Ever since I started building my online presence and navidmoazzez.com, mid June 2013, I take some time in December to reflect over the year, my goals and what’s to come next year.
Last year on New Years Eve, I wrote a very popular (and emotional Facebook post which also became a blog post) about how I turned my worst year ever into personal growth.
A lot has happened since then… and I really mean A LOT!
Now that it’s the end of 2014, I wanted to write a proper annual review post and I will focus on a few simple questions:
What went well this year?
What did not go well this year?
What are my big plans for 2015?
Let’s get into it… this is NOT your average annual review post. This is a rather EPIC annual review of almost 8,000 words, and probably the most important post I’ve written all year.
What Went Well This Year?
Successfully created The Branding Summit – The #1 Personal Branding Conference
If I told you how many hours that went into creating and making my online event, The Branding Summit into such a massive success, you would think I’m crazy. And to some extent I am… in a good way of course 
This is the FIRST main project I started in my life that I actually went through with to the very end… and the results I got shows it too. I devoted myself to “master” how to successfully create, promote and profit from a virtual summit.
It wasn’t easy… in fact it was probably the most difficult and challenging thing I ever put my mind to. I probably spent way over 1000 hours all together preparing for The Branding Summit and studying successful virtual summits in other markets to learn everything I could.
As I’m writing this annual review from Thailand in a 5 star hotel suite, it sure was worth every single second I spent on it.
But all the success I had, wouldn’t have been possible without connecting and building amazing relationships with extraordinary people before I needed them.
I had some speakers that went out of their way to promote The Branding Summit, and that helped with sales and to get more people to sign up to my list.
Here are some of the highlights if you’re interested:
Close to 200 sales (you can just imagine what 200 sales can do for your business and brand if you put out a quality product or service… it’s MASSIVE for a first launch!)
Added about 3000 new email subscribers for free (now I have over 4000 in total, approaching 5000 soon)
The Branding Summit was a direct reason why I was able to quit my job and move abroad sooner than I first expected (keep reading for more details on when and how I actually quit my job and my travels).
The business I get because of The Branding Summit is just insane. I added several thousands of dollars plus many more clients and partnerships to come because of it.
Joint venture partnerships with some of the speakers – I’m super excited to promote some amazing products that I love to my community in 2015… I got some really good stuff coming.
Built a small but very passionate community of raving fans that love what I do – This is something I’m extremely proud over, and I honestly think the people in my private Facebook group for The Branding Summit All Access Pass rock… you are all amazing!
Here’s what Naomi has to say about her experience with The Branding Summit All Access Pass:
Sounds interesting? Get The Branding Summit All Access Pass Here!
Connecting with extraordinary people
I have done this extremely well from the very beginning, but I took things to the next level in 2014.
So what did I do?
I launched my podcast, The Lifestyle Architects in April 2014 and interviewed close to 50 amazing entrepreneurs, authors and world-changers (a few episodes will get published in 2015, since I took a small break from the podcast to focus on The Branding Summit). I didn’t just want to be another podcast interview they did, but rather aim to be the best and most valuable interview they’ve done to date.
If you have enjoyed and found The Lifestyle Architects Show valuable throughout the year, please consider showing your support by subscribing, reviewing & rating the podcast in iTunes (5 stars please, thanks so much!)
On many occasions I have had people in my audience telling me that they would actually pay for such content, and that online courses they paid 100’s if not 1000’s of dollars for didn’t provide as much valuable information.
I just wanted to let you know that you are providing top notch content with your interviews. I actually learn more from your questions and your guest’s answers than from any other paid courses I took so far. Keep up the great work! Thanks, man!
– René Von Gunten, Swiss Nutritioneer
That’s also how the idea for my online event, The Branding Summit initially was born. Since then, I interviewed over 80 world-leading online entrepreneurs from summer time until I finally launched my virtual summit November 17.
