Five Years of Goal Sharing: Reflecting on Progress
This marks my fifth year of publicly reflecting on my goals and the progress I’ve made. Though I'm no longer posting much on LinkedIn anymore, I continue to post these update as a way to hold myself accountable. It’s also surprising to look back and see how much progress can happen over a longer period of time.? 5 years ago, Lily and I were the only employees in our business and we were hoping to get away 4 times per year.? We now have 3 full time staff and have been able to get away for around 50 days a year on average.
So far I've found Gate's law to be true that "people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years".? In any given year, I don't think I've been entirely happy with what I've done, however reflecting over the longer time horizon, I'm more than satisfied.
This year was another busy one, but overall, it was quite productive. I probably got a bit more sidetracked than in previous years, but generally I see that as a positive. It’s given me the chance to follow some passions and focus less on chasing any single goal. Looking back, I feel good about the balance I’ve found and the progress I’ve made.
Big Projects Beyond My Initial Goals
This year, I accomplished a project that had been sitting in the back of my mind for years. As a long-time fan of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, I’ve always wanted a set of busts statues. For years, I hoped someone would create affordable ones, but with Charlie’s passing this year, I decided to take the initiative and create them myself.
I successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign to get the busts manufactured? and have been selling the busts online as a side project. It’s been an fun learning experience, especially since we’ve never worked with this type of product before. There were a few bumps along the way—Charlie’s glasses required extra quality control, which kept Lily and me hands-on during the production process—but we managed to avoid major issues. The response has been fantastic, with orders coming in from all over the world. It’s been fun to see how many others shared my excitement for this project.
Our next big project, which will carry us well into next year, is converting a cargo trailer into an RV. Our son has been wanting an RV for quite a while, but instead of buying one, I saw this as a great opportunity to learn by building it ourselves. Once it’s complete, we’ll be able to enjoy extended trips in the great outdoors with a little more comfort and the satisfaction of living in something we built together. ?
Small Projects Beyond My Initial Goals
This year, I also dove into a variety of smaller projects that I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the areas I explored was electric scooters and bikes. I figured out how to run them on drill batteries (of which I have plenty) and, admittedly, got a bit carried away. We now have two e-scooters and four e-bikes, even though there are only 3 of us. Clearing some out will be on the to-do list for next summer. To support this and future projects, I treated myself to two new 3D printers, which has opened up even more possibilities.
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I also built my own balance board for some off-season training, which has been a fun rewarding challenge. In addition, I designed a line of ugly Christmas sweaters to complement our car posters.
Lastly, I decided to write the LSAT after just 2.5 weeks of studying (usually people study 3 to 6 months). I ended up scoring a 159, landing in the 72nd percentile, which I thought to be respectable given the investment of time.
Initial 2024 Goals
Work
Personal
Health