was, and I can move forward from it. And then turn forward and say, okay, how will I apply this moving forward? Then there's this final big step, which is, okay, I've learned what I've needed to learn, what I can learn, what I'm capable of learning at this moment in time. I've reconciled what I'm capable of reconciling at this moment in time. I've adapted, I've thought about how I'm going to apply whatever I've learned moving forward to create something better, to create something that's more flourishing, more filling, more thriving moving forward. And now I do what I would have done with my business or my accounting or my financial books,

which is I close the books on the year that's just left me. And again, that doesn't mean that you pretend it didn't happen. It doesn't mean that it's not a part of your history or that it won't inform in profound ways the way you live your life and the decisions you make, the actions you take moving forward. What it means is you've learned what you're capable of learning. You've reconciled what you're capable of reconciling. And there's no further purpose. There's no constructive value in continuing to dwell in that place. So you close the books. You close the books, you let it go, and you look forward, and you turn the page, you open the cover, and you flip to the've closed the books, and now I'm about to write the story of 2016, the year to come. And I know that dwelling on anything

in a book that's now closed, where the words have been written, the actions have been taken, the learning has been done, there is no constructive purpose in going back to that. I'm opening a new book. I'm writing a new story. How can I make it as astonishing as possible? So as we wrap this up, I want to plant that seed

with you and invite you to just find a space of stillness, whether it's walking in the woods for an hour or two, whether it's just finding a quiet place where you can flip open a journal and do the process in writing. Whatever the MO that works for you is, take a little bit of time and look back and ask these questions. What are the relationships and activities that have emptied my sort of account? What are the ones that have filled it? What are the ones that I just don't understand? How can I reconcile anything that I'm not quite clear about, whether it was filling or emptying? How can I learn? What have I learned? What can I learn? Write it all

down or just really think deeply through it if that's your way to process. And then once you feel like you've hit a point where you feel like, you know what, I've learned what I'm capable of learning right now. I've reconciled what I'm capable of reconciling right now. I've thought about how I'm, you know, the major lessons and how I choose to apply them in writing the book for the year that's to unfold. Then literally almost like close your eyes and picture I'm closing the books on the year behind me

and I'm opening the cover and the first page of the book of the year to come. So explore that a little bit. And as we close the books on this year, I just want to offer so much gratitude to you for listening, for being a part of the Good Life Project community. And it's been such a blessing being able to have these conversations to share conversations with amazing people with you and I hope that you found them valuable. I hope that listening in and being part of our community

has been on the filling side of your life in the year that we're leaving behind and will continue to be a growing part of your life on the nourishing side in the year that we're about to move into. Wishing you a wonderful year to come, one filled with meaningful contribution, one filled with deepening love and relationships, and one filled with abundant vitality and grace and ease. Thank you so much for being a part of our tribe. Wishing you an incredible year to come. I'm

Jonathan Fields, signing off for Good Life Project. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot him, we need him. Y'all need a pilot? Flight Risk.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-nest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X.

Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone Xs are later required. Charge time and actual results will vary.