My personal review of the year 2018
When everybody around is already in a festive mood and the mayor subject discussed in the office or in the coffee shop is if the gifts from eBay, AliExpress or Amazon will arrive on time for Santa (because we live in Estonia, an appendix of Europe logistics wise, remember?), it’s a great moment to reflect to myself and to the people I love. What did I learn from 2018 and what is worth to take with me into 2019?
I’m giving a credit for this note to my new friend Fabian Westerheide who inspired me to reflect on my great year after I’ve read his.
The highlights:
- A clear vision for my startup Shipitwise after a pivot in December 2017
- Working out with the personal trainer in a gym, getting fit
- Unforgettable family ski trip to Italian Alps
- Shipitwise engaging with several potential strategic partnerships
- 25th anniversary of my marriage
- A trip from my bucket list to the Skellig Michael island near the coast of Ireland
- An amazing leadership training conference in Barcelona
- Getting mentoring sessions from the top-notch leaders and mentors. Special thanks go to David Dornan, Les Hetnal, Robert Angkasa, Toivo Rande, Reid Hoffman, Martin & Tracy Hutchins
- Meeting many great people who are supporting me in my journey knowingly or unwillingly, just by being around. I appreciate your time and shared knowledge!
- Giving mentoring sessions to the groups of early-stage startups within the Startup Wise Guys program and within the EAS startup program
- My son’s wedding with the second most beautiful girl in the world. Why second, you ask? Because I married the first one 25 years ago
- A Mediterranean cruise on the largest ship ever built, Symphony of the Seas
- Acquiring a family farmhouse on the most beautiful Estonian island of Hiiumaa, in a wilderness, off the grid
- 50th wedding anniversary of my parents-in-law
- Much more of the quality time with my family than in two previous years
- My younger son Daniel producing a winning video with his team for the EU contest for schools getting invited to visit a Europarlament in Strasbourg
- Invitations to speak at several conferences and seminars
- An opportunity to be a translator for several amazing keynotes speakers at the international seminars and conferences organized by NetworkTwentyOne global leadership training program
- Very memorable private screening of a new documentary “General Magic” organized for an Estonian startup community by Triin Kask and her team from Nevercode. Thank you-thank you-thank you!
- Meeting with Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel at the CDI forum in Turin
- Meeting and working with the amazing team of Bullet Express & Logistics
- Launching a pilot project with Shipitwise and Bullet Express
- A privilege to work with the Robotex team and the pride for my son Sander, pursuing the growth of the largest robotics event on the planet
The Downs:
- Splitting with one of the Shipitwise co-founders
- Mom’s health issues
- Not enough time to read all the books I have planned for this year
- Not enough time to keep the journal and create a content for my businesses
Books I read and recommend (out of more than 20):
“15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” — John C. Maxwell
“Alibaba’s World” — Porter Erisman
“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” — Yuval Harari
“Becoming a Person of Influence” — John C. Maxwell
“Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever” — Ray Kurzweil
“The Art of Thinking Clearly” — Rolf Dobelli
“The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon” — Brad Stone
“The Win Without Pitching Manifesto” — Blair Enns
