2024: A Personal Year In Review
Here are some of the things I did this year. (I used to write recaps like this in years past.)
Signed a Book Contract
That’s right — I’m publishing my first novel in 2025 with Blue Ink Press. I’ll provide more updates as we go along, but I’m currently in the editing phase. This would be my fourth book, all of which are about storytelling.
Speaking of books, I also read over 70 books during 2024 — including more classic novels. Check me out on Goodreads to see what I read.
Cruised the Mediterranian
My wife and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this year, so we planned a big international trip. We got on a boat and visited Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Greece. You can read all about the trip here. Or check out some photos I took on my Pexels account.
Got Better at Jiu-Jitsu
I started practicing Brazillian jiu-jitsu in 2023 and continued this during this year. It’s been an outstanding physical, mental, emotional, and social experience.
Because it’s one of the most difficult martial arts, I really sucked at first, but I’ve gotten better. I earned my second and third stripes on my white belt and hope to earn my blue belt in 2025.
Won an Award
I’ve been involved with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce over the last few years, and they honored me as one of two Next Generation Award winners in 2024. This was given out by their Young Professionals group. GreenMellen was also named a top 25 small business in the county for the fourth year in a row.
Lead Storytelling Workshops
My freelance work used to be entirely marketing copywriting. I stopped doing that in 2023 (because of time) and I’ve since taken up more speaking engagements and leading storytelling workshops.
I got to work with several great local brands including Sercante, Corporate Environments of Georgia, UGA Small Business Development Center, SCORE Mentoring, and AMA Atlanta. I also have several more engagements lined up already for 2025.
Published in a Marketing Publication
I was curious about how people use artificial intelligence for online search, so I did a massive experiment and reported my findings. I pitched and got this experiment published in HubSpot, one of the largest marketing sites. You can also read about my methodology here.
My quotes were mentioned in seven different online publications — including Entrepreneur.com, Embed Social, Marketing Executive, and B2B Marketer. I use a new tool called Featured to respond to questions and get featured in articles like this.
Some Other Random Things I Did
- I switched to more privacy-focused digital tools.
- I attended the Digital Summit Atlanta marketing conference.
- I became more responsible about my news consumption.
- I donated blood four times to the Red Cross.
- I served on the board of directors for AMA Atlanta.
- I participated in a local author event at a Marietta library.
- I started meditating, but want to work on this practice in 2025.
- I completed a marketing certificate from the American Marketing Association.
- I joined BlueSky and Threads. But not TikTok — never TikTok.
- I secretly launched a new online project about reading.
Things I Hope to Do In 2025
- Have a successful launch of my novel in the fall
- Earn at least another stripe in jiu-jitsu
- Practice meditation to manage stress
- Spend more time outdoors with my family
- Try something new like running a triathlon, open mic standup comedy, or archery
