Ding ding!
And just like that, it is 2015.
Before diving into the new year, take a moment to reflect with a personal annual review. Choose your word for the year, set goals and learn from the past 365 days.
Not only will it help you achieve more than you thought possible in the year to come, it is an amazing time capsule that reminds you that you actually have made progress despite what you may think at times (see lessons learned at the end of the article).
Here’s a few resources before I share my personal review:
- Here is how to conduct a review and set goals along with a free template to help you with your review
- Here is how to conduct a review and set goals for your business
- Here is an archive of my past reviews
- Here is an email reminder sign-up to keep you on task all year
Let’s Get Personal
This blog is the product of my thoughts, along with the entire 9 Clouds team. This post, however, will look at just my personal goals (you have been warned, and have no one to blame but me!). I want to challenge myself to be transparent and open in 2015, so why not start here?
Even if you don’t care about my personal goals, looking at the format I used will hopefully inspire you and help you with your own review.
Normally, personal articles like this are sent first, and sometimes only, to our digital homesteaders…AKA subscribers to our blog. This time, we wanted to post it first on the blog because we want everyone to think ahead to 2015. If you don’t receive our weekly email and want to, just sign up on the side of the page or here.
2014 in Review
I always start the review by asking two questions:
- What went well in 2014?
- What didn’t go well in 2014?
What Went Well in 2014
- Business growth exceeded our conservative estimates. We always make conservative and aggressive estimates for the business. We had a great year with our core services, which is a great reminder we need to continue doubling down on what we do best: digital marketing. We do want to continue writing and helping homesteaders launch and grow their businesses online, but we need better implementation and sales strategies than we had for our book or Academy in 2014.
- I learned to be a parent. I know I was a parent before 2014, but it felt like after six months I actually had a chance to be in charge and take care of my daughter. It was and is amazing. I love the challenge, fun and reward of caring for someone so perfect.
- I became a homeowner. My wife and I took the leap and purchased a home, which was a huge deal! Financially it was a big step, especially considering all the work we want to continue doing to the house after buying it. It feels great though to shut the light off and know that we’ve claimed our small piece of the world as our home.
- Newsletter was consistent and high quality. At least I thought so. I wrote every week for over a year and shared insightful and emotional words that meant a lot to me. The best part was the audience continued to grow and I received great feedback from readers like you. Thank you and please keep it up! This is a big win for me in 2014, and I can’t wait to write more in the year to come. You can invite your friends to subscribe here.
- Travelled abroad with family (including a 1 year old!). My wife and I love Iceland. We spent a short amount of time there on our honeymoon, and we returned this summer. It was fantastic. We not only got away before she started intensive clinical rotations, we spent time and explored as a family. Hiking to a glacier with a one year old on my back is something I will never forget.
- 9 Clouds team grew in numbers and responsibilities. As the business grows, we’ve been able to create a talented team. Better yet, they’ve taken the lead in directing the development of the company and creating memorable work. I look forward to continuing to grow the team in the year to come.
- Community-building accelerated. From TEDxBrookings to 1 Million Cups, excitement is brewing in my community. I am just a small part of that and that is what went so well in 2014. Others joined and the movement grew. There is a great future in store for our community thanks to the engaged community-builders that are getting involved.
What Didn’t Go Well in 2014
- I lost my best friend. I wrote a brief reflection on the loss of Paul, but it really shaped the entire end of my year. It changed my perspective on everything. At times, I feel like I’m not thinking about what’s important or I worry that I’m not making use of the time I have. At other moments, I regret losing touch with friends or not calling his family or checking in. I know this experience can be shaped positively, but I’m still having a hard time with it.
- Brofounder conversation. My brother and I started 9 Clouds together and were co-founders of every business or project we started. This year we acknowledged that we had found our own niches in different companies and worked to make our positions and ownership reflect this change. It was a hard conversation and lingered for a good part of the year. Moving forward, we hope this clearer delineation will help us be brothers first and business partners second.
- Relationship building. The relationships most important to me didn’t receive the attention and care they deserve this year. Paul’s passing was just another reminder of where to spend time and focus. At times this year, I was selfish and distracted. This was due to other commitments, many of my own creation. I can do better in maintaining and building the most important relationships in my life and that needs to be a big priority for 2015.
- Financial stress. It was a year of change for our family as my wife is focused on finishing her professional training as a midwife. Moving to a single income while also adding childcare changed our budget. I need to do better planning and adjusting to these new realities.
- Physical fitness. I can use time as an excuse, but physical health was not a priority in 2014. I am hoping to find ways to combine physical fitness with my daughter so we can build a habit of being outdoors and active together.
- Reading and consuming great ideas was not frequent enough. I write best when I read great writing. I am most at peace when I have big ideas churning in my mind. 2014 was not a banner year for consuming great content, and I want to change that in 2015.
Lessons Learned
I was hesitant to write what went well and didn’t go well in 2014. To be honest, the past months have made 2014 as a whole feel like a tough year.
There were huge challenges, moments of sadness and disappointment. Going through the year, however, does help to remind me of the good things that happened along the way. While I lost a friend, I enjoyed time with my family and especially my daughter. In one phrase:
There’s a bit of everything in a year.
That could be one takeaway: every year has its ups and downs.
If there are downs that are really low or ups that are really high, they may obscure the rest of what happened. It’s good to remember there is a bit of everything when looking back on the year.
This year, I had some big downs. It’s ok to feel the gravity of those events. Just don’t forget the moments of joy interspersed throughout the year as well.
Keep momentum instead of always starting something new.
Another lesson looking back at the year is the impact that a well-executed idea can have versus a good idea that is not well-executed. That may sound confusing. Let me explain.
Much of what worked in 2014 was the continuation or implementation of something created previously. For example, the success for the business is built on the foundation we created at the end of the previous year. Similarly, much of the community-building success was thanks to the initial team that launched TEDxBrookings.
There may be many ideas or opportunities to create change, but the cost of creating a new idea versus making an existing idea work better is vastly different. Take something in motion and push it faster; it is easier than pushing something new.
Looking Ahead to 2015
With those lessons in mind, the next post will be all about the future. As you may recall from previous reviews, I like to choose a word for the year and *spoiler alert*, the word for 2015 is: CONSISTENCY.
More on that and the year to come in our next post.
Happy reviewing and thank you for being a part of 2014.
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