It's my favorite time of the year.

Time to open the Jar of Awesome.

If you're doing an annual review, then you're probably aware of your biggest wins of 2022. You know, the ones that come up right away when you think about the last 12 months – say, like getting married or launching a video course.

We're used to celebrating big wins and agonizing over the tiniest mistakes. But we can reverse the trend. Let's celebrate tiny wins, too!

What about the moments that put a smile on your face? The ones that made you feel like a winner? They may be tiny – say, like getting cheered on by two grannies on my daily run or nailing a workshop with a client – but they are to be celebrated, too.

A few years back, I stumbled across a video by Tim Ferris and I loved his idea of celebrating small wins. So I went and made my own Jar of Awesome.

It's simple, really. Get a jar and a stack of small pieces of paper. When something cool happens, write it down and put the piece of paper in the jar. Open the jar when you're doing your annual review. I guarantee there will be a lot to uncover there.

Hope your year ends on a high note!

💟 P.S. What small win made you smile when you thought about it just now? Hit reply, I'd love to know!

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REVIEW

The best of my blog in 2022

Here's the content that performed the best across my site in the last year. You'll see both new and old links here:

• Value Proposition Canvas - this is by far the most read article on my site and I believe with good reason. Figuring out your value proposition can unlock everything else - your messaging, marketing strategy, and more.
• Jobs to be Done Interviews - this post will give you the exact process I use to directly get insights from customers.
  
• Atomic Habits [Book Notes] - as the new year is coming up and productivity is on everyone's minds, this recap gets even more timely. It will help you build habits of your own.
• The Content Marketing Blueprint [Video] - a recording of my podcast with CoSchedule was the most watched video on my YouTube channel. It will help you build a cohesive content plan in an easy-to-use format.

And finally, I managed to launch a massive piece of content that got lots of attention with my video-on-demand course on strategic content and messaging. Check out the curriculum and the special holiday price, if you still haven't.

HANDPICKED STORIES FOR YOU

How and why Pantone picked 'Viva Magenta' as its 2023 color of the year
I love Pantone's Color of the Year campaign and it's an amazing example of content marketing. This post explains the process behind the choice of new colors and why Pantone's team does what it does.

Google's Year in Search
This is one of my favorite recap campaigns of the year because ti shows how short our memory actually is. Do you remember the Wordle craze? The Depp vs Heard trial? Although these things now sound like distant memories, they did happen in 2022.

A year on YouTube: 2022’s top trending videos & creators in the US
This is not just a list of videos. It's an analysis of what works – and why. Celebrities got more relevant because of how creators reinterpreted them. And the real blockbusters revealed moments of authenticity and true connections between creators and their audiences. How will you use these ideas in your 2023 content?

Copywriting tips from Apple
This Twitter thread deconstructs Apple's copywriting greatness. The principles are applicable to all our work - and you can try them out on your own. I especially like the rhyming and alliteration ideas.

12 inspiring graphic design trends for 2023
Design platform '99 Designs' shares some of the key trends they see coming in the new year. Punk and 90s looks are in. Complex compositions and abstract backgrounds will be more prevalent. Go through this list and talk to your designer how to make the best of it.

DREAMING OF TRAVEL

How a luxury travel brand excels at podcasting

The podcast space is growing but brands are slow to adopt it. Which means that whoever goes in, can win big. Thankfully, there are some marketing teams that show us how it's done. Marriott Bonvoy has not one but two ongoing podcast series. 'About the Journey' talks about lesser known travel destinations, inclusivity in travel, sustainable travel and other topics important to young audiences. 'Behind the Design' is all about hotel design and it caters to both hospitality professionals and travel geeks (like yours truly).

Both series show how to rekindle the excitement around travel and stay close to adventurers-at-heart even when they aren't ready to pack their bags.

Read about the projects →

FUN STUFF TO CLICK ON

• This video about goal setting – it's a great reminder in the moment we're all thinking about our 2023 goals. If you don't have a strong Why behind a goal, it won't last.
• This cute robot collaboration – decorating a Christmas tree is a three-robot job.
  
• Weekly cat – so much drama!

I found these interesting and I hope you do, too!

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