My wife was asleep on the couch next to me as 2017 rang in last night.

Florida goes nuts with fireworks on December 31 and July 4rth, so my neighborhood sounded like a benevolent warzone starting around 11PM and lasting past midnight. I was surprised that the artillery bombardment did not wake my wife, she can sleep through anything.

Home is the best place to be on New Year’s, rather than out on the highways playing vehicle tag with cops and drunks.

Many positive things happened in my personal life and in my business in 2016, but I’m not sure I can say the same about the world. There was too much hate last year; too many mass shootings, terror attacks, and violent confrontations between civilians and police.

Too much hate, too much fear all around.

The election was ugly and crass, one might think in the modern era that the KKK was no longer relevant, but that tiny group of chuckleheads in our country got a ton of attention. In both Balloon Distractions and Life Leadership (aka LIFE) I work with some pretty diverse groups. I can see how certain groups are different, but I can’t fathom hating people, then getting out there and waving a flag to advertise my hate at a political rally.

We need more love and compassion in 2017, we need to invite more people into our homes and get to know them as human beings rather than as a “people”.

My goal in 2017 is to love people MORE, to emulate Christ as much as I can as a fallen sinner in a fallen world. If everyone had that goal when they woke up in the morning imagine how the entire world would be transformed in a just a few weeks.

You can love people in your business.

In LIFE we help people get rid of debt, improve their marriage, and learn how to be better parents. In Balloon Distractions we help people earn a better income part-time, while also bringing JOY to every child who gets a balloon. 2 different ventures, but similar goals.

In a few weeks I’m circling through Atlanta, Louisville, Little Rock and Houston. During that time I’ll work with folks in Balloon Distractions as well as LIFE, helping people earn more income, become better leaders, and move their team forward in 2017.

Many of our Balloon Distractions leaders and trainers are using the LIFE material to pay off debt and improve their relationships. I want everyone to benefit from their association with me and my companies. Some people will become students of the material and transform their lives, others will not.

God put me on this planet to help lead people to the truth, but he also gave them free will to decide whether to follow the truth or not. In 2017 I’m going to have to become a better leader, a better communicator, and a better human of compassion.

These are not “New Year’s resolutions”, I’ve been listening to audios and reading deeply for the past 3 years, with a long term goal of becoming a better human being, and a more effective entrepreneur. It’s been a long road, there are many miles still to go.

I hope you have a great 2017, this is a year when you can read and learn and progress along a better path for yourself.

2017 is a blank canvas; you can paint the same exact picture as 2016, or you can toss out your old paints and try something totally different.

-Benjamin T. Alexander

January 1, 2017