Category Archives: Me

Health and Fitness, Learning, Life, Me, Travel

Late mid-year update 2018: A familiar feeling

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Late, as usual, but whatever. This is more catharsis for myself than anything else. Plus I’ve been hella busy so bleh. So far, I’ve been very happy with this year. It feels oddly familiar to 2007. 2007 was an epic year for me, and from 2007-2009 is when I experienced the most growth as a person and racked up a ton of life experiences. This year, 11 years later, so far feels a lot like 2007 in so many ways. It feels like I’m on the cusp of some more big lessons, wins, and life experiences.

In my 2017 year-end review, I wrote:

Next year looks to be business as usual in a lot of ways, but there will also be exciting opportunities available. I think it will be a hard but rewarding year. And if it’s a good year like this one I’ll gladly accept it. I’m excited to see what happens.

I’d say that’s largely true. Business as usual. Lots of hard work. But rewarding work. And the results are showing. For example, I rehired my swimming coach like I said I was going to do, and she’s been fantastic. I feel so much more comfortable in the pool, and panic far less now. I’d say I’m now a slightly-below-average swimmer at this point. I know that doesn’t sound amazing, but for my entire life I was so mortified at even the thought of putting my feet into the water that this is a huge achievement for me that I’m really happy with.

I’ve also hired a Spanish tutor, and after 5 months with him I can have so-so conversations and can express my ideas in Spanish that he’s able to understand. It’s definitely not fluency by any means, but he’s ecstatic with my progress and I’m somewhat satisfied. I really want to be fluent at the end of the year, which is quickly approaching, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll happen. That seems to be the norm for me. I just seem to have to work harder than everybody else to get mediocre results. When I read stories of people who get fluent in a language in 3 months or get down to 7% body fat after a 3-month cut I always get envious. I’ll do my absolute bestest to follow the exact step-by-step plan and I simply just don’t get the same results. But then I look back at how far I’ve come and remind myself that it isn’t a race and that the only person I should compare myself to is my former self.

Physically I feel fantastic. I’m in the best shape of my life, for sure. Training has gone exceptionally well and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve got some naggy elbows for the past month but they’re feeling much better now, and I didn’t have to slow down my training, progress, or volume. I couldn’t ask for more in this regard, to be honest.

I did end up going to India for a month in January, and I loved it. I went with one of my besties who hasn’t really traveled much and it was quite obvious he wasn’t having a good time. So we were both glad when he left and I continued on my own, then met up with some of my other besties. India is a challenging country in so many ways and yet it all felt so normal to me. Travel isn’t always comfortable, in fact, I’d argue that a lot of travel isn’t, and yet on the other side of that discomfort is so much win. With that said, I’m going to do some wandering for a while and work remotely in different countries. It’s time. I’m not getting any younger and this is something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I read about it in the 4-hour workweek way back in 2007. I have so many excuses in my head as to why I shouldn’t go, and only a few reasons for why I should. But fuck it, sometimes you just gotta stop listening to your head and listen to your heart. First stop, Asia! Stay tuned…

Goals, Life, Me

2017 was a good year

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I had a good year this year. Good, not great. But I will take it. It was the first good year I’ve had in my thirties. That isn’t an exaggeration.  The last 5 years were complete and utter shit. That isn’t me being negative, that’s just the reality of the situation. My perspective throughout those 5 years was mostly positive, but even still overall it was a sucky time. This year, however, something changed. I didn’t feel lost and confused. I didn’t make mountains out of molehills. I took everything in stride. It was good. Things were busy, as usual, but I never felt overwhelmed or scatterbrained. I knew if I just clamped down and chugged I could get a lot done. And I was mostly pleased with my progress. Slowly but surely I’ve been progressing in the game of life, leveling up where I can, stopping to smell the flowers where appropriate, and 2017 was pretty smooth in those regards.

