Welp. What a year. Ups and downs. I’m sure we all had them.

In order to not dwell on the past, this quick one is meant to share some stories and learnings from this past year’s history, some of the best things I came across, and to hopefully relay some joy, love, and enrichment.

From starting different groups, exploring new places, and genuinely trying to be good I was able to build a lot of new and meaningful relationships. That being said, there were many challenges with relationships all around me; from family and close friends to personal and political. This will almost always be the case for everyone IMO, but using the experiences that you go through, or seeing the situations around you, to better your future relationships, and to help others, is the best thing we can get out of them. Using others’ and your own experiences to learn is invaluable.

Pain+Reflection=Progress.

In the last rugby game of the spring season, I broke my hip. Ultimately, it helped me decide to pivot from rugby playing and start focusing on other goals. It was funny because I knew that I had defined myself as a rugby player for years, in most recent years just as something I did but getting away from the field gave me the opportunity to clearly define who I am. Accountability/Transparency

The year also gave me the opportunity to keep trying to improve as a human – teaching, coming clean, health, wealth, relationships, and experiences. I’m feeling truly grateful for all that happened and hope that everyone can try to focus on the positives while learning from the negatives.

Real quick. Quite a bit of travel happened this past year for me. Rugby trips, work trips, and vacation. I’d like to impart the importance of travel and how much it can benefit everyone for perspective, stories, and experiences. Places from the last year I’d recommend:

-White Rock Quarry Indiana for an overall fun-in-the-sun experience swimming and camping.

-New Orleans for music, food, and parades…and drinking of course.

-Cambodia for ancient temples and appreciation for our first world problems.

-Bali for some cheap R&R, breathtaking views, and exciting driving challenges.

-Toronto for great food, nice culture, and a huge city with a small-time view.

Starting KleanMeals with my brother really enforced my mission and drive to dive into more meaningful work. Doing to grunt work on top of making a steady income to pay for my lifestyle can be taxing, but ultimately will be for the great good – the drive is there. Thank you 2017.

Some things that most made 2017 better (joy and enrichment):

Jocko Podcast

SkyScanner

Ownership and Discipline (more so than usual)

Mobility WOD – for stretching and rehab

Amazon Music

Audible

These books had the highest impact on me in 2017 and I’d recommend everyone read them:

Way of the Peaceful Warrior – Dan Millman, A great intro to Stoicism with great storytelling and message.

Presence – Amy Cuddy, She teaches the why and how of personal power. Presence. “Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges”

Ego Is The Enemy – Ryan Holiday, getting over ourselves for the greater good.

Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink & Leif Babin, Taking ownership of our actions, leadership principles and tactics.

The Obstacle is the Way – Ryan Holiday, Using struggle to better us and to find good from the bad.

Principles – Ray Dalio, Meaningful work and relationships through radical truth and transparency. Incredible knowledge here from one of the most influential people of all time.

Finally, writing more and more has helped me align actions, words, and thoughts. The practice is helping me stay true to myself and allows some great reflections that I can learn from. I hope you’re finding value in what I write and I strive to keep up the quality.

Your reading and feedback are greatly appreciated.

Best wishes in 2018, and let’s get after it!

Stay well,

Jason