2018 has been a transformation year for me. There has been a lot of good, but a lot of bad as well. The bad not really visible, but underlying things that needed to be fixed.  It took me a long time to get to the point of where I am today, and I felt some sort of need to write down what I have learned this year. That is the intention of this post. I am no Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone, or Jim Rohn. I just feel the need to be transparent.  I figured out a lot of things about myself, and finally know exactly why I am on this earth and what I am meant to do. This is an extremely gratifying feeling.  I would say it’s a safe assumption that most people don’t really know why they are here and what they are supposed to do with their lives. This really bothered me for many years. I was doing the things I enjoyed, but why was I doing them, what was I working towards? I have always succeeded and have done well, but this year proved to be the most challenging. I felt like I was failing, and that was a tough pill for me to swallow. I had to take a deep look at why I felt this way to uncover the problems.  I hope that some of these points prove to be beneficial for others, and they can use them on their own paths to happiness and success.

I started out 2018 wanting to change and wanting to change for many reasons. I wanted to improve my life physically, mentally, professional, and financially. I consider there to be 4 areas of life, and I try to keep a balance of all 4. They are spiritual, family, health, and profession.  I have not succeeded in balancing all areas, but have given it a damn good start. Here are some things I learned and what has worked for me.

1. I set goals. I set daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, 10 year goals, and lifelong goals. I wake up between 3-4 am every day, and the first thing that I do is read over my goals. I make plans to reach my goals. I adjust my goals, analyze my goals, and work towards them. After a year of doing this on a daily basis, I have reached 80-90% of them, and see my life moving towards the goals that are 10 years down the road.
2. I get up between 3-4 AM. Most people think this is nuts. Well, I get more done from 4-7 AM than most people do in a day. It is my most productive time, and there are a lot of things that I do during this time to remain productive. I try to wrap up my working day at 3 PM, and work on my personal self after that.
3. I read a lot of books. I read 50 books a year. Mostly business, personal growth, and financial books. I read 50 books in 2017, and plan on doing the same every year. Reading has completely changed my life, and has set me on a path to success. Most of the books share similar things when it comes to personal growth. If it has worked for all of these people, it will work for me. And it has.
4. You must first know why you are doing something before you know what you are doing. I got this point from the book “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. People “buy” why you do something, not what you do. This was a game changer for me.
5. I am grateful and firmly believe in the Law of Attraction. What you focus and dwell on is what you will receive. I start each day with gratitude and prayer. I really have to take a firm look at my life and see what I truly have. Then I remember our trips to Cambodia, India, and poorer countries. We live like kings and queens compared to them. And I am complaining about my latte not being hot enough?!
6. I started saying no to people. I cannot do everything, and became burnt out when I tried to do so. I was burning the candle at both ends. I have learned to delegate and trust that they will do a good job if I hired the right person.
7. I learned to fail, but tried to fail forward. I have lived a pretty worry free, fail free life up to this point. I am 32. I owned a business in high school. Graduated with 2 degrees, no debt, got to work and live in Chattanooga for 6 years doing what I love. I traveled the world for a year with my wife and have been to over 20 countries. I have a wonderful house with a beautiful wife. Not much to worry about right? That does not seem like failing to anyone I would think. I have been running Mister Tree for 3 years now, and this has shown me that I can fail, but fail forward. This has been the most challenging yet rewarding job of my life. Failure is relative I guess. I feel I have failed in a lot of areas of Mister Tree, but others see me as successful. I have learned more in these 3 years than I have in most of my adulthood life. I will keep failing, but will always try to fail forward.
8. Work is not everything. I have suffered over this one. I have put in 60-70 hour work weeks for the last 3 years. This is a very loaded topic, but I have found that I don’t need to make work a priority. I was finding my entire self- worth in my job, and when I was not working, I was not seeing myself fulfilled. I see too many people with debt, divorces, bad health, and more because of work. I saw myself leading down this road, and put my foot down this year.
9. Do what you love. There is no sense in working for 50 years not doing something you love.
10. I live my life by 4 main concepts. I got this from Ray Dalio’s book “Principles” earlier this year, and it has really been a guiding light for me. For my life, I want Radical Truth, Radical Transparency, Meaningful Work, and Meaningful Relationships. I use these 4 concepts in my personal and work life.
11. Work on yourself first every single day. If you work on yourself, everything else around you will be better. Don’t kill yourself for a job that will replace you in 1 day if you were to die. Work on yourself.
12. I started exercising again. I was an avid runner, ran 3 marathons, and was a lean 150 pounds for most of my time up until after college. I won’t get into all the gritty details, but I was far from this point in November. I took a long look in the mirror, and knew I needed to get back to what I enjoyed and what I was good at.
13. I don’t really care what other people think. There is a good quote that I read all the time. “Let others do what they need to do to make them happy, mind your own business, and do what you need to do to make you happy. The end.” There are 7 billion people in the world. Are you really going to let 1 or 2 of them ruin your day? Who cares what they think. I know my purpose, I have the drive, and I will reach my goals. The end.
14. The choices you make control your life. Make good choices, and tell the voice in your head to shut up when deep down you realize you are making a terrible choice. Make good choices.
15. I am in complete control of my destiny. No one is here to save me, make my life easier, or give me the golden book to success. There is no get rich quick scheme that really works. It is being driven, having purpose, knowing your why, and never quitting until you get where you want to be. What we cannot control, we accept, and make adjustments.
16. Communicate always. Communication, whether it is good or bad, will help you tremendously. Talk with people if you have problems or issues and do not let things go un-discussed. If something is going wrong in business or life, communicate and be honest about those problems.
17. The truth will set you free. Always tell the truth.
18. Always do the right thing even when it is tough or costs you money.
19. Be kind to others. I know that I have struggled with many things this year, and most people have no idea. The call or text from a friend when a bad day arises, is always a good thing. Always be kind to people. You do not know what they are going through at the time.
20. Time is limited on this earth so don’t waste it. Know that tomorrow can be better than today.
21. As you know, this is one of my top “to do’s.” I have learned so much by travelling and experiencing the world. I don’t want a lot of things or debt. I don’t want a big house or $200,000 car. Morgan and I strive to live a simple, minimalist life. We do this so we can travel when we want.

I feel this was a loaded post, but necessary for me to get off my chest. I look to 2019 with anticipation and excitement. I want to be different, not live the status quo life. Most people can understand this statement if they know me and Morgan. From the words of Dave Matthews, “Life is short but sweet for certain.” I hope to live this short and sweet life to the fullest, and I know that 2019 will be an exciting year to do so.

I hope this compilation of thoughts and advice proves helpful for someone else.

-David