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reflections

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I write and publish birthday letters for the kids. Yes, this includes Deefer Dog. You can read Deefer’s 9th birthday letter here. And here are Oliver’s, Annabel’s, and Theodore’s recent letters.

The day we were leaving Los Angeles was the first time you ran away.

We had just finished stuffing 5 years’ worth of our lives into the Civic when we caught a glimpse of your butt caught beneath the gate. Then you were gone.

A heart-racing, sweaty 15 minutes later, we found you in a carport on Jasmine Ave. You were sitting, waiting. You were smiling.

The next time 4 years later. It was our first day moving into the house at 1 Cypress in Albany. I don’t remember what happened. I took you off the leash. You were there. Then you weren’t. We stalked through the pines, across manicured lawns and kiddie pools half-filled. You were smiling when we found you, again.

You did it again this summer, the day before we dropped you off at the sitters so we could go to Ireland for the summer.

It’s like you know change is coming. And you need another sip of adventure before it happens. One more last show of rebellion, one final solo amble.

In the last 10 years, your teeth have gone from good to atrocious. The heart murmur (which I thought was a joke at first – how do dogs get heart murmurs?) has progressed to a grade 3, meaning it’s easily heard with a stethoscope. Your patience has thinned to filament width, inversely proportional to the number of humans we call your siblings.

But I love that you still have your sense of adventure. I love that you still wander.

And that you’re always ready to come home.

Happy 10th birthday, my best bud.

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If you set goals, keep yourself accountable.

Here is the recap of my Q2 2024:

In my 2024 planning post, I said this year’s theme was:

Better is better. More is better.

And…

I’m focused on iterating on my offer, building an audience and leads, and monetization… family first and deepening relationships… buying a car and 25/25/50 savings, investing, and spending rate… go to Ireland for the summer. 

In my Q1 recap, I said my objectives and priorities for Q2 were:

  • Be a good dad and get ready for baby 3 (Theodore)
  • Finish the February Land A Remote Job coaching cohort strong
  • Migrate all my remote work and Land A Remote Job content to a new site and start SEO work
  • Ship Persefoni’s new freemium product, Persefoni Pro
  • Build consistency around my training (weight lifting and BJJ) 
  • Plan one side trip while in Ireland

“Do you know why you train BJJ?” I asked.

You shook your head.

“It’s like training your Pokemon. The more they train, the more experience and skills they develop. People are the same. We need to train to build our real-life skills. And BJJ is an important real-life skill to have.” I paused.

“Does that make sense?”

“No,” you said. “None of that made sense.”

Intro

This is a review of my 2023 and a public sharing of 2024 goals.

Why document it? Two reasons

First, the Bill Gates quote sums it up:

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

We’re capable of great things. They just take time.

Second, doing this each year is joyful. The act of reminiscing fills my cup.

Chris Bailey wrote

“To gain greater enjoyment from your experiences, try practicing anticipation and reminiscence. Both are forms of savoring—ways to convert positive experiences into positive emotions.

“We can also savor an experience after it happens—a savoring style called reminiscence. We reminisce by reliving an experience in our mind, looking back through photos of an experience, or talking about it with a friend or a loved one.

Back in Dublin, we took you to see the doctor.

“Annabel has a serious double-ear infection,” she said.

“She hasn’t been bothered by her ears.”

“Well. She’s just really tough then.”

Doc, you have no idea.

It’s not that you’re not sweet, AB. You are. On your brother’s birthday, we worried you’d feel left out when he got gifts and you didn’t.

We needn’t had worried.

“Why do you pretend to talk like Deefer?” Oliver asked.

Turns out ventriloquating (a technical term) for your dog is very common. Linguist Deborah Tannen calls it “talking dog.”

We think of it as translating the thoughts you’re having, Deef. Adding color to the commentary we see running in that head of yours:

In July 2022, we visited Bray. You come out of the DART station, follow the little alleys with a Chinese, a coffee shop, a casino. Suddenly, the alley opens up, and you’re there on the Strand. Three big planters and wooden benches sit in front of Bray’s aquarium. Finbees coffee house tucked in next to it, separating you from the ocean.

It has a Manhattan Beach vibe (we’ll go there someday), but replace the volleyball nets with little huts selling 99’s with all the toppings.

Part I

Once, we were out at lunch and Uncle Paul was sitting down. A couple walked in and they stood at the host’s stand, waiting to be seated. I watched him get up, shuffle over to them, grab menus, and show them to an open table.

This is a review of my 2022 and a public sharing of 2023 goals.

Why document it? The Bill Gates quote sums it up:

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

We’re capable of great things. They just take time.

Are you doing a yearly review? Would love to read yours!

My process: