Christmas Message

Hi, Mark here. I just thought I'd connect with you. I'm just packing up my studio, which has been great, I've had great fun here this year, but we are moving. Yes, the week before Christmas, we are moving down to the Southern Highlands. I’m making the great move to the regions as most people seem to be wanting to do right now. 

And it’s been an interesting year, as you may have noticed. Do you remember that old Chinese saying, “May you live in interesting times?” 

I certainly think life has been very interesting. I'm not sure whether that's a curse or a blessing. Still, it certainly has been a bit of a curse with the virus and lockdowns and no travel and disruption to the business. Now we've got supply chain issues and people moving around, and lots of challenges and inflation coming and all of the sorts of things happening that are disrupting us and keeping us on our toes. 

But in the midst of that, I think there have been some blessings as well as people have adapted to a new environment. And many of my clients, I know many of you, in Thought Patrol, we've done well this year. We've moved and been able to go online, and that's opened up some more opportunities. So, we were able to serve leaders from 47 countries this year  (which is pretty extraordinary), and this is something we’re very grateful for and something we couldn’t have done if we were still traveling and jumping on planes.  

But if you’re a bit like me, you’re a little bit frazzled. Anyone a little bit frazzled out there? Anyone a little bit tired? 

 It’s all the honest people, their hands in the air. 

 It's been full-on, and I am ready for a break, and I'm going to go and collapse in a corner somewhere. 

So, we’re going dark on social media until the end of January.  

We're just going to opt out to find a quiet corner.  

I'd encourage you to do the same, just get whatever downtime you can.  

Relax, spend time with your family, recharge those batteries, and please ignore those social media, Rah! Rah! Hustle! Hustle! brigade that wants you to do all your work in January while everyone else is sleeping. Really, you’re just going to end up a frazzled and ineffective.  

Whereas, if you take time, relax, recharge, find some white space, reconnect, build relationships, you're going to come back next year refreshed, much more effective, much clearer-headed, and creative, going into the new year.  

So, I encourage you to take that break, make it a good one and come back in 2022 fully revitalised and ready to go.  

So, from my family to your family, have a fantastic Christmas! Just have a wonderful time. 

Christmas is very special. For me, it’s a time to be thankful, to be grateful, and to give thanks for the larger things in life and the smaller things in life, and a time to remember God’s gift to us. It also is a time to reconnect with broader family members and have a great social time as well.  

So, have a great time, enjoy your Christmas. Have a wonderful New Year looking forward to 2022. I'm sure it'll have its challenges, I'm sure it will be interesting.  

So, looking forward to seeing you in 2022.