The past year was not all doom and gloom for me and I thought I’d mention a few things I appreciated about 2016 and I hope to continue adding this sort of good stuff into 2017.
- Gratitude. I have been practicing giving thanks for the things I do have and I really believe it makes all the difference. I can get lost thinking about all the things I am grateful for.
- Cape Town. I moved down in February and returned in August. But still, the Mother City was a special experience and certainly helped shape who I am today.
- Secret Sunrise. My favorite thing to do, well maybe my second favorite thing to do in the morning, was getting my groove on with the no danger diary crew in some of the most amazing locations, with some of the coolest people to some of the most gorgeous sunrises I’ve ever seen.
- Kidz Banking. Secretly for the past year I was working on a banking app for Standard Bank and launched after I had left the company and not completed as I would have liked, their app was finally released later this year.
- Lego Minifigures. I still have not built my lego display, despite my most recent efforts, but I am excited to now have over 500 Minifigures in my collection. Almost 300 of them are from the series, which looks to be growing in early 2017 with the superheroes series being released in January.
- Creative Mornings. I was delighted to be asked to talk at Creative Mornings in Cape Town in October on the subject of transparency.
- Probiotics. I started drinking kombucha and kefir early in 2016 and what it has done for my body is incredible. Adding live food sources into my body has really helped my anxiety, my digestion and overall well being like nothing I have experienced before.
- Dexter. My beautiful boy turned 8 this year and he is turning out to be such a kind, well mannered and gentle human. I love you, my boy.
- Surfing. I never got to surf enough to say I can actually surf, but I loved every moment of paddling in the ocean and I have not given up on my dream to learn and surf waves around the globe.
- Friends. I have reconnected with old friends, continued with many of the same friends and made many new friends this year. Thank you to each and every one of you for contributing in your own way to my life.
- Sacred teacher plants. As I continue to raise my vibration, teacher plants like Ayahuasca and San Pedro have really opened my mind, taught me so much and done much healing.
- Road trips. I got to drive up and down to Cape Town, on my own twice this year and while road tripping with friends is great, a little solitude on the road can be equally rewarding.
- Romance. I have loved and lost like no other time in my life this past year. To every one of the beautiful people who shared time with me, giving me a chance and sharing yourselves with me, thank you. Guys be a little braver, there are some beauties out there. You know who you are, thank you for the love.
- Joburg. I left you and returned, but I came back a better man and given my career opportunities I’m here to stay, so I’m ready to take on the city of gold in all it’s glory in 2017.
- Prom walks. Long walks, great talks and the most fantastic views. Nothing beats a good prom walk at the end of the day.
- Coconut oil. The say that if you have 99 problems, coconut oil will solve about 80 something of them. Eat it, cook with it, moisturize your skin with it or use it as lubricant, this magic stuff will seriously add value to your life.
- Roommates. I got to be roomies with a lovely couple in Cape Town for a couple of months and with a great friend in Joburg and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed living with people, especially when they are so damn cool. Thanks guys.
- Yoga hike. Two of my favorite things to do, go on a hike, followed by some yoga made for some of my favorite outings.
- Hiker. Some call him Superdawg, others hikey, but the coolest dog on the prom was hikey, the bergie dog I got look after whenever John was out of town, much love little guy.
- UFC. Conor McGregor, stole the show. But selling the UFC for 4+ Billion was pretty impressive too.
- Nedbank. In-house agencies are the new black, that’s why I am proud to have joined the Nedbank team as their Creative Director in what will be an exciting new opportunity to do some amazing work.
- Day Parties. I went to a couple of day parties which was something new for me as I have not been going out as much. They were not huge events, just big enough to have a good time and some sunshine.
- Love. I have learned how to love myself, how to give love and receive love. It’s abundant, just like kindness, sprinkle that shit everywhere.
- CrossFit. I trained at a new box in Cape Town and really got my technique improved, but I am happy to be training at my original box again at B4C. When I can;t get there, I have built up a home gym that’s great for getting a workout in.
- Forest Bathing. Or more commonly known as Shinrin-yoku in Japan is kinda like forest therapy. I have literally soaked up the trees and literally become a tree hugger.
- 21 for the 20th time. I turned 41 and I couldn’t feel more alive than I do now. Age really is just a number and being in my 40’s is great.
