Episode 330 - 2024 Resolutionary Episode

Keep connecting with IAAPA in 2024! Join your colleagues and peers at the IAAPA FEC Summit from January 21st to the 23rd in San Antonio, Texas. Or, plan to celebrate the industry’s most significant achievements at the new IAAPA Honors event held in conjunction with the IAAPA North America Summit, March 3rd to the 5th in Las Vegas.  We can’t wait to see you there! Visit IAAPA.org for more information. As we head into 2024, AttractionPros is proud to present the seventh annual “resolutionary” episode, which sets the stage for the year to come. To go forth, we reflect on 2023 as Matt and Josh discuss not only their personal goals, but goals for the industry as well. As you set your goals for the upcoming year, we hope you discover valuable advice and guidance as we discuss our resolutions, and hope they can provide a great framework to help you achieve your goals for 2024. In this episode, Matt and Josh talk about the power of accountability as they share their goals and resolutions for 2024.   Accountability One of the most powerful forces in life is accountability. Josh shares that announcing his upcoming book on the podcast served as a motivating factor, propelling him to publish The Hospitality Mentality in 2023 and ensure its successful completion. Additionally, because AttractionPros has a strong and growing audience that keeps us accountable, it has helped ensure that every Tuesday since September 2017, there’s been a new podcast for our listeners to hear.  New Year's resolutions often wane or fall short, but establishing not only internal but also external accountability can significantly enhance the pursuit of those goals. This is also incredibly important in our industry, as making sure we hold ourselves accountable ensures that we can deliver great experiences to guests every day of the year.   Josh’s Resolutions In 2024, Josh wants to focus more on building partnerships and sustaining guest experience initiatives. Josh shares that throughout his career, he’s often flown out for a temporary time to deliver a workshop, and typically finds himself working in short timeframes. Josh wants to commit more time to growing guest experience initiatives and building more rewarding and long-lasting relationships within the industry.  Josh never expected to become a public speaker, but now finds himself consistently speaking at expos and workshops. Knowing this, Josh wants to commit to becoming a great public speaker in 2024 by taking advantage of the resources around him, such as enrolling in courses at The Second City in Chicago. By finding a unique voice and providing opportunities to laugh, Josh will make sure he’s an even better speaker the next time you hear him.  Josh’s final resolution is that he’d like to hold more in-person events in 2024. After hosting two successful events in 2023 with the AttractionPros meetup and his book launch at IAAPA Expo, Josh has fallen in love with the relaxed environment and opportunities to build relationships and meet people in a setting that doesn't revolve around exchanging business cards. We hope to see you at the AttractionPros meetup in 2024!   Matt’s Resolutions Matt’s first resolution for 2024 is that he’d like to keep building POC (Performance Optimist Consulting) YOUniversity by getting more help. So far, Matt has ventured on this journey primarily alone, and looks forward to bringing new perspectives not only to execute the next steps, but also create them.  Matt’s second resolution for 2024 is more personal, as he wants to keep committing to his health after receiving open heart surgery. Although several factors are out of his control, Matt realizes there’s still plenty he can do to ensure his well-being. Since surgery, Matt’s been exercising, avoiding fried foods, and working to build great habits that lead to positive lifestyle changes. Matt’s final resolution for 2024 is that he’d like to make sure he can tell his story when it will make a positive impact on some