2009 Wrap Up

As 2009 is drawing to a close and i’m off on a sunny holiday in a few days I thought i’d write a wrap up post of 2009 as no doubt i’ll just not end up doing writing it.

At the start of 2009 I made some resolutions for the upcoming year. Just looking back at those now realise how quickly a year can fly by and how things can change along the way.

One of my big goals was to get some strength and I can proudly say that I achieved this as if you read my previous post you will know that I have gained loads of weight and i’m getting comments that i’m looking a lot more healthy. I can currently squat 85KG which is a canny bit of weight on your back for a lightweight like me.

I did eventually get my room sort of tidied but this has since gotten bad again and have piles and piles of shit on my desk which makes being productive more difficult.  I’ve still been wasting a lot of time by getting up late on weekends, too much TV and a lot of idle internet browsing.  However, although I have not been doing a lot, I have probably learned more this year than I ever have and I plan on taking this knowledge into 2010 to actually do stuff.

I really wanted to get some big things planned for Newcastle Poker Forum this year but they just didn’t happen so are now planned for next year. The organic growth of the community has just been phenomenal and i’m really proud of what I created.  It is great that I have allowed people to make new friends, some who would probably have never even talked to each other if it wasn’t for the forum. I’ve been reading some articles on what makes a successful community and I can say that it ticks all those boxes.

With my earlier reference to how things can change I was specifically referring to my poker. I had goals of building a bankroll and keeping proper records but instead this has turned on its head and now I have so little interest in actually playing poker.  I don’t know the cause but the growth of Newcastle Poker Forum this year has probably had a big influence on my passion.

In 2009 I played a few big events including Liverpool Winter Festival, Virgin festival and the Sky Poker Tour Main Event which I got half staked for.  I gained a lot of experience playing in these and in the Sky Poker game I had just regained a bit of love for the game after being staked to then go out with a bad beat after making a great call.

Then for my 21st birthday I was fortunate to have been able to go to Las Vegas and got to stay in The Palazzo which is now the most luxurious hotel in Las Vegas. I had a great time as I recently posted and now plan on going back at least once a year.

The Future

Instead of doing goals for 2010, i’m looking at things I want to achieve in the future which are in no particular order.

• To build a blog style homepage for Newcastle Poker Forum so will be additional content to the user driven content of the forum. This should attract a new base of visitors into the Newcastle Poker community that are overwhelmed with the forum.
• Speak fluent Spanish.
• Live in another country for atleast 6 months.
• Learn to swim. I’m one of the millions that can’t do this essential life skill and has stopped me from doing the things that I really want to do and has brought fear in my life.
• Make friends with people that are more successful than I am.
• Build a sustainable income from the internet.
• Build my personal brand.
• Travel across America (planned for May/June 2010)
• Visit Australia and New Zealand.
• Find something i’m really passionate about to turn into a business.
• Be more confident and social.

This is all I can think of right now and I may add to it at another time. This may or may not be the last post of 2009 so i’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Do the things you love and if you are doing something you hate then stop doing it now!

If you also have some goals for the future, let me know in the comments.