I knew that I had a skill (which I practiced over and over again) in bringing out the best information from someone during a 60-90 minute interview. And if I could do that and package it together rather than just doing stand alone interviews, I also had a gut feeling that people would pay for this information.
But the work actually starts before I even reach out for an interview. I try to add as much value as possible to the experts I interview beforehand (genuine of course!), by leaving thoughtful comments on their blogs, sharing their content, leaving a review on their book or even purchasing their product to show my support and appreciation for their hard work.
If I don’t have established the relationship before I reach out to them, I give them a sincere compliment in my first email how they helped me (and even better the results I got because of their advice), and now that I have some credibility, it’s not that hard to get most people on for an interview (I still want to get Tim Ferriss, Neil Strauss, Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and hopefully getting an interview with Ramit Sethi soon).
If you’re not doing interviews (I do video interviews which is far more powerful than just audio!) with successful people yet, you should consider doing that to connect with influencers in your field. It’s the best relationship builder I found (other than in-person events of course).
Build relationships with people before you actually need them! Click to tweet!
Here are some of the people that crossed my path in 2014 that impacted me the most:
(I interviewed a lot of amazing people this year, and had conversations with even more on Skype video chat, Facebook, Twitter etc., so if you’re not mentioned here, you still mean the world to me and impacted my journey in some way, THANK YOU!)
Jan Koch
I honestly don’t know what I would do without Jan sometimes. He lives in Germany, and we have never met in person (yet), but I’m proud to consider him one of my best friends.
We met inside Internet Business Mastery Academy in 2013, and we have supported each other ever since, both through success and tough times.
Here’s a few highlights:
I’ve seen Jan quit his job and make way more in his business than he did at his day job. Just amazing!
Jan has seen me quit my job and earn more than ever before with my virtual summit.
Jan creates pretty much all of the awesome graphics you see on my site. THANK YOU!
I’m currently coaching Jan so he can rock his own virtual summit, The WP Summit in 2015 and make it a massive success. Super exciting!
Gion-Per (Beecoding – website coming soon)
If it wasn’t for Gion-Per I wouldn’t be here today… and I really mean that! I own him A LOT and I am extremely grateful that I found him while browsing website footers late 2013. I haven’t looked back since, and I wouldn’t even consider working with a different designer/developer than him.
Gion-Per is the man behind navidmoazzez.com, thebrandingsummit.com and everything else when it comes to design and development for my brand.
He is not only my designer, but also a very good friend, and he pushed me when I needed it the most and wanted to give up many times.
I’m exciting to take our partnership to the next level in 2015 and possibly release something very cool that will simplify for many online entrepreneurs with their virtual summits and much more. Stay tuned for more info!
If you’re interested in taking your business and brand to the next level, and want to invest in premium website design that converts, then just email me at navid@navidmoazzez.com and I will personally connect you to my designer.
Robert Greene
I always wanted to interview Robert Greene ever since I read Mastery, which is one of the most impactful books I’ve read in my life.
The interview I did with him is the most powerful interview for me personally I’ve done out of about 150 so far… and that says quite a lot!
I’m so thankful that Robert took his time to do the interview with me, and to this date, almost 23,000 people have watched the interview on YouTube (and growing) and a few 1000 have listened to on iTunes.
I hope to be able to interview Robert again some time in 2015 if possible. That would totally rock and I know that you would love that too!
No moment is wasted if you learn the lessons contained in every experience. Click to tweet!
Cal Newport
I really enjoyed the interview I did with Cal on “how to be so good they can’t ignore you”. It’s one of the best interview’s I’ve ever done.
Be sure to pick up his book under the same name, it’s well worth a read.
Many people have asked me why I take the time (sometimes 20-30 hours) to write epic guides based on some of the in-depth interviews I do and publish them on my site and/or as downloads. Other than providing massive value to my audience, I also build a stronger relationship with the guest since he/she feels that I did something extraordinary with their interview and that their time was worthwhile. In other words, it’s a fantastic way to stand out!