Some of the highlights this year for me included getting Lasik surgery and hiring a private swimming coach. Both of these were huge. My vision has improved tremendously and I no longer need glasses and contact lenses. I cannot emphasize how much this has improved my life. The same can be said for hiring a private swimming coach. She was able to 10x my swimming ability and drastically improve my confidence in the water. I was so pleased with the results that I’ll be hiring her again next year. Lesson learned – sometimes you just have to pay up to have your problems solved. Both of these were investments into me and were worth every penny.

This was also a great year health-wise. Sure, I still can’t see my abs and I still have a bit more tummy then I did before I started my uber bulk, but the fat has slowly been melting away. I don’t mind, though. I’ve put on more muscle than fat and have had numerous people compliment me on my gainz. But much, much more importantly, I’ve been mostly injury free and a lot more durable this year. This makes me very, very happy. Strength training has gone well and progressive overload has been pretty much linear (or maybe step-wise). A first time in my 5 years of lifting. Injuries in the past have set me back time and again, sometimes for unbearably long periods of time, but this year everything just went well. This allowed me to sneak in some fun BJJ injury-free as well (though not as much as I would have liked). Things are just better without injuries so I’m hoping I can stay this way for a long time. I think I made the right adjustments this year and am quite pleased.

I didn’t do a lot of travel this year but did sneak away to Havana for a few days early in the year. I’ve always wanted to go to Havana because that is where my Grandmother was born and it always looked like it was trapped in a time capsule. It didn’t disappoint in the slightest. It was a fabulous place and the people were great. I also had short weekends in Chicago and New York City, my favourite city in the world. It was my first time in Chicago but hopefully not the last. I had a fantastic time there with some fantastic people. I will be traveling a lot more in 2018, for sure, starting with a month-long trip to India in January.

Aside from that, not much else to report. I didn’t think I read a whole lot of books this year but looking back at my Goodreads bookshelf, it looks like I managed to cram in over 20 books since the beginning of the year. I really enjoyed the books “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World” and “Persuadable: How Great Leaders Change Their Minds to Change the World” (what’s with me liking books about changing the world? hmmmm).

Next year looks to be business as usual in a lot of ways, but there will also be exciting opportunities available. I think it will be a hard but rewarding year. And if it’s a good year like this one I’ll gladly accept it. I’m excited to see what happens.

Happy New Year! Much love.

Life, Me

Mid Year Update 2017: Back on track, baby!

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I still have trouble wrapping my head around how fast time seems to fly by. And even more surprisingly, accelerating. It’s June, and hot out, and it feels not too long ago it was still quite cold outside with snow on the ground.

 

This year so far has been good. The best I’ve had in my 30s so far by a mile. That’s not to say much. My 30s have been really shit. But so far this year feels good. Good, as in normal (for the most part). I hope this is my new normal. Normal is nice. I think the contrast from around December when I was juggling too many things compared to now where I’m only working on two things is a huge breath of fresh air. The boundaries are nice. I can take a little time to myself without worrying about this or that thing. I think better as a result. And I’m more effective and happier because of it. I went for a swim today and just lounged around and it felt great.

 

If there’s one gripe I have, it’s that things are moving along too slowly. Maybe that’s why time seems to move so quickly, in contrast to the slow-moving progress that is my life. For example, I thought I’d see my abs again by this time, but I’m not even close to beach ready. Even though I’ve already dropped 13 lbs since the beginning of the year, I have about 5-7 more to go. Progress, just slow. I keep reminding myself that we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in the short term but underestimate what we can accomplish in the long term. I’m no exception to this tendency, it would seem. Other things that also seem to be moving along slower than I’d like to include my work, side project, and just about everything else going on. But, honestly, it is to be expected. So not really a gripe, just an observation.

 

Aside from that, not much else to report. I’ve been injury free and enjoying lifting weights lately. And since the beginning of spring, I’ve resumed my daily walks. I love them, they are such an energy and mind recharge and such a relaxing activity.

