Sharing My Third Year In Review

Borrowed

"Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation. Affectation itself, beginning with the need to define some sorts of writing as “good” and other sorts as “bad,” is fearful behavior. ... I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing. If one is writing for one’s own pleasure, that fear may be mild—timidity is the word I’ve used here. If, however, one is working under deadline—a school paper, a newspaper article, the SAT writing sample—that fear may be intense."

From "On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft" by Stephen King [Book]

Learned & Thought

Wrapping up my third year in review felt great—but it was also the most difficult to write. Distilling an entire year into a single post is no small feat, but the bigger hurdle was finding the time and headspace to reflect amid everything else going on in life and work.

There were plenty of moments when I wondered: Why am I even doing this? It’s much easier to unwind during downtime than to tackle something this involved—especially when it’s all self-imposed. I did my best not to let the pressure overshadow the process.

But like most hard things, it’s worth the effort in the long run. Reflecting through writing holds real value, and I’ll be glad to have this to revisit down the road.

Every week, when I work on this newsletter, I’m reminded how tough it is to articulate ideas with clarity and purpose. A year in review takes that challenge to a different level. Despite trying to keep it focused and concise, it still ended up close to 7,500 words—and there’s a lot I didn’t cover.

Anyway, enough chatter—without further ado, here's my 2024 In Review. In it, I cover:

• Five Takeaways from 2024
• Highlights
  • A new chapter as Barrel CEO
  • Firsts with Mylo
  • Competing in HYROX
  • Family trip to Albuquerque
  • Running my first marathon
• Fitness & Diet
• Health & Wellness
• Writing
• Speaking
• Reading
• Finance
• Travel
• Barrel
• Five Themes for 2025

No hard feelings if you don’t make it through the whole thing, but if you find something valuable, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I hope 2025 is off to a great start for you. With only a handful of days behind us, mine’s already full of growth and learning—here’s to making it another meaningful year for all of us!