I created two documents to guide me throughout the year: My Ten Commitments and my work Roles & Expectations. (I consolidated them into My Mountaintop Card.) I’ll give myself a score of 1-5 on my key targets. 1 is awful, 5 is excellent. 

• 3.5 Health: Mind. I studied books, tried new gadgets, and quit caffeine. But I did not master sleep. I still stayed up too late, failed to establish a healthy rhythm, and occasionally used our alarm clock to wake up. 

• 4.5 Health: Body. My goal was to run a 5k in under 20 minutes. I did this once, the Atlanta SPN 5k in 19:37. But the course was short. 

• 5.0 Love: Partner. My goal was to marry Maryrose and I did! Our wedding was amazing. 

• 5.0 Love: Tribe. We spent well over a month with our family – close to a month with each side. 

• 4.5 Love: Community. I volunteered with Search & Rescue and the soup kitchen. I gave a talk at the local college and we fostered kittens and cats. I signed up for snow duty but it never snowed on my days.

• 4.5 Work: Career. We put together a solid application and pitch for a local accelerator but we didn’t get in. We added an Executive Assistant, hired a business coach, and did a company rebrand and website redesign.  

• 3.0 Work: Projects. The content is written for the 2023 workbook. We have an editor waiting for me to finish cutting, re-writing, and organizing everything.  

• 5.0 Work: Money. We renovated our first floor bathroom. (We decided against adding an upstairs bathroom.) 

• 3.5 Play: Leisure. I joined the local chess club, hired a coach, and played in my first USCF tournaments. But I didn’t train hard enough to win the SPN chess tournament. 

• 5.0 Play: Adventure. Our honeymoon was incredible and we stayed unplugged and present. 

And from my work Roles & Expectations: 

• 4.0 President & Founder. We clarified our vision for the company but I can fine tune it more for talks. We helped our clients clarify their visions. 

• 3.5 President & Founder. We wrote our Founders Story for the website but I should have an oral version ready for presentations.  

• 2.5 Content Creator. I often stayed up too late working on the newsletter and finished at the last minute. 

• 2.5 Content Creator. We did not launch a digital product on our website, but we did build out digital trackers and storytelling catalogs. 

• 3.5 Head Coach. We executed and improved our annual and weekly reviews. We did not always do our quarterlies and monthlies. 

• 1.5 Head Coach. I did not take a writing course at Stanford and decided against the Co-Active Training Institute workshop. 

• 5.0 Head Coach. We did well on ensuring our clients built their deliverables, confidence, and skills. 

Successes

Maryrose and I got married! Our Montana wedding was amazing – as was our honeymoon in Mexico.  

I officiated my fourth wedding and helped a client officiate his first. I learned how to ski black diamonds and how to sleep well once I get myself into bed. I ran my fastest race in years and Maryrose won the SPN 5k. 

Our parents and my brother Scott visited us in Durango. Several friends came to town for a ski adventure and are making it an annual event. We’re integrating into our new community through volunteering and making friends. I started a Durango Masterminds Group. 

We added Laura Kramer to the Ewing School team. She’s our Executive Assistant and does a fantastic job. We also hired a quality business coach and crushed our company rebrand and website redesign. 

Maryrose took on new coaching clients. She delivered an outstanding TED-style talk to a packed room, developed and led a full-day leadership workshop in Alaska, and was elected Vice President of our local Toastmasters. 

Once again the newsletter went out on time every week all year. We grew our base and had four guest columnists. 

We helped clients succeed in a variety of settings, from sitting down with the Prime Minister of a foreign country to arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Struggles & Regrets

Our biggest struggle this year was dealing with the death of our dear friend David. He was a model on how to live well. Tragically, he’s still missing. 

I didn’t take any writing or coaching courses. I stayed up late many nights to get the newsletter out and failed to establish a healthy sleep rhythm. I found myself often distracted and lacking focus. 

My biggest personal struggle is time management. I still waste too much time. 

Foundational regrets: I regret not mastering sleep, not taking my chess to the next level, and not ending the year substantially more fit than I entered it. 

Boldness regrets: I regret not displaying more courage how little courage I displayed during my climbs this year with Maryrose and with her brother. 

Moral regrets: I regret not complimenting David the last time I saw him. He was training so hard and I didn’t acknowledge it. I regret that I didn’t volunteer more time in Durango. 

Connection regrets: I regret how long I’ve taken to reply to my cousin who’s in jail. I regret my delayed responses to emails and voicemails. I regret that I didn’t put more effort into building relationships in Durango.