My Three Words for 2016: PLAY, FUN, and SURPRISE

I've been doing Chris Brogan's THREE WORDS exercise for New Years for a while now. What's ended up working for me is keeping the same words year to year.

It's become my mantra.

These three words help me focus on what's important to me.

Here they are:

PLAY

Carol and I are Social Media Travelers. Brands and Destinations have us share their story in real time via social media.

That includes sharing our experiences using popular tools like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, while we are expieriencing the brand or destination.

We are always experimenting with how best to tell stories.



Some fun examples from this past year are:

Superbowl XLIX as a #VIPwithGMC

Review: Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island Bahamas

Day Trip to Martha's Vineyard

Boston Public Market

Boston Harborwalk Photowalk with #NX1 for #MPB2B

ROW 34 is a Fantastic Oyster Bar in Fort Point, Boston

Bordeaux: Chateau Reverdi Wine Tasting and Blending Experience

Here's a Bordeaux Hotel for you: Best Western

Sonoma County Tourism

Great Night at Fenway

Please contact me if you'd like to tell a real-time story about your brand or destination.

FUN

I only choose to work with people who are fun. I enjoy helping fun people and companies grow. I'm good at saying NO. If a project isn't going to be fun, I won't do it. ;-)

I had a lot of fun helping my portfolio companies grow this year.

Boomsauce. Loving it! Cheers. @lordhobobrewing

A photo posted by Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) on Dec 29, 2015 at 2:57pm PST

Mercedes-AMG Elite Center. First in the US. Come by to try it out.

A video posted by Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) on Dec 15, 2015 at 12:30pm PST

Working with the Mercedes-Benz of Burlington and Lord Hobo Brewing Company social media teams to help guide their storytelling was fullfiling.

I had lots of fun test driving some new Mercedes-Benz cars, the S550 for example, and look forward to what's new in 2016. If you are in the market for a new car, please contact Sean King at the dealership and tell him Steve sent you. You have a friend in the business. ;-)

I also enjoyed taste-testing the new batches of Lord Hobo's Boomsauce throughout the year and think it's gotten to the point where it exceeds some of the best reviewed IPAs. Look for it and Steal this Can in a store or bar near you, (New England States, Colorado and NYC for now), and let me know what you think. I'm excited for the rollout of new beer styles this year including a Session IPA and a Wheat beer. Also, visit the brewery at 5 Draper Street in Woburn for some FREE tastings.

For 2016 I'm going to do more than just go the the driving range. I am going to get out on the golf course again.

SURPRISE

I'm excited for what's next and open to new adventures. Last year's biggest surprise was being invited to the Super Bowl as a guest of GMC. Let's see if anything can beat that this year. ;-) Go Pats!

Do you choose three words to start the year? I'd love to hear them.

My Three Words for 2013: PLAY, FUN, and SURPRISE

Like CC Chapman, I've been writing down lots of words to help me decide on my three words for 2013.

I've been doing this exercise for a while since Chris Brogan first introduced it. Here's Chris Brogan's My 3 Words for 2013. Chris says:

Think of three words that sum up what you want to work actionably on changing/improving in the coming year. It works best when the words are positive in spirit and not negative. For instance: “Fat” isn’t exactly a great word, but “Fit” would be better. Think of words that give you more than just a simple goal. For instance, instead of “fit,” I’d look to go with “athlete” or “marathon runner” or some person that connects you to those goals.

The idea is to look deeper than a single goal and try to give you an entire mindset to contemplate.

Ze Frank just picked his three words and made a video about them. This made an impression on me.

Gregory Ng is changing things up for 2013, and my new friend Nick Kellet creatively chose Be Worthy Together.

I love reading these creative choices and the reasons behind them.

Last year my three words were: Broadcast, Invest, Play.

I really committed to them and did a pretty good job.

For Broadcast I experimented more with live streaming tools and as an on air personality I had a blast hosting some shows and being called in as an expert on local TV. I hope to do more in 2013.

Investing is moving along well. As an Angel Investor I've been working with my portfolio companies and added a new one, Fashion Project, that helps you clean out your closet for charity.

I totally nailed Play this year. Although the specifics of what I wrote down at the beginning of the year got lost in the larger picture, I had a lot of fun.



PLAY
I'm going to keep this one going for 2013, continuing to focus some of the ways that play worked for me in 2012 including travel and food blogging.

I'm interested in working with high end resorts that are looking to share their story in a personal way via social media.

I'll also try to do better at some of the specifics, from my 2012 post, including reading and golfing.

FUN
Back in 2009 my three words were Change, Story and Funny.

In my notes for this year, funny still comes up, along with stories, stage, and laugh.

I'm bringing back FUN for 2013.

Whenever I look at doing a new project, I'll only do it if it's fun. So that's nothing new, but I'll also focus to bringing fun to the forefront in my writing and speaking.

SURPRISE
Ze Frank had this one in his video. Ze talked about:

- Trying New Things.
- Being uncomfortable.
- Breaking patterns.

This is a good year for me to do those things too.

What it will mean, I don't know yet, but that's going to be part of the surprise.

What are your Three Words for 2013?

Check out CC Chapman's book, includes the Three Words exercise:



Also, Chris Brogan's: