HOPE is in the Air + Book Lists + Starting to Date

Good Morning from Prince Edward Island, 

A new year has dawned, and HOPE is in the air. 

Congratulations and welcome to the world, Scarlett Dawn Arsenault. The firstborn on Prince Edward Island in 2021. She weighed in at seven pounds, four ounces. 

I trust you had a lovely restful week. Time for a quick cuppa today? 

Early last year, I committed in printed words a goal to complete 20 books in 2020. 

I started with gusto and read several books quickly. I was excited, thinking I was going to surpass my goal early. When the news reports of a virus on the move through the world, I stopped reading books. I became consumed with the news—a bad idea. 

Anxieties came from the questions popping up. How will the pandemic affect our family, our business and our staff? As angst moves in, relaxation moves out. Book reading time takes leave. 

In 2020, I learned being self-aware is healthy. 

Below is a summary of an article I enjoyed reading in the Harvard Business Review. The article was written by Tasha Eurich.  

"Although most people believe that they are self-aware, true self-awareness is a rare quality. In this piece, the author describes a recent large-scale investigation that shed light on some of the biggest roadblocks, myths, and truths about what self-awareness is — and what it takes to cultivate it. Specifically, the study found two distinct types of self-awareness: experience and power can hinder self-awareness. Introspection doesn’t always make you more self-aware. Understanding these key points can help leaders learn to see themselves more clearly."

What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It) 

Knowing that my goal was committed to paper and year-end was approaching, I was mindful that I needed to get it done in December. 

And I did.

Click here to see my 2020 booklist. 

Thank you to CBC for the lists below. 

Best Canadian Fiction in 2020

Best Canadian Non-Fiction, 2020

Best Selling Canadian Books in 2020

For Anne of Green Gables fans, which pretty well includes everyone. Here are 75 facts you might not know about Anne of Green Gables and author Lucy Maud Montgomery. 

Taking the lessons learned in 2020 and starting the new year, I found these quotes worthy of sharing. 

"Your past is not your future.

You have the power to make new decisions for your life starting today."

~ Deb Sofield

“The chief beauty about time

is that you cannot waste it in advance.

The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,

as perfect, as unspoiled,

as if you had never wasted or misapplied

a single moment in all your life.

You can turn over a new leaf every hour

if you choose.” ~ Arnold Bennett

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” ~ Plato

Ode to the Creatives! 

Wishing you all the best in 2021 and thank you goes out to the good people at Meetings & Conventions to keeping HOPE alive through the video, We Will Meet Again. 

Looking forward to when we meet again! 

Take care, stay safe and look after each other. 

With Love from Prince Edward Island. 

Bruce & Millie and Family

ps. Your Morning Smile

My wife asked me, “Why don’t you treat me like you did when we were first dating!?”

So I took her to dinner, and a movie, then dropped her off at her parents’ house.