Acuity

Welcome to my first annual yearly retro. Here, I’ll review 2024 and look towards 2025 by writing in four categories:

1. What went well this year?
2. What didn’t go so well this year?
3. What did I learn / What ideas do I have to improve?
4. What commitments am I making for the year to come?

What Went Well This Year?

Positive Dating Experience + Break Up. While I didn’t date very seriously for much of 2024, I began the year in a relationship with a great girl and dated her through February. I learned a lot from the experience, and I have good memories from it. I am also at peace with the difficult decision I made to end the relationship.

Started Stirling & Norton, LLC. In March of this year, my friend Dallin and I started our software and design consulting business. I put in a tiny fraction of the hours that he put in, but I’ve improved as a designer and as a business partner.

Benefited from BTC Bull Run. Completely to the credit of a smart connection, I made a good amount on the BTC bull run. I know better than to think highly of myself for this gain, as everyone thinks themselves to be a genius in a bull run. That being said, it had a positive effect on my life and enabled me to go on various adventures with a little bit more peace of mind.

Bought a House! In July of this year, I closed on a house. This was an exciting move for me, and one that still scares me. I ended up with some awesome tenants that I share the place with, and I take care of it with pride. I joined forces with my brother-in-law to make a few improvements to the garage, and I foresee another group of improvements coming this year.

Traveling. This year, I went on an incredible trip to Portugal, as well as some other fun trips to Lake Powell, Island Park, and St. George. The Portugal trip deserves it’s own post; it was my first time ever doing a solo trip and it will likely take the crown as the most fun I’ve ever had on a vacation to date.

School. Passed Classes and Developed New Interests. While working full time as a software engineer, I also completed two semesters at my university. Not only did I creep closer to graduating, but I took some fascinating classes like Finance, Economics, and Business Strategy.

Read Some Great Books. Reading is deservedly going to end up on my list of things that didn’t go so well this year, but I thankfully got through a handful of great books in Q4. I read some fiction like 1984 and The Only One Left, some memoirs from Matthew McConaughey and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and most notably some non-fiction that actually sparked the idea for my Portugal trip.

Opened Several AirBnbs. With my incredible business partner Landon, I put together two studio apartment short-term rentals in downtown Salt Lake City. We moved incredibly fast; we had the idea and did research in October, signed contracts and furnished in November, and had a profitable month in December. I’ve become more of a man as I’ve worked on this, and I’ve learned some invaluable business lessons.

What Didn’t Go So Well This Year?

Social Life in Saratoga Springs. When I purchased my house in July, I had ambitious goals about meeting a lot of people in my new city Saratoga Springs. Over the first few weeks, I went out and chatted with strangers while playing pickleball and getting coffee. Some of those strangers became my friends, but almost none of them were as young as me. My roommates moved in, and we tried everything in Saratoga Springs from hot springs to bowling alleys. We all concluded that Saratoga Springs is not a great place to meet young single people.

Of course, I can’t totally avoid the blame for my lack of new social connections. I could have spent more time playing sports and going to social events in Salt Lake County. I could have spent more time on dating apps or with old friend groups. In 2025, I’m going to make new friends in Salt Lake County.

Didn’t Host Any Trips. I had a ton of fun on trips that other people planned this year and on my solo trip to Portugal. I regret not putting together my own fun trips and bringing friends and letting them bring their friends. An important part of my ideal self is creating fun experiences for people I love. In 2025, I’m going to organize 4 small trips with friends.

Reading. My mind has opened over the past three or so months as I’ve really gotten lost in books. Prior to that, I really slacked in the reading department. Charlie Munger’s quote comes to mind: “In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none, zero.” In this upcoming year, I’m going to knock out at least 24 books.

Exercise: This year, I logged 95 Vasa Check Ins. I did several hikes and work outs at other gyms, but this means I went to the gym roughly eight times a month on average. I started a funny new habit where I require myself to do 50+ push ups before I’m allowed to get in the shower each morning. I know I could have done better. In 2025, I’m going to log a total of 150+ workouts at vasa by going to the gym at least three times per week.

What Did I Learn?

Trips are about People. Go out of your way to go on trips. Document them more than you think you should and grow a pair and go talk to new people.

Be cautious about preemptively ramping up lifestyle costs. When you get a pay raise or another stream of income, be extremely wary about immediately stepping up your lifestyle. While I was aware of this concept, I feel like I may have slightly fallen to the temptation this year.

Create more. As Viktor Frankl teaches, part of the way we find meaning in life is by creating. If you’re not frequently spending time creating (painting, making music, sewing, writing, doing graphic design, etc.), immediately pause to find a way to incorporate creation into your life.

The Tree Falls the Way It Leans. Through the voice of the Lorax, Dr. Seuss teaches a powerful lesson that what you do every day ultimately dictates your life. Spending a few dollars on a coffee every day, not going to gym, and staying in on the weekends are all examples of leaning a certain direction. Before you know it, another year has gone by, and your metaphorical tree has fallen exactly the way it was leaning all year. This lesson is also profoundly taught less ambiguously: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

What Commitments Am I Making for 2025?

• Write 52 Blog Posts (Creation!)
• Graduate College
• Go on six mini adventures, hosting friends for at least four of them
• Log 150 workouts at Vasa
• Fill one roll of film each month (Not explained in the above post, but I’ll explain it soon!)
• Read 24 Books
• Build friendships in Salt Lake County

Thanks for reading! Have a great 2025!