Recapping 2023: Highlights, lowlights, lessons learned, and the fun that was had

2023 had the lowest lows and the highest highs.

I saw Sam Parr’s recap on his blog The Anti-MBA and I thought what a neat idea. Then I woke up today and realized that I should write a blog because it will be therapeutic for myself and also I can look back at this from years to come.

This is mainly for me but if you want to get a better idea of what it looks like behind the scenes then let’s get down to it.

Life

Highlights

Getting married to Kristi. It was single-handedly one of the best days of my life. I remember sitting with Kristi and telling her that I didn’t want this night to end and I am so grateful that we were able to share this moment with friends and family
Calling friends and getting together with them more often. I felt like in 2022, I was working hard to build our business and I became disconnected from friends. I checked in on people more often and actually got to sit down with them as well. I remember grabbing a burger with my best friend Alan and he said “I don’t think we’ve done this in over five years.”
Found a life mentor. I reached out to a previous patient and now a good friend in PJ Bjorneby to see if he’d be open to mentoring me. He agreed and I am extremely grateful for his time. He is someone that I admire tremendously in the way that he carries himself in his work, family, and personal life.
Self-discovery. I spent a bit of time thinking about who I am. I’ve learned a few things about myself like how I use my hard work as a shield to do things I don’t want to do…I got that from my dad!
Prioritized my health. It’s the first time in a long time that I started to prioritize my health. I can’t remember consistently lifting and running for a long time. My heart rate gets below 60 at rest some days and it was usually mid 70’s at baseline. The aerobic gains have been amazing and the strength ones are coming.

Lowlights

Trying times with Kristi. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. We had some of the most heated arguments ever in our relationship. We both lost our cool and we definitely could have done a better job at supporting one another during this course. Building a company and planning a wedding is absolutely insane.
Not home enough for dinner. I looked at my calendar and saw that I have no days at home where I get to eat dinner with Kristi. The flip side is that we still go on dates every Friday and Saturday but I feel like this needs to change because I can’t imagine not being able to eat dinner with your significant other on weekdays.
Struggling with spirituality. Life is amazing and this is the year that I spent the most time thinking to myself…this will end someday. I typically have anxiety in two different context. When my life is not where I want it to be and something needs to change. When my life is good and I don’t want it to end. I’ve pondered on the meaning of life, talked to a few friends about religion, and read ‘Love Does’ by Bob Goff which helped.
Need more adventures with Oliver. A patient of mine had his dog pass away near the end of 2022 which probably prompted the whole spirituality thinking at the start of 2023. Oliver is my best friend and he has limited years. We went on a lot of adventures but I felt like we could have gone on more. I also could be more present with him during his walks instead of listening to a podcast.

Lessons learned

Block out non-negotiable time for important events. I plan to block off a day of the week to eat dinner with Kristi at home. I plan to block off a day of the month to take Oliver on an adventure.
Prioritize your health above everything else. The only vehicle you have to create the life you want to live and be able to take care of others is…your body.
I need to dream bigger. My parents gave me their software since they raised me and they were wired to survive. I mean who can blame them? They immigrated to a country without knowing the language and made it work but they had to think and live with scarcity in order to do so. I’m hoping to flip that switch and create abundance in my life.
Don’t stop being a kid. I’ve met enough people in their 50’s and above to realize that there are two types of older people. Older people that are bitter at the world and that’s usually because they became adults. Older people that still have a shit ton of fun because they never grew up…I never want to grow up.

Kristi and I walking down the aisle during the Chinese wedding

Business

Highlights

We launched a podcast. It was a passion project of mine because I’ve been fortunate enough to cross paths with so many unique people. This podcast is giving you access to those conversations. I believe everyone is a few ‘AHA’ moments away from living the life they want to live and this podcast will hopefully give you some of those moments. Listen to our podcast here.
We won a business award. We were a part of a business mastermind group that has helped over 1000+ practices. The previous record for hitting a milestone revenue was 36 months, we did it in 18 months.
We launched business coaching. We had multiple requests to launch business coaching. It didn’t feel right to do so until we hit an arbitrary revenue marker and we did…so we launched Defining Moment Coaching. There are currently 10+ coaches and clinicians building and scaling their practice with our team. This is only for our mentees because I don’t think people should prioritize business until they’ve gotten good clinically.
We hired a new physical therapist. I am grateful that Dr. Ming Kwok took a chance with our team. Having Justin and Ming in the clinic is an absolute blast…I think we’re having too much fun.
We sold out every mentorship and seminar. The mentorship had huge upgrades in 2023 and we already did the same thing in 2024. The seminars were also poppin’! I had a few people tell me that it was a life changing weekend and I agree…the community is absolutely unreal. Check out the testimonials here.
We had a record year and we had a record month. There’s nothing much to say here besides that I can’t wait to create more opportunities for burnt out physical therapists. Our goal with Moment is to provide an environment where clinicians get paid in the top 1%, have work-life balance, and get the support they need to help people in chronic debilitating pain.

