Year In Review: 2013

Hola from Colombia!

This time around I’m revisiting my post from January of last year to see what I was most proud of accomplishing during 2012, what didn’t go quite as planned, and what I have to look forward to over the next twelve months.

Why am I taking the time to do this?

1.) to make me think back to all of the things I am grateful for during the past year of my life,
2.) to brainstorm some of the ways I can improve, and
3.) to publicly set quantifiable goals for the next 365 days (as that helps put a bit of pressure on myself to actually accomplish those goals).

I finished 2012 pretty much tapped out and exhausted from my five-month drive through Africa. It was a long, tough year, and I was all set to spend some time at home and focus more on business for the next few months.

Yah–that didn’t really happen. Before I knew it I was back on the road again, and have been away from home for approximately nine months during the course of 2013.

Read on to see which goals I accomplished, and which fell through (and why).

Recap of 2013 Goals

Start the transition from largely service-based offerings to a more product-based means of supporting myself. This will involve ramping down my web development company in favor of devoting time to creating useful content and products (such as books).

I’m still doing some web development on the side through my web design firm mSeven, but have parted ways with many of my clients (especially the ones needing the most attention). Instead of just ending the company, I’ve been taking a look at outsourcing parts of it, hiring others to run it for me, and focusing on niche markets. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to just throw away a business that has been around for more then thirteen years and is still profitable. More work needed on this front, but very bullish on what 2014 has in store…

Produce at least one (hopefully many more) podcasts, which will be featured on this site.

Well, kind of blew this one out of the water! If you haven’t clicked on that yellow “podcast” link at the top right of your screen yet, co-host Matt Horwitz and I started our podcast in January and now have fifteen episodes up at AdventureMetrics.com. The aim of Adventure Metrics is to interview amazing people doing extraordinary things around the world and to find out what makes them tick. Stay tuned for a whole slew of new episodes coming out in the coming months.

Publish my first book (I have ideas for three, with one half-written).

Zero progress on this.

Learn to a.) fly a plane, or b.) play guitar. Haven’t decided which one to focus on just yet, but whichever one I pick, the other one will be my goal for 2014. Success equals being able to play a song on the guitar, or obtaining my private pilot license for flying.

Zero progress on this as well. Would have helped had I been home a bit more than I had initially planned (as a minimalist traveler I can’t in good conscience travel with a guitar on my back…).

Learning a bit of yoga with fellow authors and entrepreneurs during a private retreat in February (more on that later).

Again, nada. That retreat? A bit too much booze, swimming, zip-lining, and good conversation to fit any yoga in. However, I am happy to report that my sister became a certified yoga instructor recently. That counts, right?

Meet and establish productive relationships with people similar to myself. This will be done by attending events (such as Chris Guillebeau’s World Domination Summit, as well as the aforementioned retreat) and getting out and networking with like minds.

Happy to crush the string of three zeroes with an area of my life that I definitely excelled in in 2013. My goal was to meet like-minds, and that I most definitely did. I traveled through four continents attending meetups, conferences, and social events, and I ended 2013 a much richer man (if wealth was measured in number of Facebook friends…which I think it will be someday soon). Stoked to continue this trend into the coming year and beyond.

Focus on developing some projects that I’ve let linger on the sidelines for the past couple years. First and foremost, my safari company, Pamoja Safaris–I’m aiming to get at least four groups booked with us by the end of the year.

I haven’t booked four trips, but I have sent out multiple quotes for 2014, and have a clear game plan of how my partner and I will be officially launching the company. Thanks to Natalie Sisson for putting much-needed pressure on me to get my ass in gear.

Earn more money than I ever have before in a single year–I’m aiming for at least a 25% increase.

I haven’t done the official tally yet, but pretty confident that the goal was met.

Goals for 2014

Even though I accomplished a fair amount in 2013, I think I was a bit overconfident in how many things I could aim to do in one year. With that in mind, I’m keeping my 2014 Goals list a bit shorter than I did last year.

1. Focus on growing my main business, Pamoja Safaris, into world-class safari provider.

That’s it.

What’s Next

My goals list may be a bit shorter than before, but it looks like I’ll still have a challenging time carving out the time needed to focus on much for at least the first half of the year.

I’ll be heading home from Colombia in a few days, taking a quick trip to Lebanon, assisting my buddy Mike Hrostoski with his entrepreneur’s retreat in Phoenix, then jetting off to South-East Asia for the better part of the first half of the year. While on the other side of the world I’ll be leading a group of friends on a culinary tour of Japan, live in a mansion for a few weeks in Thailand, and drive a rickshaw 3,000 miles across India for charity with podcast co-host Matt Horwitz. Oh, and I’ll also finally get a chance to visit Burma, which has been on my “to-go” list for some years now.

Beyond plans in Asia, I am also shooting on revisiting the World Domination Summit in July, attending Burning Man again in August, and possibly even making a stop in North Korea in the fall.

What I’m most excited about however is the chance to spend some time in Tanzania with my business partner, working on Pamoja Safaris. October perhaps?

Thank You

Thanks to my friends and family for your support throughout the year–you’re all more awesome than words can express.

Have a great 2014 everybody!