My Public Speaking New Year’s Resolutions for 2020

Last year at this time, I predicted that 2019 would be a pretty scary year, and wow was I right. I don’t take any credit for soothsaying — it was actually a much worse year than I could have possibly imagined.

So what are my public speaker/thought leader resolutions for 2020?

I’m thinking about crawling under a rock until it’s done. So far this year I’ve already dealt with crazy weather, mourned shooting victims, and hugged an Australian friend, far from home, who was weeping for his burning country. 2020 is already on a par with 2019 and we’re not even out of January yet. My resolutions, accordingly, are all about trying to stay sane in an insane landscape.

I’ll focus on the positive. We can’t personally control the craziness of the world, and so I’m going to pay as much attention as I can to what’s right with it. If that means not saying as much, so be it. What began as a personal effort to move forward in a productive way now seems like a political and global statement about values.

I’ll increase my volunteer and pro bono work. It seems like this year is the year to help out wherever we can. The human enterprise seems more than a little doom-laden and that means we have to do what we can to hold back the darkness.