Hello friends. Is January 14^th too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year? I think I am still safe, right? I hope you and yours had a wonderful New Year’s. I have to say 2019 has been a year like none other for me. Being able to reach the important milestone of getting my story out into the public via Beyond the Golden Door brought with it many exciting, heartwarming, and challenging moments. I thought I would share some of the key highlights, my learnings, and what’s ahead for 2020:

1. What I am most thankful for? In 2019, through this experience, I have been reminded of the remarkable support system I have among my family, EY colleagues and friends. You were always there to encourage, pray, and brainstorm with me. Thank you! One of the biggest blessing in 2019 was sharing about my book with my extended Pakistani and Indian born family. I didn’t know how they would respond to my disclosing the very personal details of my life. Would they be angry? Disappointed? I was encouraged to be more proactive in informing my family by one of my dear cousins. I followed her advice. Friends, I truly believe God moved in my family’s hearts, as their responses have been nothing short of miraculously loving, embracing, humble, and kind. That was the highlight of 2019!

2. What were my learnings? I had been warned by the pros that the amount of work involved after you publish a book is at least as much as what you put into writing the thing. Well, they were right! The past six months have been frenetic with numerous media interviews, podcasts, and speaking engagements. I’ve learned to share my story on the air and that’s been a lot of fun. I’ve also had to learn to redirect tricky questions! On the serious side, the author business can be very isolating if you become overly fixated on Amazon rankings, book sales, comparisons, and social media. This is exactly what happened to me in the first four months. Then the Holy Spirit hit me with a two-by-four trying to help me see the idolatry that was underway. I am now learning to run the marathon versus the sprint. This temptation is not restricted to authors. Have you found yourself consumed by a project or an opportunity? How are you maintaining balance?

3. What’s ahead in 2020? This journey has been a little bit like entering a mansion with many rooms and some clues given to you as you roam around and discover new doors which you must enter to find additional interesting rooms. The trick is to discern which doors to open—you can’t go through every door (please pray for wisdom for me about this). The 2019 exposure is continuing to create some neat opportunities which include sharing about Belonging at my work, converting a business blog I have done for new college graduates into an audio pod-cast series, some university and church speaking engagements, and even a potential opportunity to host a pod-cast or radio show. One of my biggest goals for 2020 is to work on the audible version of the book. Of course, all of this must be juggled while doing my day job! I still love being a partner at Ernst & Young.

In closing, I want to encourage us all to meditate on Ephesians 3:20b (CEV) which states that “His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine.”  That’s my prayer and hope for 2020! Would you join me in praying for that? Have a wonderful start to your New Year!