Here’s what Cal Newport himself had to say about the epic guide I wrote based on our interview:
Thanks Navid! It sounds great and I appreciate the epic post in support of the show…this is one of the best summaries of my ideas that I have seen.
Todd Herman
Todd Herman is one of those rare individuals you can learn so much from by just studying what he does… and I really identify with everything he is all about, probably because of our mutual background in sports.
He has been the mental game coach to professional and olympic athletes for many years. Todd helps athletes boost their performance and improve their confidence so they can achieve their goals.
The interview we did for my podcast is one of the most popular to date, and that’s really no surprise. Todd always over-delivers, and I personally got a ton out of the interview we did as well… maybe not right away but as I reflect, and look back, there’s so many things I can implement in order to take both my business and life to the next level!
I hope that we will be able to meet when I come to NYC in 2015, and maybe even do another interview since some people in my audience has requested that I bring Todd back on again.
Here’s one of the best things a listener has ever said about an interview I’ve done:
Hi Navid, HUGE THANKS for this incredible interview! I was so fortunate to listen to Todd at some big live event and was swept off my feet with his wisdom. I was hoping Todd had some course I could purchase to follow but it appears that he is more into personal coaching instead. So I was searching for his videos. Then I found this great interview on YouTube that you did with him. Actually, this interview with him that you did may actually be the very best interview with Todd that is publicly available! This whole interview is fantastic! HUGE THANKS!
In this interview you, Navid, mention that you were afraid or something to start these interview series. I just want to say: don’t hesitate or doubt even for a second. Continue your awesome work!
I’ll be checking out what else you have on your site! Keep up the great work!
– Olga
Charles Ngo
Charles Ngo is one of the most inspiring, extraordinary people I know. He is an affiliate marketing superstar who made millions of dollars online, traveling the world and living the dream.
But Charles is also the most productive and focused person I know, and very down to earth. I’ve learned a ton from his blog and our occasional Facebook chats here and there other than the interviews of course. He shares his experiences in a 90 minute epic interview here.
This interview was so good, and well received by my audience that I invited him back on for The Branding Summit to talk more about his personal brand.
I can’t wait to see what Charles has coming in 2015… all I’m sure of is that he will keep over-delivering to his audience.
Chris Ducker
Chris Ducker doesn’t need much of an introduction. He’s been a guest on my podcast and he was also the closing keynote speaker at The Branding Summit. Everyone loved his powerful talk on “How to Work with Virtual Staff to Manage Your Brand the Smart Way”, and I really appreciate him for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to do this exclusive presentation for my audience.
But not only that, Chris is someone I consider a virtual mentor of mine, and continue to learn from. Hopefully we’ll meet in person at an event in 2015 as well.
If you haven’t picked up his awesome book Virtual Freedom yet, be sure to do so and leave a 5 star Amazon review.
Nick Reese
Two of my absolute favorite interviews I did this year were with Nick Reese.
I know many people will agree that everything that Nick shared is super valuable, no fluff, actionable information you can apply right away to take your business and brand to the next level.
In the first one for my podcast, we talked all about premium positioning and in the second one for The Branding Summit, I interviewed Nick on “how to create your ideal customer avatar”.
Despite being incredibly busy with his new startup, BroadbandNow.com, Nick took his time to do two hour long (possibly even slightly longer) interviews with me this year. And not only that, he stayed on the call after we finished the interview and gave me specific advice how I could improve different aspects of my business.
I also recommend that you take a look at Nick’s amazing website… it’s just outstanding, one of the most incredible designs I’ve seen in a long time in the online space.
He even invited me as a guest to his home in Nashville that I will try to take him up on when I’m in the USA. Thanks for all that you do, Nick… you’re an inspiration to me and many other people!
Here’s what Nick Reese himself said about our interview:
Hey man, just a quick note to say thanks for being an awesome interviewer.
