Welcome to my year in review! Edition #3. To read last years, click here.
I will answer:
What went well this year?
What didn’t go so well this year?
What did I learn?
Then list:
10 out of 10 sections.
Goals for next year.
*I removed the “my year in numbers” section. Looking back, it seemed like an ego-driven section.*
Favorite photos.
Before we begin, it is worth noting that every year in review is a personal process. This is simply an overview of what my year looked like, not advice for how you should live your life. (That said, you are always welcome to use this general format for your own year in review.)
S/O James Clear and Robert Sales for the inspiration. My review is a combination of their formats.
What went well this year?
Work.
I completed my one-year contract as a social media teen ambassador for Headspace. I made 17 Tik Toks that got 360,000+ views.
I helped ThatPickleballGuy write well in each of his newsletters. I helped SAVI Performance get hundreds of thousands of views on X (the bird app) and shoot some awesome youtube videos (coming soon). I helped many writers publish quality ideas in Write of Passage.
As a Cohort 11 Editor, I provided feedback to 67 essays in 5 weeks.
Two cool stats from the cohort:
I helped 93% of my writers publish their drafts. (20% higher than the average).
I edited 5 of the 15 stand-out essays. (There were 13 editors total).
I sold more copies of Dear Hooper this year than last year (when it came out). I sold books in-person. I mentored athletes on zoom. Had my first (online) speech with Basketball Immersion. Was a guest on multiple podcasts.
Health.
When I drink, it’s water (or protein shakes). I’m high all the time, but not from drugs. I don’t do those. It's from life.
I’m as strong as I’ve ever been and as weak as I’ll ever be (hopefully). I also went roughly ⅓ of the year without desserts and with no color on my phone.
I added cardio and mobility to my workout rituals. They make me feel (and look) better. Peep the abs starting to emerge in the pics below…
Explosion and quickness will be a priority in 2024.
Family.
I went home every weekend during college. I went to all but two of my brother's football games. I also took my brothers (and a buddy) to the Boundary Waters. I try my best to be a great son and brother.
A question that I love asking myself (and at times, could ask myself a bit more…) is, “How do you want others to experience you?” It’s a great thing to keep in mind. Shoutout to my Dad for sharing that question with me (probably when I wasn’t being too pleasant to be with)...
Writing.
It’s crazy to think how much my writing and editing skills have improved over the past year. Then I remember how much time and reps I put in and… it checks out 😅.
I graduated from Write of Passage (again as a writer – first time as an editor). I improved my ability to vary sentence length (aka write music), to have rhythm (think rhyming and alliteration), to compress (funny that I mention that in my longest sentence of this piece), and to think macro.
I’ve started challenging myself to write pieces with 500 words or less. (Not this one though)...
I published 50 editions of my newsletter Impactology. Here are my 5 favorite editions from 2023 (in no particular order):
Travel.
I need to start tracking how many hotels I stay at each year, because it’s absurd.
This year I went to…
Shawnee, Kansas (Bishop Miege Basketball/Fam Visit). Decorah, Iowa (Hiking). Coralville, IA (M’s + W’s B-Ball Double Header). Des Moines, IA (March Madness “Gambling Trip”). Atlanta, Georgia (With Jake & Kaitlyn). Lake Delhi (10+ times). Jay Cooke State Park + Boundary Waters (Canoe + Fishing Trip). Okoboji, IA (Entrepreneurship Institute).
Shawnee, Kansas → Tampa, Florida → St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands → Tortola, British Virgin Islands → Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic → Tampa, Florida → Shawnee, Kansas (CRUISE TRIP).
Table Rock Lake, Missouri (Kurt Family Vacation). Chicago, Illinois (North Linn Crew). Big Roche Lake, Preston, Wisconsin (The Power Outage Trip). Five Island Lake, Emmetsburg, IA (Louscher’s). All over Iowa (Brady’s Football Games). All over Iowa (Umpiring). Chicago, Illinois (Entrepreneurship Club). Omaha, Nebraska (Iowa M’s B-ball Game). Cedar Falls, IA (Plain White T’s Concert). Phoenix, Arizona (Youtube Shoots/Work Trip). Shawnee, Kansas (To see my favorite cousin, Drew).
Creative Clarity.
I met and connected with many entrepreneurs and creators.
I really expanded my mind and elevated my consciousness to see what’s possible. I met a guy who installs high-end in-home movie theaters. He only does a few per year but for a couple hundred thousand dollars a pop.
I also met one of my favorite authors, Eric Jorgenson, who self-published The Almanack of Naval Ravikant and sold 1m+ copies!
There was a time when someone sent me a job list, full of communication positions and I remember writing down on my to-do list to apply to them. As each day passed, I didn’t do it. I realized that’s not really what I wanted. I don’t want a boring-ass job that requires me to have a degree.
I want my inputs to match my outputs. Oftentimes you do this by owning a business (or books). You don’t do this as an employee with no equity. I want to build, create, and write cool, useful shit and be rewarded for it.
