Welcome to my Year in Review. 👋
This is where I’ll share the good and bad things that happened in my business (and life) during the 2023 calendar year.
I started doing this back in 2018, the year I officially became my own boss.
This year makes six in a row!
Time flies when you’re having fun, and 2023 was no exception.
All thanks to AI, which is the theme of this year’s review. 🤖
So, keep reading if you want to learn more.
But first…
Why Write an Annual Review?
Here’s my reasoning:
- To acknowledge what I accomplished: Highlighting the good things that happened can help me build confidence and momentum in the future.
- To review the goals I didn’t achieve and any failures along the way: This helps me see where I need to improve to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Note: Writing these reviews takes a lot of time and effort. But, each year, once it’s finished, I’m always glad that I did.
A Look Back at My Goals for 2023:
Here are my goals for 2023 that I shared in last year’s annual review:
1. Publish 175 New Articles (On My Main Website)
I absolutely smashed this goal thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).
To be more specific, thanks to ChatGPT.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT. It’s a cutting-edge AI tool that has revolutionized the way content is created.
And I’ve certainly been taking advantage of its capabilities to create new articles for my websites.
What once took hours or even days for a single article now takes minutes with ChatGPT.
This is how I was able to publish 380 articles this year, which is far more than the goal I initially set.
Not to mention, the image above of me as a cyborg was also created with AI.
What it’s already capable of doing is remarkable.
But do you want to know what’s scary? This is only the beginning.
Result: Complete ✅
Everything changed once ChatGPT was released. This is especially true for content creators around the world, like myself.
This year, I spent most of my time using AI to create new and improve old articles. This is why I had to choose AI for the theme of this year’s review.
2. Publish 10 New Articles (On This Website)
I only published two new articles on this website: The one you’re reading now and one about my income streams.
Therefore, I failed this one yet again.
I always plan to do more with the website, but I never do.
Maybe next year?
Result: Fail ❌
To be fair, I actually wrote a few travel-related articles to post on this site. However, I decided to create a new site exclusively for travel, and it makes more sense to publish ’em there.
Should I reveal the new travel site, or nah?
3. Publish 156 New YouTube Videos
My goal was to publish three videos per week on YouTube.
Unfortunately, I only published 121, so I didn’t quite reach this goal.
4. Surpass 1 Million Subscribers on YouTube
I published my first-ever YouTube video back in 2018. I recorded and edited everything myself, and let me tell you…
It was terrible.
I’m talking laughable-bad. 😅
(The kind-hearted folks in the comments section sure let me know about it, too.)
But I didn’t stop.
I kept making and publishing videos, and after a few months, guess what?
My videos were still bad!
But not quite as bad. There were some small signs of improvement.
So, I kept creating and publishing until my videos eventually started not to suck.
Over time, they got better and better, and my channel started to grow.
Five years and 775 videos later, I reached a milestone that only 0.028% of YouTube channels ever reach:
One million subscribers.
I’m honored and grateful to be one of the select few.
Result: Complete ✅
One million is cool and all, but it makes me wonder — what would 10 million feel like?
5. Invest in at Least 3 New Syndication Deals
A real estate syndication is a type of investment structure where multiple investors pool their money together to purchase a property, such as a multi-family apartment complex.
This investment approach allows individuals to invest in larger properties that they might not be able to afford or manage on their own.
I invest in syndications because they’re entirely passive after making an initial contribution.
My plan was to invest in at least three new syndication deals this year.
But I changed my mind.
In total, I invested in zero deals, meaning I did not achieve this goal.
Result: Fail ❌
I mainly chose not to invest in syndications this year due to the macroeconomic climate (i.e., rising interest rates). I’ll revisit once inflation cools and interest rates stabilize.
Besides, I expect 2024 to be a big year for crypto, so, to me, it didn’t make sense to tie up that much cash in multi-family real estate.