 

Oh yeah, and I got Lasik last month! There was a bit of a scare that the surgery overcorrected my vision in the 1 week follow-up. I was getting splitting headaches, and my eye doc prescribed me glasses, completely defeating the purpose of getting Lasik done. But literally right after that appointment, the headaches all vanished. It has been smooth sailing ever since and my vision feels really good. I still can’t believe that I’m seeing so clearly and without glasses. It is a total game-changer.

1 day after Lasik
The day after Lasik surgery. Complete with complementary big ass shades and free Raptors hat from Bochner Eye Institute.

I think I’m going to start writing a little bit more, again. Maybe just stupid silly things, like product reviews of Kickstarter projects I’ve backed. But just something to do to take my mind away from work stuff and to hopefully kickstart (pun intended) a writing routine. My Yelp reviews just aren’t doing it for me. No pressure.

Goals, Life, Me

2016 – A little lonely and a little lost

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“Fuck…”

“I can’t take this anymore…”

“Somethings gotta change…”

That was me 3 weeks ago. I was at my wits end. It felt like I was suffocating. What I was doing for the majority of the year wasn’t working and I knew it. I was overworked, ineffective, and unhappy. Basically, everything I didn’t want in my life. So I bailed… on almost everything.

It felt like I just chopped off one of my arms. But it was swift. Painful but swift. I closed 4 of my websites for good. I emailed my customers telling them I was closing up shop and gave them enough time to export and backup their data. And I cried a little. And I may have pooped in my pants. I can’t remember.

2016 was a lot like 2015 in many ways… it went a lot harder than I thought it would. If you were to read my 2015 update you could almost update the year from 2015 to 2016 and you’d almost be correct. It was much worse in many ways. But there’s only so many ways I can write I had a shitty year without sounding repetitive and like I’m feeling sorry for myself. There were some differences, obviously. It’s not like the movie Groundhog Day where I was living the same shitty day over and over.

But I think in terms of my social life, my hobbies, my sleep, it was all very similar and my mid-year update covered it pretty well.

Since the mid-year update, not much has changed except a few things worth noting. In August I began a four-month bulk that resulted in me gaining over 30 pounds. The really crazy part to me was about 2 months into the bulk, I was already over 35 pounds and far too fat. So I had to actually make some adjustments and ended up at 168 lbs. At one point I was over 170 lbs, which was crazy to me. All prior attempts at putting on weight never put me over 160, let alone 170. While I’m happy that I was able to put on that much weight in such a short amount of time, I will never attempt to do it like this ever again. I look and feel disgusting. I’ve got a huge gut, feel much more lethargic, and have a crazy amount of bacne and random skin rashes that refuse to go away. I also don’t have any clothes that fit me properly. So now I have to start cutting out the fat while maintaining the muscle I gained. Theoretically, it shouldn’t be too hard. Eat a little bit less while keeping the protein relatively high, and increase my energy expenditure (more exercise, more daily movement, more activity). Let’s hope it doesn’t get too difficult. I don’t foresee it being too bad but if my track record for everything else in my life is any indication, I’m probably way off.

The neck pinch I had in July resulted in another MRI scan of my neck. The results possibly explained the tingling and numbness I had in my arms and hands and fingers. 5 of 7 of the discs in my neck are bulging, 2 somewhat seriously with stenosis to boot. Yay, me. BJJ, one of my favourite hobbies, has been difficult. I’d spar with some people and my neck would be sore for a week. So I haven’t been going very often, unfortunately, which makes me sadface.

Productivity and learning really started to take off in the last quarter of the year. I was learning a shitload and getting a lot done. I spent a lot of money buying software and online courses to further my education. It was as if I was subconsciously building up a war chest of business software and upgrading my brain because of the coming fallout that my subconscious inevitably knew was coming.

