SIf you remember, 2023 was The Best Year of My Life.

Poetically, it was the end of my first 40 years on this planet. And it felt like an amazing "season finale" to the first half of my life.

I was blessed with a daughter, sold my first company and took my inner game to a whole new level.

2024 continued some of that amazing energy while also feeling like the beginning of a new inflection point. Think Season 2, Episode 1.

Around my 40th birthday, Kasey (Aux CEO) who has THE EXACT SAME BIRTHDAY as me, sent me this Carl Jung quote:

If I had a theme for this year, it would definitely be "Life is now starting."

Of course, I've done a ton up until now. 

I've started and sold a company. I've got an amazing marriage and a family of 3 healthy kids.

But if 2023 was the year it all came together, 2024 was the new beginning.

Marriage

My marriage went to the next level. But unlike last year where it was me becoming more attentive and loving, this year was a more difficult path.

D and I started healing together around a lot of past wounds.

We've been together since I was 16 and she was 15! We grew up together.

So much of that is what makes our relationship incredibly special. We are soulmates.

At the same time, through college and young adulthood, we hurt each other as we found ourselves.

For a host of reasons, we realized in the last year how much of that we still carried today, 13+ years into marriage.

There have been a lot of tough, even hurtful conversations. And it hasn't been easy. 

Yet, I think at this moment, we feel closer and more connected than we ever have.

Family

Mila was born in 2023 but she really became a part of the family in 2024! Our family is now complete and we have this amazing privilege of raising 3 souls.

We can dream about how the family will evolve, how old Mila will be when Ricky goes off to college and how much Mila will imitate her big sister, Serena.

For D and me, getting to relish each month of a new baby—knowing it will be our last—has been incredibly special.

It's amazing how much we forgot and how Mila has reminded us. And the absolute best thing has been watching the kids take to Mila.

She's the first thing on their mind in the morning or when they come home. And her smile is HUGE when she sees them.

Rest & Renewal

Despite having a newborn, that DID not stop us from traveling this year.

We traveled to Spain, Turks & Caicos, Park City, Southern California, Florida and several other places.

Our big trip was "living in Spain" for 3 weeks in the summer. We got a condo in the heart of San Sebastian.

I was with the family from morning ‘til about 4pm local time, then logged on ‘til 1am.

It was a bit lonely at times but pretty amazing to be with the kids that much and continue to work.

We also bought a place in Park City/Deer Valley. I skied for the first time last year and the kids LOVE it.

After seeing how expensive hotels are, I realized it’s a better deal to buy! So we made the plunge and spent 3 weeks there throughout the year.

Health

I've continued to work out 5x a week. I lift for 1 hour 2x a week, play tennis 3x a week and then try to walk the other two days.

Despite that, I've gained almost 10 lbs and now am in my "code red" of 190 lbs.

It's reinforced a few things for me:

1) Weight is definitely 80%+ what you put in your mouth!

2) Maintenance is harder as you get older i.e. sticking with the plan matters,

3) More on this below, but over-scheduling leads to overeating.

Despite the weight gain, all my other biomarkers are headed in the right place and I feel blessed to have no major health issues.

Spirituality

This is a trend which has continued from last year.

In addition to meditating/praying for 30-60 minutes a day, I've found myself committing to a mantra in my day to day.

Saying it first thing when I'm waking up, or when I'm driving in the car. Essentially, when there is empty space.

I learned recently from this Ram Das Starter Kit that Mantra means "mind protector" and I've found I think less and my mind is more at ease minute to minute.

I feel more patient than ever before and this Ralph Abernathy quote has really resonated:

I also read a ton of spiritual books: The Power of Now, The Untethered Soul, The Body Keeps the Score, Becoming Nobody, No Bad Parts.  All were great, No Bad Parts was probably the most practically helpful!

My 40th Birthday!!

The MOST memorable thing of 2024 was definitely my 40th Birthday.

Deepika planned an absolutely AMAZING weekend. Hundreds of people showed up from every phase of my life.

There were dinners, pool parties and huge bash to cap it off. Nelly performed. Then my entire family flew to Turks and Caicos.

Was it over the top? YES. Would I change anything? NO. (I wrote an entire newsletter on why the celebration is important.)

