It’s another year in the books. Each year I return to this exact spot to meditate and plan for the new year. While the skyline gets progressively taller and more cluttered, this view continues to serve as a special reminder to me the gift of being able to call this city home. It’s where I typically come up with my annual theme and make my commitments/resolutions for the new year.

Without further ado, my theme for this year is: Fellowship. 

Last year was all about carving out time and space to Reflect. This year is about pressing into people and learning to create more authentic relationships and community.

There are increasingly more reports of loneliness reaching epidemic highs, especially with the rise of social media. I think trying to curb the usage of social media will be difficult, but we can help narrate the conversation around how it’s used or more importantly, as a marketer, how to consult with brands so content output becomes beneficial to the health of an individual, instead of the opposite.

I’ve been fascinated with this concept of what it takes to develop a deep, authentic, community — both online and off. It’s why I’m excited to pursue a few activities this year to help cultivate this.

Application

So what does this mean? Aside from the usual goals I track on an annual basis, I’m also adding in a few new ones that are directly correlated to my 2019 theme.

Interview 45 entrepreneurs (0/45) — I’m continuing The EnTRUEpreneurship Podcast with the help of my lovely team at Zilker Media. It’s an endeavor I really enjoyed in 2018 and found it to be a great way to connect with some incredible people building incredible businesses. 

30 Community Builder videos (0/30) — Thanks to James Haedrick, Sean Richards, and our friends at Spero Labs for graciously partnering with us in launching a video series specifically devoted to interviewing organizations, brands, and individuals who have sparked and cultivated community that people want to gather around. I’m really excited about this venture as it will serve as the playbook to a lot of the work I want Zilker Media to be doing moving forward.

Share a meal with one new person each week (0/50) — For my theme last year, Reflect, I set up pretty stringent boundaries to limit   my new “coffee meetings” so I could carve out time and space to think. Now I’m course-correcting and making myself much more accessible. If you’d like to grab coffee or lunch to connect, shoot me an email and we can get something planned.

Overall, I’m really excited to see where these things will lead, and I’m excited to share them with you along the way.

Here are the other goals I’ll be committing to:

Rest

  • Sleep 6.5 hrs every weekday (1/250)

  • Conduct a silent, no technology retreat once per quarter (0/2)

  • Limit phone usage to less than 2hr each day (0/250)

  • Travel once per quarter outside of Texas (0/4)

    • Kansas City (April)

    • Washington DC (August)

    • Boston & NE coast (September)

  • Travel outside of US once/year

    • Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia (November)

Spiritual Walk

  • Journal 6x each week (1/312)

  • Fast once per month (0/12)

  • Quiet time in Word at least 5x/week (1/260)

  • Meet with small group 2x/mo (0/24)

Fitness/Health

  • Workout at least 3x/week (0/156)

  • Weigh in at 215lb (200/215)

  • Yoga once per month (0/12)

Personal Relationships

  • Eat dinner with parents once/every other week (0/26)

  • Share a meal with one new person each week (0/50)

Career and Professional

  • Interview 45 entrepreneurs (0/45)

  • 30 community builder series videos (0/30)

  • Answer a HARO once per week (0/50)

Material and Financial

  • Save $5k for parents anniversary (0/$5,000)

Ministry/Philanthropic

  • Buy a meal for a stranger once per month (0/12)

Professional Development

  • Read 24+ books each year (0/24)

  • Organize a leadership retreat (0/1)

  • Get motorcycle license (0/1)

Here’s to an incredible year ahead!

-Wes