Annual Intentions
In 2022, our word is "Create Possibilities"
Intention matters.
When you know your intention and work for it, you can manifest your intention into reality.
At InnovatorsBox, we dream of possibilities.
And we know possibilities are earned by working for them.
This is why each December I reflect on how we’ve done, and how we’d like to live the next year. We look to assign a word that will encapsulate how we want to show up in everything we do each year. So we search for the word that will challenge us to grow, remind us how to better empathize with our community, and remind us why we do what we do. Each year we reflect on how humbled we are at how we’ve grown with you. And each year, we’re invigorated and excited to see how much farther we can go together.
In 2021, our word was "Limitless"
And while COVID-19 has changed the way we work with our clients, it has not stopped us from finding ways to live, work, and empower our community to be “Limitless.” This is why we find it so timely that we’ll walk through 2021 with “Bold Curiosity.” How can we have the courage to ask more questions about things we are familiar with? How can we have the courage to speak up when others may disagree?
Curiosity matters.
Dear Friends,
Please take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back. We made it. It hasn’t been easy and challenges still lie ahead — which makes it more important than ever to celebrate!
Thank you for taking a moment to pause and reflect on your creativity, courage, curiosity, and resilience. You’ve done a lot and you’ve made a difference. The key is remembering to think about what, why, and how we do what we do not just for today — but for the many tomorrows.
What really matters in the long run?
As we strive for excellence, it’s easy to prioritize what we can see over what we feel. It seems easier to ask how much we have done than to seek to truly understand how we have impacted the people around us.
This is why the investment we make in ourselves each day as individuals, as teams, and as organizations is more crucial than ever. Sometimes that watering, nurturing, and constant care feels like a lot of effort for little visible progress. But just like a seed cannot change into a flourishing forest overnight; neither can people or teams.
This year, I challenge all of us to invest EVEN MORE in ourselves and our teams. Such investment can take on many forms — from listening, to resting, learning, co-creating, and innovating. It means celebrating how far we’ve come and how much farther we want to go. And it requires a sense of optimism that even though we may not see immediate results, we ARE making a difference.
As we set the intention in 2022 to be a year of “Creating Possibilities” I ask all of us to cherish the daily creativity, curiosity, courage, and resilience that make the magical possibilities of many tomorrows possible. Try not to focus on the immediate results of today. Your work and innovation are meant to have an impact that stretches far beyond what any of us can think of. But this requires dreaming of the long run.
Let’s make this a year full of possibilities together.
Happy New Year. Happy 2022!
With gratitude –
Monica H. Kang
Founder & CEO
InnovatorsBox.com
Dear Friends,
Take a moment to imagine this with me:
It’s 2030. We’re catching up over a yummy meal complete with a perfect summer breeze and magnificent sunset. As we dip into our desserts, somehow, we’re reminded of 2020. We start to talk about how we felt, what we remember, and what we overcame.
Then we shift the conversation to where we are now. We survived, we grew, we learned, and we thrived. And we’ll smile realizing how we conquered a challenging year.
What do you want to remember from 2020?
What lessons and experiences do you want to carry with you into 2021?
Where do you envision you’ll be in 2030?
Curiosity matters.
The challenges we lived through this year are real. But so is our growth.
We don’t have to end every conversation with, “I can’t wait for the year to end.” Instead, we can keep an eye of curiosity on what is to come.
This year did not go the way I planned. I’m sure it didn’t for you, either.
Yet my intention to live “limitlessly” became even more important. We started asking new questions, and we started pushing the limits. Do we need a 9-5 schedule? Do we need to commute hours every day to sit in an office?
What we thought was impossible is now possible. No travel means we are available online everywhere. No in-person networking means it’s possible to build new, meaningful, and deeper relationships with people online. But to stay curious we have to believe it, explore it, and walk into it with boldness. Say it and mean it.
So what is the 2021 you want to walk into?
If 2020 was the year of adapting and exploring what it means to be limitless, I want 2021 to be the year of bold curiosity. How can we be curious about things we took for granted? How can we use this opportunity to try something different or make changes that will stay with us forever? I’m excited.
So wonder and wander, dear friends. We’re just at the tip of the iceberg.
With gratitude –
Monica H. Kang
Founder & CEO
InnovatorsBox.com
Dear Friends,
Can you remember the last time you felt truly limitless?
Dared to be different? Questioned the status quo? Embraced change? Were you willing to explore the unknown and risk facing failure and disappointment?
If courage helps us get over our fear of doing something different, imagination is what helps us boldly see possibilities in the face of impossibilities.
I’m incredibly humbled by the clients we have worked with and the challenges we have helped solve this year. While most companies, fail to successfully innovate because they fail to learn from past mistakes or embrace change, you came back with more questions and a desire to learn how to do more and be different. Just like Albert Einstein, your daringness to see from A to Z instead of A to B is what helped you find remarkable solutions! To solve bigger, sometimes scary, and increasingly complicated problems, we need more doers and dreamers like you.
This year you also pushed us to be bolder—and we are thankful for that. Because of you, we enter 2020 with even more wisdom and a mindset that is limitless.
We’re here with you as we unlock more creativity in the workplace. Together we can’t wait to see what world we can reimagine.
Here’s to being bold and limitless.
With gratitude –
Monica H. Kang
Founder & CEO
InnovatorsBox.com
Dear Friends,
What was the scariest thing you did this year?
Scary can mean different things to everyone. Maybe you shared a new idea with your team or started that new project you always wanted to. Whatever your answer is, I know it took courage.
Each week as I work with new clients, I am reminded of the power of courage. I believe most of us want to be courageous, but struggle to know how to. Because the fear of “what if” someone disagrees with you can be daunting. How would the world be different if we embraced that fear? What if we were grateful for the moments that scare us because they push us to be courageous?
I am grateful I can share my own courageous journey with you. In 2018, I hit many milestones: launched four new products, spoke at 60+ events in 26 cities for over 3,800 individuals, and launched my first book. But the most important part of my year was you, the people.
The courage you showed me this year inspired and empowered myself and others. I hope you realize how much of a difference you make and continue to do so. Thank you for allowing InnovatorsBox to be a part of your journey. We look forward to sharing another bold year together in 2019. Be courageous!
With gratitude –
Monica H. Kang
Founder & CEO
InnovatorsBox.com
Dear Friends,
No matter how good the technology gets, it will never beat the human interaction (or the snail mail!). As we put a year behind us and get ready to welcome another, I wanted to take a moment to express gratitude to all the people who contributed in our journey in their own ways and capacities. I’ve learned that no matter how much we may plan, we can never truly predict what the future holds for us.
We cannot predict who we’ll meet, help, befriend, or work with, and sometimes, our most transformative moments are the least expected ones. And this is why, I’m deeply grateful for our friendship and your support. This year wouldn’t have been the same without you and it is because of your trust and support that our movement to spread ‘creativity for all’ in society is a step closer.
As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. We can’t wait to solve the newer and deeper questions and problems together in 2018.
P.S. Creativity is contagious. We hope that you will use the empty postcard to share the joy of creativity to someone who would appreciate it. We could all use a bit of a reminder.
With gratitude –
Monica H. Kang
Founder & CEO
InnovatorsBox.com