2024—Everything is 10x
2024 was the year I truly figured out my life and went 10x on everything.
2024 was the year I truly figured out my life and went 10x on everything.
I put many structures in place and began running my life like a business. Now, I can confidently answer where I should be in the next three years, what I’ll be doing, and, most importantly, the how and the why.
From now on, my annual reviews will follow James Clear's annual review template, which guides you through three key questions:
What went well this year?
What didn’t go so well this year?
What did I learn?
What went well this year?
I found a way to 10x my productivity. I did this by organizing my life into one massive system hosted on Google Drive.
I developed a strategic life plan that encompasses my vision and mission, core values and beliefs, personal goals and objectives, my personal story, financial plans, and all my life projects.
My Mission
To build and share actionable frameworks, insights, and resources that enable young professionals, marketers, and entrepreneurs to navigate and excel in life, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
I aim to decentralize and democratize common sense by building, writing, speaking, and teaching to provide pathways for others to achieve success and fulfillment.
I am also sharing knowledge, processes, and experiences from my life to give my kids leverage.
Core Values
I shared my core values framework as well as my personal goals & objectives in one of my newsletters along with a template that could also help you plan your life.
I am also actively developing my personal story (or autobiography) right from my early formative years, up till date. I will most likely publish it in one of my newsletters.
Multiple Interests and Projects
I have adopted Seth Godin’s philosophy of thinking about my life and career as a series of projects, rather than traditional jobs. Jobs are supposed to be long-term affiliations, but projects are things to be invented, built, funded, and shipped. Sometimes they take on a life of their own and last, other times, they flare and fade.
Again, I will most likely publish my list of projects in one of my newsletters but here’s a snapshot of what this looks like on my drive.
Let’s look at some of these projects in detail:
Marketing In Action Newsletter
I started a dedicated marketing newsletter where I host weekly interviews with marketers & founders, share weekly marketing templates & frameworks, and publish annual marketing reports.
The wins so far:
Launched 4 major publications and 3 annual marketing reports.
Published 26 newsletter issues.
Averaging 46.93% open rate with 1,000+ organic subscribers.
Earned 5 referring publications, 5 collaborations, and 1 press mention.
RealTalk Newsletter
This is the newsletter that I intend to manage as a personal outlet for everything else outside of professional marketing.
I am constantly deconstructing systems and developing frameworks & templates to make them efficient. RealTalk newsletter is where I will be doing deep dives into such systems and sharing my findings.
The wins so far:
Rebranded and specialized the focus of the newsletter to include sections for book notes, annual reviews, frameworks & templates, productivity, and social issues.
Published 3 newsletter issues.
Professional Learning
I’m working towards updating my credentials so that my profile name will eventually read James Praise MBA, MCIM UK, ANIMN, PMMC. For now, I’ll start with James Praise, MBA, PMMC.
The wins so far:
Enrolled in an MBA program at Miva University that will begin in January 2025 where I plan to specialize in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Accepted into the PMA Scholar Program as one of 25 Product Marketers to complete a 12-week program and earn the PMMC™ Product Marketing Accreditation.
Erolled in a few CXL mini-degree programs to build deep technical skills in growth, analytics, and conversion optimization, as well as broad skills in a wide range of areas.
Finances
I 10xed my income this year. I also figured out how to manage my finances effectively across all my projects and commitments.
The wins so far:
Secured fully remote international engagements that elevated my earnings significantly.
Figured out a strategy for multiple income streams.
Developed systems and tools for financial planning and accounting.
Romance
I scored the big one here—I got married to my best friend and the love of my life (yes, they’re the same person). I wrote all about it here including our detailed budget templates and some unsolicited marital advice.
Everything here is a win!
Community Engagements
I am an active contributor to communities for entrepreneurs and operators, such as Black Ops, Tech Sales & Partnerships Community (TSPC), Black Builders Network, ForbesBLK, RevGenius, Association of Digital Marketing Professionals (ADMARP), RevGrowth Network, GrowthHackers.Africa and Professor Ayodele Awojobi Design Competition (PAADC).
The wins so far:
Pre-event judge for PAADC 8.0, being the second year in a row.
Delivered a masterclass for PAADC finalists on Public Speaking: The Art of Pitching. You can get the presentation here.
Books & Knowledge
I developed a newfound interest in books as I’ve come to appreciate the value of long-form content, especially in a world saturated with short-form content that often lacks depth and full context.
I believe in three fundamental truths about books:
Books are timeless reservoirs of knowledge: Unlike fleeting digital content, books preserve wisdom, insights, and ideas that can remain relevant for generations.
Books promote focus and deep thinking: Engaging with a book requires sustained attention, which fosters better comprehension, reflection, and retention of information.
Books challenge your perspective: They expose you to new ways of thinking, helping you expand your understanding of the world and question your assumptions.
I have also developed a system to dive deep into the knowledge of books and share the highlights, lessons, takeaways, and my review in my book notes here.
The wins so far:
Purchased 25 books on my reading list.
