PYR: My Year in Review (2022)

I decided to write a Past Year Review (PYR). I got the idea from an article I read, which was inspired by Tim Ferriss. It’s about reflecting on the year you had and distilling lessons that you can learn from and serve as your to-do and not-to-do list in the years to come. The year came with its accomplishments and failures, which I would be happy to share some of.

Lessons 🌝

As I sit here and reflect on all of my failures, I can’t help but think about how they are just stepping stones to ultimate success. And let’s be real, nobody ever became a ‘somebody’ without experiencing a whole bunch of failures along the way.

But seriously, I believe that failures are simply opportunities to learn and grow. I discovered that multitasking just doesn’t work for me. I mean, how do people do it? Do they have like, two brains or something? 🦦 Anyway, I learned that focusing on one thing at a time just works better for me. As a result, I wasn’t able to write as much or fully dive into learning a framework called Substrate, which is a tool for building blockchains. But hey, at least now I know to stick to my one-thing-at-a-time strategy.

Overall, I’m not letting these failures get me down. Instead, I’m using them as motivation to keep pushing forward and working towards my goals.

Travel

As the year was coming to a close, I decided to take a trip to the beautiful country of Benin Republic with a few of my friends. At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, but I’m so glad I did because it ended up being an incredible experience. From exploring the vibrant markets to soaking up the rich culture, every moment was filled with adventure. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this trip, it’s that I have a true passion for traveling and experiencing all that the world has to offer. I can’t wait to see where my wanderlust will take me next!

Speaking

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to speak at my first tech event earlier this year. You know that saying “everything you want in life is on the other side of fear”, it’s true. And I’m happy to say that it was a great experience overall. I am definitely looking forward to speaking at more events in the years to come, and I hope to have the opportunity to speak internationally as well.

Amazing People

Okay, okay, this is about to get a little bit sappy. I’m grateful for the experiences I had this year, the good and the bad. I’m glad I met a lot of amazing people along the way who I would love to give credit to because they are awesome, but if I decided to write everyone’s name, this section will be quite long. So thank you, my family and friends, you guys rock!!!

Books

In terms of books, I read/listened to a few great ones this year. Some of them were:

• Principles by Ray Dalio.
• The Art Of War.
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.
• The Infinite Machine by Camila Russo.
• Sam Walton: Made In America.

Quotes

There are so many great quotes out there that have had a profound impact on my life. Here are just a few that come to mind:

• Ultimately it’s not what you get or even what you give, but who you become. — Mary Gates
• Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones that you did do. — Mark Twain
• I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. — Frank Herbert

Hold your horses kids! We’re not done yet. One last lesson from Uncle Enoch: beware of the paradox of choice. Pick something and go for it — don’t waste so much time thinking about whether it’s the “right” one. Just do it, and if it doesn’t work out, try again with something else. :).

I hope you enjoyed my short ramble. I know I sure did — I always have a blast talking about myself. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the years to come and all the adventures that are in store. I have a feeling it’s going to be one big great adventure. So let’s get it!

Want to connect? I’m open to opportunities and you can find me on LinkedIn and GitHub, or simply shoot me an email, and I’ll respond.