I was disappointed in how I handled some important things this year, especially in business. I was overconfident in thinking I could do it all. Way too much hubris. But I didn’t know what to do and had nobody to turn to. I felt lonely. One of my best friends moved away in February. Another decided to bail on a business we were working on together. Another moved away in August. And my Grandma passed away in July. That one gutted me and still fucks with me. All in all, I felt lost, lonely, and unsure of what to do. I bought an online business because why not. I started dating again around that time because why not x2. They were all missteps that if I just took a second to think it through I would realize how bad the decisions were. I was adding gasoline to an already full tank. I was just overflowing, and scatter-brain, and unfocused. I was like a frog in a pot of water about to boil. It was around September that I was reaching the boiling point. And by December…pop.

But here’s why I’m not worried…

I watched the UFC last night – Rousey vs Nunes. I was wrong about both main events. Two of my favourite fighters lost, and one of them got murked. And then this morning all I could see were memes mocking Rousey for her loss. And I was reminded of something I already knew. People who make memes about women getting beat up just aren’t part of my tribe. I don’t even know how to associate with that or them on that level. But people who work their asses off day in and day out, who try their best and still come up short from time to time but who aren’t afraid to put in the work and keep going…shit…that…THAT is my fam. That I can relate to. All. Damn. Day.

This is Dominic Cruz after his loss. Listen to this shit. I had it re-running for 20 minutes straight so it could seep into my thick skull. The most dominant bantamweight in history just lost for the first time in 9 years yet his perspective is unexpected and inspiring.

 

Story time…. I haven’t told this one to anybody because it’s a little sappy and weird…

I went to visit my old stomping grounds earlier in the year. I went to say hi to some cafe owners I hadn’t seen in a few years – a brother and sister run business. I had gotten to know them over the years and found out a lot about them. Prior to the cafe, they ran a number of businesses – night clubs and restaurants, so naturally they’ve met a lot of people over the years. Anyway, when we were catching up they gave me a lot of life tips, wisdom and words of encouragement and fed me for free until I was stuffed to the gills. As I was about to leave the sister said something that really stuck with me. She kind of sat me down and looked me in the eyes, and in the most sincerest way I’ve ever seen she said I was special. That I was different and unique from anybody she’s come across throughout the years of running businesses and meeting thousands of people. I laughed awkwardly and looked over at her brother to see if she was fucking with me. His eyes were glued on me and nodding at everything she was saying. Then she said something along the lines of “Maybe the world doesn’t see it yet, but they will. How you will show this to the world is yet to be known.” It was so surreal and corny but still sends chills down my spine and something I think about regularly.

Oh, 2016… what a strange year. I made some bad choices, true. But I gained invaluable experience and wisdom. Nothing that I could get from a book or a classroom. I found limits in what I could do, how much I could juggle, and did things I didn’t think I could do. Putting on so much weight was a real eye opener for me. I’ve never been able to do that ever before in all prior attempts. And to do it so quickly, too. Sure, my businesses failed. But the feedback and encouragement from users has been amazing. For some projects, I was able to sell off the assets. For others, I walked away from bad deals after weeks of negotiation. And my skillsets really expanded. Realistically speaking, I’m capable of handling so much more. More pressure, more heartaches and headaches. And the only way to really find your limits is to try to push them.

2017 will be interesting. I have lots to apply and learn and my work is cut out for me. But it’s an exciting time. I hope I can make at least 1 business profitable – either mine or somebody else’s. I hope my cut goes well and I see my abs again. I hope I’ll be able to do a little bit of travel, perhaps in the spring or fall. I hope I’ll be able to connect with more of my tribe, maybe through teaching or joining some meetups. I hope to improve my Spanish. But, we’ll see. The last 4 years haven’t gone nearly as I’d imagined so I don’t really have any expectation that 2017 will be any different. Still, I am excited in the possibilities of what lies ahead. Happy new year and I hope you had a good one and an even better 2017.

Goals, Life, Me

Mid Year Update OR Holy SH*T It’s Almost July

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It’s almost July. My oh my the time flies. This year has been blazing on by like a meteor. It’s been a tough one. Lots of downs and not so many ups. But it’s fine. I don’t care. The winds will change eventually. I am patient and I am determined.

