My 2024 Learn + Growth Report 🪴
Issue #115: My 2024 Year in Review: books, podcasts, skills, habits, health, peace, productivity, wealth, travels, impact, and favorites of 2024. My yearly review and planning template.
¡Feliz Año Nuevo 2025!
Yes, that means Happy New Year!
And yes, I’m flexing my 365-day Spanish streak on Duolingo. 😀
Every December, I spend a few days reflecting:
What did I learn?
How did I grow?
What impact did I create?
In this issue, I’ll share a few highlights of my 2024 (aka Learn + Growth report):
🎓 Learn: Skills, Books, Podcasts, Courses.
🚀 Growth: Habits, Productivity, Wealth.
⛑️ Health: Sleep, Workout, Peace.
✈️ Travels: Growth Trips, Fun Trips.
🪄 Impact: Content, Charitable Contributions, Compliments.
❤️ Favorites: Books, Apps, Things.
Note: If this cuts off in your email, here’s the online version.
🎓 Learn
1: Skills
These are the few top skills that I focused on honing this year.
Spanish: My longest streak ever—365 days on Duolingo. Learning 5 minutes a day, 1,655 minutes of total learning. Learned 385 new words. Spanish score - 14.
Swimming: A snorkeling trip in Mexico made me realize my love for the ocean. So, I committed to becoming a stronger swimmer.
Marketing: I’ve been focusing on meta-marketing skills like writing and storytelling, but this year, I decided to explore other branches of digital marketing.
Parenting: I learned a ton from books, conversations with other parents, and trusting the innate parenting instincts we’re all born with—Mother Nature’s built-in software.
AI: I explored AI tools through a few courses and events. Next year, I’m diving into AI agents.
M&A: A great year to start—books, courses, and hands-on experience with a couple of deals.
Storytelling: I planned to take a course but ended up learning powerful frameworks from Matthew Dicks'Storyworthy.
2: Books
(Here are my favorite reading tips, hacks, rules, and reasons to read)
3: Podcasts
🚀 Grow
4: Habits
I fell short on my morning growth habits this year.
At first, I felt a twinge of guilt.
But then I reminded myself: Progress, not perfection, is the goal. Even small steps forward are worth celebrating.
I have completed 3 growth habits 100% of the time. 🎉
5: Productivity
I started using an app called RIZE to track my daily and weekly work hours, focused tasks, and overall productivity.
Unfortunately, the app didn’t perform as expected. It required a restart after every update (which happened weekly), and when I missed restarting, it stopped tracking altogether. As a result, I don’t have accurate data to measure my productivity.
That said, here’s what I aim for when it comes to productivity:
8-hour workday → 4 hours of focused work per day → 2 deep work sessions (90 minutes each) per day → 12 deep work sessions per week
Here are my favorite productivity hacks, habits, rules, tips and lessons:
6: Wealth
I track my net worth every year to measure my financial growth because net worth reflects the collective performance of our earnings, spending, and investing habits and decisions.
My net worth grew by ~15.7% this year, driven largely by an ~18% return on my investment portfolio, which is primarily in low-cost ETFs.
My strategy for financial growth is very simple:
Earn: Grow company revenue by 20% and profitability by 30%.
Invest: Invest regularly in low-cost ETFs. Most importantly, invest in learning new skills and getting better as a clear thinker and better decision-maker.
Protect: Cut unnecessary expenses and avoid costly, stupid mistakes (Hire a good financial planner; let me know if you need any good recommendations)
(Learn more about my investment and financial planning principles.)
⛑️ Health
I got a full-body DEXA scan (thanks to my friend Jeremy!) I started using InsideTracker to monitor biological markers and biological age.
This year, I learned that a few important health markers, like body fat percentage and cholesterol, are off the chart. Improving those would be the focus for 2025. Other markers are normal, but I want to achieve an optimal state.
Average Resting Heart Rate: 57 BPM (Last year: 58 BPM) → A lower resting heart rate signals better cardiovascular health and fitness.
