It's the time of year for looking back at how far we have come and looking forward to what we will achieve in the coming year. I LOVE New Year and I'm a goal-setting junkie, so as I do every year, here are my thoughts and goals for 2018. Please do join in and leave yours in the comments if you'd like some accountability! Round-Up of 2017 In the podcast episode, I talk through my round-up of 2017, which you can find in the article from yesterday here. It includes the rise and rise of collaboration, stabilization of the indie author business model, the changing entertainment environment, and how I did at achieving my creative goals for 2017, as well as what I failed to achieve and why. Thoughts and Goals for 2018 2018 marks the 10th year of TheCreativePenn. I started the site in December 2008 to share my journey as a writer and try to help others with my lessons learned. That underlying reason hasn’t changed, even though the publishing environment is radically different these days. I also aim to empower creatives to get their words out into the world and to make a living writing – because that’s what changed my life, and I know it can change yours too. My aim is to help more writers and authors in 2018 and begin the next 10 years of our journey together. Every 1 January, I post my goals for the year and this year, I will start with some over-arching principles, followed by more specific goals for each author name and aspect of my business. I hope it will help you consider what your goals might be, and I’d love for you to share them in the comments below. (1) Choose your filters I’m currently reading WTF? What’s the Future and Why It’s Up To Us by Tim O’Reilly. It’s a great book as it looks back at the history of the internet and technology and then extrapolates it forward into the future, integrating new technologies along the way. Tim uses WTF as a lens – because you can use it in a shocked and apprehensive manner, or you can use it in a curious and wondering manner. This can apply to a lot of our world right now, and as he says, “We must commit to building something new, strange to our past selves, but better, if we commit to making it so.” We can choose what to focus on. He also talks about the “new kinds of magic that are slowly fading into the ordinary.” This is true for authors because when I started my site in 2008, there was no international Kindle, no mainstream market for ebooks, no international print on demand, no digital audiobook market, no ability to easily reach readers. The iPhone was brand new, podcasting was in its earliest days and back then, I couldn’t see how I could make a living online. What are you taking for granted that is actually incredible? If you change your filter, you realise how incredibly fortunate we are to be living at this time in history. Despite the negative news of 2017, we live in an incredibly abundant world with possibilities around every corner, if only you look out for them. Our brains scan the environment for what to pay attention to, so it’s your job to make sure you train it to look for opportunities and the positive side of life. It’s time to take the things that have made you angry or frustrated or negative, and turn them into positive creative action. If you have news feeds or social media or people who make you feel consistently negative, then it might be time for a spring clean of those influences. Start reading different books and blogs, listen to different podcasts (although I hope you consider mine to be positive and useful!) Here’s one of my own examples. As much as I appreciate Facebook for the social...