I’m typing this currently with a pinched nerve in my neck that’s causing pain, weakness, and numbness in my left arm and shoulder. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary except sleep on a friend’s couch. Life is funny that way. I herniated a disc and bulged a disc in my neck many years ago and the pain sometimes comes back to haunt me. This is the worst it’s ever been and I have another MRI planned for it. I have to take it easy from my hobbies like jiu jitsu and strength training for a little while I figure out what’s going on with it. I injured my knee back in December. It was supposed to heal in 6-8 weeks. But at week 12 my physiotherapist told me it’d be 6 months. I was disappointed but took it in stride. It’s now almost 7 months and still isn’t 100%. I can’t even remember the last time I told my friends and family some good news. I am looking forward to when that time comes.

I’ve just re-read some of my year-end goals and predictions that I wrote at the end of last year to compare how things have played out so far, and I’m quite pleased.

Health

Health wise I have some issues I have to tend to aside from this pesky pinched nerve and slow-healing knee. It’s been tough because I have to be careful on what I eat, drink, and do. But I think come August I do plan on going on a bulk. My goal will be to put on a good 10 lbs of lean muscle so we’ll see how that goes. That’s the plan, but it means nothing if this pinched nerve and other shit doesn’t heal up. Plans are useless, but planning is everything I guess. 

I have a few more weeks of another 90-day cycle of P90X3. I enjoy P90X3 quite a bit, but I think after this round I won’t ever do another 90 straight days on the program, at least for a long while. Especially if I’m going to bulk then it would be counter-productive, but I also just need a break from daily rigid exercise. I really like the yoga and mobility program though so I’ll be sure to put those into my rotation on the regular.

Social

Socially my life is even worse than it was before. One of my best friends moved away and I’ve distanced myself from some others who I felt were having too negative an impact on me. Combined with my restrictions due to my health and it’s just hard to get out. I started dating a little bit but nothing really lasted. Women were complaining that I wasn’t spending enough time with them. I have since stopped because they were absolutely right and dating just isn’t a priority to me. I felt like I was being stretched too thin from it and I wasn’t really taking it seriously or enjoying it so I am shelving it for the time being. It’s important that I remind myself to live my life on my terms and not fold into societal and family pressures that I should do this or that or be at this or that point in my life by now.

Hobbies

I did finally get around to trying archery, and I did enjoy it. But the range I went to had tons of mosquitos that ate me alive and also lots of ticks so I haven’t been back. This pinched nerve prevents me from doing it as well, but I definitely see myself doing it more often in the future.

Productivity

I can do better here still. I have had tons of output this year so far and continue to bring it, but it could be more consistent. Some days I’d give myself a 10/10 on productivity and other days a 2 or 3. More 10s and less 2s is very doable. I have also noticed a decline lately as the weather has gotten nicer and that’s no good, either. It’s time to get back on the saddle.

Travel

True to my prediction, I haven’t done any travel this year aside from a weekend trip portaging up north, which was a last minute decision. I was going to go to Colombia in August but that has fallen through. I think if I can go on a 3-month bulk then the timeframe for travel would ideally be November. I want to go somewhere because I have a crazy travel itch at the moment but if it doesn’t happen I’m ok with that as well.

Sleep

It has only improved from last year. I fall asleep faster, sleep deeper, wake up to pee less often, and wake up feeling more refreshed than ever. The quality is there so I am quite happy here.

Happiness

I have spent a lot of time on healing myself up this year. Lots of reading and meditation and introspection and journaling and personal discovery and exercise. I think even if shitty things happen to you, with an unbreakable mind it doesn’t matter. Even if everything goes to shit and your friends and your family give up on you, as long as you don’t give up on yourself then everything will be alright.

So yeah, so far so good. I refuse to let setbacks keep me down. Keep on trucking. Or as Dory would say, just keep swimming…There’s still tons of year left to do some damage, so get after it.

Life, Me

2015 Review. Looking Forward to 2016!

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What can I say. I got my ass kicked this year. Both metaphorically and literally. I thought 2015 was going to be a breeze compared to 2014. Never did I think it would be harder! Oh well, you know what they say – Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. I recently read an interview with Ronda Rousey following her stunning loss to Holly Holm. She says something pretty remarkable:

“I always say you have to be willing to get your heart broken. That’s just what fucking happens when you try.”

And that’s pretty much how I feel 2015 went. 2014 I laid down a foundation, and it’s steady now. In 2015 I tried and I tried and couldn’t get any momentum going. In some form or another, real life would punch me in the face, knee me in the gut, or straight up give me a charley horse. I’d bob and I’d weave, but no matter what step I took I’d get an ass whooping. But it doesn’t matter. Fall down 7 times. Get up 8.

That’s easier said then done, of course. I’d by lying if I didn’t say I’m not feeling the effects. I’ve got the wind knocked out of me and am still catching my breath. But I’ll be fine. I’m resilient and my resolve grows stronger everyday. The force…awakens?

I did something awful to my right knee this month so I’ve been wearing a full leg knee brace. I’ve been to the orthopaedic surgeon twice and have another appointment with him in the first week of 2016. I’ve been laying in bed, eating chocolate and drinking egg nog. You know, the good life. But I did start working on learning some new stuff on Christmas day and turned it into a side project. I gave December 31st as the deadline for it and I’m behind schedule so I’d like to finish this post so I can get back to it. Below is how I’d rate my year in various categories I figure are worth highlighting.

Health – 7/10

In my strength training routine the only significant progress worth mentioning is the overhead press. It was a goal of mine to be able to lift my bodyweight in the ohp. And late in the year I finally did it! Woohoo… And now I’ve stopped because my right shoulder hates me. Celebration over. Ohp 1x bodyweight was a personal goal of mine and I’ve hit it, but not without a cost. There’s nowhere to go for me on ohp without that cost getting more expensive, and nobody goes “ZOMG U BW OHP?!” in admiration. The ladies definitely aren’t swooning over it, either. So for now I have to say goodbye ohp. It’s been a slice.

Aesthetically, I got into some fantastic looking shape. Prior to heading to Asia, I got down to 9% body fat, the lowest I’ve ever been. The really cool thing was that it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I didn’t change up my diet that much. It just involved a little bit of work everyday. P90X3 was key with that. It also helped me a lot with my mobility and flexibility.

Social – 1/10

Pretty much non existent. I stopped hanging out with certain people in specific situations that I didn’t enjoy. And a lot of my friends have moved away or drifted apart. I wrote about this last year, and I didn’t get around to revitalizing my social life as I predicted. That’s ok, I’m a hermit. But I will address this eventually. Will it be 2016? Possibly. I definitely could have used some support this year but there wasn’t really any. My fault. It’s not high priority but it would be nice.

Hobbies – 2/10

Eh, this was a big fail. I stopped doing Judo because of my shoulder and I didn’t get around to the things I wanted to try such as archery and shooting guns. BJJ was very off and on. On my first day back on the mats after returning from Asia I busted up my knee while sparring. This legit pissed me off and all I can think about is getting back in there. I fully expect to be back on the mats consistently after I rehab the shit out of my knee. There was also talk with my workout buddy to go rock climbing near the end of the year, but it never materialized because of my knee and other shit. I’m not sure if that will happen next year. Again, real life.

Productivity – 5/10

Sometimes I was on fire, other times real life kicked me in the nuts. I simultaneously had some of the best output of my life and the worst this year. It swung wildly. This is uncouth. I’m a pro so I need to act like one. I will work to fix this next year.

Travel – 8/10

I did a lot of travel this year. Nearly 3 months of the year. I spent some time in Ottawa, LA, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, and Taiwan.

