Take responsibility for you in 2017.

It's that time again. Time to say goodbye to one year and welcome the next. Based on a lot of posts I've seen in various social media feeds many people are happy to see 2016 go. Seriously, they are blaming a lot of shit on a year.

A lot of people died this year. While tragic, it's part of life. 2016 was not unique in that regard, many people die every year. I guess 2016 just happened to claim the lives of many pop culture icons we all seem to "know". Rock stars, actors, celebrities and such. Well considering I'm 41 years old it's a good bet many people I grew up rocking out to and being entertained by will be passing on, it's sad but also very true. It's a fact but the one guarantee in life is that none of us are getting out of it alive. We're likely going to see more of our favorite cultural icons go in 2017, and 2018, and so on right up until it's our turn.

I'm not writing this to start 2017 off in a negative way. In fact it's quite the opposite. 2016 was pretty good for me. I continued to grow my business, I relocated my gym to an amazing new facility and added some cool new pieces of strength equipment, I've acquired more knowledge and experience, I've made more mistakes, I've experienced more successes, I've worked with some great athletes and clients, I've made new business relationships, I've planted seeds for some potential future business opportunities, I got to mentor a great intern and pass on some of the knowledge I've gained in my near 20 years in this industry, I finally got to see the mighty Slayer in concert (along with Anthrax), I continued to support animal welfare organizations, I started my next book, I read many great new books, and so much more. I mean I could seriously write for hours on the awesome things that happened in 2016.

There were some bad things too. One of my pets died, I lost my grandfather, my pet Malamute's health has been declining rapidly, and many other bad things outside of my control have happened. So what, that's all part of life. Bad things happen and you have zero control. The only thing you can control is how you respond to them.

Your life is nothing more than the sum total of the choices you've made, period. My hope for 2017 is that we all wake up to this fact. If you want 2017 to be better than 2016 make better choices for yourself. Don't blame other people, or situations, or the year when things go poorly.

Do you want to lose weight? Make better food choices and exercise. Want a better job? Gain more experience, get more education, work harder. No one owes you anything, make it happen for yourself. Take control of your life and take responsibility for the choices you've made.

When you finally do this you can begin living your life by your design. Doing the things you want, getting the things you want, and helping those you want. That's what we are here for.

Like I said earlier, none of us are getting out of this alive, so with the time you do have I hope you kick ass and make it amazing!

Here's to an awesome 2016 and an even better 2017!

Wishing you all health and happiness in the new year!

-Scott