Really, you can turn any activity into an anniversary occasion, as long as it repeats over some period of time.  But let's be frank, some occasions are perhaps a bit more deserving of being commemorated, for better and sometimes, since you're counting, for not so better. For me, this 1st anniversary of the start of my business, Luxury Basics, is today, in the deserving category, but maybe not for the reasons a casual reader might expect.  First anniversaries, you see, are way early in the game.  Early in the game of knowing what you're doing, early in the game of being in the game, early in the game of your awareness of what the game actually is.  All of these heretofore mentioned issues related to this game, as it gets defined, change over and over again, so next year, it may be that I'm still in the game, but differently.  Who knows?  Part of it is how you play your part in the game, how you learn your part in the game and then change your part, or how you define where you are in the game.  It's very fluid, this game.  It's not really about jewelry, as you might guess, although it appears that's what it's (the game) about.  No, I would submit to you that any endeavor, whatever it is, if you're involved in it, being part of it and allowing it to be a part of you, is then, a reflection of you. Therefore, when anniversaries occur, (they sometimes arrive, or pass, depending on your point of view at the time), oftentimes there is an inclination or tendency to want to review, summarize, evaluate, take stock, or somehow mark the time as a stake in the ground for comparison before and after.  After all, birthdays are anniversaries, and I had one of those recently, too. This is not the first business that I started from scratch, it's my second.  The first one I started evolved into an investment banking business that became very successful and intermittently satisfying.  I vaguely remember the passing of the first anniversary of that business.  I was still clueless and struggling to pick my head up to see the real opportunities in front of me.  This is actually one of the key conflicts.  When you are actively engaged, your head is typically down, doing the work in front of you.  But only when you can look up, can you begin to see what might be in front of you, a bit down the road, if only you could pay attention.  I still don't have any idea how this new business will evolve. After all that I have experienced in starting and leading companies, there is still no shortcut available for that first year or so of being "head down" in the trenches.  So, my head is up today, looking around.  With the first year behind me, I can try to critically evaluate my progress at the same time as pushing ahead to the coming year with more and better thoughts about building my brand and my base.  I have deliberately taken it slow - this creative side is still not fully me - but I am making progress.  For example, I don't choke as often as I used to when I identify myself as a designer.  Certainly a good and worthy sign.  And my dreams are now punctuated with periodic pictures of new designs - I do get up and draw them. One year ago, I really couldn't imagine that I would be sitting here with a reasonable sense of pride and accomplishment.  Fear was then the great motivator. (It usually is)  Now, I am ready to move into the next phase of the game - expansion, then greed, then game over.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  Hopefully, I will be stuck in the expansion phase for a good long time.  I am sure it will be the best place for me. Thanks for visiting.  Stay tuned.