I did it!

A few years ago, I had this outrageous goal with my Discovery Toys business. It was early November and I realized that it was within my reach to earn President's Club.

What's that? Well, first you have to earn the incentive trip, which is basically a year-long process of meeting goals in all areas of your business. But instead of taking a full calendar year to earn the trip, you have to do it in nine or 10 months. Because once you have earned the trip, you have to keep going.... just keep doing the same thing even harder for a few more months.

The first time I earned the trip was four years ago when we got to go to The Bahamas. I came soooo close to also earning President's Club, but I missed it by one requirement. It was something I just couldn't do by myself.

That drove me to work that much harder the next year. I earned a trip to Rio de Janeiro AND President's Club, which gave us an extra night in Rio, plus some cool perks like a limo from the airport at convention, a free hotel room, some jewelry and lots of recognition.

Last year, I earned the trip again. This time it was DisneyLand and a cruise to Mexico. But the company changed the trip requirements and made it so difficult to earn President's Club that only a couple of people did it.

Well, this year, I will admit, I didn't make it my goal to earn President's Club, even though the requirements were more do-able than in past years. I actually made it my goal to work less, spend more time with my family and focus on some interests that I had left lying on the shelf for awhile. You can see evidence of those interests here: I finally finished my planner. I started writing again. I volunteered more at my church.

So, I guess that gives me an even greater sense of accomplishment that as of this weekend, I did it!! I earned President's Club! This year's trip is to an amazing resort in Acapulco and the honor gives us an extra night.

A few years ago, I really enjoyed the recognition that came with all of these rewards. Now, it really doesn't mean much to me. I know there are so many more important things in life. Recognition is so fleeting. And at the end of my life, it means nothing.

Earning the trip and even earning President's Club have become almost expected of me. Just something to cross off my To Do list.

I'm more pleased with the fact that I've been able to create systems that allow my business to work without working so hard. I'm happy that I've been able to enjoy each day with my kids and still make some extra income.

I've actually surprised myself that I've completed my last business-related goal for the year, and I still have a month left on the calendar!

Reaching this goal isn't filled with as much excitement as in years past. But it's still a goal accomplished, and that's worth celebrating.

So, let me just say, "I did it!"