2024 Annual Review
Reflecting on the year that I lived in an urban environment, continued to build startup experience, and celebrated dear friends.
Outline
I. Introduction
II. Quick Hits
III. 2024 Goals Assessment
IV. 2025 Goal Setting
VI. 2024 Photos of The Year
Appendix: How I Prepared The Review
I. Introduction
This is the story of who I was in 2024, who I am seeking to become in 2025, and a continuation of my pursuit of a life well-lived.
In 2022, I built, explored, executed, and had a handful of van break downs.
In 2023, I settled, failed, succeeded, celebrated, served, and refined.
In 2024, I developed confidence in my intuition through failure, celebrated, and served.
In 2025, I will alter my goal structure to Quests. These are 3 month - 5 year goals that I'm in pursuit of.
By writing these Quests down here, I make it known that others can and should hold me accountable to my word. It is also my hope that, in some way, these words, goal structures, and feedback mechanisms are of use to you in your own pursuit of a life well-lived.
If so, or if I can be of any help to you for your 2025 goals, drop me a note at hello@joshcadorette.com
Cheers.
II. Quick Hits
Newsletters published: 0
Twitter growth: took a hiatus from twitter
Live Show of the Year: Glass Animals
Newsletter growth: stopped sending newsletters
Essays published:
0
Top habit formed: meditation
Top habit removed: continued to stay off of Facebook/IG and didn't drink.
Coolest piece of tech I used: HitTrax
Content I consumed the most of:
Andrew Huberman
Proudest achievement: trying to be adaptable
Most profound concept I learned: You Might Be a Late Bloomer
My top podcasts: John Mark Comer Teachings, Timothy Keller Sermons
Most fun piece of writing I produced: N/A
Biggest challenge: startup grind
Top 3 Artists: Odesza, Kendrick Lamar, The 1975
Most grateful for: failing at building a sustainable business
Top Reading Materials: Axios Raleigh
Favorite interaction with a stranger: stumbled across a guy doing a DJ set with a saxophone in Salida, Colorado for my buddy Mike's bachelor party. It was a blast.
Most joyous moment: giving a woman a hug and loading her car with essentials in WNC in the days following the hurricane.
Most meaningful piece of writing I produced: N/A
Most serendipitous moment: met a guy named Will at church one evening. He invited me to his Tuesday night men's Bible study. I've been going ever since, and the guys have become dear friends.
Top 3 questions I kept asking myself this year:
- Am I in the right place?
- Am I surrounded by the right people?
- Am I pursuing the right mission?
My 2024 headline: “Guy continues to weather the storm of startup volatility. No one is forcing him to be exposed to the elements of entrepreneurship. He's making the choice himself despite continued trial and tribulation."
IV. 2024 Goals Assessment
Key
(✅) - accomplished
(❌) - failed
Bottom line up front:
5/10 goals are marked as accomplished and 5/10 goals are marked as failed.
50% hit rate means that I spread myself too thin this year. I'll be moving towards a more focused and less rigid structure for my 2025 goals.
❌ - 1. 📚 Read The Bible Cover to Cover
- Original plan of attack: 1. Consume The Bible Project overviews before jumping into a new book 2. Read the book and take notes in a study bible (ESV) 3. Recap that day's reading alongside The Bible Study recap.
What I predicted would happen: this first time that I study the Bible will allow me to build a foundation of knowledge that I will build upon for years to come in future Bible studies.
What actually happened: I didn't start on this until August. So, I didn't get this done in 2024. This did, however, lead to a daily scripture reading habit moving into 2025.
❌ - 2. 🧘♂️ Do Yoga Nidra Meditation 1x Daily
- Original Plan of attack: 1. Do yoga nidra 1x per day, every day in 2024. 2. Read
Breath by James Nestor,
Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke, and
How Emotions are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett.
What I predicted would happen: this will help me be more present, regulate my dopamine, and increase motivation. The supplemental reading will also help empower me with the knowledge to increase my emotional health score, which was a bit low this year.
