My personal review of 2020 — the year of self-consciousness.

I know this may sound weird for some of you, but 2020 has actually been (again) the best year ever. I had the best balance between work, personal development and family time.

Despite the strong signs of an economic crisis triggered by the virus, all our personal and business bets have played out well.

Many families decided to move out of the cities to the countryside during the first lockdown. I have heard about several cases of buying houses and moving to rural areas. We spent this tough time in our farmhouse in Hiiumaa. It’s a Singapore-size Estonian island with 8000 inhabitants. All you can dream of, like clean air, fresh farm food, fast internet and no people. Time spent there with my family and friends has been precious.

The highlight of 2020 is the time I have been able to spend with the coolest little girl in the galaxy — Scarlett Amelia Gansen. She is my sunshine and I am eternally grateful for every minute she has for me between being very busy discovering the world.

Another very important highlight is our relationship with Airita as a couple and with my two amazing sons and their mates. It’s a precious gift, to have a loving family. Never take it for granted. Invest in it.

I have fulfilled several dreams this year. I’ve learned how to use several new tools in construction, woodworking, metalworking.

I’ve even designed and constructed several structures on our farm. Also, gardening can be such a pleasure with the right tools!

We acquired an amazing vehicle, right from my dream board. Even the colour and the interior are exactly as I wanted.

My long-term dream has also been teaching and mentoring. Although I have been doing that for years, I wanted to become a part of a professional mentoring team. It happened this autumn when a dear friend invited me to Tehnopol. What a blessing it is to join forces with top-notch professionals from different fields!

Another personal goal was to get in shape. I did it with the help of my dear friends from Toiduvabrik and by working out on average for 4–5 days a week. If 50 is a new 30, then I feel like 28 indeed.

It took some courage and support from my dear wife to start my long-term relationship with a dentists. First, 18 months of wearing braces, then a couple of surgeries. And the result — a perfect smile 2 years later.

In my startup career, our team kept pursuing growth and started the development of the new platform. We are on the right track on both terns. I’d say, that our team has done everything possible with the resources we got. It has been quite a rollercoaster, but this is a startup. It’s usually like this.

In my family business career, we have achieved new amazing goals. We are looking into 2021 with big hope, making new goals for growth.

2020 is not over yet but so far I have managed to finish 35 books and listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts. And there are 17 more books I am still reading.

The books I would definitely recommend for you to read:

1. The Course of Love by de Botton, Alain

2. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Knight, Phil

3. Principles: Life and Work by Dalio, Ray

Due to Covid19, this year we missed several great movies, due to being postponed. However, there are two series I need to highlight:

1. The Queen’s Gambit https://www.netflix.com/ee/title/80234304

2. The Mandalorian season 2 https://disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/show/the-mandalorian

That’s just a tiny peek into my 2020. There have been so many new experiences, great conversations, ZOOM-meetings and amazing people I have learned from.

All in all, I had a great year and have a very good feeling about the next year.

If you are interested, here are my review for 2019 and 2018.