Looking back, looking ahead


This survey pretty much accurately reflects my personal 2017.
- I spent about 15% of my time this year worried about our country, something I spent maybe 1% on before.
- I also got to see a lot of the country: California, Nebraska, Idaho, Texas, Arkansas, New York, Missouri, and Oklahoma. And we went to Iceland!
- I discovered that my great-great-great grandfather was murdered - and that my great-great grandfather took revenge.
- Book-wise, I worked on two great books: Run, Hide, Fight Back (2018) and The Lonely Dead (2019).
- In my personal life, there have been challenges, but those have also led me to a great support group and more of a spiritual practice than I have had in years.
- In the middle of the year and hours from home, my car broke down, which cost thousands of dollars and stranded me at my brother's house for a week. But that meant I got to spend more time with him and his family than I have in decades.
- And a recap of the best and worst of 2017 wouldn't be complete without mentioning Brazilian jiujitsu. It doesn't make any sense that I love it, but I do.

As for the first day of 2018, I always like to start off the New Year the way I want I want it to go. So today I will run, write and pay attention. I've decided "Pay attention" is my phrase for 2018.