Each year, I choose a one-word theme that acts as a guide in all my major decisions and shapes my entire year.
I start thinking about the theme around the beginning of December and simply set the intention that the essence of the word will come to me strongly and clearly at the right time to serve my highest good and the good of those I serve.
In 2008, my one word theme was FOCUS – which I like to make into an acronym for “Follow One Course Until Successful.” Focus certainly paid off in 2008; it was my most successful year up to that point.
In 2009, my one word theme was INFLUENCE – I would ask myself consciously and subconsciously, “Who and what am I allowing to influence me?“
When I wrote this post on December 29, 2008 about choosing Influence for 2009, little did I know then how much my choice would impact my year both personally and professionally!
2009 far exceeded my business and finance goals with an abundance of national and international speaking engagements, lucrative joint ventures, celebrity clients, meeting Richard Branson and the Dalai Lama, the successful launch of my first social media certification course, Mentor With Mari, the co-creation of the International Social Media Association. all topped off with an invitation to attend the 52nd Grammy Awards and walk the red carpet!
In 2009 in my personal life, I chose to stop traveling the country in a motorhome and transition out of my eight-year marriage, as I shared in this post. I couldn’t have imagined sharing such an intimate experience so publicly before social media. Yet, the process was profound for both me and my community.
Now, as we celebrate the completion of 2009 and dance into 2010, my resounding one-word theme is TEAM! This word came to me as I contemplated where I got stuck most this year – where I didn’t allow myself to grow as much as I wanted.
One of my Achilles heels is delegation. I’m blessed to have several skilled team members and to be surrounded by powerful mentors, mastermind partners, coaches and other skilled experts. Yet I allowed myself to get completely stopped or stymied in several areas (like blog development, membership programs, product creation, book writing!) because my calendar got so backed up and I wanted to do so much myself.
Of course, there’s such a thing as balance, right? Whilst my two blogs may have taken a back seat, my Twitter presence, Facebook fan page, professional network and speaking engagements flourished significantly!
You’ve probably heard of the word “TEAM” used as an acronym for “Together Everyone Achieves More” (or Miracles). I like this. though if you have other creative suggestions, I’m open to ideas! 
Now it’s your turn! What’s your theme for 2010?
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by BaethDavis: RT:@MariSmith My Theme For 2010: TEAM! http://twurl.nl/cf20y6…
TEAM is a powerful word for 2010, Mari. I also like COMMUNICATE, which will be my 2010 theme. I plan to communicate the power and results of marketing to my friends, followers & fellow marketers. My question will be, “How can I communicate this principle to the people who need to understand it?” Relevant, timely communication will be the key for me.
Visit My Twitter PageMari,
I think team is a wonderful choice for 2010!
Mike
Visit My Twitter PageI got this idea from you last year and loved it so much! My theme for 1010 is MOMENTUM!
Visit My Twitter PageMari, thanks for everything you do for the community. The strength of the teams you’ve built so far already are a reflection of your personal strength. Delegation is a challenge for a lot of us, and sometimes its reassuring in a way to hear even top leaders like yourself struggle with such things. Thank you for sharing your journey and keeping it real for us.
I love your idea of a word to define this coming years goals. I think mine shall be FOCUS as that’s something I struggle with and I know will stretch me! Sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much! LOL
Kimberly
Visit My Twitter PageWow Mari…hmmm…Tony told me always to model the best in your profession to get where you want to get quickly. Can I just copy you? LOL. Seriously…my theme should be FOCUS. But I love TEAM. And quite frankly, the smarty pants that threw out COMMUNICATE…I need to do all of that. So the fact that I again want to do it all at the SAME time means I must FOCUS with my team and communicate direction more clearly. FOCUS is something that will take me to the next level. You can’t steal home with your foot on 3rd. Here’s to us having a great year in 2010. We are going to light up the world for women, I can feel it!
Visit My Twitter PageHi Mari,
Thanks for sharing your 2010 theme with us–I love it! I often work with my clients to clarify life purpose & mission, but I’ve never thought of a theme as just ‘one word,’ and I really like the simplicity of it! So I’m going to try it out, too.
This past year I developed a blog called “Following Your Joy,” and I find that the more I focus on the things that make me come alive and bring me joy…the richer and sweeter life gets. So it seems natural for me to leap into 2010 with a theme of “JOY”! It feels good, it feels purposeful, and it’s so aligned with who I am. It also describes the work I do with clients, helping them tap into their joy.
Thank you for encouraging us to choose a theme for the New Year–awesome!
