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Life List

2011 State of the Union

Following on from last year’s review, I’m taking this opportunity to review 2011 – what I’ve achieved and what I’ve learnt!

What happened in 2011

  • I got simple and minimal – I reached my minimalism goals of about 100 items!
  • Started freelancing again – I quit my fulltime job yay!
  • Co-founded a startup! – I joined forces with Rob to go on the most exciting adventure building amazing products!
  • Improved my front end skills – I became more and more proficient at front-end coding, mostly due to the goal above!
  • Travel! – I went to Paris, Amsterdam, and the West Coast of the USA (where this post is being written from!)
  • Did more life list items -My aim was to cross one life list item off a month – I am pleased to say that I achieved 13 life list goals this year. Yay!

What I learnt in 2011

2011 was an incredible year of growth and self-discovery for me. There was so much change in the past year, that I really feel like I have learned a huge amount. Here are a few lessons that stuck out:

  • I need much less than I think I do. – My minimalism journey this year has really taught me about the beautiful experience of having less things that are more precious.
  • Think less, do more, push for even more – This was a year where I really left my comfort zone and made a huge leap in a different direction in my career. It was vital for me to stop worrying about what if I jumped off the proverbial cliff. Instead, I started worrying about what would happen if I didn’t do it – absolutely nothing would change. I worried about how boring that would be. And made the change.
  • Build something and SHIP IT! – Creating stuff has always been extremely important to me. What was highlighted this year was the importance of getting out into the big wide world what I build! If you don’t ship, if you don’t let people see what it is you are creating, if you don’t let people experience your creation, what the hell is the point.
  • Partner with people who challenge you – One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt this year is the huge value in finding people who push your boundaries. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have a stellar group of people surrounding me this past year.

Life list items completed:

  • Chill out in Amsterdam
  • Visit the Grand Canyon
  • Win/lose money in Vegas
  • Visit all 50 States of America: Arizona, California, Nevada
  • Photograph couples under the Eiffel Tower
  • Be my own boss
  • Give a presentation in front of a small number of people
  • Find out about my genetic history
  • Own less than 150 things
  • Go to a Take That gig

By Yael

Hi, I'm Yael - pronounced Yah-Elle! Born in Brazil, live in North London, but my heart belongs anywhere tropical! I own a tiny stationery company called Little Goat Supplies, and I spend all my spare time dreaming of prints and colours! My other loves include eating good steaks, tasting rum cocktails and finding good skincare products!

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