It definitely has been a while...
As 2014 comes to a close, it's about that time to look back at this year's adventures and then forward to next year's. And boy what a year it was. I'd like to share with you all the amazing things that have happened professionally and personally.
Professionally
This year saw an impressive growth, especially from clients in the West Coast. The decision to have a larger presence in SF (and LA) has worked out well so far and I expect tons more trips out west in 2015. Expect more on that later.
We also saw an increase in international presence with clients coming from Australia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, London, and Brazil!
We had nearly 10 engagements, 4 of them getting married earlier this year (I attended one of them). Two of my already-married clients each welcomed a baby into their family! And overall, our relationship rate continues to hang around 50%, which is awesome considering many of the people we work with are coming out of a relationship!
Anyone who has cable (how many these days?) got to see my TV debut has the company and myself was featured on two new shows on MTV (Hey Girl) and MTV2 (Jobs That Don't Suck). We also had features in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, ELLE France Magazine, and People Magazine for reasons I'll share later.
Earlier this year, I signed a development deal with a production company to pitch for a potential TV show about what I do. While it didn't pan out the way we'd like, it was a great experience that I can take, which I am with my newest opportunity (once again, more on that later).
Looking back, it was a very accomplished year and I couldn't be happier for my clients and prouder of myself and my team.
Personally
This year in particular has been the most rewarding. Physically, I'm in the best health I've been since my years in college, as quoted by my doctor. Needless to say, I'm super proud of that.
But most importantly, this past May, I married the love of my life and shared the unforgettable experience with our closest friends and family in Boston, and the rest of the world, thanks to People Magazine and the New York Times doing front page features on us.
I could (and have) write forever about what this young lady means to me but just know that she's awesome and I'm happy.
After our honeymoon (which was also our first vacation ever!), we realized that we enjoy going on vacations and have been much more diligent about doing that, our most recent trip having been to Jamaica to visit family.
Earlier this year, I decided to take on a competitive hobby as a personal challenge to commit and be really good at something else besides my work. So I joined a pool league. It was (is) random and originally, the wife thought it was "just another excuse to socialize."
She still wasn't convinced even after my rookie season, we won our division and I brought home a 1st place plaque, which we'll be hanging somewhere – I'll make sure of it.
But realizing the potential that I could somehow become really good at this, I decided to go "all-in." In our current season, we are 1st in our division again, poised to take the #1 seed into the playoffs, and I'm ranked #1 amongst all players on my skills level in my league.
The fact my wife is (now) impressed by how much I've improved just shows that taking this challenge on has been totally worth it. Who knows, maybe she'll learn to play too! Yeah, right – she's not that excited.
While the year's not over, I can say it has been an amazing one. And I can't wait for what 2015 has in store. Speaking of which, I'll be following up with a sneak peek at what's to come for myself and the company in 2015.
Thanks for being a loyal reader, friend, client, and fan. You're the reason I do what I do.