Was just re-listening to our interview together and it was magic.
Keep putting out a great stuff and let me know how I can help further what you’re up to.
Natalie Sisson
I don’t remember exactly how I came across Natalie’s amazing work the first time, but I connected with her online almost from the very beginning, and we have since become good friends. I even met her in person in May this year when she was in Stockholm for a few days.
I took her awesome 30 day blog challenge in October 2013, wrote 40,000+ words in about 21 days and managed to find my writing voice a lot more.
Natalie’s #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Suitcase Entrepreneur has also been very impactful, especially now that I quit my job and will be traveling a lot more, living abroad and running my online business on the go.
She was an amazing guest on my podcast, and a featured speaker on the Branding Summit. I believe Natalie was the speaker that drove the most traffic and potentially even optins to my summit which I really appreciate.
I can’t wait to promote The Freedom Plan next year to my audience and meet up in San Diego.
Andreea Ayers
Andreea has been one of my biggest supporters in 2014, helping me promote The Branding Summit like crazy. I really appreciate her for this and hope to help her even more in 2015 when I get a chance.
Andreea taught an awesome Creative Live course on publicity and I knew I had to have her on as a featured speaker on The Branding Summit as well.. she over-delivered and my audience loved it.
Thank you for all the inspiration and support this year. I hope to see you in San Diego in 2015!
Amber Vilhauer
Amber is just awesome and I learned a lot from her in the early stages when I was trying to figure everything out on how to create my own successful virtual summit.
She was one of the most popular interviews on The Branding Summit, and I also interviewed her on my podcast on how she did her very successful virtual summit, Authentic Business Success Summit.
Jesse Krieger
Jesse has been a good friend of mine for a few years now, and it has been great to see his business and brand evolve for some time. He was also the #1 one affiliate that got the most sales for The Branding Summit, which is pretty impressive to say the least.
The interview we did a while back for my podcast was a really popular one, and of course I invited him back for The Branding Summit, to talk more about “how to build a book-based business and brand from scratch”.
I’m looking forward to continue this partnership and also help him promote his awesome online program Bestseller Campaign Blueprint in 2015 to my community.
Jared Easley
I have Jared to thank for a lot of things and we speak quite often about things. I consider him one of my closest online friends (we’ll meet in person very soon when I’m the US).
I saw the massive success Jared was having with the Podcast Movement, and he suggested that I should do an event of some kind. I couldn’t do a live in person event like he did to start with… I honestly didn’t know what my event would be at the time, but at least that sparked the idea that I should look into my options. A few months later, I successfully launched my first online event, The Branding Summit and the rest is history. Thanks Jared!
Jenna Soard
I haven’t known Jenna for very long, but she found out about The Branding Summit, when I started the promotion, and asked if she could be a speaker. It didn’t take me long to see that Jenna is the real deal and doing amazing work. All I can say is that, she rocked her Branding Summit presentation, and went out of her way to promote the summit to her audience and in various Facebook groups she’s involved in.
Despite not having the biggest audience out all the speakers, she was in the top 3 affiliates who got the most sales. Good job and looking forward to collaborating further in 2015!
Meron Bareket
I’ve known Meron for quite some time online, but it wasn’t until before I launched the Branding Summit we really connected when I invited him on as one of the featured speakers. All I can say is that Meron’s presentation on “how you can grow your brand’s audience with podcasting” rocked, and he also went out of his way to promote and support me on the live weekly hangouts during the summit.
Thanks a ton, you have no idea how much this means to me!
Selena Soo
Selena Soo is someone i’ve followed for quite some time, and I’m so glad that we connected more this year.
She is a master at connecting with influencers, and adding value to other peoples’ life in an effortless kind of way (but we all know that there’s a ton of work that goes into it!).
There’s no surprise that the awesome interview we did for The Branding Summit, was one of the most popular and well received ones out of all of them.
