(Originally published 1/1/19 on Medium.com

I had BIG plans for 2018! LivestockCity was not only going to finally launch but also crush it! We were going to have every investor’s attention. I was going to finally leave my annoying day job too! I was going to run the NYC Marathon. Those were most of my 2018 goals, and I didn’t hit any of these goals in 2018. In fact I wasn’t even close. Despite running, I had even developed high blood pressure for the summer months and had to do physical therapy on my shoulder. I had the lowest total miles in a year (<700 miles) since 2013. I didn’t consider 2017 that great of a year, but in comparison to 2018, even 2017 wasn’t so bad.

The Good Things About 2018

1) It is good to keep things in the proper perspective. Maybe I don’t like my day job, but it does pay my bills and allows me to do the projects I love with the flexible work schedule that I have. My health is good now, and I’m able to practice martial arts and run marathons. Of course we sometimes take these types of things for granted, and it’s good to remember things could always be worse. So while I didn’t hit many goals in 2018, at least it wasn’t a lot of tragic things, and for that I’m grateful.

2) Things are better than they seem on paper. LivestockCity expanded the team this year with some talented people that have helped us progress in areas we lacked before, such as app development. Also, our co-founder, Brian, has rejoined the team. We also have help from some partners overseas in developing our site. We should have a launch in the near future, definitely early 2019.

3) Secret project #1. This project has potential, and I think it could be ready in 2019.

4) Secret project #2. This is one is very fresh. I’m learning Python/Django and applying what I learn to this project. Compared to LivestockCity, this project not nearly as complex and could also launch in 2019.

5) We are taking on web projects to raise money for LivestockCity, under the name Llama Genius. Several sites were completed in 2018 with two currently under development.

High Anticipation for 2019

2019 will be the year that LivestockCity will launch. And maybe the “secret projects” will too. I plan to not seek investors — if I get their attention, they can approach me (except for a couple that I have met and know a little). I hope this is the year I can leave my full time position and go off on my own.

For those that are helping me on my projects, I hope it enhances their careers either working with me in the future or landing a great job elsewhere.

I plan to continue running and will enter that NYC marathon lottery again! If nothing else, I will be working towards getting my miles back up. I’ll also continue training in freestyle karate and hopefully advance more in ranks.

I’m looking forward to a better year than 2018 — how about you? Happy New Year everyone!