What 2016 meant to me..

What 2016 meant to me?

Let's see, I guess this has been a really unsavoury year for most people but as always I like to take the good with the bad. 

The beginning of my year was anything but ideal, weeks earlier I knew someone really close to me had a few weeks to live. It was devastating and when doom's day finally came I just had to take it in stride. 

I felt so vulnerable not just because of the loss but with everything around me. 
Life was asking a lot of me in and I really had to be decisive. I had no time to mourn, had no one to comfort me and had a shit load of things that needed addressing the first of which were fly by night tenants that had to be taken to court. 

I toughened up, got my shit together and started working on a new business. I prayed a lot which I don't do as often as I should but slowly but surely I emerged from the dark cloud. 

Throughout the year I totally reinvented myself, I read dozens of books, conducted intensive market research, ironed out my weaknesses, got into shape and out of shape as well. It was an edifying and metamorphic process.

In retrospect as I sum it all up and put it all into perspective I can only smile.

It's been a difficult trip but I've grown in leaps and bounds. I'm fearless now, more decisive, very stern and confrontational when I need to yet I'm not afraid to put myself on the line and feel vulnerable. I've always tried to be too slick to avoid pain and rejection and now I embrace the growth that comes with it. 

My business savvy is at an all time high, I've charmed numerous suppliers to put the new business at a vantage point. My business paradigm has shifted, I've evolved, I look at things differently and I'm operating at an incredible level. 

I've read and listened to over 30 books this year and I feel 10 times smarter than I was 12 months ago. I notice it in meetings and seminars that I attend that I've really elevated the level that I operate at and I'm doing a lot of my work mentally, I don't need a notepad to clarify my thoughts and decisions much. I'm not afraid to speak up in a large group or confront people in uncomfortable settings. I care less about what other people think of me. 

I've laid the foundation and if I don't build a million dollar business in the next few years, God Willing, I would have failed myself because I have really levelled up in every important area, it's just a matter of time . 

This year has been tragic for a lot of people, I'm not the only person who lost someone and my heart sinks when I think of a recent accident that took the life of close friend's Mom. 

Not to turn this into a morbid post but the losses this year had me reevaluate what really is important in life. We all have grand schemes and dreams hoping that we will live forever but the truth is we aren't in control. God is the DJ, he's got the aux chord and he can cut you off at any time. 

The solemn conclusion is that you take nothing with you when you leave this Earth. You come in with nothing then you leave with nothing. So then the natural question is what's important, what should you treasure. 

The sobering question really is who will genuinely miss me when I'm gone. What's my legacy gonna be, what will I leave for my children and what impact and impression have I made on people and who have I connected with. 

These are all uncomfortable subjects most people are forced to confront when time eventually catches up. I would much rather embrace my mortality and make the most of my time here than be ignorant like spending money without a budget expecting your pockets to be deep as an ocean. 

I may not have thought of it explicitly when I was working on the new business I've launched but it was heavy on my mind that I needed to change my approach. 

I was in a meeting with a guy who founded a massive brand who made a comment about the regret of missing out on family life and time with his children in exchange for success. 

In the past my plan was to grind hard, sacrifice my personal life, save and build an organisation that can take care of me so I can enjoy the fruits of my labour and build a family. 

That plan worked remarkably for two years and just as I was comfortable enough to start living the political landscape changed again in Zimbabwe and plunged the whole economy into the abyss. It was survival mode all over again and more sacrifice of the things that actually matter. 

I realised I couldn't take the same route again. So for the first time in my life I'm building a business around the life that I want to live. It's weird but liberating. I may have done a lot of market research but the further I progress, the more I realise this is a reflection of who I am. 

Building a business around yourself is really fun, it isn't a chore. When I would collect a big payment from my previous business , these were my guilty pleasures but there was always that monkey on your back that I first had to establish a large enterprise before enjoying myself. 

What I'm working on is how I felt I would want to live when my old business had matured.

I've got plans for the coming year. 2016 was a necessary sacrifice but I've done my time and in the spirit of my legacy. I don't want to be that 40 something dude mourning about lost time. 

I'm building a business that complements my life and I'm convinced I've laid the perfect foundation. Life has to get richer as it grows without sacrificing my personal life as before.

The impressive thing I've got from all this is I'm a better version of myself. I'm more discerning. 

Much more than the sales I'm making are the connections with prospective customers and those I've converted. I liked the connections I made with my employees in my previous business but this has potential to be greater. 

I'm grateful for all the pain and growth that was 2016. 

I'm a laid back person but I'm a free spirit as well when I want to which I get directly from my Mom. I like nice things, I like beautiful women and all the best things but early on I knew I had to sacrifice if I was going to become a great business person, so it's been a bogey area of my life. 

Balancing personal and business is easier said than done. It's been an elusive area because you don't have time to waste, if you're going to invest your time on someone, it's gotta be someone real and finding someone real who will ride for you is difficult whether you're searching or not and it's much harder as an entrepreneur. 

My principle is that regardless of your current circumstances at any given you should be prepared to approach any woman so I'm immune to most insecurities. 

In recent times I've met interacted and connected with some great people so I guess I'm knocking on the right doors. 

I'm not a party animal anymore, I pick my moments. 

What sucks about business is that it saps your personality. When you're swimming in uncharted waters that are emotionally draining you can't be consistently spontaneous and electrifying because you're dealing with real life challenges and emotions that you're tying to make sense of. 

The real struggle is finding someone who understands that you can't be a fireball all the time. Being a player is easy, living reckless is easy but being a real man takes guts and sacrifice. 

I read somewhere that the process that produces enduring happiness is the ability to sacrifice what you want now for something greater that you want eventually. 

I've done the hard time this year especially and all the years before. 

In 2017 I want to bloom, take my foot of the gas a bit and embrace life. 

The only real change comes from inside and I've taken care of that. 

If I could sum up my resolutions for myself and my business in the coming year I would say.. After I've taken care of my basic needs, I want to be free . . . To do what I want, when I want, where I want, with whomever I want. For as long as I want, without having to worry about money... 

I owe myself at least that much but it's been a great year filled with the good and the bad and the ugly..