2020, what a year.

Every year, I spend an hour or two doing all of the following:

• Write up an annual review of what I’ve accomplished, need to improve, new bucket list items, and so on (using Notion this year for this)
• Create next year’s financial budget (gives me comfort)
• Write letters to myself and loved ones in the future using FutureMe

I do all of this because it’s incredibly important to me to not lose sight of who I am and to focus on my loved ones.

When I was working full time in my corporate position, I was losing sight of what mattered and what was important to me.

What was meant for me to live a fulfilling, happy and honest life was now just about doing anything and everything possible to get that illustrious promotion.

Honestly, it was burning me out and making me sad.

But it wasn’t until I started doing annual reviews of myself that I started to see the big picture: what I wanted to do, accomplish, try, eat, etc.

It gave me perspective on life.

This year was unlike any year. Because unlike years prior, we lived through a pandemic! Madness ?

But the pandemic also shed light into new opportunities. Here’s just a taste of what I was able to try and take challenge on as a result

• Did a ton of networking & 1-1 calls through platforms like Lunchclub, Focusmate and communities like Trends.vc
• Met some really amazing people like Noah Kagan, Dru Riley, and many more
• Tackled the social media world through Linkedin and Twitter (I’m an introvert, so doing this kind of stuff gives me anxiety at times)
• Tried a ton of growth experiments for our business Meet A4E and gained customers, subscribers, etc.
• Launched my own newsletter Kick Ass Letters
• Tried and experimented a ton of new no code tools like Airtable, Zapier, Mailerlite (I count it), Swipe Pages and many more
• And finally, and most importantly, watched my son grow up right before my eyes with my wife – priceless

So as you can see, 2020, although being a very challenging year with respects to politics and of course covid, was a good year.

Did it yield all of the results I’d hope for? Not necessarily.

Did I hit all my goals? Not even close.

But I was happy? Yes.

And that’s what matters in the end.

At times, I do admittedly feel nervous, anxious and in general feel like I should have done more.

But I keep reminding myself, it’s the long game. Step by step, piece by piece.

In the end, this is my only life. Our only life.

I need to remind myself that things will be okay, to take a step back and reflect, and even more important, take a deep breath.

So yeah, there you have it.

2020, you’ve been awesome, amazing and at times, just awful.

But I’m thankful because I’m still here, with my wife and son, and surrounded by amazing, down-to-earth friends and people.

So to 2021, here we come. A new start, a new beginning, new goals and dreams, and a new year.

To all of you, have an amazing Happy New Year! ?