Aside from the obvious reasons why I love travel so much such as the food, culture, and experiences, I found another reason – it brings out my worst flaws and puts them front and centre. This helps show me what I need to work on. For example, I found out that I am too hard on my friends. During my European adventures it was unusually cold in March. We were especially unprepared because my buddy in Germany told us that there was a heat wave going on and so we didn’t pack enough warm clothing. My friends kept mentioning how cold it was, and I got annoyed with it and told them to stop complaining. They aren’t complainers by nature, and the truth is they were saying it was cold because it was fucking cold! Not because they are whiners. I spend a lot of time experimenting with temperature manipulation (cold showers, hot baths, ice vests, etc.) and I have spent a lot of time working on “manning up”. That doesn’t mean they have and it’s not fair for me to be so harsh on them. It would be like my buddy being mad at me because I can’t speak German and he can.

Other things that became obvious things I need to work on include my social skills – I forget how to talk to people, my flirting skills – I forget how to hit on women, and I still haven’t figured out how to work productively while away. The last one is a major hurdle that makes me question if I want to travel for extended periods of time any longer for at least the next few years. I think in 2016 I’ll travel a lot less for this reason.

Sleep – 9.37/10

I nailed my sleep this year. I was very meticulous on my sleep experimentation and documented everything in my sleep journal. From someone who struggled with sleep my entire life to sleeping like a baby and having crazy amounts of energy throughout the day, I am really proud of this. I tried some unusual and unconventional tactics, and felt I really hacked my way to success. A good nights sleep is so important, so I am glad I’ve finally figured this out.

Happiness – 7/10

Overall, despite all the turbulence this year brought, I still managed to stay quite happy. Exercise, meditation (lots and lots of meditation), sleep, and an increasing ability to deal with shit really helped. I have tremendous joy in the work that I do, and that in itself makes me smile. Happiness really is a matter of perspective.

I’m not sure what 2016 will bring. But I know my focus will involve:

  • Output, output, output. Good things happen when I do that.
  • Act like a pro. Despite what happens in life, make efficient and effective use of my time so shit gets done.
  • Revisit eastern culture. Chinese medicine works. It worked in China when I had a stomach ache and this tea master whipped up some concoction that fixed me up immediately. And it’s working now on my knee. I spend so much time with data and IFLScience that I sometimes forget my roots. The teachings of Buddha. The Art of War. Time to go back old school.
  • Daily movement. Walking, yoga, mobility work. It works and it helps with everything. This is a keystone habit.
  • Continuing education. Keep learning new things. I read a lot this year and did a lot of online courses and I’ll continue to do so in 2016.

What about you? What gets you excited for 2016? Happy New Year and we’ll see you on the other side.

Goals, Life, Me

2014 Year End Review – Laying the Foundation

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I don’t know what happened, but this year went by fast. Too fast, to be honest. But sure enough, here we are at the end of the year, and it’s time to reflect on what happened this past year. It’s a great exercise that I recommend everybody do. Doing a year end review helps put things into perspective, let’s you gauge how you did if you set milestones and goals for yourself, and helps you plan how you’d like the following year to go, among other things. So definitely give it a shot.

For me, it was a painful year, but I knew it would be. What I didn’t expect was just how frequent things would bog me down, and I think I didn’t do a very good job of dealing with it all. Early in the year I was working on a cool project in the wedding industry. I had a great partner, the market was receptive, and there was a hole we thought we could fill. But my partner got busy and cold feet, and there was no way I could pull it off by myself. And with heavy heart I had to shelve it. I still think there’s something there, but for various reasons I had to move on. This was pretty tough for me as I was spending so much time on it. If you’ve never had to kill something that you were working on before it got out of the doors, you’ll know how painful this is. Imagine creating your work of art and then setting it on fire before sharing it with the world. Sucks, yo. But this is the life of an entrepreneur/creative. You build things knowing the risks, make tough choices that you don’t want to make, and you hustle on. If it was easy everybody would be doing it. So fuck it. Onwards!