I still get messages about how much fun and joy the party brought people and I still feel INSANE joy when I think about it.

In 2023, I read "Die with Zero" which definitely inspired the celebration and it did not disappoint.

As the book says, not only do you get to enjoy the fun event but the "memory dividends" last forever and are more valuable than financial dividends.

Gateway X

I wrote a full update on it last week, so I won’t repeat it.

But I feel very excited that Aux has been able to attain escape velocity and Bootstrapped Giants is already profitable with great promise.

I'm also excited to NOT start a new business next year. I continue to learn and grow each day from this experience!

1) Time Management

It was number 1 on last year’s list and continues to be #1: managing and balancing my time.

I want to "have it all," which means I want to build ambitious companies in new markets, that grow profitably, with great people-first cultures AND I want freedom/flexibility to travel and be with my family.

I'm hopeful that by not starting a new company in 2025 and allowing all the businesses to mature, this will actually be possible!

I'm also putting a lot of attention on how my culture and philosophy can be present without me actually being there. Trainings, content, a culture book.

These are all things on my mind for 2025.

2) Forgiveness

The spiritual journey has been rewarding but very difficult. One of the hardest parts is facing my old self. 

My old actions, choices, etc. Whether it was losing my temper with my kids, a bad business decision or hurting my wife emotionally, the spiritual journey really pulls all that stuff up to the surface.

The immediate reaction is to run away, or deny it, or rationalize it.

It’s been tough to see my actions, ACCEPT them and then work to forgive MYSELF and let things go.

Interestingly, the better I get at forgiving myself, the easier forgiving others has become.

3) Doing vs. Being

I realized I'm addicted to Doing.

There's a much deeper dive on this topic that I'll write but when my calendar is empty. I like to fill it all to the brim.

Of course, that has business consequences (e.g., worse decisions are made) but this year, I really started feeling the personal consequences.

The weight gain comes from not leaving any time to be and relax, so I use sugar to "relax!" Or I reach for a cookie instead of sticking to my low carb diet.

This is one symptom but it’s really a challenge to trust that being is as important, if not more, than doing.

1) Vulnerability is strength

This is really trite, yeah? But gosh, it’s so true.

In the fall, I shared some super personal stuff with the entire GX team and portfolio companies’ leadership.

It’s stuff I could have easily left at home but I chose to live vulnerably. It was scary.

I thought they would judge me, maybe even some wouldn't work with me.

What I got brought me to tears: endless support. Check-ins, helpful coaching and just hugs. More connection.

Usually, I'm coaching the team and not sharing myself. That was a big change for 2024.

Today, I'm being as vulnerable as I can.

2) Consistency is hard

I was reflecting on last week’s newsletter and the "GrowthAssistant" section seemed to show the least change YoY.

Yet, nominally it added more revenue than all the other businesses combined.

I texted Andrew,

Whether it’s business blocking and tackling or maintaining a diet or just constantly showing up for your family, consistency is a noble but difficult goal.

I've grown my bench and squat 50%, it’s the most boring/repetitive process ever.

I love the phrase "Repetition doesn't spoil the prayer." All the small things we do (e.g., greet our spouse, run a great meeting, eat healthy) are small prayers each day. 

Repetitions only makes them stronger.

3) You win the year by winning the day

I took the entire GX team finally to meet my mentor, Ric Elias.

He shared tons of amazing and vulnerable wisdom with us.

We’ll respect his privacy and the trust he placed in us, but I'll leave you with one big thing he shared.

At the end of each day, he asks if he accomplished the 4 Ls.

Did he Learn? Did he Lead? Did he Laugh? And most importantly, did he Love?

If he did those 4 things that day, it was a great day.

As I’ve gone deeper into my own journey I realized every successful and happy person has a DEEP DAILY INTENTION for how they show up. They aren't reactive.

They start the day, the hour with some intention and then bring it forward into the world.

They don't worry about winning the year, they win the day and the year is handled.

That's my parting thought for 2024! I'm grateful for this beautiful life and the privilege of living it! Happy New Year!!!

jesse

PS. You’ve seen some of my photos from 2024. Got an interesting one from your year? Hit reply and send it.