My Personal 2020 Year In Review

My Personal 2020 Year In Review

Thank you, Bea for posting yours and inspiring me to share the same. This will be a reflection of my year. This year has been challenging for me- those of you who know me know that I am quite an extrovert. The beauty of this year is that we all got to focus more on family and had the opportunity to slow down. Although I miss the office greatly, I was able to read more books than I usually do because I now have the time to do so.

Lessons & Themes

1️⃣ How do you describe this year in 3-5 keywords?

1. Solitude- This year brought reflection and has helped me analyze whom I want to be in the world. Reflecting on the moments that gave me the most fulfillment at work was when I was coaching SDRs to get promoted. I was so grateful to be a part of the process when my friends Emily and Ryan were promoted. That gave me so much fulfillment. Also, with my coaching practice helping many of my clients land promotions or with their career transitions gave me a lot of joy to know that I’ve helped them get SDR positions. Even though I enjoy quiet time from now to then, jumping all of the way to the other extreme was quite hard for me initially, but I am now enjoying time hiking with myself in the mountains and woods. It’s helped me listen to some of my favorite stories through audible.
2. Relationships: This time has helped me double down on relationships as I got the time to start my own men’s group. I’ve never forget how I cried when they put together a video of gratitude for me where each of the guys shared how I’ve made a difference in their lives. To be able to be someone who can help create communities is a beautiful thing. I was also able to zoom with my best friends in other states and cities. I’m glad that even though we are all so career-oriented, we could connect and hang out again.
3. Love: With engagement, marriage, and moving into our first home. Being a homeowner was one of the biggest obstacles for me because I labeled myself someone who loves to travel, and I never thought it was possible to do both. Self-love through leveraging tools like Lyra and having an executive coach is key to personal fulfillment. I realized how much external validation I needed and this time being away from the office helped me be much more comfortable with myself. I am still Amazing without all of the accomplishments and accolades, and that’s a beautiful thing to own. Opening myself up to my wife has been challenging too because as someone who labeled himself independent, I saw being tied down as something that would hamper my travel goals but in reality, she’s the rock and foundation that has allowed me to grow tremendously being someone who is about something more than just myself.
4. Grateful: Some of the most memorable moments were when we Video called with a BuildOn Ambassador, and it showed how much the villagers in Africa appreciated us helping them build a school. That was such a touching moment for me, and again to be able to see the Orphans in Vietnam whom we’ve contributed to was heartwarming. Being able to still be involved with many of the non-profits through Streetwise Partners, IMentor, and Pencil has also been highlights to impact new grads, high schoolers, and students in college.
5. Eye-opening: One of the most life-changing programs I did this year was Tony Robbin’s Unleash the Power from Within. Tony is such a great storyteller when he shared with us his story of being an imposter, being someone who did not have enough education, and the financial means. He went into detail with all of his insecurities that helped me realize how I saw myself. Not having to travel to Florida or California but still being able to connect with other similar minded people helped me grow and step into my greatness. Thank you to everyone who’ve I’ve met through the Sales Success Summit, Next Level Training, and Tony Robbins this year. You have all made a massive difference in my life.

2️⃣ What were my top lessons learned?

1. Compassion: There is so much wasted energy trying to change people or trying to be righteous about what I think is the right way to live life. There was so much mental energy into wow, the government is controlling our lives- if I wanted to live in a dictatorship, I would move to a different country. Realizing that there is no right or wrong and that my perspective is just one perspective is a huge lesson for me. I can only control who I want to be in the world. Yes, like with any other country, there are ways I believe America can improve, but at the end of the day, we have many more luxuries than most countries most of the time. Striving for perfection gets you so far, but there is something peaceful about acceptance that I can move on once I accept something. That doesn’t mean resignation, but at least when I accept something, there is some opportunity to build on it.
2. Partnership: I’m incredibly fortunate to have one of the top-performing teams with the Manager of the Year at LinkedIn Learning. I also got married this year to my beautiful wife, who honestly I took for granted. I tell her all of the time that she’s the best thing that’s ever happened for me. Before this slow down, I was too busy even to eat dinner with her most nights. I was too busy running around town hosting these events and sitting in zoom meetings all night trying to make a difference. Don’t get me wrong: it’s important to make a difference, but I neglected one of the most important people in my life. Many of us have neglected to answer our parents or anyone else because we were too busy focusing on other things. This time has helped me realize how lucky I am and how I’ve created a life where I can partner with people for a living, helping them achieve their goals. That’s a pretty awesome life!
3. Going outside my comfort and diving deep into my fears: I reached 100 episodes of The Davidson Hang Podcast and doubled down on my YouTube Channel. These were two things I was deathly afraid of because, like with most people, I hated listening to my voice and watching myself criticizing where I come have improved. These were two of the areas that I never thought I would see myself doing, and because of it, I’ve grown tremendously. I hope to be an example where others can be more fully self-expressed and double down on their creative ventures.

3️⃣ What am I most thankful for?

1. Friendships: I’ve gotten much closer to William Lee, Brandon Ngai, Jeff Zacharski, Ryan Johnson, Ivana Pham, Anita Desai, Hayden Humphrey, Mark Hunter, and so many others I connect list them all out.
2. LinkedIn: I’m grateful that I work for a company that allows me to grow and prosper. There is the freedom to be, and there is a huge effort for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. I’ve never worked for any company that has made as much effort as we do to make a difference and be open about being an inclusive workspace.
3. Family: My family has grown with the marriage, and being able to move back to Jersey to easily visit my family has been great to learn to be with anything and not want to change how other people are. It’s a beautiful day to practice acceptance, and I’m thankful for all of the friends, family, and loved ones who sent us wedding gifts. You are the real MVP!

Coach coaching Gratitude Learning Linkedin Mindfulness