A reminder that EntreGurus is turning 1 — WOOHOO!! We’re having a virtual party and you’re all invited: click this link to join me. We’ll have fun chatting, I’ll answer any questions you have about EntreGurus, the books I read, or my experience blogging; and I’d love to see those of you that I know and get to know those of you who have recently joined the Gurupie community.

Looking forward to seeing you at the party and cheers to many more celebrations together!!

Throughout the past 365 days, I’ve shared with you many ideas, including a few centered on celebrating wins, both big and small. As busy people, we tend to move from one thing to the next faster than a lightning bolt, a rarely do we stop to smell the proverbial roses. Milestones are good points along the way to reflect on what has happened until then: they give us a vision of where we started and how much we’ve advanced, thus giving us a sense of accomplishment.

According to Colter Reed, blogger on personal growth and productivity, “If we only ever pay attention to the road ahead of us, we become too focused on the gap between where we are and where we want to be. We can become blind to what we’ve gained so far in our journey. All we see is a finish line that’s always out of reach.” Thus, the importance of celebrating our progress.

Reed specifically points out five things that happen when we celebrate our progress as we move along:

1. We acknowledge that we’ve already achieved something. If we don’t celebrate the (sometimes considerable) work we’ve already put in, it will quickly start to feel like it’s all been for nothing. The celebration when you cross the finish line should be the biggest, but not the only.

2. We make sure we like where this path is heading. In addition to celebrating, pause and reflect. You should be able to see early signs of what the final goal will be like. Don’t give up because the going gets tough, but feel free to modify or drop the goal if you determine it’s not someplace you want to go.

3. We reconnect with our motivation. When the going does get tough, it helps to reconnect with your why.

4. We feel good. You know why you write down things you already did just so you can check it off right away? Dopamine! It feels good! It’s our body’s natural way to reward progress.

5. We notice that progress takes time. By celebrating the gains we’ve made, we face the time it’s taken for us to get this far. We’re not going to close the gap in a day (until the day we do). Be patient and keep going!

And I would add an additional thing: We become grateful and recognize the help we’ve received all along . As we reflect on the path we’ve traveled, we recognize that every step of the way there was somebody there to help us, guide us, open up a door, point us in the direction we needed to go, encourage us, and so much more.

We don’t do anything alone, so it’s important to make the people who helped you part of the celebration. That’s why this party is for YOU. Because I couldn’t have done it without you, your wonderful emails, comments, suggestions, ideas, etc. Each of you have made EntreGurus what it is today and I’m immensely grateful.

Reflecting on the past year, here are some of the highlights and accomplishments of EntreGurus that YOU made possible: 

• It had its debut via Facebook Live with Seth Godin.
• The tribe of Gurupies (readers) has grown to 142 countries as of today!
• American Express mentioned EntreGurus twice: (1) quoting me in a post for National Entrepreneurship Month on What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur; and (2) as a resource in a for women-owned businesses.
• It has appeared in various podcasts: Creative on Purpose with Scott Perry (also streamed via Facebook Live); Fei’s World with Fei Wu; Women Who Work With Men with Lisa Guida; Ridiculously Human Podcast with Gareth Martin and Craig Haywood; Octanage Podcast with Andre Piazza and Vinicius Fachinetto, and in a very near future in the Platform Latino Podcast as its first episode!
• The story of the name appeared in Hearpreneur: 24 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Came Up With Their Business Names (#7).
• The reason why I run EntreGurus appeared in Hearpreneur: The 24 Entrepreneurs Explain Their Motivation for Running a Business (#23).
• Appeared in Carol Roth’s compilation: 100+ of the Best, Most Inspirational Leadership Quotes, with one of my favorite leadership quotes by Seth Godin from his book Tribes (#58). Also, quoted in another compilation of Tips for Partnering with Larger Brands and Companies (#6), and in 55 of the Best Sales-related Quotes (#16).
• Quoted in Business Women Tell All: Why is National Women’s Equality Day Important? from Creative Click Media.
• Quoted in Lead your workday with 12 Efficiency Mantras and 18 high impact books to enrich your professional self from Maroon Oak.
• Top 10 Leadership Influencer in Mexico by Hibox.co
• 2018-2019 Entrepreneur of the Year by SmartHustle Magazine
• Personal Development Expert, Author, and Blog to Follow in 2019 by UpJourney.com

And in terms of stats, here are some fun (and crazy!) numbers:

• Pages written: 601 (in a word document which is where I write everything before uploading it online).
• Words: 236, 216 (or an average of 647 per day — that’s why most posts are about a 3-min read at 200 words/min).
• Characters with no spaces: 1,118,034
• Characters with spaces: 1,348,993 — that’s 230,959 spaces!
• Paragraphs: 7,382
• Lines: 27, 385

None of this would have been possible without you, my dear Gurupies. It’s truly a joy and a privilege to be able to write for you and I’m so grateful you are a part of the EntreGurus family. Cheers to you and cheers to the wonderful authors and books that provide so many incredible and useful ideas.

Looking forward to many more milestones and celebrations together and I’ll see you at the party!

With heartfelt thanks,

Helena