A quick review of 2024
What a year, 2024!
Here's a quick recap and some lessons.
I lived in 3 countries and 5 different cities this year. My favourite is Bangkok. Da Nang is a very close second.
My friend circle exploded this year. I met an unthinkable number of cool people in these parts, and my circle of close friends has some delightful additions.
I launched my language learning app, Yakk, back in January. In May it made its first £££. After years of building the damn thing, that felt rather good.
I got paid from YouTube this year. YouTube is not a commercial pursuit, but a few videos have accidentally reached "Oh, I saw you on YouTube" levels. PS: it's weird for IRL strangers to know lots about you.
This year I learned Vietnamese to a basic level. A "basic level" is 100x more than every other Westerner wandering around screaming loud English words. A little goes a long way.
I maintained a good gym routine. Year on year it gets harder, and moving around is another multiplier. But looking after my body is looking after my mind, and both are prerequisites for doing essentially everything else well.
I've spent the past 2 months in monk mode building a new language learning project. There's so much more to say, but that's for another post.
A few lessons from 2024:
My environment plays a big role in how I think and feel. Changing it so much this year has been a reminder of the power of "doing something different". I've found a lot of personal growth in that.
Do not waste time with cynical or negative people. For each person like that in your life, there's somebody else waiting to be your biggest supporter and help you. Similarly, support the hell out of people doing cool stuff. There's just a whole lot more positive energy in a life like that.
Stay in touch with old friends. I've had roughly 1 video call per week to close the ~6,000 mile gap with people back home. A friendship is something you take responsibility for.
I've traveled a lot in the past, but this year was a whole new level. Almost everyone I meet out here is interesting in some way. Probably because we've all rejected the same social blueprint for how to live a "normal life". Travel opens up the world of your own mind.
Be more prolific. There's no speed limit. The more you do, the more you get wrong, the more you learn, the more opportunities you create. In 2024, I've seen amazing examples of people I hugely respect launching major projects, learning to code and building their ideas, becoming fluent in a new language, etc. You all inspire me to follow the same path.
I'm nowhere near $10k/MRR, but I can sit in a coffee shop in the middle of Bangkok and feel deeply happy. That's exactly what I'd do with $10k/MRR. Money is a tool. Don't let it distract you from living a meaningful life and enjoying the hell out of the journey, your health and the time you have left. Stoic reference – check.
Happy New Year, folks!