I can’t wait to continue to support Selena, moving into 2015… we have some great stuff coming for you, stay tuned!
Until then…
Download Your 4-Step Guide: How to Get Important People to Notice You (And Take You Under Their Wing)…For Free! (Even if You’re an Introvert, Don’t Live in a Major City,And Don’t Have Any Influential Friends Yet)
Michael Alexis
I’m extremely thankful for the introduction to Ramit Sethi’s team when they needed someone to interview his successful students. That led me too connecting with Primoz Bozic, Maria Brilaki and Naveen Dittakavi.
And not only that, I managed to became a proud affiliate for Ramit’s amazing products like Zero to Launch and Earn1K and that has brought in significant revenue in my business in a short amount of time.
Michael also wrote two incredible guest posts for my site which you can read here and here.
Primoz Bozic
I don’t know where to start, but Primoz is one of the people I was fortunate enough to meet this year (just online for now) through Ramit Sethi’s circle of amazing people.
I interviewed Primoz back in spring 2014 for my podcast, and we have since become very good friends.
In fact, Primoz session on The Branding Summit was in the top 3 ouf of 80+ interviews and presentations. That’s very, very impressive, considering he has far from the biggest audience or the most well known in the speaker line up…
But that just shows even more that people want EPIC content, and Primoz over-delivered like crazy… it’s honestly one of the best presentations I’ve seen on “how to surround yourself with successful people and get mentored by influencers (even if you hate networking)”. It’s super actionable, no fluff content and people in my audience just LOVED it!
Thanks Primoz, and looking forward to supporting you and your amazing work further in 2015!
Here’s some awesome free gifts from Primoz!
Joana Galvao
Primoz actually introduced me to Joana, and from the first time I talked to her, I knew she would go very far in business and life. Since then, we’ve become good friends, connected over Skype a few times and I was the first person to interview Joana about her success so far when I featured her on The Branding Summit as a case study.
Why should you pay attention to a 23 year old website designer from Portugal? Well, she works with some of the biggest thought leaders online, like Derek Halpern, Jonathan Fields and Selena Soo. And did I mention that it’s not even a year since she started her business and quit her job? Enough said. Respect!
Felicia Spahr
Felicia was an awesome guest on my podcast and we talked about “how to be instantly irresistible to anyone you meet”.
And Felicia is definitely instantly irresistible, and is living the way her life the way she preaches. She’s always looking for ways to add value to me and the people around her.
I don’t know on how many occasions Felicia has introduced me to someone of importance, but it’s more than a handful of times. For example, the introductions to Kevin Rogers and Jeremy Reeves led to two awesome sessions for my online event, The Branding Summit.
She also introduced me to Vanessa van Edwards and I hope to interview her next year about people skills.
Thanks a ton Felicia, and I hope to be able to support your amazing work in 2015 as well!
As a little gift, feel free to also download your epic Instantly Irresistible guide here.
Tyler Wagner
Tyler is an extremely inspiring young entrepreneur and bestselling author of Conference Crushing.
We connected earlier this year, became good friends and started supporting each other by having weekly, very rewarding Skype chats to keep each other accountable in our business and life.
Tyler’s interview on Kindle Publishing on my podcast was so popular that I invited him back to do an exclusive presentation for the Branding Summit on “how to self-publish an Amazon bestseller in 3 months or less”. Tyler rocked his presentation and I know we will continue supporting each other in 2015.
And we will finally get to hang out in San Diego… it will be EPIC when I arrive later this spring!
Download Your FREE Amazon Bestseller Blueprint PDF! (Download Now)
Here’s what one person said about the interview I did with Tyler:
Elizabeth Bradley
Elizabeth has been an incredible supporter of my work this year and continue to do so. I also consider her a good friend, and we got something in the works that is coming in 2015… stay tuned. She was one of the amazing speakers on The Branding Summit, and if you need help with building your social media engagement from scratch to attract your ideal clients and grow your brand, Elizabeth is the person to turn to.
