Shit. Another year ends. And soon we get to do this all over again! How lucky are we! So as 2017 draws to a close, I’m finally back home after 2 months of constant travelling, sitting at my local shisha place, smoking, internally shaking my booty to the music, chatting to company I have with me tonight, yet at the same time thinking what has happened these past 12 months. And there has been a lot. Although it did take me some time to separate out last year from this year. As for me personally, they very much merged into one. In any case, join me on a journey of 2017 from yours truly’s perspective.

(A small caveat, everything written is really my thoughts, my journey, I may come across vain, arrogant, naive, boring and even stupid. You would think I would have a point now to make after this declaration, but I don’t. Just a blanket statement).

Wow! This year has been a bit of a rollercoaster of the unknown, emotions and survival. The first quarter was really make or break from an own business perspective. The seeds planted the year before, they had to bloom in these first three critical months. Time was of the essence as my regular income would soon cease come middle of the year. “No”, “sorry”, “not the right time”, “…” and more similar responses. I started to reflect on what happened, why the seeds were not blooming as I had hoped and planned for. It was a mixture of things and this is something where I explore more deeply in another article than here. Needless to say this story is NOT over, it’s intermission time. However reality was soon setting in, I had to find something to ensure I could put food on the table. Earlier this year I started this blog off with an article called Project Get Life Back Together.  It was during this time, I was getting rejections after rejections for jobs, wall of silence from recruitment consultants and my own self worth questioned. Already faced with failure in the first part of the year, I was slowly heading into the realms of depression. But I did not, there was no way I was going to let that happen. I was given the gift of time, I liked to call myself an entrepreneur, a survivor, a guy who always tried to make the best of everything. So I sat down and I wrote. I wrote and wrote and wrote. Anything that came into my head, all the things I had a passion for, all the things I could do, all my options no matter how far fetched. I then acted on these ‘initiatives’. Boy did I learn a lot, and I had some fun along the way for sure. Only I could do this, I had to work for this, I was done waiting for destiny, I wanted to make destiny follow me. However I wasn’t in this alone. No matter what little I had left in me, I remembered I had the biggest and greatest weapon of all… my faith.

To a lot of peoples opinion of me, many are surprised at my view and take on religion. Specifically in the fact that I practice. Because I’m such a good-looking bad boy. Of course I can always be better, and lately I really need to get back on track. It was during Ramadan, that I focussed on my faith. I read, prayed and fasted. With one sole intention, to be a better muslim. In my supplication I asked to give me something to provide me income, be it a job, business, whatever. I asked to keep my family safe and happy. I prayed, I worked, I asked. I prayed, I worked, I asked. I prayed, I worked, I asked. Someone very close to me sent me the below. Take it however you want to, it helped me at a critical moment. But, its not like you just ask and then go eat a sandwich. You still have to work for it! As long as I knew i was working, in many ways harder than any other time in my life, I would get what I needed (not wanted, a small but significant difference).

 

Very soon after, I got an opportunity. It was like the perfect opportunity to fit my life. Thankful to the person who got in touch, thankful to my mother who I know prayed day and night for me, thankful to my son for continuing to push myself to work harder, thankful to my son’s mother and her unnerving sense of guidance and support, thankful to my family who I knew would be there if I fell but mostly thankful to the One. Closing off this year, looking at the rear view mirror and heading into the new year, if theres one thing I need to keep my focus on, it is my faith. It is the underlying foundation. I still have a lot of work to do moving ahead, finances need to get back on track, plans B, C and D, goal and targets for retirement. A lot of work, but the sense of maturity gained in these past 12 months, I welcome it, instead of going back to sleep. We can do this! So now that all the serious, sombre look back is out of the way, join me on the fun things this year in Part 2 – Socially Fit.