Body Fat Percentage: 32.1% → Body fat percentage is a key indicator of overall health and fitness, helping to track progress over time.
Visceral Fat: 2.20 lbs → Lower visceral fat reduces the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
Lean Mass: 16.5 kg/m² → Lean mass supports strength, mobility, and overall metabolic health.
Bone Density: 1.17 g/cm² → Strong bones lower the risk of fractures and osteoporosis as you age.
VO2 Max (Cardiovascular Health): 37 (Last year: 36.3) → VO2 Max is the gold standard for measuring aerobic capacity and overall heart health.
Biological Age: 3.7 years lower than my chronological age → Biological age reflects how well your body is aging and helps guide healthier lifestyle choices.
7: Sleep
It took me a long time to understand the importance of sleep (and I’m not sure I still understand it completely).
I neglected this aspect of my health for many years, which was a grave mistake.
Please listen to three episodes: #1, #2, and #3 of Peter Attia’s interview with Matthew Walker (Sleep Scientist at Google) to learn what sleep is, why it is so important, and how you can start to improve it.
Average daily sleep: 6 h 52 min (Last year: 7 h 5 mins).
Average Oura Sleep Score: 80
Sleep Stages:
REM Sleep: 1 h 32 min
Deep Sleep: 1 h 26 min
Light Sleep: 3 h 55 min
As per Oura, I took around 46 naps this year, but I don’t think it did a good job detecting all my naps (maybe) because most of my naps are <20 mins. If I had to guess the number, it would be over 150 days.
8: Workout
Total workouts: 497 (Last year: 396)
Total calories burned: 51,604 (Last year: 43,554) | 661 cal/day (Last year: 596/cal day)
Average daily exercise minutes: 44 mins (last year: 44 mins)
Average daily steps: 9,992 steps
Total distance: 245 miles (Last year: 229 miles), which is like finishing 81 marathons.
Yoga: 46 hours (Last year: 71 hours)
Hiking: 16 miles (Last year: 19 miles)
Cycling: 8 miles (Last year: 29 miles)
Swimming: 19 hours (Last year: 0 hours)
9: Peace
Average HRV: 51 ms, which is consistent with 2023. [Higher HRV is an indicator of lower stress level]
Also, my OURA ring has been doing a good job tracking my daily stress and recovery levels.
I tracked my emotional health with the How We Feel app, but I only did it for Jan month.
Meditation nurtures both spiritual and mental well-being, so I make it a priority to track my practice. This year, I meditated for 22 hours across 121 sessions (a significant drop from 130 hours last year).
✈️ Travels
10: Growth Trips
If you haven’t heard about my growth trips yet, let me fill you in.
Growth Trip #1: Business Strategy Camp in Hawaii
Growth Trip #2: Reading + Thinking
Growth Trip #3: IP2
Growth Trip #4: WordCamp
11: Fun Experiences
“What’s on your bucket list?”
We’ve all been asked this question, but how often do we act on it?
A bucket list isn’t just a dream—it’s a plan for experiences you want to live before time runs out.
Every year, I choose a few bucket list items to focus on.
The idea is simple: don’t wait for the “right time” because life can surprise you, and time doesn’t send an RSVP.
Here’s a look at my 2024 growth experiences:
#1 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting
#2 Yellowstone National Park
#3 A week at a beautiful resort in Mexico with my wife
#4 Epic Road Trip: Austin ←→ San Francisco
#5 Friends Camp Trip with my best friends — Aslam and Kaushik
🪄 Impact
In this section, I’ll share the progress I’ve made on my mission to:
🌟 Inspire 100 million people to achieve peaceful growth.
12: Content
Learn + Grow Newsletter
Learn + Grow is read across 42 US states and 99 countries.
I published 46 issues in 2024 and have consistently published for over 2 years.
All my content was read 100,000 times.
Peaceful Growth Newsletter
I launched this new founder-only email newsletter on Aug 2024, published 10 issues, and wrote 15,094 words.