You can also listen to the popular podcast episode we did earlier this year here.
Greg Merrilees
I got to know Greg when I was looking for designer to interview for The Branding Summit. He rocked his presentation and we might even release a book called “Website that Converts” in 2015.
Greg also offered to design a couple of really cool t-shirts for my summit and podcast, which I really appreciate.
Pick up the Lifestyle Architects t-shirt here!
Grab The Branding Summit Exclusive t-shirts: Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3 |
Leonardo Silveti
Sometimes I refer to Leonardo as the “only” person that really gets me in Sweden… we’re both crazy in in a different kind of way… it’s hard to explain and not really the scope of this annual review. Leonardo is also my best friend and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. Thanks for always being there for me, even during the hardest moments I haven’t told anyone about yet.
Leonardo is an upcoming artist and just got back from Broadway Dancecenter a few months ago, and now starting to build his brand even more. Watch out for him, he will go far if he keeps pushing himself out of his comfort zone like he does now… super inspiring to follow and support his journey!
Nate Bunger
My first virtual mentor Nate Bunger always deserves a mention, even though we don’t speak as often as before. We might do a live hangout soon though, he lives a pretty amazing lifestyle in Cali, Colombia.
If you want to know more about Nate, be sure to listen to the interviews we did here and here.
Hororable Mentions In My Community:
Dan Dynesson
Dan is the man behind the epic guides some of you may have seen in the Branding Summit All Access Pass Community.
I can’t wait to help him rock his virtual summit and podcast launch in 2015… Dan is focusing on building the relationships before he needs them… way to go and keep up the good work providing massive value to other people!
Rodrigo Flamenco
Rodrigo is a very good friend of mine, big supporter of my work and I’ve know him since the very beginning of my online journey. He’s also the biggest hustler I know… why? Rodrigo comes from a very poor third world country called El Salvador, and early 2015 he will go on his first overseas freedom trip to Bulgaria.
Just amazing and he has definitely earned it. Keep hustling my friend!
I finally quit my job on my own terms and “moved” abroad!!!!
When I first went into 2014, I honestly didn’t know what to expect even though I wanted to quit my part-time job at the bank and live abroad more than anything in the world.
I asked myself this question countless of times: “was it even possible for me to quit my job before the end of 2014 without a solid backup plan?”
Well… let me tell you how it really went down.
I re-designed my website at the end of 2013 to up my game, and that brought in quite some clients and website projects.
I thought things were going to take off more and more… but as time went on, that wasn’t really the case even though I got clients that brought in decent money here and there. It wasn’t super consistent yet, so I decided to keep my part-time job for now.
What did I do next?
I launched my podcast, The Lifestyle Architects in April 2014. I love what the podcast has brought me when it comes to relationship building, but it didn’t really bring me more email subscribers and cashflow in my business.
One Sunday evening in June, I got the brilliant idea to launch a virtual summit and leverage all the relationships and credibility I built up with my blog and podcast already.
To make a long story short, I worked harder than ever before to make this work, so I could not only grow my email list for long term growth in my business, but also bring in significant revenue more rapidly, and of course skyrocket my brand to become known for something.
Just about 2-3 weeks before I launched my virtual summit, I literally wanted to quit everything (just ask my designer Gion Per and Jan Koch about it). Even though I had 110% commitment level, I was self-sabotaging myself, laying there in bed, and didn’t want to get up at all (it didn’t make it better that it was shit weather, dark and cold in Sweden at the time).
What got me to push through and finish this was that I had this feeling that it would work out because I earned it. And I wanted to deliver, not only to the speakers but to my audience. I had announced The Branding Summit publicly a few months before this, and this really helped me get up and do the work anyway.
It’s super scary to think about sometimes, but I’m so glad I went through with this project from start to end.