- Table Top Tuesdays. Every Tuesday, weather permitting I got to work with some of my colleagues from Treeshake and their friends on top of Table Mountain.
- Friends of Design. I got to give a really great talk to start the term off at this awesome design school. Thanks for the opportunity to share my knowledge.
- Farmers Market. My Saturday routine always started with a trip to the Oranjezicht farmers market to eat good food, drink great coffee, enjoy great conversation and take home the best pastries and organic fruit.
- Being present. I learned this year how to not focus on the past or worry about the future as much and really just be present. I learned that you only have energy for today, so stop worrying about tomorrow.
- Secret Sunset. If dancing at sunrise was not cool enough, we got to enjoy a silent disco on the beach at sunset, which was absolutely epic. After some meditation, we rocked out to thunderstruck along with hundreds of beautiful ladies. Thank you no danger diaries!
- Training. I would do yoga in the morning, crossfit in the afternoon, gym in the evenings, throw in a prom walk at sunset and that I generally cycled everywhere during the day. My training was great and I have really shed the Joburg armor and I’m feeling so much more comfortable in my own skin.
- Airbrn. I joined a great partnership in a gamification platform for business, which will hopefully launch early this year and I am super excited about.
- One meal a day. I generally only eat one cooked meal a day now, snacking in between on kefir and fruit and I feel better fueled than I have been for many years where I was over-eating. Don’t believe the hype in all those meals, eat when you’re hungry, listen to your body.
- Netflix. Local Netflix is not as great as international, but it’s still great to chill and their original shows have been pretty impressive.
- Simplicity. The ultimate luxury is simplicity. I have purged so much in my life and I have proven that I need little more than what I can fit in my car. Yes, I have a storage locker, but that really just some basic furniture. Keep it simple.
- Time. It’s the one thing you are never getting back, but it’s also something that is an art to manage. Time is art, it’s the only true currency. Make it count.
- Letting go. If it comes, let it, if it goes, let it. Don’t try and hold onto to anything that does not want to be part of your life or that is taking up time or space.
- Hiking. I have gotten to climb mountains, forests, and velt. Being out in nature is one of the best ways I can show mother earth that I appreciate her in all her glory.
- Good health. I have not been sick more than a headache once or twice or an upset stomach. Through lots of training, excellent diet and great mental space, I have had the healthiest year of my life.
- Design thinking. We have moved out of the pushing pixels around phase of design and gone into using design thinking to really solve problems.
- Movies. It’s been a great year on the screen and 2017 looks like there will be even bigger films coming our way.
- Less social media. I literally only have facebook and Instagram on my phone now. I occasionally visit twitter and LinkedIn, but I have successfully managed to eliminate all the social media addiction and focus on living my life away from social media.
- Podcasts. The best way to not be bothered by traffic, listen to podcasts. There’s just about every topic on earth discussed and there’s something for you. I have really learned so much during the times I’d usually be frustrated driving my car.
- eBooks. I literally cannot keep up with all the incredible eBooks released. But it’s simply the easiest way I know to read books I’d never be able to get locally and for a reasonable price … oh and I’m saving trees.
- Coffee. I got to drink some of the best cups of coffee and while I will need to kick the addiction, I enjoyed so many great roasts at places like Giovannis, Origin, Bootleggers and my local favorite Seattle.
- Fashion. I switched up my wardrobe a bit this past year, found the most comfortable well-cut chinos, stylish sneakers and comfortable sweaters. While summer is all board shorts and slops, winter I arrived a whole bunch cooler. Next, some tailored suits, not because I work at a corporate, but because I want to feel slick and really show up. Besides, I’m tired of dressing casually all the time.
- Sunsets. I probably took more photos of sunsets than anything else this past year, the most beautiful part of the end of a day. On the promenade, I literally took one great photo after another and used to struggle to choose which I’d post.
- Purpose. I have truly started gravitating towards what I believe to be the purpose of my life, by simply moving towards the things that make me the most excited.
- Sharing. I know I don’t have all the answers, but I have learned so much this past year and I feel no greater joy than being able to share with people. Maybe not everyone, but someone can learn from the things you know, nothing could be more generous than sharing your stuff, giving talks, teaching, blogging, mentoring or any other way, please share!
Wishing you all the best for 2017!