The whole experience taught me so much. For one, I learned how hard it is to find the right partnerships. Even if you’re on the same page on 9 out of 10 things, that 1 thing could break everything. This extends beyond just business and applies to any type of partnership. The gym you train at, the school you go to, the person you’re seeing. If you’ve found a great fit, hold onto it for dear life and enjoy it while it lasts! Another thing this experience helped me with is it sharpened up my programming skills quite a bit. I built some really cool shit that I didn’t think I could build, but I did anyway. These days, I feel like if I had an idea for the next Twitter, I’d be able to hack out a working version in a weekend and build out a prototype in a week. I feel like programming is a super power everybody should learn. There’s just so much you can do for the rest of your life once you’ve had this skill. Design, writing, social skills, and physical strength are some other things I would consider super powers worth learning.

Setting the foundation for success takes time. It’s not something that you can “hack”. You’re not going to run a 4 minute mile without running a 5 minute mile first. I feel like that’s what this year was for me. I’ve painstakingly been laying the foundation down, and things feel steadier now. There are still some areas that I really fucking suck at, though. There was a lot that I could have documented on my entrepreneurial journey this year, for example, that I didn’t bother to do. That’s a damn shame, and I hope that might change. But I have said that in the past before and have never followed through. If there is one thing I’m good at though it is trying again. So we will see. The problem is that I have so much going on right now that it’s a little overwhelming. But sooner rather than later, I really do hope to blog more simply because my writing and communication abilities have gone to shit. Also, I have learned so much this year on conversion rate optimization, growth hacking, user experience, content marketing, bootstrapping and working on side projects that it would be shameful not to share my journey for anybody interested to follow along.

Enough whining. 2014 was a great year in a lot of respects. For starters, I added nearly 40 lbs to my bench press this year! It was my wimpiest lift and now that hole has been covered. I’ve now started to focus my efforts to move my overhead press up. I’ve always felt that if you could squat 2x your bodyweight, deadlift 2.5x bw, bench 1.5x bw, and ohp 1x bw, than you’re not a wimp. And I’m knocking on that door. (Arbitrary numbers and completely subjective, btw, so your opinion might be different.) I also got promoted to blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this year. I started bjj in 2003, so it has been a long off/on journey. Both my strength gains and new belt both reinforce to me that if you stick with something and/or keep trying, it is an impossibility not to make forward progress. Over and over again, this has been my experience. If there’s one thing I believe in life more than anything it is this simple concept.

For 2015, I fully expect it to be less painful than 2014. It will be an exciting year. Dare I say it will be a monumental year? I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. Sooner or later, the winds will change. It might be next year, it might be 3 years, it might be never. But as long as I keep learning, keep improving, keep hustling, and keep enjoying the process, then things will be ok. I have great people on my side, and a lot of smart people I’m working with that I am learning a lot from. And right now, I’m working on some awesome stuff with the team at Examine.com, as well as another exciting project that I’ll announce soon. And 2015 will be really exciting for me as a programmer as there is some exciting tech that is starting to mature that I cannot wait to start tinkering with. I feel like there’s an evolution happening and I plan on riding that wave.

Outside of work, I plan on expanding my extra curricular activities a little. I’ve already started doing a little bit of Judo, and I plan on continuing that in 2015. I think I’ll want to get my gun license and join a gun club, too. I’ve also been thinking about archery as it looks so awesome. What can I say, I like doing stuff. Although not a high priority, I wouldn’t mind meeting more people in 2015 either as I find my social circle is dwindling and my friends are turning into boring adults way too quickly for my liking. Eventually I’ll want to make a concerted effort into revitalizing my social circle, but I’m not sure if 2015 will be the year for that. I feel it can still wait as I figure out my next steps.

I also plan on doing some travelling, as I missed out completely in 2014. Travelling is too important to me to neglect for long periods of time, and 1+ year of no travelling was nearing the breaking point. So I have to go. The world is big and I need to see it.

I’m REALLY looking forward to 2015 as I am excited to see what lies ahead. It certainly looks like 2015 will be the year that I decide how I’ll want to spend the next 5+ years of my life, so it is going to be a pivotal year. I hope 2015 brings you happiness and joy and all the hamburgers you could possibly eat. Thanks for reading.