Best wishes to you for a fantastic 2010 filled with TEAM!
Peace,
Visit My Twitter PageMichelle
Mari, that’s a perfect word for you for 2010! My word for 2010 is community, so close to team.
I see a great team forming for you and around you.
With love,
Visit My Twitter PageAlexis
Hi Mari
I love your concept for TEAM for 2010. One of the important things to remember when gathering your team members is that they will not all think or act like you do and that is a good thing. Having people that are different in their skill set is critical for rounding out your team. The second key is to really embrace releasing some control so that you can optimize the skills of others. If you resist letting go of things and delegating you will be frustrated with what you perceive as their lack of productivity and they will be frustrated because they are not given the opportunity to really shine for you. We all want to feel needed, valued and trusted. I am confident you will make a success of your TEAM and your year!
Christine
Visit My Twitter PageHi Mari,
Another #themeword ! Awesome! (Search #themeword on Twitter if you haven’t seen all the blog posts about it.
-Erica
Visit My Twitter PageGreat post! If I had to choose a single word that would define 2010 for me, it would be “Execute”. I have far too many projects I have walked away from, when I brainstorm the next big project, and leave the original half-finished!
Not in 2010…
Execute… there ya go!
Visit My Twitter Page[...] first heard about the idea last year from fellow Canadian Mari Smith, I also read Christine Kane’s Word of the year. I definitely find this exercise uniquely [...]
I love your keyword Mari as it is where you are at and something that I will be focusing on also in 2010. But my keyword for 2010 is GROW!. My focus this year is on growing professionally, personally and spiritually and helping others to grow with me. Social media allows me to fulfil this goal easily and I am really excited to see my business grow while helping others to grow theirs in 2010.
To our success.
Visit My Twitter PageCheers
Pam
Mari, this is a great idea! I’m thinking your theme for 2008 best describes mine for 2010. So my theme will be FOCUS – “Follow One Course Until Successful.”
I did a lot of great things as a copywriter in 2009, but I’m really wanting to focus on one main area of specialty these days. Just to simplify things and become the go-to expert, I’ve chosen email marketing since it’s something I love doing, and I’ve been able to help my clients see great returns in this area!
Thanks for theme idea, Mari!
Visit My Twitter PageI have been choosing a new motto for every year for 16 years now. It started with “Soar in ‘94″. Last year was, “I connect with the Divine in 2009!” This year, it’s more about my personal life, “I attract emotionally available men in 2010.” I have tended to focus so much on my work life, that this just feels fun for me to change my focus this year.
Visit My Twitter PageWhat a brilliant idea!! I absolutely love the thought of picking a theme for the year and am busy thinking about what I want my theme to be.
I am just now reading Jack Canfield’s book “The Success Principles” and of course, its so profound! I’ve been looking for a better way to run my business and now that I am clear about what I do know, I am having teachers show up that teach me what I don’t know! This brilliant idea of Theme Word for 2010 will fit right in with the other work I’m doing from Canfield’s book.
Thank you, Mari, for your constant stream of inspiration and positive energy. I am blessed that the universe connected me to your wisdom.
Namaste.
TEAM is also my theme for this year Mari. I need to build an awesome outsource team to assist me to take my online marketing consulting business to the next level. I will let you know how I go and will follow your progress with great interest.
Visit My Twitter PageThis is awesome insight.
I posted a recording of a call I hosted last week with Dave Logan (co-author of Tribal Leadership) that can help you and your readers unlock the key to creating TEAM in your businesses.
Call #1-3 explored how Entrepreneurs can grow their businesses using new techniques of networking, strategy models, and how to structure your teams.
Call #4 addressed the fundamental inner limitations most people have hard wired into their being about creating teams.
Most Entrepreneurs founded their businesses because they want to be “independent” and not have a boss, thus they are at odds to the very nature of TEAM. Or the want to be the boss and tell people what they want done which is an old model of command and control.
Explore the New Model – Download Tribal Entrepreneur (Call #4)
Visit My Twitter Pagehttp://www.LivePowerfully.com/calls
Sounds like you are experiencing the growing pains that many businesses go through when a business grows to the point that the very thing that has made it grow and be successful, the hard work of the owner is now the very thing that is holding it back. Thats what can make it hard to let go and delegate sometimes.
I love the simplicity of the one word (just like the simple one click!), last year’s would have been INNOVATION. This year it will be ACTION! I ended 2009 with a 20 page list of amendments to my web designer- I learned so much last year-
Visit My Twitter PageThanks Mari and team- we are really seeing dividends from communicating with our customers using social media
:-p Martin
Thanks for sharing this Mari. This is a new concept for me – the one word theme. I can see it could be very powerful. I’m going to ponder a word for this year for me and my business.
