2018 completely rocked my world. It was by far the most challenging year I’ve encountered as a human. Here’s a quick summary on the things I experienced and learned.
From 1 Kid to 2
My daughter, Sepia Grace Jafarian, was born on February 4th, 2018. Her birth and entry into this world was much faster/smoother for all parties involved. But now that we’re home and growing we’ve realized why every other parent of 2+ looks at you crazy when you say you want more than one.
Making the jump from one child to two is no joke. Don’t get me wrong, we had plenty of fair warning from other parents who’ve done the jump, but you simply have to experience it for yourself. The responsibility and chaos doubles for sure. The love and reward doubles as well though! So I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In fact, I’m ready for number 3! But first, a little downtime and traveling with my wife 😃
Becoming Meat Free
My wife (Gabrielle) decided to pursue the Vegan lifestyle back in March. She cut meat out within a few weeks and has been paving the way for all of us to follow. I’m on a pretty strict pescatarian diet myself, which limits my non-plant intake to fish, eggs and some various dairy products.
Eating plants is definitely a cleaner lifestyle. It’s amazing how much focus we put on meat and the attention it commands. It’s also quite fascinating [and annoying at times] with how much attention it attracts. In other words, people are shocked by this when we tell them Gabrielle is now vegan.
I’ll write up another post on that soon.
Business Growth
2018 was the year I really accelerated things with my businesses – both MemberDev and CM Fusion. I put some growth strategies in place with our teams that helped move both businesses forward. From hiring to firing and everything in between, the year was packed with lots of new insight and learning.
That said, I also encountered massive growing pains that were unforeseen, and now I’m taking steps to scale some things back. There’s A LOT more that happens behind the scenes of growing businesses, especially in the early stages. More on that in a future post.
Mindset Shift
The most significant change in my life for 2018 was a shift in mindset. I read upwards of 20 books, listened to numerous podcasts, and even hired a mentor (business coach) to help me do some deep self-reflection. The result was a different way of looking at things – i.e. a shift in mindset.
I could go on and on about this topic, and I intend to write more about mindset soon, but for now I’ll just summarize some of the things I’m thinking about differently:
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More money will not equate to more success or happiness. In fact, it may do the opposite.
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Your children only grow up once, so take every opportunity to enjoy that experience.
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Embrace empathy as there’s always a different perspective to what you see.
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Lose your ego – it does nothing but damage.
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You can find far more purpose and fulfillment in helping others than serving yourself.
And that’s it, folks. Bring on 2019!
Ali Jafarian
Ali is a father, husband and serial entrepreneur with a deep drive to create. He writes, records, codes and builds things to inspire the artist in all of us.
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