2012 Year In Review

By Josh Highland in Josh's Rambling

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For the last few year I list the goals that I would like to achieve for the year (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009). With this post I’d like to take some time and see how many of my 2012 goals I managed to achieve.

  • Reduce the amount of “stuff” that I have. I need to make room for my new son (due in march!)

I think I’ve done an OK job at this. I converted my office into my sons room. During that process I got rid of a fair amount of stuff. The remainder of it is in the garage and the current office (formerly the spare bedroom). I need to stop hording things that I don’t use. I’ll give me self a #meh on this.

  • Delegate responsibilities and tasks better. I have too many projects and not enough time, I need to let other people take over a few things, (4-hour work week style of course)

This is a #Fail for me. I’ve actually managed to create more side work for myself and managed to lose an employee. I’ve got to get better at this if I’m going to live that 4-Hour Work week lifestyle

  • Automate more of my life (income / shipping / bill payments / etc)

This is an #epicWin for me. I’ve been able to create more passive income this year, and automate more of my bills. It feels like I’m starting to get the hang of this this stuff.

  • Launch a Shopify.com app

Another #epicWin, I’ve was able to launch two shopify apps (SEO Meta Manager & Order Lookup App), get them featured by Shopify. As a result, they have become some of the top rated apps in the Shopify App Store. I credit Gary Vanerchuk’s book, “The Thank You Economy” for a large portion of the success I’m seeing. NewLeaf Labs also became certified Shopify professionals… #LikeABoss

I’m some where between a #win and a #meh on this one. I was able to launch more shirt designs, strike some promotion deals and gain a wider awareness of the brand. I know 2013 will be a better year. I’ve made some pretty large goals for the company, and I need to see them through.

  • Launch my first iPad application and get my 10th iPhone app into the store

YES! totally a #Win. I was able to launch my 10th iOS application into the app store. It’s a universal app meaning that is runs on iPad and iPhones / iPod Touches. NewLeaf Labs knows iOS app development!

  • Continue to improve my fitness (strength & muscle mass)

2012 was a good time in the gym. At my peak during my bulking cycle I was 225lbs, I trimmed down to 190lbs and got to about 13% body fat. I can see a difference in the way my body responds to physical activity. It loves it! Having a baby in march, Jackson Highland, it was difficult to get to the gym as often as I would have liked. Having my lifting partner, @JustinGiese, switch to a graveyard shift schedule didn’t help either. All in all, its a marathon, not a sprint. Bodybuilding is a lifestyle not an activity. I have big plans for 2013. I’m going to hit it hard early on, bulking, then lean out for summer. I’m looking forward to it. #getBig #win

  • Move more of my projects / data to “the cloud”

I can give myself a #win on this. I moved my physical servers out of a co-located space, into a vitrualized environment on the cloud. So instead of just moving the apps and data to the cloud, I moved the servers! The future is here!

  • Improve my SEO skillz (nothing fancy, just gain a better knowledge of what I should be doing as best practices)

This is an #epicWin. One of my Shopify Apps is an SEO tool for managing meta and title tags. I did a lot of research on the subject of SEO. I also started writing an book on the subject. My book should be released in mid 2013. I need to make it happen.

  • Build an app that uses the instagram API

I did this early in 2012. I used the app to help promote the presence of my Straight Edge Clothing company, Wolves Clothing (XWolvesClothingX). It was a web based app. It was actually much easier to make then I thought it was going to be. However, I was doing some things that fell into a gray area of their terms of service. Instead of having my account killed, I decided to disable the app. I do plan on re-working the app and using it again, for fun and profit!

This was a #fail on my part. I need to do a better of of this. This is one of my favorite business ideas that I have helped grow. Don’t get me wrong, the business is doing well, but I think it can really be pushed harder. Our designs are awesome and a great bargain for bands and clothing companies looking for high quality designs at reasonable rates.

  • Contribute more to charitable causes

This is a #win. I continued to contributing time and energy to We Still Believe, a non-profit group in Orange County aimed at helping the less fortunate. My Straight Edge Clothing Company, Wolves Clothing, was a sponsor at “Mosh-4-Food 2”, an annual canned food drive that was able to generate several tons of food for a local food bank. I also participated in a We Still Believe event at Disneyland for adults with special needs. Giving back is awesome and I want to do more of it.

2012 was a life changing year. I’m looking forward to what 2013 holds.

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