Reflecting on 10 Years

These last few days, I’ve been reflecting on the decade 2000 – 2009 (aka the “Noughties”). What a lot I accomplished!

At the start of the Noughties, I was still in school. I did year 13 while I worked full time because I was homeschooled and there were still a lot of subjects I wanted to study, but didn’t have time to by the end of year 12.

In 10 years, I (in no particular order):

• graduated highschool;
• completed 2 degrees (bachelor of law and bachelor of arts majoring in history), both with a Distinction (A) average, while holding down a full time job;
• got 100% in a major property law assignment at uni;
• met, dated and married the girl of my dreams;
• travelled to Europe twice;
• sang with my choir for Pope John Paul II in front of a live audience of 250,000, plus a few million more on tv;
• had an extraordinary honeymoon in Fiji;
• saw snow for the first time;
• travelled to Sydney (x2), Melbourne and Cairns;
• was a groomsman twice;
• had a successful (though short) career as a lawyer with one of the most reputable lawfirms in my city;
• quit a well paying, steady job for the uncertainty of running my own business;
• taught myself html, php, javascript, seo and basic French;
• built over 50 websites;
• was a judge in a university level international mock court competition alongside professors, District Court Judges and Senior Counsel;
• moved out of my parents’ house;
• published an article in the main property magazine in my city;
• put on 30 kg of muscle (without steroids lol);
• won 8 indoor soccer grand finals, receiving player of the year once and player of the finals once;
• won the “golden boot” award in outdoor soccer for most goals scored in the league that season;
• captained my outdoor soccer team to a grand final;
• and so much more!

I’m not saying any of this to brag. It just makes me think – if I did all this in 10 years, how much will I do in the next 10 years?

I believe we’re all in the same position. Sometimes, looking at accomplishments in one year isn’t enough: we need to take a 10 year view. It all adds up!

I’m sure you’ve also had an incredible 10 years! Think about and write down all the things you’ve done over the last 10 years that you’re most proud of. If you choose to publish them online, let me know in the comments below – I’d love to read them.

It makes me so excited for the future!

It reminds me that I’m in control of my destiny. I’ve already got a reference point for success. I know that I’m at least capable of all this over the relatively short space of 10 years. To do amazing things over the next 10 years, I just need to do the same thing over again – just keep taking advantage of opportunities.

I strongly encourage you to reflect over the last 10 years. Write it down and keep it somewhere you can look at it regularly. When you’re down and feeling overwhelmed, it’ll remind you how far you’ve come already and how great your potential for the future is.

You’re amazing. Never forget that.