What a year. I mean, wow. To be real…this has been the best year of my life. And I look back on all of my posts and just am slightly in awe of what has occurred. This post, is going to be a slight tribute to everything I have learned over the past year and what it means to me now. In fact, to do it properly there might have to be multiple posts because I’m sure I’m not going to nail everything on the first shot. So here we go 🙂

  1. Dream Big: 6 months ago, I decided to take a huge chance and go all in on creating my first book coming out of college. Well, we are about 11 days away from this becoming a reality, and forever I will be able to walk with the experience of barreling through fear and doing something I am incredibly passionate about. When you dream big, you give yourself the chance to become something much greater than what you are right now…because the journey is the transformational process, not the destination. But you have to take that first step.
  2. The Voice: Inside each of us, there is a voice that will tell you what to do. That is you. It is yourself in pure form and if you quiet down the rest of your world around you…you will be able to connect with this voice. When you can hear it loud and clear, you will follow your dreams.
  3. Loved Ones: One of my greatest fears that was overcome this year was the fear of losing loved ones. But through many many posts and learning from people around me, I found that people come in and out of your life for a reason…and to cherish the few that will always be there no matter what.
  4. Do It Now: If you are thinking about it, do it now. I mean…seriously. If something else can wait, get after it. The major thing I found out about myself is when an idea comes up in my head, I might let it wait. The problem with that is you lose motivational juice throughout the day…and if you wait too long…a good idea won’t have the battery power behind it when you need it.
  5. Write it down: If you need to do it, write it down. My phone is starting to become more and more packed with notes and calendar. It’s not that I don’t want to do something, for me or for another person, it’s just that I used to get so excited about something else that I forget. So…hail to writing things down haha and slowing down a bit to get it done.
  6. My Teachers: If you are reading this, and still in college, please go to office hours and talk to your teachers. I can’t tell you how many times I went in there and just talked to them about their lives and what were the major lessons they learned. You can learn major major nuggets of wisdom if you just ask people. In fact, whenever I go out to a bar or somewhere, I like to ask my elders what they have learned from life. It’s incredible when you listen.
  7. Writing: I had two amazing teachers this year who taught me how to write. Father. MC and Prof. Carroll. They taught me things that I will never forget. Fr. taught me, by having me write 3 page papers max, to take all the fat out of my writing. Prof. Carroll taught me many many things, but to always consider who I am writing to…and to consider why I am writing it. I must also give me HS teacher Mr. Nelson huge credit in sitting down with me most mornings and turning my disastrous writing into something special. I’ll never forget his message to me. “Tell them what you are going to tell them…tell them…and then tell them what you told them.” That one piece of advice changed my writing forever.
  8. The Past: I’ll put it straight, when you clear it up…you are free. You no longer carry baggage with you. Do it. I promise it is worth it.
  9. Fitness Goals: My body has transformed through a year of hard work and lifting weights. I did have to battle through my slight guilty pleasure for fast food…but I have given it up for this entire year. Not a drop of it. So to the next year of hard work and transformation.
  10. The Mind: It is the most powerful thing you have. When you have the ability to trust your mind, you can accomplish and achieve anything you want. Give it it a shot, it is an amazing tool to have.

I will continue to post more about what happened this year, I just need to sit down and scan through some times. But if anything, dream big and trust yourself are the two major things I learned this year. Go after your vision.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project