The Stuff that Stuck: 2012

Reflecting back on the 2012 year, in no particular order, without really trying too hard, here are my top moments and thoughts I thought I'd highlight:

*Adult hood:  I feel like the transition into adult hood has been most evident for me this year.  Turning 27, the legality of the 9 year title I think has finally started to catch up with my mentality, maybe.

*Love:  Earlier this year I took my Girlfriend on an adventuresome picnic I worked really hard to plan.  I wont give away the juicy details, but lets just say it started with me skateboarding down the street in my leather jacket holding a bouquet of flowers in the early pitch dark of Winter strolling up to my Lady's front door like a true Romeo.  

*Guest List Theory: "If everyone's invited, no one can be missed."  I don't entirely agree with this idea that Henry Nouwen wrote in his book, "Reaching Out", but I found it highly interesting and worth considering.

*About Me: I have low moral and high energy.  This was something I had never identified about myself before, but an in-depth personality assessment pointed it out.  If my moral ever gets high enough I plan on exploring this conundrum more.

*Work:  Not only did I quit my job as a delivery technician, I plunged into the entirely new world of Real Estate.  It has been 6 months and the transition continues to be bumpy, but I'm excited to keep moving forward.

*Habit:  Podcasts have become a part of my daily life this year.  I really enjoy listening to content while I drive.  There is so much great stuff out there!  I love it.

*Marketing Theory: Beware of the race to the bottom, Marketing/ Author/ Blogger mastermind Seth Godin came across my radar this year.  I was enthralled by his theory of the "race to the bottom" that McDonalds, Wal-Mart, and many major corporations are participating in.  The danger of the race to the bottom he says, is that eventually, "someone is going to win".

*Action: Also inspired by Godin, after reading his book, "Poke the Box", amongst being motivated to do other things, I started this blog.  I feel like this also rides the similar thematic wavelength I should acknowledge from this year, of embracing fear and failure.  I often don't do things because our fear of failure is greater than the possibility of success.  This is a fact that I hope to continue to keep in check and defactualize in my own life.  Oh yes, I also invented the word "defactualize", apparently.

*Book of the Year: "The Dream Manager", by Matt Kelley.  More than making me laugh and cry, this little gem re-ignited my youthful passion for dreams and goals.  This fictional tale had an extraordinarily real impact on my imagination.

PS. I cherish my memories of the Dinner en Blanc, White Water river rafting, Milltown Progressive Dinner, Victoria, Spoons Diner, mourning lost life with loved ones, Autin TX, Spokane action training, Selling my Tundra, seeing Sherman Alexie speak, Milltown Retreat campout, Darington Blue Grass Festival, Beirut, Punch Brothers, Everett adult spell down, Leavenworth sleigh ride, eating a Peseo's Cuban, recording my first secret hit single, Book Thanksgiving, Breakfasts w/ Josh, Rock Olympics, Discovering: Dan Miller, pocket casts, and Seth Godin, meeting: Andrew Bauman, Bob Cenk, Mrs. Overby, & DR Whitson, watching "Blue Like Jazz" by the camp fire, and probably more stuff that I'm forgetting.  Amen.