High clarity. High Inspiration. High Awareness.
Electric Guitar.
I’m a solid level 2.5 on Yousician. I’ve played for ~ 30 hours.
Now, I can play in front of other people without them getting the urge to grab scissors and cut the cord to my amp! :)
What Didn’t Go So Well?
Breakup (and after).
After over a year and a half of dating, my (ex)girlfriend and I broke up. I think it was for the better. We weren’t compatible as we once were. We had different values. Different priorities.
I went from having someone I told everything about… to… not that. I thought the solution was to fill the void as quickly as possible with as many girls as possible. I was wrong.
I realized that it didn’t fill the void and that it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be at peace with the situation. So, instead I treated it as an opportunity. I allowed myself to have feelings. To be gentle with myself.
I learned there are three things my partner MUST be:
Ambitious.
A Life-Long Learner.
Against Complaining. (So hypocritical of me to complain about complaining, I know… I know…)
College.
I feel Déjà vu writing this. College just isn’t for me. For what I want to do, I don’t need college. And the time I spend at college, I spend working on non-college things to increase my surface area for luck and to put myself in a better position to succeed.
I’m ambitious. Many people at college are not.
I will say, changing my major has helped. Project-based learning pumps me up, trying to figure out how I’m going to regurgitate info or cheat on the next test doesn’t.
Now, I’m a senior. (This is crazy to think about because I was literally in high school for part of last year). I’ll graduate in December of 2024 as a 20-year old.
Two thoughts:
If I focused more on relaxing/partying/enjoying my time at college, I’d enjoy it more. (I’m going to try and be *a little* more social next semester.)
If I was playing college basketball, I’d enjoy it more.
Note: Staying up late makes for good stories & memories but destroys the next day’s productivity.
Not Playing Basketball (to read more click the link).
If I play college basketball, I’ll have to go to grad school… We’ll see what happens.
Always feeling like I have to delay gratification.
Now, that title may be misleading, because if I get done with a deep work session, I don’t feel like I have to delay gratification as much… But, with the go-go-go, get shit done mentality, it’s easy to feel like I’m never doing enough. This probably correlates with my tendency to spread myself too thin…
For example, when I was an editor for Write of Passage, that was on top of 3 other jobs, 18 college credits, and growing my newsletter.
In 2024, I will prioritize my priorities. I will do the highest-leveraged work.
What Did I Learn?
Do what energizes you. Spend time with people who leave you energized. Writing energizes me. Challenging myself physically (lifting, cardio, mobility) and mentally (reading, writing, creating) energizes me.
Do what inspires you. Go into more libraries. Read more. Connect with people who are doing cool shit.
Don’t live mentally in the future. You have everything you need to be happy now.
Time should be something we enjoy, not something we must master.
Show appreciation and gratitude with specificity. It’s: Thanks VS. Thanks for the dinner, the steak was great and I really enjoyed talking with you guys. Also, you don’t actually have to say “thanks.” It can be, “That dinner was amazing, I'm glad we got together and shared this wonderful meal.”
Read self-help for application. Aka don’t read a bunch of self-help and never apply anything to improve your life. “Read less, apply more.” Nah, I say… “Read more, apply even more.”
Always bring copies of your book when traveling.
When gifting your book to someone, give them 2 copies. One copy for them to keep and one for them to give to someone else (Shoutout Eric Jorgenson).
Don’t be shy, say hi. Shoot your shot.
When given two options, do the thing your future self will thank you for.
Expand and improve your consciousness. How? Travel. Do things you’ve never done before. Meet more people. Meditate. Learn about things you didn’t know about.
My five mantras that I write daily on my get-to-do-list:
The world belongs to those who can keep doing without seeing the result of their doing. – Alex Hormozi.
Those who focus on building, growing, and reinvesting leverage are playing a different game. – Eric Jorgenson
Move Fast, Build Leverage, Write Well, Be Active, Be Thoughtfully Courageous.
Risk Aversion is Reward Aversion. – Balaji
Enjoy my time + Be grateful + Present + Be kind to my mind + Embrace Reality + Dream BIGGER.
3 goals for next year
Publish My “Impactology” Newsletter 52 times!
Write and Publish The Book of MrBeast!
Improve my health.
10 out of 10
Airplane + Oppenheimer - Movies
How to Live by Derek Sivers - Book
Tame Impala - Artist (Three years in a row)
“Gambling Trip” aka March Madness in Des Moines - Vacation
Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas - Song
Filet Mignon at 801 Chophouse - Food
(Norwegian) Cruise - Experience
The Book of Mormon - Musical
Jon Pardi - Concert
Note as I went through my photos: It’s fun to look back. I had an awesome year and live an amazing life. Click here for my favorite photos from 2023. Enjoy.
Thanks for reading. Happy New Year!
Dylan :)
...great work man...super powerful year for you...cheers to 2024 being even more radical...