What actually happened: I didn't do yoga nidra every single day, but I did do it more consistently moved away from my desire to read
✅ - 3. 🗣️ Eliminate Uptalk, Except for When I'm Asking Questions
- Original Plan of attack: pay more attention to the intonation and tone in my voice (especially when I am explaining things), and invite people in my life to provide feedback.
My prediction: I'm going to be annoyed with myself at first as I battle this, but I'll eventually be able to hear myself do it and stop it.
What actually happened: I got rid of it.
✅ - 4. 🏋️ Get Stronger, Leaner, and Improve Endurance
- Original plan of attack: 1. Track my VO2 max, body composition (via DEXA scan), and bloodwork 2x a year. 2. Purchase a Garmin watch to track my steps, sleep, and HRV. 3. Read Peter Attia's
Outlive,
The Circadian Code by Satchin Panda, and
Spark by John J. Ratey.
My prediction: I'm going to build a more holistic picture of my health and will continue to gain the knowledge to improve my health on this front.
What actually happened: I purchased a Garmin watch (love it), read Outlive, and skimmed Circadian Code + Spark.
✅ - 5. ⛔ No Alcohol, Instagram, or Facebook
- Original plan of attack: no scrolling on FB or IG and no drinking.
My prediction: I'll get it done and be better for it.
What actually happened: I got it done.
❌ - 6. 🖊️ Publish 2 Written Pieces a Month
- Original plan of attack: 1. Maintain weekly cadence on Beehiiv until work/travel slows down in Q1 so that I don't kill my momentum 2. Switch to Substack for professional writing but keep Beehiiv for personal updates (such as quarterly reviews) 3. Publish 2 pieces a month with greater depth on Substack
My prediction: I'll be sad to ease off of Beehiiv when the day comes, but I'll build more connections on Substack.
What actually happened: I stopped publishing online completely.
✅ - 7. 🧠 Study Psychology, Technology, and Theology + Build Network in This Space
- Original Plan of Attack: 1. Take an online master's degree course in psychology in the spring to uncover if this is truly a route that I want to pursue (and also if I'm ready to jump back into structured learning). 2. Find out which researchers in the space are working on the most interesting topics. Start with Gloria Mark and Nita Faraheny. I'm also going to monitor the Center for Humane Technology's social feeds to identify any new research that is published which I might fight interesting.
My prediction: I think that I'll enjoy this work and conversations will naturally flow with new connections because I enjoy the convergence of these topics so much.
What actually happened: I took a data science course in late 2024 and a psych course in early 2025.
✅ - 8. ⚾ Coach and Play Baseball
- Original Plan of attack: coach Little League with Chris Breslin and pitch/play shortstop for the Durham Dirtbags.
My prediction: I'm going to make good memories, great friends, and consume a lot of sunflower seeds.
What actually happened: I spent a lot of time on the diamond both coaching and playing.
❌ - 9. 💵 Perform Monthly Audits on My Budget
- Original Plan of attack: 1. Set-up a budgeting system. 2. Review it by the end of the first week the following month and make any necessary adjustments.
My prediction: this will allow me to be more confident in my purchases and the way in which I am generous with my money. This will also help me get my financial well-being score up from last year.
What actually happened: I did my monthly audits roughly half of the time.
❌ - 10. 🥾 Go on a Week-Long Backpacking Trip
- Original Plan of attack: 1. Sign-up for a NOLS course to go backpacking for a week somewhere in the US in 2024.
My prediction: I will be grateful that I made the time to do this. Physical health is a gift. We've got to challenge ourselves and explore while we've got it.
What actually happened: I went on one backpacking trip for 3 days and did one week in Brevard, NC in a cabin.
V. 2025 Quests
TBD
VI. 2024 Photos of the Year
Appendix: How I Prepared The Review
I read every piece of writing that I produced in 2024. This included 100+ pages in a handwritten journal that I recorded privately.
While reading all of my writing, I followed
Tim Ferris’ lead. I sorted out what things were positive and negative influences in my life into a simple t-chart. This helped inspire the "Quick Hits" section (which you can think of as the superlatives of the year).
Thanks for reading until the end.
Wishing good health and happiness.
Please let me know if I can be of any help to you with your Quests in '25 (hello@joshcadorette.com).