72: Annual Letter

2017 is coming to close and that is the ideal time to step back and reflect on what this year has taught you - epistolary style. Sharon shares insights and writing from the annual letters of Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates and then offers up 7 steps to support you in creating your own Annual Letter. From evergreen support systems like setting clear boundaries and clarifying key measures of success to creative prompts like channeling your inner Gabriel Garcia Marquez and writing stream-of-conscious style, this episode is sure to getting you thinking about what this year has offered you and give you some good momentum as you look to the year ahead. 

1. Set Boundaries (e.g. To whom are you writing? What is your focus?)
2. Start Writing Stream-of-Consciousness Style
3. Circle Back to Your New Year’s Resolution/Intention/Theme
4. Focus on Key Measures of Success
5. Notice Your Successes, Surprises + Failures
6. How do these insights inform what comes next?
7. Determine What Is Needed Now

• Bill and Melinda Gates’ Annual Letters
• The Gates’ Annual Letter 2017 – with letter to Warren Buffet
• Design Yourself 28: New Year, Same You
• Design Yourself 52: Checking in on New Year’s Resolutions