In 2010, Seth Godin asked people to make a list of what they shipped. I have been doing this exercise each year since then. You can see my past #YearInReview posts here. I have come to believe that this is an important activity, especially for entrepreneurs to see what they have accomplished.
2019 revolved around three things:
- Joining Bard Press and launching The Gift of Struggle by Bobby Herrera in June.
- Serving as shuso for six months at Dharma Rain.
- Writing a new book in collaboration with a client (more on that soon).
There were many little things that rolled into those three big things, but that was my year. It was always easy to know if I was focused on the right things.
Other notable “shipments” included
- Help two other authors develop concepts and marketing for their book projects.
- I sat for three week-long sesshins (meditation retreats) in three months.
- Wrote my first paid article for a publication.
- Wrote 15 blog posts, posted three new videos and started a monthly newsletter that has nine issues for the year (you can sign up here).
- Started a meet-up group for Portland-based business book authors.
- Took my first trip to New Orleans and attended Keller-Williams’ Family Reunion event.
- Took trips to Austin, New York City, The San Juans, Phoenix, Detroit, Crater Lake, and Chicago.
- The kids and I went to PAX West and had a blast!
- Studied Manzan Dohaku and Menzan Zuiho, two important figures that reformed Soto Zen during the Edo Period in Japan, and wrote a research paper on their impact.