Adventure Capitalist

I’m following the lead of fellow bloggers Illuminated Mind and The Art of Non-Conformity in taking a look in the rear-view mirror at 2009, what I’m happy with and what I’m less than happy with, while at the same time taking a look forward at 2010 and what I hope to make of it.

2009: What I’m happy with

• Got my fitness back on track: after struggling with undiagnoses asthma since 2008 and gaining some unwanted flab in the process, I managed to get my asthma under control and get back into great physical shape. I’ll continue to build on that.
• I have picked up more than a few useful new skills professionally and business-wise. And I enjoyed doing it.
• I have gotten greater clarity about what is important to me in life, what I value and what I want.
• I have become better at living in the now and enjoying the moment.
• After a long time of not feeling a lot for any woman beyond basic lust and human compassion, I found out late in the year that I’m still capable of falling head-over-heels (it didn’t work out and probably wasn’t worth working out, but I digress..).
• My social circle has grown, and mostly with quality people.

2009: What I’m less than happy with

• New business ventures didn’t succeed as I wanted (“minimum wage profitability”).
• Lack of business focus: I’ve been a “Jack-of-all-trades, Master of None”, I need to find a tighter personal niche and passion to leverage.
• I didn’t enjoy “now” as much as I should in the first half of the year.
• A 30% hit on revenues in my business. Still turned over enough, but drops are never welcome. Most of it was recession based price pressures rather than business failure, so I’m hoping it will eventually pick up again.
• The biological effects of the earlier mentioned infatuation made me lose focus and discipline both in my business and in my personal life for a while. As nice as it is, I should be able to keep clarity enough to combine them whenever it happens again.

2010: Intentions and goals

• Start working towards peak fitness and the limits of my physical capabilities by finishing a Marathon and an Ironman 70.3 Triathlon (Edinburgh and Miami are booked).
• Continue improving my understanding of myself, others and human nature. Physical, intellectual and emotional fitness and strength are an indivisible trinity for a man striving to be the best he can be, and I want to be no less.
• Be even more mentally agile, adaptable and aware to other people.
• Find the time to take at least one month off every year (Argentina in January) to recharge, reboot and reinvent myself.
• Increase “passive” income streams excluding public market investments to at least $10000/year.
• Live more in the “now” and learn to entirely let go of worries outside of my control.
• Find a niche that I’m both skilled enough and passionate about to specialize in, so that I can reuse systems I create and find energy to follow through and stick with it.
• Become better at marketing.

Though there was an element of stagnation and fear to parts of 2009 that held me back, I would say that I am entering 2010 a better man: I have let go of some old fears that have been crippling my progress, I have control over my mind and body without being repressed or fearful, knowing I can take most things in my stride. I have experienced both joy and pain in 2009, but on balance more joy than pain, and the latter was a necessary evil in what can be best be described as a cleansing and washing away of old shortcomings and hang-ups.

I know my strengths and weaknesses, I know what I can leverage and what I must improve. That’s a pretty good starting point for the future.

I always find a new year rejuvenating, and 2010 is no different: I’m looking towards it with enthusiasm, especially knowing that it will have a very exciting start.