Make Your Year A "10"

As we approach the end of the year, everyone is thinking about a few things. First, a reflection of the year. Personally, I’m pretty bad at this one. I tend to look forward and not back. I’m looking at where I’m going and what I’m going to do, rather than looking back on the year.

Even though I did some pretty cool stuff this year. Went to the Rose Bowl with my wife and friends and watched Michigan pull out the win in the last minutes of the game. Ran an 8-hour trail race, getting in 28 miles. Ran 88 miles in 27.5 hours at Antelope Canyon in March. Competed in a few shooting competitions in the first half of the year. Went on a camping trip for my wife’s birthday. Did a backpacking trip in North Carolina. Ran a 50 km race to help a buddy complete his first 50 km, in Lake Tahoe. Attended my wife’s grandmother’s funeral. Completed 102.5 miles in 28.5 hours in North Carolina. Made a few trips to Napa. And I’ll have moved over 2,000 miles this year.

I was having a conversation with a good friend about the look forward. About how we are going to grow and scale. About what our milestones look like. This was a really good conversation because I love talking about growth and the future.

With some of these pieces, I don’t know when it will happen, but I do know what I’ll do at each milestone when we get there. I have the growth path mapped out well in my head and know what the next moves are. The time to get there is in question, but the move isn’t. And sure, the details will look different when I get there, but the gist of it is well-defined.

As I look forward to next year, I know that business will do well because I’m focused on it. Focused on performing well. Asking the right questions and doing right by all of my clients.

What I’m putting more time into is figuring out the personal activities, where my wife and I are going to travel. Where we want to go and do in 2025. I’m thinking about what races and adventures I want to go on.

Because it’s not always business and I’m not to the point where it can be all personal. So I have to make sure to fit in all my personal trips. Personal adventures and the things that I’ll remember over the course of my life because all the work and projects I do is always going to be there and I love it.

Don’t forget to do something that defines your year. That you can look back and say that 2025 was the year you did ______. For me, 2024 was the year I ran 100 miles.