I launched my virtual summit November 17, and already the week before on Thursday, November 13 I told my boss that I was going to quit my part-time job for good. I was a bit surprised when she said that it was okay to leave already 2 weeks later.
Friday, November 28 was my last day, and I even got a letter of recommendation and flowers from my work which I didn’t expect. Unfortunately there’s not footage of when I actually quit my job…
Worth noting is that I didn’t have a lot of savings when I quit my job, but I knew everything would work out somehow… I had a very strong gut feeling that I would rock the Branding Summit since sales started to come in from day 1, 2 weeks prior to when the first interview went live.
All I can say now, about 200 sales later for The Branding Summit, a new course called Virtual Summit Mastery that I pre-launched and quite a few high paying clients that I’m working with, is that I made the right decision to just do it, let go of my fears and finally quit my job like a boss. BAAAM!
But it doesn’t just end there… why should I stay in cold Stockholm and Sweden during the winter when I can live and work from anywhere in the world?
I already had a family holiday booked to Thailand for 3 weeks from December 17 to relax and re-charge for 2015… because I’m not going to slow down at all, but I will work much smarter than I did in 2014 for sure.
Initially I thought I would return to Stockholm after and keep working from there, but as I was making more money, I felt more comfortable to let go of my comfort zone.
I packed up my belongings, gave away most of my stuff to charity and to my best friend Leonardo (I know he’s very thankful for all the new clothes and shoes he got!).
Everything I own fits in a big suitcase and carry on now… it feels so liberating to go minimalistic for a change…. and I owned a A LOT of stuff before.
I thought I would stay in Thailand for a couple of months, but even though I enjoy it, I didn’t fall in love with the place…
Watch the video from White Sand Beach in Khao Lak and keep reading to find out where I’m heading next
Invested in my brand and education
I invested a ton of time and money in building my brand, but it was all worth it. In my case that meant, upgrading my hosting to a more premium solution but more importantly making sure that my design looks amazing. Even though I haven’t been around for as long as Pat Flynn or Lewis Howes and many other big names in the online space, my design is still on their level or better and that has been a game changer for my business and brand.
Another thing I believe in, is investing my education. And that doesn’t have to be expensive.
Yes I invested in some premium courses like Ramit Sethi’s Zero to Launch, but I also canceled two major elite masterminds and all recurring payments since I didn’t feel I needed them anymore to take my business and brand to the next level.
If you don’t have money to invest in a premium online course or elite mastermind, I recommend reading more books. If you can’t afford 3-10 dollars for a book, then head to your local library to see if you can find them. There are no excuses… just do it!
Reading more books has literally transformed my business and life!
I might write a post early 2015 about my the top books I read or listened to during 2014… it’s quite a long list so I need to reflect over the ones that impacted me the most first.
Moving into 2015, I will continue to invest in my brand and education when needed in order to take my business to the next level.
What Did Not Go Well This Year
Health & Fitness
This is something I’m not proud over. A lot has to do with my lacking routines for most of the year, but also stress and lack of sleep etc. I even started several fitness challenges that I “failed” to finish to the very end…. but that’s ok. I’ve learned how to deal with adversity and set backs.
Now that I quit my job, I feel a lot more relaxed and try to find time to do sports every day, either at the gym, running or swimming, doing laps in the pool etc.
I’ve always lived a healthy lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean I just can’t think about it, especially after I went through a tragedy in my family, loosing my younger brother in April, 2013.
In 2015, I will make sure that I get back to peak health and fitness. This should be more like a pre-requisite to everything else, since living a healthy and fit lifestyle is part of who I am. It’s in my DNA!
Lack of Sleep
This kind of fits in under health, but I decided to keep it separate here because it’s so important. But the honest truth is that I barely slept during some stressful and critical periods during 2014 when I had a lot of work to get done.
I will not let this happen next year, and I already started now during my vacation in Thailand to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. I plan to continue doing this next year as well.
