New Year’s Resolutions Missed

Coming clean on falling flat in 2023

Anyone can throw together a semi-inspiring, self-absorbed, click-bait post on 1/1/23, a busy little bee promising to “Have it all in 2023” with “eight ways to live your best life and never look back”. Ugh. It’s time to come clean, acknowledging the ways I failed at achieving goals, and where to go next.

I should have let that fanciful little post wander off in the ether, unmolested by the harsh winds of reality, but instead (confident little tike), I promised to “report progress at yearend”.

Without further ado, let’s get into it…

Bright-eyed and bushy, I said don’t worry about risks of war, inflation, and totalitarianism. Focus on what you can control – career, business, family, health, investments, relationships, and homestead — letting the cockroaches play their game of thrones.

I beamed write down what you want, tape it to the mirror, then go get it (jumping around carefree, like Richard Simmons in leotard).

As if it were that easy? Goal setting is good, but yikes, I had some big misses.

Below are goals from that post, and where I Ianded with each-

A) Sell 10,000 better bedtime stories (so wildly optimistic it has my brain churning in overdrive, invigorated with the challenge…)

At least I warned it was optimistic. Across all channels, my fulfillment center shows 1,316 books ordered as of yearend. Big miss, just 13% of where I wanted to be.

At these volumes against a large inventory, InflationEducation.net loses money. Guess what? I’d love for it to be profitable, but I don’t do it for the money.

I make money elsewhere, inside the machine.

Writing the books and columns for your family is how I get out of the machine, calling bulls— on the broken, crooked, debt-based fiat money system, the one destroying the American Dream for your children and my own.

We cannot be a nation of American values – founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, personal responsibility, equality of opportunity, a capitalist meritocracy with free markets, limited government, and natural law, promising liberty and justice for all – living under a two-tiered, crony, fiat money system, rot at the very core of our social contract.

Someone has to tell it on the mountain, warn the kids, the hardworking families that don’t see, to scream it like Paul Revere, revealing how the system actually works, so they can use it. That’s a cross I can bear (and finance), a legacy if nothing else.

(For those new to our message, the US Constitution calls for sound – not fiat – money. What we have since 1971 is unsound, and not only unconstitutional, but quite literally the root of all the world’s biggest problems).

Our children deserve to know.

Still, 1,316 books… that’s not enough. We need to do better. That means we need to write more (and write better) on Substack, get invited on more podcasts, or learn to create better Facebook ads (I detest Facebook, and therefore suck at it).

The good news is, our return rate is minimal (2%), where industry averages are multiples of that, and most customers (62%) buy everything we publish.

Our customers like what we do. Thank you for that.

Interestingly, those who don’t buy everything either buy only The Beautiful Bitcoin Book, or everything else. The Bitcoin and Gold communities should come together. We are on the same team (as I tell my kids, about family).

Both forms of money are great, like Batman & Robin (or Robin & Batman), free, fair, antitheses to government fiat. Competition is wonderful.

B) Get to 175 pounds (from 190)

I worked early, drifting down to 184, then ended the year at 188.

Another 13% attainment (is this a trend?). I hit the gym daily, with a decent physique (aside from that growing belly), good eating habits, but simply lacked discipline in other areas (beer anyone?) with plenty of cheat days from my ‘good’ habits.

If you say you’re going to do something (and I did), you damn well better do it (and I didn’t).

No excuses, big failure.

C) Get to $20M in revenue (from $17M) in the other business I run (unrelated).

We closed the year at $18.2M, just 40% attainment, and to top it off, my position was eliminated. I found out in July, finishing the calendar year in the role. I took the news hard for a few days, then got excited about new opportunities.

I will miss the team, but am grateful and proud of our accomplishments, and that I never slacked. I gave it everything for 20+ years starting as an Account Rep in 2000, taking the leadership role these last few years. Even the last six months, informed my contract would not be renewed, I did the work to try to finish strong.

For that, I am happy.

Those were my SMART goals (specific and measurable, if not attainable). How did I do on the squishy ones recommended for us both?

• Be a kick-ass Dad or Mom.

Done, done, and done. My oldest son found my resolutions (near the mirror) and assured me this one is solid.

• Seize the day.

Done. I successfully Captained our 50-foot Catamaran in BVI with friends (picture above). We had a ball, and will do it again in March (yours truly back at the Helm).

• Don’t let another month go by without opening custodial brokerage accounts for your kids.

This was for you; I did it years ago.

My kids are beating the market. Here’s our foolproof, 10-step plan in our Ultimate Parent’s Guide to Money, Saving, & Investing if you need it.

Due to the power of compounding, putting this off is a huge mistake.

• Get out of your comfort zone (where the growth happens).

Never enough, but I can check this box.

As an example, I did New Warrior Training with the Mankind Project, way outside of my comfort zone, a worthwhile subject for another post.

• Stock a deep pantry; plenty of water and nonperishable foods, plus sock away some gold, silver, and Bitcoin (self-custody all of it).

All supplies are ready and routinely topped off. Check!

• Get our children’s books already.

This one is just for those who don’t have them yet. Whatcha waiting for?

As outlined above, this is a labor of love more than anything else, so if you truly cannot afford them, let us know. We’ll send them, free.

It’s that important that these stories find your family.

Cheers to a life well lived, and happy new year — successes and setbacks — but never for not stepping up to the plate and taking a swing.