What didn’t go so well this year?
Healthy Living
I was not healthy this year. Well, I have been facing health challenges since 2021 and I’m still trying to figure out the best way to optimize for better health.
The goals I didn’t meet:
Doing a 30-minute workout, 3 times per week
Getting a gym membership with my wife
Reducing carbonated drinks to 1 per week
Drinking 2 liters (2 bottles) of water daily
Taking supplements and probiotics daily
Hiring & Delegation
I made a few mistakes by either not delegating enough or not hiring the right people.
With the increasing number of projects I take on and the corresponding rise in requirements, it has become imperative to rely more on others.
In the past, my reluctance to delegate and failure to find and hire the right people limited my ability to scale as my responsibilities grew. Now, I prioritize building systems, frameworks, and templates that empower my team members to deliver similar outcomes on our projects. This approach looks particularly promising for Marketing In Action. I wrote about one of such processes here.
Networking
I didn’t do a lot of outreach this year, at least not as much as I would have wanted based on the targets I set. This means I need to delegate more so that I can find the time to work on these initiatives. Finding an assistant is actually on my to-do list.
The goals I didn’t meet:
Speaking at a TEDx event
Publishing 10 personal featured articles on ecosystem and media platforms
Life Skills
I actually learned a lot of life skills this year, like how to drive a car (and I even bought my first ride!). However, I’ll focus on the ones I didn’t learn—swimming and professional videography.
The most obvious reason I need to learn how to swim is to reduce my chances of drowning, which statistically decreases by up to 88% for individuals with basic swimming skills.
As for professional videography, it’s important for me to capture more of the moments and experiences that matter in life. Both my wife and I are not naturally inclined to take a lot of pictures or videos; in fact, we probably only have a handful of photos or videos from this entire year, apart from special occasions like our wedding.
While I lean more toward written content, I plan to focus on developing more audiovisual content for platforms like YouTube and Reels/Shorts. This will allow me to communicate the same messages I do with text—decentralizing common sense—especially for those who prefer to binge-watch TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or Netflix rather than read a book or newsletter.
Travel
I didn’t do much traveling this year and didn’t get to experience any new destinations or cultures.
Even though my dad is Ghanaian and my mum is Nigerian, I’ve spent most of my life in Nigeria. I still haven’t visited Ghana, and this is now one of my goals for 2025.
What did I learn?
I learned a lot this year, and have made a number of tweets about these.
1—Religion is one of many answers to a fundamental question of existence.
Religion provides structure, belonging, and a framework for understanding the world, driven by humanity’s search for meaning, and the need for social cohesion. Humans seek explanations for life's mysteries to reduce uncertainty and fear. Religion also provides the moral codes necessary for cooperation and societal stability.
2—Maslow’s Law explains fundamental human priorities.
Humans function poorly when basic needs (food, shelter, safety) are unmet, and institutions often exploit this by keeping people in survival mode. Even the privileged can regress to survival instincts when these needs are threatened, highlighting the fragility of human existence.
3—Money is not enough reason to live.
While money is essential for freedom and security, optimizing for wealth alone leads to diminishing happiness and neglect of relationships, growth, and health. Money should serve as a tool for pursuing deeper values, not as an end goal.
4—Cultures and religions rely on fear to control.
Fear is often used to enforce behavior through misinformation, but it creates compliance without understanding and can lead to rebellion. Long-term value comes from fostering trust and internalized principles, not fear-based control.
5—Check who or what you model after.
Don’t blindly model your life after anyone without recognizing their flaws. Be discerning, as even influential leaders and creators are inherently imperfect.
6—Make the right choices.
Marriage, parenting, and relationships require careful thought and responsibility. Avoid bringing children into suffering or partnering with someone you can’t trust. Educate yourself, unlearn harmful patterns, and strive to make better choices.
7—The majority of people are generally unintelligent.
The collective lack of critical thinking allows a few to control the many through politics, religion, and cultural ideologies. Understanding this dynamic can help you navigate societal systems more effectively.
8—Religion is flawed like humans.
Religion, like all human-led systems, is imperfect but plays a role in fostering community and identity. The problem lies in leadership that lacks empathy, love, and respect for others outside their group, perpetuating division and intolerance.
9—All advertising is marketing, but not all marketing is advertising.
Claiming that a startup grew without any marketing expense is misleading and oversimplifies the actual costs associated with acquiring customers. You probably mean to say that you only used Organic Channels, but there is a cost to doing organic marketing and all related “marketing activities”. People and tools cost money—salaries, wages, subscriptions, software licenses.
10—If you’re not playing the game of power, you’re being played.
Power dynamics exist everywhere—relationships, workplaces, and society. Understanding and participating in this game is essential; otherwise, you risk becoming a pawn in others’ strategies.
I examined all 48 laws that were mentioned in the book, and my thoughts on each of them here.
🗄 See my annual review archives here
How was 2024 for you?
It’s a really great read…. I’ve picked up a thing or two… hopefully I’m able to go 10x on a few areas in my life…. Thanks