What a year this has been.

My mom tells me that I always have YEARS.

And I guess she’s right, but this year has been especially crazy, miraculous, exhausting, adventurous, sad, healing, stretching, enlightening, challenging, grounding and frustrating.

This year has tested my faith in myself and my business like no other year and at times I swore I was going to be a cleaning woman or a maid – just to have to stop thinking about developing a new product or reaching new customers and do something physical instead. (And I’m kidding, of course.)

This year has tested my faith in love. Returning to my husband and giving our relationship another shot felt like the right thing to do at the time. Going our separate ways now is not easy, but it is the best for all of us. I wish him nothing but the best.

This year has tested my commitment to my meditation practice, to stillness, to reflection. Traveling to a different continent almost every month and still keeping up the practices has resulted in more misses than hits, but I always came back to the meditation cushion, needing to find stillness within myself.

This year has shown me what true friendship really is – a concept I never knew before.

This year – more than anything – has tested my faith in my own worth. I’d be lying if I told you that I’m 100% self-confident, self-reliant and self-assured. I’m not. Not yet. I believe in myself more than ever before, but there are still parts where I doubt. I doubt my abilities to take care of myself (and now my baby), I doubt my abilities to live alone, I doubt my abilities to be a brilliant writer and I doubt my abilities to be a kickass social media strategist.

However, despite all the setbacks, all the cracks in my faith, I am taking action more than ever before. I face my fears head-on, invite them, embrace them and slowly, but lovingly let them go.

It’s been an amazing year and I owe big thanks to you – yes, YOU. Thank you for reading, watching, listening. Thank you for sharing your voice. Thank you for sharing part of your life with me. I love you so so much.

Here’s a more detailed look at what happened in 2013. Enjoy!

January

Being offered 3 kick-ass jobs within a few weeks of moving to NYC was a dream come true. I was walking on cloud 9, happy, confident and ready to embrace my American dream. However, after only a few days, two of those three jobs were gone due to visa issues – a shock that took a lot of time to work through.

I had a blast at NMX in Las Vegas meeting a bunch of my geek friends and chatting with industry celebrities.

I begin to learn how to cook and surprise myself with all kinds of yummy creations.

February

After the effervescent high of January, February was a downer. I fell into a bit of a depression, felt directionless and overwhelmed. I spent entire afternoons in bed, eating ice-cream or whole jars of peanut butter pitying myself.

I flew home to see my family and then Jonathan Fields invited me to be part of his Good Life Immersion Program – a ride that would forever change my life.

I published my second book Beyond Marketing and Building Relationships – How Social Media Saves Lives; a heartfelt telling of the many ways social media saved my life and how it can save yours too.

March

I was hosting the kickoff of The Conquer Club NYC with Natalie MacNeil being in the city – what an honor.

The Good Life tribe met for the first time in NYC and it was clear from the beginning that this project was going to be something very, very special.  I was so so nervous to meet Jonathan and my coach Emiliya Zhivotovskaya whom I had seen on an episode of The Good Life Project and knew that I was going to work with her! A dream come true.

At the same time, I was doing Marie Forleo’s B-School, which brought me to tears more often than not.

I ran a life-changing program called Write Your Way to Body-Love – my all-time favorite program, to be honest.

April

I flew to Lima, then Cusco to spend a few days on a retreat in the Sacred Valley with incredible women. Read about this trip of a lifetime here.

May

I went on a short trip to Chicago going to a conference and staying at my friend Lisa’s. Fun times!

May was the month I had to give up my dream of living in NYC – for now. Packing my bags and saying goodbye for good got me sitting in a corner crying a few times too often. It really stung. I love this city so much. I love the vibe, the pace, the opportunities and – of course – the proximity to my friends. Still, I was proud of myself for looking ahead

As a consolation my mom took me on a trip to Madrid, just the two of us.

June

NYC, Park City, Los Angeles – a lovely trip meeting friends and loved ones.

At the same time, I hosted Happy, Beautiful You – a 4-week program on self-care and self-love.

July

From LA, I flew up to Portland for my second year at The World Domination Summit, which had changed my life so much in 2012.

Although WDS 2013 was not quite as incredible as the year before had been, I still enjoyed myself tremendously and was happy to hang out with friends.

Back in Zurich, I begin hosting the Zurich Writing Circles, a fun get-together of women who needed an “excuse” to spend some time writing, journaling, reflecting.

August

August was a strange, quiet month. I spent many afternoons doing a puzzle just to pass the time.

I was uber excited to land a job at my friend’s marketing agency Anchor – a job that would only last a few weeks – and not, it was not due to my performance. Story of my life.

