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2011 – Year In Review
Every year I reflect on the successes and failures. In doing so I take an honest look at the goals I have completed and the ones I missed. This is the first public version of my year in review.
This year was a wild one with some very interesting life experiences. I would say that I was pushed and pressed more than I have ever been. The main goal of my 2011 was to travel more. I was able to go on three business trips this year, once to Boston and twice to New York. This was great because it really make the trip feel valuable. You get to learn something and have an enjoyable time as well. I went out and got to see what a city that had just won a Stanley Cup acted like and how many riot police were needed for something like that.
Learning survival skills became an important focus for me as an annual goal. I read numerous books this year as a result and made some purchases to make life a little safer. I now carry a pocket knife and a multitool at all times. I also carry a full first aid kit in my vehicle at all times as well. I have learned several ways to survive. I also watched numerous Survivorman shows but paid attention to how he did things and what he was doing rather than just his struggle. I hope to attend a survival school at some time in the next couple years for a deep training to make sure these things are internalized without needing a book. I also have a zippo lighter on me most times because fire and a knife are king when surviving. Also I found that when attempting to survive in an urban environment you really just need boots, a motorcycle, and a gun. The motorcycle is interesting because when people are trying to get out of a city the traffic will gridlock, so the motorcycle is the only thing that can get through that. I do not believe in guns in the home when you have kids that don’t understand death.
Something that really became a driving feeling for me was that of legacy. I had a drive this year to begin to think of how to convey myself to my children if I was to ever die unexpectedly. What could I do to let them know what I needed to tell them. The best idea was to write, something that they could read and experience who their father was. I had not ever been concerned with this before and I believe it shows a new growth and maturity. I began writing my first book and have over 2000 words to paper. This is great for me because it is always something I plan to do but to actually get my thoughts on paper was really good. I also published my first book of photography. This is important to me as well. I started making cooking videos and posting them on Facebook. I enjoy cooking but hate all the prep due to my passion for simple minimalism.
The year wasn’t without struggles. My younger son had a heavy kitchen table nearly crush his foot and broke 2 toes. This became an even more dire situation later as we were informed of the possibility of him losing a toe completely if it could not get enough blood. As time went on it started going black and we feared he was going to lose it. I literally had accepted that my son would lose one of his toes and they would have to amputate it. Only after thinking this had to happen did I get a call that it was going to be okay and that it would be fine. I also made an important decision to stop drinking alcohol completely until my children are grown. It is a decision that puts them first and keeps me responsible. I grew up around alcohol since I was young and believe it had a strong influence on my decisions later in life.
I did buy many things but looking back I feel most were practical and serve a purpose. I had made a decision to not buy anymore books and use only my Kindle. Unfortunately I have an unbelievable addiction to book buying, now sit easily with 100 books on shelf. I have completely eliminated both cable television and dvd movies/player clutter. I have enjoyably replaced those with a Roku. I did make a decision to get a record player and NES/SNES but that is a decision that I can live with. It is more of a treat rather than an annoying necessity that dvd clutter is. Favorite film of the year: Hugo. Favorite TV show: Mad Men. I am completely addicted to Spotify and if you don’t use it I doubt that you really like music. It has allowed me to find so many great artists. My two favorites right now are Tycho & The Antlers.
Here are a few that I love in Spotify Playlists:
Indie Rock
Hip Hop
Electronic Music
I got the academic portion of my Scuba certification finished and look forward to my Honduras dives sometime during the first part of the year. I hope to see Whale Sharks if at all possible. I had an amazing time in Boston and enjoyed the culture. Boston people are amazingly friendly and I changed all opinions of Boston. I love Boston and New York. I had an amazing time in New York. Met some great new friends from Japan and found a new passion for Burlesque. I was also able to meet up with some old friends there as well. I ate some of the best food in the world too.
Business was great this year. I made some great strides in my professional experience. I passed my Google Adwords Certification & Google Analytics Certification. I made numerous personal and pro websites this year. I served on the board as Vice Presiden of the local American Marketing Association. I was added to a very important list of Social Strategists. The biggest professional thing for me was being featured for my G+ best practices in Mashable. That is one of the top websites in all the world and the leading site for digital news. This was a great breakthrough and I look forward to more media exposure in the future. I had some financial goals to bring in certain numbers of income. These goals had been on my radar for over 5 years and I hit them this year. I did some public speaking to a crowd of about 40 people for the AMA at the Naples Daily News on the Future of Digital Marketing. I met some great educational goals as well and look forward to even more in the new year. All my site traffic of all my sites together were 40% higher than last year for a total of 26,000 visitors. Redesigned RW Basics, created Naples Marketing, and a ton of other websites. Starting this site was a major step because it represents what I would love to do. Write a life blog on living an amazing life. If it ever takes off it would be the ideal job for me.
I became very interested in being a better man. Men today are either completely disrespectful or are feminine. This year I really became facinated with the classic gentleman. I read books on being a gentleman and men’s fashion. I started wearing my hair in a side part and styling it whenever I go out. I started wearing fedoras on ocassion. I increased my fashion knowledge and began dressing much better from my casual clothes to my suits. I go strictly to a barber and when I do shave I use a double razor blade safety razor. Had the chance to participate in Movember which is growing a moustache for a month. This is extremely ridiculous but it takes guts to do and I am glad I did it, even though I am not a fan of “me con moustache“. In 2012 I am planning on buying a muscle car and working on it in my free time. I am still working on the Gentleman part, but getting better.
Fitness didn’t go as planned but I am taking the necessary steps to ensure that 2012 is done properly. I have a meeting to go and do the BodPod which is a really cool device that gives the perfect measurements of the body to let you craft a perfect diet plan and workout regimen. I kept getting injured this year in my neck and upper back with strained and pulled muscles. I am hoping to get my shoulder fixed soon so I can get back to full lifting strength. The great food had something to do with me not being in perfect shape, because the food this year was amazing.My favorite new food “Ramen” (not college ramen but gourmet Japanese ramen).
I went to two sand sculpture festivals, Ringling Museum, MOMA, MET, Chihuly Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The USS Constitution, The Boston Massacare site, graves of Ben Franklin & Paul Revere, many other important Boston early america sites, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, NY Barber Straight Razor shaves, Staten Island Ferry at night coming into NYC (Amazing), Louis CK, 3 Burlesque Shows, Met Richard Branson, Dressed up as a Zombie for Zombiecon (20k zombies), Ate Japanese dinner with a Japanese girl as my guest who spoke almost no english, was one of the first to visit the Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial, Flew into NYC on 9/11 on the 10 year anniversary (felt like my own victory against terrorists), became an advanced subway rider/navigator, drank gourmet teas from China & Japan in a Asian teahouse, ate a bacon maple donut, Momufuku & Milk Bar, started Live Immediately, ate farmers market goodies in Fall in NYC, watched a motorcycle parade of 1000 bikes, made new friends, cultivated new enemies, Point Break Mixtape, a 10 day juice fast, and a 30 day sabbatical with my kids. WOW!
The best part of all this is 2012 is going to be the best year yet!!
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Quote: Thoreau
Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured and far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple tree or an oak.
-Henry David Thoreau