It's been 1 year since I made a vow to myself to make the most of 2008.

A year later I look back on that time and realize a year changes so much. Never does one really think about what they have until they look in the mirror and reflect on who they have become. This is me.

It never ceases to amaze me how much we should love each and every day for the miracles we have. It is as though life always points us where we need to go, when we need it most. At least it seems that way for me.

As I reflect on 2008 coming to a close, it really has been a memorable year. So much change in so short a time, and yet I am better for having gone through remarkable lessons in life's consistent mark on my past and onward to my future.

My desire to enter staffing again after a 2 year hiatus brought me here to Solutions Partners. Where else could I combine 2 wonderful aspects of my career? HR and Staffing. 3 years ago I graduated from college and steered my career on its course to find myself in new horizons. Here I stand with so many blessings, so many things to be thankful for, so many beautiful days where I wake up and realize that I must go and try to make a business case to provide more opportunity for my family.

Patience. Do we lack it sometimes? I know I do. I have always wanted to have my career go in the direction I wanted to steer it in. Sometimes it doesn't work out the way I hoped. Most of the time, it does go the way I intended, but only after sacrificing on the alter of open-mindedness my ego.

Fills. I love that word. There is something very satisfying about helping my recruiters in my company get a fill, especially when the difficulty in the req, rejection, after rejection, after rejection until finally you get a yes, a yes from your candidate, and a yes from your client. Wow. Nothing is more fulfilling. I remember helping my good friend find her elusive candidate, and just today learned the candidate is going to accept. I couldn't be more happy.

It is news such as this which drives me. There will be days where you wonder if you have made a difference. I think such days are there to humble you. Such days come when you need to dig down deep and find the fire to make a fill once again. These days as a sourcer, I can think of nothing more powerful than helping my recruiters by taking them on my back and pulling over to the finish line the masterful art of a powerful fill.

It reinvigorates, especially when all the effort you have put forth pays off and secures major revenue for your firm. Is this what it is all about? Really, the task can't be so far off.

Patience in this endeavor pays off.

I am undertaking to be a Dale Carnegie Coach, through the program there. It is my hope this will open significant doors for me down the line. I see in my future great things. Being a coach/mentor will enable me as a professional to take my game to the next level by taking Dale Carnegie principles and making them stick in my head. Every day we come into contact with multiple individuals.

Dale Carnegie has changed my professional life. I am so grateful for what it taught me. Each day I have a choice to look at life as a gift.

In speaking with my Dale Carnegie instructor, he let me know that by undertaking this course again, and being a coach, that I could one day teach a Dale Carnegie class. To be a professional trainer, somewhere down the line, this may be possible.

I see life as an opportunity for growth. I see so many opportunities within the New Year. I have been changed forever as a result of my company, my colleagues, my family.

In this month where I see so many signs of renewal, lights symbolizing the light within, evergreen trees signifying a renewed life, a season where family comes first, whether that be your professional family, your immediate family or extended. This season is a wonderful time to recommit, to find yourself.

And in this season, a renewed vigor to light the candle of true grit to rise up and make another fill, and another, and another. So much is ahead. Patience and tenacity will help one rise to the bar.

Raise the bar on yourself. Time to raise the bar to new heights not before realized. During the holidays anything is trully possible. With grit, faith, and hope, you can raise the bar to a standard that will prove your worth time and time and time again. What a wonderful place to be this time of year!