A good year for me

Despite the news about the economy, the war, and and everything else that went wrong in 08, overall I had a pretty good year. I am starting a new venture with my wife and one of my best friends, and I'm moving into some very unfamiliar territory that will involve a hybrid blend of running my own company, doing independent consulting, and working with other friends in business in the Baltimore Washington corridor. Here are a few things that have contributed to the changes I've made in 2008.
Aside from the fact that Jillian came into our lives, wrecking our social lives and wrapping her daddy around her little finger- I've identified a few key things that have benefitted me in the past year.
1. I read GTD Getting Things Done This book really helped me increase my rate of productivity and showed me where I was wasting a substantial amount of time shuffling paper and responding to extraneous tugs on my time.
2. I read The Four Hour Work Week If GTD showed me how much time I was wasting, The 4 Hr Work Week showed me what else I could be doing with that time. This book really sent me on the social networking search, and opened my mind to the idea of multiple revenue streams.
3. I bought a Moleskine Through all of the digital technology, multiple email accounts, and PDA/ phones- there is still something inherently satisying about carrying a notebook, and scratching my thoughts down on real paper, in a real notebook.
4. I won an xbox from microsoft. This might not seem like a very big deal, but it showed me a benefit to be had by staying engaged in technology, and staying in the know with what is happening in the tech world. I attended their Heroes events, and wound up grabbing two copies of Vista.
5. I joined the local Linux user's group, bought a laptop from Dell that came preloaded with Ubuntu, and then set it up to dual-boot with Vista, and came to realize that I'm an OS agnostic. I'm not a die-hard linux guy, and I'm not a MS clone. I use what works best for what I need. Hardware and software are tools. There's nothing emotional about it.
6. I made a conscious decision to focus my efforts in an area where I already have expertise. I'm an HVAC guy who knows how to use technology, not a tech guy stuck doing HVAC. There's a subtle difference there, but it has helped me re-vamp my online presense, and has led me. to where I am.
7. I started a facilities-related blog dedicated to helping building maintenance & facilities techs do their job better called maintenance mastery, and I actually have a couple loyal readers!
8. I discovered Twitter. Join, follow me and become involved in the social networking community.
9. I found out about Zigbee. I'll talk more about this once Enercient gets up and running.
10. I quit my job when the economy was at an all-time low. For more info- see item 9.
I can't look into a crystal ball and see what the future holds 100%, but I do know that I have a complete focus, a vision for my life, and the tools necessary to be both successful and influential in the coming generation.
Stay tuned and Happy New Year!