Hello,
I hope 2019 was a fantastic year for you and capped a great decade. Here is a recap of my 2019 journey, in numbers.
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1.8 billion
people who can now have a version of The Camino Way in their language.
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My book, The Camino Way: Lessons in Leadership from a Walk Across Spain (HarperCollins, 2017), came out in a Chinese version this year. When combined with the English version that came out in 2017 and the Spanish version that came out in 2018, that means the book is now available in the top 3 native languages, representing about 1.8 billion people, or about 25% of Earth. The rights have also been sold in Korean, so that version should be coming out soon. I'm hoping for a Portuguese version to be sold next.
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23 / 5 / 3
cities / countries / continents visited on the book tour for The Camino Way.
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Our events in Sweden, France and Indianapolis IN this year marked the end of the two-year book tour for #TheCaminoWayBook. My favorite part of the book tour was catching up with friends in each city who made it to the event - a HUGE and heartfelt thanks to each of you who were able to make an event. Here's a list of the 24 cities we hit on the tour since it started in July 2017: Indianapolis IN, Chicago IL, Cincinnati OH, Cape Town - South Africa (book event), Cape Town - South Africa (group hike), Waterford - Ireland, Dublin - Ireland, Columbus OH, Canterbury - England - UK, Louisville KY, Nashville TN, Atlanta GA, Charlotte NC, Detroit/Ann Arbor MI, Toronto - Canada, Ottawa - Canada, Minneapolis MN, Washington DC, St. Louis MO, Kansas City MO, Dallas TX, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA, Nashville TN, Stockholm, Sweden, St. Jean Pied-de-Port, France (group hike), and Indianapolis IN. You can see a photos and a list of all of our stops on the book tour here.
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417,888
reads of my articles posted on LinkedIN in 2019.
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Instead of publishing another book this year, I focused on blogging. I posted 16 original, new blogs as articles on LinkedIN in 2019 and they racked up over 400,000 reads (averaging about 26,000 reads per article). The most exciting part to me is that #TheCaminoWayBook started as an article on LinkedIN that got about 25,000 reads and snowballed into a book deal. Who knows... maybe there is a new book (or few) somewhere within the blogs this year. Stay tuned.
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30,303
my total combined followers on social media platforms.
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Six years ago, when I decided to start a new career as a leadership author, corporate trainer, and keynote speaker, I had only about 2,000 followers on social media. Without a big “platform,” it was hard for me to get a publishing deal because publishers prefer to sign experienced authors with followings. Now, three books, 108 blogs, and dozens of speaking and training gigs later, my following on my several social media pages is over 30,000 and growing faster every day. My pages include #TheCaminoWayBook (12K follows) and #LosSietePrincipiosDelCaminoDeSantiago (4K follows) on Facebook and my LinkedIN page (10K followers). Thank you all for your support in helping me build a following over these years as an author!
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2 / 4
Executive Coaching certifications earned / Countries I've coached in thus far.
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After a year of training, practice, and passing an exam, I completed my certification as a Board Certified Coach (BCC) and Certified Executive Coach (CEC) this year. With my unique background as both a financial services marketing executive (at CapitalOne) and regulator (at the CFPB), I specialize in coaching executives who work in financial services. I have also built a niche with small businesses (especially medical practices) who are getting courted by private equity buyers. If you know of anyone looking for an executive coach, please consider mentioning me as an option. You can see a page and video explaining my coaching approach here.
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27.2
miles I ran in my first marathon this year.
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I ran my first, and probably last, marathon this year in Indianapolis in November. It took about 350 miles of training runs over four months to prepare. And I learned the hard way that you have to hug every turn along the course, because I ended up running a whole extra mile during the 26.2 mile race due to sloppy turns. Thanks to all the family and friends who supported me along the way, especially on race day. I particularly needed help because the halfway point of the route was exactly three blocks from my house, so I had to fight a temptation to quit halfway.
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161
miles I walked on the Camino de Santiago trail this summer - my 4th Camino.
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I walked the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain again this summer - my fourth time. This time we (Tina and I) did two weeks, just short of halfway across Spain. Each day on the trail, I filmed a 2-3 minute video sharing a leadership lesson I have learned from the Camino. You can see them here.
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50
the birthday I had this year that spurred me to do the two crazy things above.
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My marathon and Camino were goals I set for the year because I turned 50 this summer. I celebrated my birthday at the top of a beautiful hill on the Camino de Santiago trail near Pamplona, Spain. Tina and two other very special people joined me and snuck up some champagne and snacks for us to celebrate at the top of the hill. It was perfect.
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5
number of classes I now teach at thoughtLEADERS after adding Deliberate Decision-Making this year.
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13
number of Time Zones I've now traveled to teach thoughtLEADERS classes.
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In my six years as a thoughtLEADERS instructor, I’ve taught courses across the USA, in Europe, and in Asia. In total, that represents 13 time zones traveled, or just over half of the world, teaching thoughtLEADERS courses. (The photo is of me teaching at Google's Stockholm, Sweden office this spring.) My next goal is to add clients in Australia / New Zealand and the Far East. The courses I teach are 1) Structured Thought and Communication, 2) Structured Thought: Problem-Solving, 3) Leading Inside the Box, and 4) Coaching for Impact. The first two courses teach the methodology that the strategy consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain use to solve complex problems for clients and communicate the solutions in a clear, concise, and compelling way.
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3
the number of languages Lead Inside the Box is in now with a Chinese version.
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266
public libraries around the world that have The Camino Way in their holdings.
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According Worldcat.org (the world's largest library catalog), The Camino Way is now stocked in 266 public libraries and is in every continent except Antarctica. You can check on Worldcat.org to see if your local library has it. If not, it is usually easy to submit a request on their website for them to order it.
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$4.39
the price of a used copy of The Camino Way on Abebooks.com
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The Camino Way now has a secondary market of used copies. While the cover price of a new hardcover copy of the book is $21.95, you can get a used copy in very good condition for under $5 on sites like Abebooks.com. If you buy a copy, I will be happy to send you a handwritten card that you can insert in the book to make it a signed copy.
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#1
Of all the Keynote Speeches of The Camino Way I have given,
the one I did for my Mom this fall ranks here on my list.
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I'll end with my favorite highlight this year. My mom moved into a new community about a year ago. To help her meet her new neighbors, I gave my keynote speech about The Camino Way as a guest speaker there this autumn. My keynote speech for the book share the values and leadership lessons I learned by walking the one thousand year old Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail across Spain. We had a great turnout at the event. My mom told all her neighbors about it for months and was excited when she got to introduce me. I've done this speech dozens of times in dozens of places, for audiences ranging from software teams to surgeons, but this was easily the most important one I've ever done. It makes me smile all over again as I write this. Let me know if you know any company, school, or other group you think would like to hear the timeless values and lessons from the Camino.
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Thanks for reading about my year. I'd love to hear about what 2019 brought you and what you are up to for 2020. If you have a moment, please reply with an email or look me up on Facebook or LinkedIn. Here is a link where you can schedule a call with me too if you would like to catch up that way. And please let me know if I can be helpful to you in any way.
Happy New Year! All the best to you in 2020 and beyond!
Victor
Leadership Author, Keynote Speaker, Corporate Trainer, Executive Coach
Web: www.victorprince.com
Email: victor@victorprince.com
Phone: (202) 297-4514
Skype: VIPINDC
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