Visit My Twitter PageI think i’m going to go with DEVELOP
I’m graduating from university in June here in the UK. Currently when I take a break from studying I’m developing a Social Media training programme for small businesses in my local area.
Therefore this year I really want to immerse myself more in the social media community and develop both the course and myself into a crucial asset in the Social Media world.
Good to aim I guess?
Visit My Twitter PageHi Mari, What a great suggestion of having one word guide your decisions for the year. Absolutely brilliant. I too delegate but definitely not enough for all that I want to accomplish. I’m going to ask my higher self for guidance on my word – see if it’s team as well or some other word that’ll support me.
Visit My Twitter PageThanks for all you do and share so openly,
Kim
Mari, I am soooo please I listened to the webinar that you did with Nigel Botteril, you have really inspired me. My theme for this year is “Go Boldly Forward”.
Visit My Twitter PageExcellent choice Mari and congratulations on your great 2009. I wrote about my resolution on my blog on New Year’s Eve — “No more coulda, shoulda, wouldas” http://bit.ly/76LMSA. I’m looking forward to what will be, not at what could have been.
Visit My Twitter PageMari, after much debates my chosen word is TEAM as well. Thank you for ROCKING my world at the Jim Bunch workshop last fall. I signed for his year long program and he and his team discovered that my missing link is the lack of strategies and support. There we go you and I have the same 2010 word with a “twist”. Like Jim always say, GAME ON!
Hi Mari,
thanks for such an inspiring post! It’s kind of vital to choose the right “guiding star”, isn’t it?
My theme for 2010 is POSITIONING. I run three businesses in two languages and in order to get people to know me, I’ll need to work on my marketing, communication and added-value creation – which in my opinion, are all encompassed in my chosen theme word.
All the best in the new year,
Visit My Twitter PageMartina
You chose great words on the last years Mary! I´m planning to leave my little house for going to another one bigger and more comfortable. About my bussiness I´m planning to enter on a new market: illustrating children books, and to change the look of my current online bussiness, so I think my word for this year will be RENOVATION / UPDATING.
Visit My Twitter PageI hope all our dreams come true! Have a happy 2010!!!
Mari, I really liked your theme idea when I read it last year as well. “Team” is a great theme choice. My theme for 2010 is “TAKE ACTION”. We can have all the knowledge but if we don’t put it into ACTION and share that knowledge with others, what benefit was having the knowledge?
Visit My Twitter PageI think TEAM is a great word and perhaps my own word as well as I’ve spent the last few weeks creating systems for everything in my business so I could delegate more and free up my time to do the things I love and that I really need to be doing. If I could add some supporting words to team it would be – SYSTEMIZE & SIMPLICITY
Visit My Twitter PageHappy 2010!
Thank you for sharing your one-word themes and the stories behind them. I look forward to watching you blossom and grow even more in 2010 with a theme of TEAM.
You have inspired our one-word for 2010 and that is FIT — not an acronym, just a word with many meanings.
Cheers!
Visit My Twitter Page~Kris
Hi Mari,
Team is a great choice. Mine is COLLABORATION and FUN… I had to put FUN in there.
Have a SUPREME and DARING 2010!
Love
Francine
Visit My Twitter PageTEAM – yes together everyone achieves more, as long as we…
1. communicate clearly with ourselves – resulting in categorising various tasks and further into factors, like timing, accuracy, speed, etc… in the order of importance.
Visit My Twitter Page2. Delegate the right task to the right person – matching with various factors (mentioned above) to someone best suited. At all times aiming not to delegate jobs not suited to one.
3. Communicate our vision and Inspire our team to make our goals the goals of the team. Empowering them all not only to complete our initial tasks but to take it far beyond our original vision.
4. Management system to monitor progress and review regularly
I chose VIGOR – I know, it’s weird, but check out this quote.
“To resist the frigidity of old age [boy I need that!], one must combine the body, the mind, and the heart. And to keep these in parallel vigor one must exercise, study, and love.”
Visit My Twitter Page~ Alan Bleasdale
I love the theme idea, I started last year after I saw your post.
This year I am choosing “Level-Up”, leapfrogging all areas of my life up to a higher level.
Visit My Twitter PageTo me my word for 2010 would have to be perseverance. I’m just beginning my social, blogging journey and it would be so easy to give up and not climb the hurdles I need to climb. There is so much to learn and do that it gets daunting. I’m determined not to give up and to persevere!
