Happy New Year everyone! Last year I set out to achieve a year of Neoteny Venture 2010. And I must say it is continuing till today! Sitting in the corner of Ljubljana right now, I know that this neoteny venture will continue for months to come … in fact now it’s a part of my life! So, how did i do it in 2010?
1. Travel
Bracing myself with a year of playful adventures, I have spent almost 3 out of 12 months in 2010 in Europe travelling around Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, France, Sweden and Switzerland! I certainly didn’t plan for it, but chances came and in no time I always found myself moving from place to place, couchsurfing, meeting friends, pigging out on delicious european delicacies and most importantly I got to experience the grandiose history and natural beauty of Europe! In no time, I am already in the mood to add on lists to my travels in the future - a caravan drive along Bergen in Norway, or a coastal drive along Peru and Chille, ending with a visit to the ESO Paranal Observatory.
2. Connections
This was also the year where I met so many people not only in Singapore, but also all around the world! Connections made totally made me conclude, that our world today is heavily connected and it is possible to collaborate online globally. And yes, top it up with personal meetings and travel! Nothing beats talking to someone who is an initiator and creator, and he comes up and tells you that he wants to do more. And these were the people I met at Toastmasters, Challenge:Future, TEDxSingapore, tech65, Sandbox and the founders I met at Le Web. What makes them continuously scratch their itch? I would love to hear more!
3. Commencement
And finally in the last month of the year, I graduated from my postgrad. Although I no longer think that higher degrees/grades will get you higher success and happiness in life, I must say that a finance education added to my diversity of thought and thinking in my engineering. It must surely be a commencement to continue learning, sharing and connecting…
With a year of adventures behind me, I have thought about what I would like to ideally see myself in a year more. While adventures will be a daily part of my life, I didn’t just want to explore and do nothing about it. Just as there’s a different between a process goal and an outcome goal, I would like to see myself shipping more in the coming year. As Seth Godin puts it - Ship It!
What is Ship It 2011? In plain terms it is launching an idea into an implementation. It doesn’t have to be a huge giant project, but every little idea that backs my head, it needs to be shipped and shared right here! I will leave you with this pic I took in the gothenberg archipelago of the cold morning on 2 Jan 2011. We might be all sailing for life and exploring places, but until you ship you never deliver your goods.