I flew up to London for a day to see Denise Duffield-Thomas talk about money mindset makeovers – something I desperately needed to hear. Denise was brilliant, down-to-earth and funny. It was a great evening and definitely worth the trip.

September

I visited Amsterdam with my best friend and sister – so basically, with my two best friends. We had a blast staying at a lovely house with amazing breakfast. Amsterdam is truly beautiful and super cute. We hang out and talked and talked and talked. I sooo needed a girls trip at this point of the year.

At some point in September, I got pregnant – still blows my mind.

October

In October I crossed the ocean one last time – or so I thought – to fly to Mexico. When I went through immigration, I had a moment of gratitude. I was so thankful that after everything that happened in WWII, I was able to get into basically any country without much of a pain (except for the US, which is the WORST).

I flew to Cabo San Lucas and spent 6 days there with the Good Life tribe – our last retreat for the program and my favorite one.

The resort was beautiful and our connection had grown so much over the months that it felt like a big family gathering – only that we all genuinely loved each other.

One day, we were playing volleyball in the pool and as we were having fun trying not to drown, I had a moment of awe. I was looking at Charlie Gilkey, Emiliya, Lisa, Joshua, Ed, etc. and I remembered how much I had always wanted to be “rich”, free of all money concerns. I had wanted to stay in great hotels, travel the world as much as I wanted to and afford anything my heart yearned for.

As we were throwing the ball back and forth, I saw that I was living the life I had always wanted. No, I wasn’t rich. No, I wasn’t free of money concerns. No, I couldn’t afford anything my heart desired, BUT I didn’t need any of these things because I had this moment, this truly glorious moment. I was happy, so happy that tears were coming to my eyes. 

In that moment, I realized that material things don’t make you happy. I knew this, of course, but I needed to *feel* it in my core. I was free, emotionally, physically, mentally. I had friends who loved me and supported me and whom I loved and supported too. I had myself and that was all I needed.

After Cabo, I visited Mexico City. I was happy to stay at a friend’s house and be truly immersed in the Mexican culture. Seeing the pyramids I had read about in school was fascinating and still gives me the chills.

Still, after 10 days in Mexico, I was ready to spend some time in Europe and to have some calm come back into my life.

November

Calm? Are you serious, Anne-Sophie? 3 days after returning from Mexico, I found out that yes, I was indeed pregnant. I had had a feeling, but I was pushing it aside. After all, I had obsessed over getting pregnant for years and I knew that it wouldn’t come true… Well, I was wrong. Boy, how wrong I was.

My family was amazing, embracing the little one without any trouble and giving me the time I needed to come to terms with being a single mom.

It was a shock, I have to be honest. I have always wanted kids, but I didn’t dream of having a baby on my own. I don’t have a steady income, I don’t have a degree, I don’t even know where in the world I truly belong. But after a few hours, I felt at peace. I knew this baby was meant to be and it was meant to be now. I will do anything for it and it’ll be the two of us against (or with) the world for next decades at least. 

December

So, my travel hiatus didn’t last too long. I got antsy and flew to NYC for 10 days. Ahhh, have I said how much I love this city? It never ever gets old and I love discovering new things every day.

I celebrated Christmas with my family. It was quiet but lovely. It was so amazing to see that they’re excited about the baby too. I know this little one will be spread with love and that’s all I need to know.

I did the Reiki First Degree course, which was life-changing indeed.

35 flight segments, 2 new countries, 7 new cities. I’ve never travelled as much as I have in this year.

But it wasn’t the traveling that delighted my heart the most this year, what made me happy were the people. The new friends I made, the old ones I connected with again, being surrounded by these inspiring, loving and fun people was truly the best of this journey.

2014 – What’s to come

Laughter. 

Laughter will be my word for 2014 because laughter is something that came up short in this year that was so focused on personal growth. So hold me accountable, will you? 🙂

My BABY – of course. Oh my goodness, I still can’t believe I’m having a child. This will change everything. Forever. And I can’t wait.

I’m going to be a Martha Beck Life coach.

I’m going to be a Zumba teacher.

I’m going to host the Body, Mind & Soul Cleanse – my new FREE program. Yay.

I will begin to study – yes, I’m biting the bullet.

And I’ll win in the Green Card Lottery. Universe, are you listening?

2014 will most likely be just as crazy as 2013. Maybe it’ll be calmer, but if you know me, you know that I can’t sit still for too long.

I wish you a Happy New Year 2014!

Thank you again for being here, for being you. I love you.

Hugs,

Anne-Sophie 

P.S. At the end of last year, I wrote a post called “A Year that May Cause Miracles“. Coincidence? I think not…