122 founders read this newsletter as of Dec 31, 2024 — Read and subscribe if you are a founder.
WP for Enterprises
In September 2024, I launched, WP for Enterprises new email newsletter that dives into the behind-the-scenes of big billion-dollar brand websites, exploring their design and technical architecture.
Since its launch, I’ve published 6 issues, with a total of 5,592 reads.
As of December 31, 2024, 3,637 subscribers read this newsletter — Read and subscribe if you are interested in going behind-the-scenes of billion-dollar websites.
13: Charitable Contributions
I wanted to keep my charitable giving private, but this year, I’ve decided to share it publicly. Here’s why:
Nick Gray (of The Two-Hour Cocktail Party) and Matt Mullenweg (Co-Founder of WordPress) openly shared their contributions, inspiring me to track and share mine.
Generosity is contagious. Just like celebrities influence brand loyalty, sharing charitable contributions can inspire others to give and support impactful causes.
By sharing publicly, I’m creating a forcing function for myself to give more and stay committed.
Until last year, my giving was mostly limited to donating old items to Habitat for Humanity and the United War Veterans Council and helping friends and family. I believed in Warren Buffett’s philosophy of letting wealth compound for a bigger impact later.
But after reading Bill Perkins’ Die with Zero, I’ve changed my view. Now, I’m committed to giving as I grow so I can witness the impact of my contributions while I’m alive.
This year, I donated $1,134 to support kids’ health and education worldwide. I’ve started sponsoring 5 kids through monthly contributions and aim to increase that to 15 by the end of next year. Making a difference, one child at a time.
(If you like to join me or need any help or suggestions on donation, let me know)
14: Compliments
I love hearing from readers about how my content is impacting them—it keeps me motivated and inspired. I read every comment and email. Here’s a small collection of the compliments and feedback I’ve received from my amazing readers.
❤️ Favorites
15: Books
The Road Less Stupid: Straightforward, practical tools to help founders and entrepreneurs make smarter decisions and avoid costly mistakes. A playbook for winning the mental game of business.
Die with Zero: A powerful guide to optimizing time and money for a life rich in meaning and experiences. Stop deferring joy and start living fully.
Lean Marketing: Of the dozen-plus marketing books I’ve read, this one stands out. It’s tactical, actionable, and perfectly aligns with my peaceful growth philosophy: less marketing, more results.
16: Apps
Kubera: I’m obsessed with this app for tracking net worth. Supports global banks, currencies, and stock markets—perfect for managing assets worldwide. Highly recommend!
Superhuman: I doubted paying $30/month for email when Google and Apple offered it free—until I used it. Now, it’s worth every penny.
Duolingo: Learning as addictive as social media. This app powered my 366-day Spanish streak. Choose a language or math and get hooked.
17: Things
Loop Earplug: This year, they helped me sleep better in noisy environments like hotels, airplanes, and even with a few loud, snoring friends.
Outway Socks: I love these socks. It’s like yoga pants for your feet.
In Short:
This year was packed with new learnings, exciting experiences, and epic adventures.
I stepped out of my comfort zone dozens of times this year, doing things that required real courage for my personality. These moments are what I’m most proud of and see as powerful signs of personal growth.
It was also a year of immense blessings as my wife and I welcomed our son, Aiden, and stepped into the beautiful journey of parenthood.
On the professional front, my primary focus was on mastering marketing skills and building a robust lead generation for my businesses. (We’ve made significant progress and are starting to see some promising results from these efforts. I’ve been sharing about )
Thank you for reading this growth report and for being an integral part of the Learn + Grow community. 🙏
Wishing you a 2025 filled with endless learning, meaningful growth, and abundant peace. 🌟
One more thing: If you’re a founder, I’ve shared 113 bite-sized lessons on Sales, Marketing, People Management, and Strategy to help you learn and grow as a leader. Click here to read!
Here are my past year’s annual reviews: 2023, 2022.
Here is my annual review + planning template if you want to use it.