4 lessons from 2024
2024 was a year that brought massive change.
For the second time in my life, I packed up my belongings into cardboard boxes, scribbled some labels with a permanent marker and hoped I would see them again.
This time it was returning back to Australia — 12,000km across the pacific ocean.
After 10 years away, I had no idea just how much change this year would bring.
It was a year of challenges, wins and change.
Here’s what stuck for me — and lessons learned that might help you on your journey.
The Strength to Change Directions
The year started heavy.
My second startup wasn’t going to make it to the billion dollar outcome we had focused everyone on.
After two years of building, grinding and iterating — we had customers, revenue, and a solid team, but we just weren’t growing fast enough to secure the next round of funding.
That realization was tough. I’d failed. Let myself down, my team, and my family too.
Failure is a lonely feeling. It gnaws at you and makes you question your choices.
But here’s the thing I found: once I accepted it, it became freeing.
By mid-Q1, I accepted it wasn’t going to end as planned and made peace with it. We pivoted to selling the company and found a great acquirer with the bigger player in the industry.
The shift was this. Letting go of the old plan and committing to the new one with gusto.
If you’re struggling with something — what would happen if I just let go and chose a new path?
Escaping The Waiting Place
By Q2, the company sold.
Selling the company should have felt like a win. But instead, I felt untethered.
Disconnected from my identity as a founder and unsure about what came next.
My wife and I had been away for 10 years from Australia.
With my parents growing older and wanting our two girls to spend more time with their cousins, we made the decision to move back to Australia.
But things like that don’t happen overnight. It takes months of planning.
I found myself in the waiting place from Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.
The Waiting Place is that limbo where people are waiting for the next thing to happen.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
Man, I was deep in The Waiting Place.
I see it in others too.
Whether it’s staying in a job you don’t love, staying in a relationship that’s lost its spark, or just feeling stuck in general.
Only you can pull yourself out of The Waiting Place.
If you ever find yourself there, remember action moves you forward.
Life isn’t going to hand you the next chapter.
Letting Go
Moving a family 12,000km across the Pacific forces you to say goodbye to a lot of things. Physically and emotionally.
So you declutter — a lot.
It’s not just packing boxes. It’s a weirdly emotional process.
Similar to death meditation. One Marie Kondo might even approve.
You imagine putting everything in your life — your stuff, your relationships, your memories, even yourself — on a platform. Then imagine it all disappearing.
When you sit with that for a second. It feels empty. Uncomfortable. Maybe even sad.
But then, piece by piece, you bring it all back.
Your family, your friends, your favorite jacket. And suddenly, you feel this crazy wave of gratitude for everything you have.
Packing up for the move felt like that exercise. 17 boxes to the thrift store, filled with things I thought mattered until I realized they didn’t.
Meaning isn’t in your stuff.
It’s not even in your hands — it’s in your heart, in the people you love, and the memories you carry.
What would you cherish if you had to let go of everything?
Cleaning your room first
The move was hectic — visas, new passports, enrollments, endless to-dos, and working out of hallways — but it taught me a lot.
My life felt chaotic because everything around me was chaotic.
A messy environment led to a messy mind.
When we finally landed back in Australia. I was ready to rebuild.
I realized I couldn’t be the best version of myself or help anyone else if my own life was disorganized. It’s like that airplane rule — put your own oxygen mask on first.
For me, that meant:
- Setting up a proper workspace.
- Building routines around health and fitness.
- Finding small ways to get back in a community rhythm.
Once I got myself sorted, I found I had more energy to help others.
It taught me success doesn’t just happen. You’ve got to design your environment, routines, and life to set yourself up for it.
What’s one change you could make today to design an environment that supports your success?