Visit My Twitter PageLOVE THIS! I had not been thinking so much in terms of a theme but one word has been coming to mind frequently lately and that word is GRATITUDE. I have grown so much professionally just in the past six months and I owe it to mentors like you and others, amazing connections I would never have made without social media, and my awesome subscriber list. Not to mention one special Twitter friend I met personally who gave me my best advice I had this past year when she said “find one guru and stick to them.”
Visit My Twitter PageHi Mari, love your themeword for this year!. After much thought, I have chosed “Growth” as my themeword. I experienced so many new discoveries in 2008, so many changes in 2009 and now I feel I am at a good place to start from and now will grow professionally, personally and spiritually, I will grow my knowledge, grow my compassion, grow my skills, grow my network, grow my joy
Best wishes for a fantabulous 2010!
Visit My Twitter PageLove your theme for 2010, Mari….
Visit My Twitter PageAnd have SO loved watching all you’ve been
doing this year!
It was great to get to know you better
when you were a speaker in my Million Dollar Life
Telesummit in 2008….
You have had SO many changes in your life and business since
then.
My theme for 2010 is Systems…
I see this as the key to my having better support from a team…
More time for fun in my life…
Great expansion in my business in a way that is not
going to take over the rest of my life..
I always make my theme tie into the year and I’m still
pondering how to connect “systems” and “2010″
It will come to me…
If anyone has a suggestion, send it along!
Light and love for an amazing 2010!
Suzanne Holman
Good choice Mari
T – Together
E – Everybody
A – Achieves
M – More
For me the word for 2010 is “Engaging” All my Marketing will be “Engaging” and I will “Engage” with more people.
With Social Media it has never been easier to be “Engaging” so here is to a fantastic 2010
Visit My Twitter PageThanks for your idea of a One-Word Theme for New Year.
Ideas for your TEAM acronym:
Tiny Effort Achieves Momentum
Taking Effective Action Manifests
My One-Word Theme for 2010: I love Focus and Momentum
Visit My Twitter PageHi Mari,
This year my phrase will be COMPASSION ACTION. I’m going to try, each day, to choose a compassion action for someone in my life (that’s 365 peeps), even if it’s just taking a quiet moment to mentally wish them success on the path they’re walking. Gratitude is such a powerful tool, don’t you think?! So from me to everyone else, I hope 2010 becomes your biggest and best year so far!
Visit My Twitter PageWhat a coincidence, I pick a theme word at the beginning of the year too. Last year it was re-charge- which I did pretty well. This year my word is AUDACITY. I think bold ideas, communication and action are needed to realize the goals in my life.
Mari, you have been an amazing inspiration to me!
Choosing your one word theme related to one of your biggest challenges is such a fabulous way to keep your intentions in focus on a daily basis!
I have been inspired by Chris Brogans book “Trust Agents” that you sent to me via the ISMA certification course, and have chosen my one word theme for 2010…
be?nig?ni?ty [bi-nig-ni-tee]
1. The quality of being benign; kindness.
2. A good deed or favor; an instance of kindness: benignities born of selfless devotion.
Devoting my efforts to helping others succeed, reaching out to new comers, providing real value and truly giving without the expectations of getting back in return will indeed build and accrue social equity, it’s true. But, I think social equity is just the side benefit. The real reward is in the “doing good for others” part because it just plain makes my heart happy!
Chris was right on!
I know that 2010 will be your best year ever!. Thank you for influencing my life!
Visit My Twitter Pagemy word of the year is collaboration.
Visit My Twitter PageCongratulations on a successful year Mari. Team is a great word choice. It’s a great idea to have a word – for me it’s discipline – I need to be disciplined to carry out what I want to do, complete projects and focus on the task at hand.
Visit My Twitter Pagewarm wishes to everyone and a successful 2010
Mari, I love your idea of using a one-word theme per year
For as long as I remember I have used a motto every year. My motto for 2010 is this:
“If your determination is fixed, do not despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverence” Samuel Johnson
Regards, Your Virtualpm
Visit My Twitter PageI came to this blog via a post on FB by Cindy Ratzlaff. At first I wasn’t clear on the one word theme idea so thank you for clarifying with your 2008 and 2009 examples. Thought about using the word Focus, as I know it would be apt for me this year. That being said, I’m going to sit with the one word concept and see what comes up for me. Might be focus, might not, time will tell. Good luck to you with Team.