6. Read at Least 35 New Books
Here is a list of every book I read (or listened to) this year:
🔥 = highly recommend
- The Confidence Gap [Audiobook]
- Do Epic Shit [Audiobook]
- $100m Offers [Kindle] 🔥
- Twelve and a Half [Audiobook]
- Buy Back Your Time [Audiobook] 🔥
- An Effective Life [Audiobook]
- 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires [Audiobook]
- The Art of Less Doing [Audiobook]
- The Mental Toughness Advantage [Audiobook]
- The Lords of Easy Money [Audiobook]
- How to Achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early [Audiobook]
- The Power of Self-Coaching [Audiobook]
- How to Own Your Own Mind [Audiobook]
- The Mask of Masculinity [Audiobook]
- Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Positive Thinking [Audiobook]
- The New Common Denominator of Success [Kindle]
- My Philosophy for Successful Living [Audiobook]
- Time Management [Audiobook] 🔥
- Money in the Streets [Audiobook]
- Get Smart [Audiobook]
- Prosperity Consciousness [Audiobook] 🔥
- The Conduit Method 2.0 [PDF]
- The Magic Ladder to Success [Audiobook] 🔥
- The Law of Success [Audiobook]
- Creativity & Problem Solving [Audiobook]
- Have it All [Audiobook]
- The Business Owner’s Guide to Financial Freedom [Audiobook] 🔥
- The Science of Money [Audiobook]
- Make More Money [Audiobook]
- The Science of Motivation [Audiobook]
- It’s Not About the Money (Bob Proctor) [Audiobook]
- It’s Not About the Money [Audiobook]
- Achieve Any Goal [Audiobook]
- Silva Ultramind Systems Persuasive Thoughts [Audiobook]
- How to be Heard [Audiobook]
- How to be a 3% Man [Audiobook]
- Stealing Fire [Audiobook]
- Shut Up and Listen! [Audiobook] 🔥
- Elon Musk (Walter Isaacson) [Audiobook] 🔥
- Never Finished [Audiobook]
Result: Complete ✅
I read/listened to 40 new books this year, which means that I was able to accomplish this goal. I consumed far more audiobooks than physical or Kindle books, thanks to Audible.
7. Travel to a New Country
This year, I traveled to:
- Mexico
- Bahamas
Result: Complete ✅
I’d never been to the Bahamas before, so I was able to check a new country off my list. We enjoyed beautiful beaches, fine dining, and, of course, swimming with pigs.
8. Travel to 4 New Cities in the United States
Here are the cities I traveled to this year:
- Memphis, TN
- Nashville, TN
- South Lake Tahoe, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Oxford, MS
- Athens, GA
- Atlantic City, NJ
Result: Fail ❌
Only 3 of the cities listed were new, so I did not accomplish this goal.
9. Attend 2 Business Live Events
I attended the Wealthcon event in Los Angeles, CA, this year.
Unfortunately, that was the only one, so I did not accomplish this goal.
Result: Fail ❌
I hope to attend more events in 2024.
10. Complete at Least 400 Workouts
If you’re doing the math in your head, you may have noticed that my goal for workouts exceeded the total number of days in a year.
This means, to achieve this goal, I needed to complete two or more workouts on several days throughout the year.
Result: Complete ✅
I completed a total of 542 workouts this year, meaning that I easily accomplished this goal.
This wasn’t difficult at all, thanks to my standing desk and treadmill pad that allows me to walk 5-6 miles every morning while working.
11. Check at Least 5 Things Off My Bucket List
I started a bucket list several years ago to focus on the experiences and long-term goals I want to accomplish.
This year, I was able to check off several things, including:
- Do 1,000 pushups in a day
- Travel to Los Angeles, CA
- Travel to the Bahamas
- Swim with pigs
- Get 1 million subscribers on YouTube
- Visit a new SEC football stadium (Georgia)
- Try caviar
- Try escargot
- Try sea urchin
Result: Complete ✅
I checked 9 items off my bucket list; therefore, I met my goal for the year.
My Goals for 2024:
Here are my goals for the coming year:
- Publish 445 new articles (on my main website)
- Publish 10 new articles (on this website)
- Publish 208 new YouTube videos
- Launch a new YouTube channel
- Launch a new product
- Create a new income stream
- Read at least 35 new books
- Travel to 2 new countries
- Travel to 4 new cities in the United States
- Complete at least 500 workouts
- Check at least 10 things off my bucket list
I share my goals publicly because it keeps me accountable, which increases my likelihood of achieving them.
I also revisit my goals on the 1st day of each month to check my progress.
This helps keep them fresh so I can stay on track to reach them by the end of the year.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for spending a few moments of your valuable time reading my Year in Review.
Hopefully, something I shared can help or inspire you in some way.
In closing, I’ll leave you with a short poem, courtesy of ChatGPT:
Roses are red, violets are blue,
I’m Brant, and you are you.
In a year that’s flown, from start to end,
We’ve seen the highs and lows, my friend.
Through every joy, through every sorrow,
Lessons learned to shape tomorrow.
Thank you for reading, for being here,
Your presence alone brings great cheer.
May the words I’ve shared, in their own way,
Inspire, uplift you, come what may.
As we bid farewell to 2023,
Let’s embrace the future, you and me.
Together, let’s make the year anew,
Brighter, better, for me and you.
Written by:
Brant Reader
Brant Reader is a serial entrepreneur who runs a portfolio of websites and grew a YouTube channel to more than one million subscribers. He is passionate about health, fitness, investing, traveling, and helping others do the same.