5 Mistakes I Made in 2015

I did some dope stuff this year, like writing Famous! for teen girls, helping The No.1 Son pick a high school that celebrates his creativity and jogging in the park. (The last one is a big deal since I’m the girl who envies runners like, I wish I could do that…as if they were Mutants melting metal with their minds.)

But I also screwed up too. I’m new to entrepreneurship and being the mother of a freshman, so errors come with the territory.

Here are 5 mistakes I made in 2015, in no particular order.

Mistake #1

I said yes when I really meant noooooo.

I’m not the Energizer Bunny, but somehow I kept going and going even on three hours of sleep. Why? I didn’t want to miss an opportunity, even if it didn’t completely align with my overall goals, which is straight ludicrous. Call me a sucker for being blinded by the shiny part of the deal.

I got roped into:

“They only want to meet with you for an hour.”

“It’s free.”

“You’ll make some great contacts.”

In reality, that hour didn’t include preparing a PowerPoint presentation or arriving super early for a breakfast; and I’ve learned that free, can be expensive when it puts me behind on a deadline, which happened more than once last year.

Mistake #2

I didn’t have another product ready after I launched Famous! How to Be the Star of Your Show.

Smart Girl Media is a one-woman production (for now) and the learning curve has more loops than the Indy 500.

I should’ve whipped up a Famous! workbook for teen girls, designed a T-shirt, crafted a journal or created an online class, something to keep the momentum going and add revenue to the account.

So I’m in the lab working. Making things. I’m creating an e-course for writers who are ready to tell their stories.

It isn’t ready yet, but in the meantime, download this freebie to get started writing your own life story or novel.

Mistake #3

I covered my travel for a conference that shall remain nameless.

Yes, I know that sometimes, as an entrepreneur I’ll pay for flights, hotel accommodations and meals. I keep receipts and chalk them up to business expenses for the greater good: networking, dinners and exposure.

But if companies and organizations have budgets to fly folks from coast to coast, I should be able to get a window seat next to Erykah Badu and some M&Ms peanuts on their dime. Right? That’s not asking for too much.

Months before my book debuted on Amazon, I had pitched my way onto a teen-focused panel at a conference. It was a good opportunity to promote Famous! from the podium to moms and their daughters and pass out my cute postcards. #winning

While I was patting myself on the back for my huge score, I overheard one of my fellow panelists ask an organizer to reschedule her travel home. She needed to change flights and leave a few hours earlier.

In my haste to participate in the conference—call it a rookie move—I forgot to ask if they were covering travel. Note to self: Always ask about_________. Some folks will kick out funds for a three-hour Amtrak trip and a bottle of water for the ride.

Mistake #4

I complained about The No.1 Son’s lack of organization and horrible study habits, without showing him how to be productive.

He had High School Freshman Overwhelm. His bed was a dumping ground for clean and funky laundry, keys, money, homework an
d science projects. Instead of moving all of this crap at bedtime, he opted to sleep on top of it.

Oh, and he collected data overages on his cell phone like it was no big deal because life without Wi-Fi was like living without air. This would have been okay if he was listening to a physics podcast. But he wasn’t. He just couldn’t be separated from Drake’s lyrical wisdom.

True to form, The No. 1 Son didn’t ask for help and hid his frustrations well—at first.

Immediately, I jumped into I-told-you-so-mode, which I know is BP: bad parenting. He tuned me out. It wasn’t until the end of the first marking period that I considered myself part of the problem and not the solution.

I tried a different approach so the historic Mother-Son Peace Accord could be born. Thanks to a heartfelt convo using my inside voice and a huge calendar, he tracks his workload, studies for exams and gym clothes actually make it to the hamper. Sometimes. We are both a work in progress.

Mistake #5

I forgot to choose a word to help focus my focus.

I’m not a resolutions girl.

I’m a goals girl. If there’s something I need to accomplish, you can find me moving in that direction without the fanfare of a ball dropping in Times Square on Dec. 31^st.

However, I do crave rituals, signs and yes, words to focus my focus. I’m down with Mike Ashcraft and all those folks who pick one word that becomes a theme for their year, or one word that’ll help improve their quality of life. (Hint: Think peace, grace, humility, contentment etc.)

My word for 2015 would’ve been patience.

I found myself frustrated by book deals that sunk to the bottom of the ocean with the Hope Diamond, The No. 1 Son’s teen shenanigans and get this, long lines—all with the same level of disdain.

The universe was fed up with my behavior and forced me into situations where I had to suck it up and comply. (Like the image above says, “Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you’re waiting.”)

In November, I was in a huff to leave Target but my mother, who’s never met a sale she didn’t like, wasn’t ready to go. Good thing we didn’t. We ended up helping an epileptic boy who had a seizure in the fitting room. Frantic, his mother admitted that she’d run out of his medication. I calmed the mother while Ma (a chronic care manager) guided him to the floor so he wouldn’t hurt himself and the Target employees called the paramedics.

Like I said, the universe has a way of working on me. As a mother, that scene made me more aware of my blessings and reminded me of my purpose in life: service to others.

What mistakes did you make in 2015?