Visit My Twitter PageI like the “team’ acronym. I am part of a local business networking group (Lancaster Business TEAM) that have used that philosophy (Together Each Achieves More) for many years.
I am actually sharing with our local group some social media tips that you have shared. I have helps several people add social media to their business. Thanks Mari
Visit My Twitter PageMari,
I love this! So simple, yet so powerful! It is easy to do what you have always done, but to be bold enough to take action that moves you out of your comfort zone is how we grow. So this year I am all about BOLD ACTION!
Thanks again for sharing!
Visit My Twitter PageKim
My word for 2010 is Live! – to the fullest.
Visit My Twitter PageHI Mari,
Great to see your BIG growth and if I can be of help as a book mentor again, let me know.
My theme this year is LETTING GO of bookcoaching marketing stategies that that don’t work as well as they did. I’ve reevaluateed my site and updated it and increased my opt-in subscribers hugely with my free report on book, web, and article marketing. That’s where we make the best sales.
I’d love to hear your comments,
Judy
Visit My Twitter PageTEAM is OK with me for Internet marketing in 2010. I do Not have a team yet. 2009 was a bad year in several ways. Thank God we do Not have to re-live 2009. But I did learn some very important lessons last year.
Some of my core values are: truth; justice; nobility; honesty; and beauty.
‘ glad you had relatives from Scotland to your place. I’m mostly Scottish and Irish. Some year I would like to visit Scotland and Ireland.
Thanks for your inspiration Mari! Although FOCUS is so important to me and I do need help in that department, I think TEAM is a perfect word for me this year! I think by delegating the correct tasks to the appropriate people, I will have the extra time needed to work on my focus. My you have a super successful 2010!
Visit My Twitter PageThanks for sharing your theme word, Mari. It is so great to be a part of your process, such wisdom.
I do a similar thing each year, though I have a theme song. It seems to happen that towards December a very powerful song starts repeating over and over in my head. I am often inspired, empowered and motivated. This is true this year as well.
My theme song this year is “Defying Gravity” from the hit broadway show, Wicked. This song is about stepping out of the box, flying towards your potential and embracing limitless freedom. Definitely appropriate for me in 2010.
I look forward to connecting with you more in 2010.
Much love and aloha,
Visit My Twitter PageAmy
Wow, I really like this idea. After giving it some thought I’ve decided my word for 2010 will be Awakening.
I want the world to awaken to my business Holidays From Home and the idea of virtual holidays. I would also like to awaken my own potential and skills.
Visit My Twitter PageTEAM is a wonderful choice, thanks for the inspiration. I started thinking about this immediately after reading your email and the word LISTEN came to mind for 2010. I too have a hard time delegating so TEAM would be good for me but LISTEN seems to be more important for me. Or COMMUNICATE which incorporates listening. This past year I spent most of it concentrating on community, I joined the Rotary Club, their main motto is Service Above Self. Doing that along with concentrating on social marketing through Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and a blog, did help our business, Even though we were down for the whole year in comparison to 2008, my efforts did cause the months of November and December to be better than 2008.
Looking forward to Listening to all my new contacts in 2010.
Cheers!
Visit My Twitter PageVicki
Hi Mari
Visit My Twitter PageReally enjoyed this – and love your concept of the word TEAM. Well done.
Mine is PEACE – having been working towards this and feels like I am just about there yipppeee!
Happy New Year to you – may everything you do be prosperous and bring you endless joy.
Michelle Hardwick
of Release…Peace
Wow! I really like this theme of yours for 2010 “TEAM” as I find myself in a very similar situation in my business where I feel that a few more highly skilled and professional team members can take the business to new heights of success.
Keep up the good work Mari! and best of luck for 2010.
Ali
[...] For Email Marketing you can trust My Theme For 2010: TEAM! Author: Neil Thrussell • Friday, January 08th, 2010 My Theme For 2010: TEAM! [...]
I really love this idea so thanks for sharing Mari. Business plans can soon lose the personal touch of WHY you are doing what you do. However, coming up with a one-word mantra to help remind you is a really simply and powerful idea.
My one-word mantra is FREEDOM! It’s my intention that 2010 is going to be the year of FREEDOM for me! Freedom to work where and when I want, with people I choose to work with.
This will keep me truly focussed I know!
Thanks again Mari and all the best for 2010.
Louise
Visit My Twitter Page[...] Posted on January 19, 2010 by louiseheasman I was really inspired by Mari Smith’s blog post http://www.marismith.com/my-theme-for-2010-team/ about creating a one-word theme for the year and it really got me [...]