Lowlights

I did a horrible job of delegating. I realized in December after launching our podcast that I no longer have the bandwidth to take on new projects. We’ve already made some big hires for our practice and continuing education company to be able to provide an even better product.
Our first full-time employee left the company. This one stings and it stung even more knowing that the person gave in their three weeks only two weeks before our wedding. It was one of the most stressful times of my life because I was also struggling a lot outside of the business.
I realized that there was a huge gap in my ability to lead. I never spoke with conviction in business because I did not want to jinx anything. However, I realized that that if I never spoke about where our company was headed then our team wouldn’t be able to see why their work is meaningful. We created a mission statement, vision statement, core values, and a path for growth.
I struggled with burnout while giving a speech about burnout. We beat the previous record held in the business mastermind we were a part of by 18 months which is insane. The coaches said they have never seen a business grow this fast. That does not come without any sacrifices and I made a ton of those.

Lessons learned

Overdeliver and do it by surprise. There’s nothing better than making a purchase and getting an extra bonus. This helps prevent buyer’s remorse and makes the person on the other side of the transaction feel like they got a deal. How can you add bonuses in your business?
Have a focus for every day of the week. One of the best things I did this year was put a goal for each day of the week. On Mondays, I build out content for our business coaching program. On Tuesdays, I build out content for our mentorship program. On Wednesdays, I do administrative work for our physical therapy practice. This allows me to put on one hat each day and do deeper work.
Focus on the things that are the most impactful. Reading ’10x Is Easier Than 2x’ by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy was a game changer. They talked about how 80% of your business results come from 20% of the effort. I was putting 20% effort into content marketing even though it built 80% of our business. In 2024, we are putting 80% effort into content marketing.
Hire for culture fit instead of technical capabilities. I realized an immediate change in our work culture once Ming joined the team. You can teach technical capabilities but you can’t teach the intangibles.

The crew at Moment Foundations in New York City.

Fun

Highlights

Wedding and honeymoon. I blacked out during the welcome drinks, got my sh*t together for the wedding, and we went to Mexico City to drown in tacos for our honeymoon.
Getting drinks with Kristi and Oliver. Kristi and I’s favorite past time is just sitting outside a bar or a coffee shop with a drink. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we’re dead quiet, and sometimes we just watch people pass by. I just enjoy her company and if Oliver is there then I’m the happiest man in the world.
Moment Education events. I had so much fun teaching in 2023 that we launched seven seminars for 2024. We had happy hours on Saturday, business Q/A’s and catered lunch on Sundays, access to the videography/photography shooting all weekend, and more on top of the curriculum we taught.
Smoking weed and watching gang documentaries. It was the first time in a while that I was hanging out with my best friends Kevin and Alan. We were chillin’ at Kevin’s place in San Diego and it felt like were in college again. I felt young again and I haven’t felt that in a while.
Self-development courses. I had the opportunity to learn from Pavel Tsatsouline, Matt McInnes Watson, David Grey, and Derek Hansen in-person. I’ve done a lot of online learning recently so it was nice to get back in-person with people. My favorite course from last year was Heroic Public Speaking with Amy and Michael Port…it changed my life.
Storming the field after Michigan beat Ohio State. That is three years in a row which is insane after losing for so long. Watching the Rose Bowl game practically gave me a heart attack and can’t wait to watch the College Football Playoff Finals.

Lowlights

I want to spend more time with my family. I got together with my family for dinners and gatherings. Kristi and I took out the whole family for Mother’s Day and we also took out my brothers with their family to one of our favorite pizza restaurants. I saw my nephews and niece more often but I just want to be a bigger part of their lives. I feel like what’s missing is the random spontaneous kind of events.

Lessons learned

People don’t care about your success. I think part of our identity becomes so attached to the things that we create that we forget that most people don’t care about that…they care about who we are as people. My friends and family are definitely supportive of my ambitions but they don’t need ambitious Andy when I am with them…they just need Andy.