Listen to this episode on the power of sleep and you will definitely sleep more. It’s super important if you want to perform at the highest level consistently.
Having a very “balanced” life
From the time when I started my online journey, mid June 2013, I didn’t do many things outside of just working on my business. Some would tell me that I didn’t have a life for about 18 months…
I would have tried to do things differently if I started all over from scratch, but it worked for me to just hustle my ass off till something finally hit home because of my consistency and the fact that I was giving so much value to people all the time.
I don’t recommend or advise this method unless you are 200% committed to succeed. I would have literally slept on the street if I had to (and was close on a few occassions)… that’s how bad I wanted to succeed.
With that being said, it’s possible to achieve your goals by focusing on what really matters. When I was working I was not the most productive person, and could spend hours and hours in front of the computer without getting much done.
This will definitely change moving forward, and I will try to limit all the distractions while working to get things done much faster. This is very important now that I will be traveling more and living abroad… it wouldn’t be “fun” to spend all the time in front of my computer when I can be out in the sun, enjoying the day.
Going to in person events and live meet-ups
This is something I didn’t do at all since I started my entrepreneurial journey, mainly because I was based in Stockholm, Sweden. There’s not a whole lot related to online entrepreneurship going on there, even though we have a great startup scene with many hip new companies.
Some people actually connect with me because of the fact that I didn’t go to the big conferences like Social Media Marketing World in San Diego and New Media Expo in Las Vegas to meet all the big influencers and other people face-to-face.
Sometimes I say that I built my business from the comfort of my living room/bedroom, and that’s pretty much how it was from mid June 2013 till end of December 2014.
If I can do it, so can YOU! There’s really no excuses at all…. just focus on helping people and proving them value, that’s what I did and it worked out well for me.
I will at least attend New Media Expo in 2015, so I hope to see some of you there, and I will be in San Diego during Social Media Marketing World. Super excited to say the least!
Focusing on way too many projects
We all want to get a lot of stuff done, but sometimes we have to step back and focus on what really matters for the time being.
That’s exactly what I did in August after I read a very impactful book called, “The One Thing by Gary Keller”.
I knew that in order to be able to quit my job and move abroad, I needed to bring in significant revenue. Even though my podcast was gaining popularity with over 100 5 star reviews on iTunes, it wasn’t really growing my email list or business as fast as I wanted, and I wasn’t really getting that many clients on autopilot from my blog. I didn’t want to go local in Sweden either, even though that’s always an option when you’re starting out.
That’s when I decided to pretty much drop everything I had going on, and focus only on making The Branding Summit a massive success. It worked out quite well if I can say so myself!
What Are My Big Plans For 2015?
Launching a flagship product
This is something I kind of wanted to do this year with “Branding School”, but something I learned is, that it’s always easier to build the audience first and let them tell you what to create.
So that’s exactly what I did when I saw that there was demand for creating virtual summits similar to mine, and I was getting countless of questions about it, I knew I was on to something profitable (and scalable).
In fact, I already pre-launched my online course, Virtual Summit Mastery to see if it was demand for such a program. I got a handful of sales already, and I didn’t even start promoting it heavily to my email list yet.
You can still get in on the super early-bird special here. First class for the pilot program starts end of January/beginning of February.
If you’re not such a fast action taker, feel free to still sign up to the notification list and I will let you know when my next free live webinar training is where I will teach you the 7 steps to creating, promoting and profiting from virtual summits.
Writing my first book
I wanted to do self-publish a book in 2014 already, but I simply didn’t find enough time to focus on it. I’m not ready to reveal what it will be about just yet, but since you’re part of my awesome community, you’ll be the first to know.
How will I make this happen?
I will make daily writing a habit of at least 250 words, and take advantage of repurposing content for my book.
I also have friends in my network like Jesse Krieger and Tyler Wagner who can help me successfully launch an Amazon Bestseller. That will add massive credibility to my brand and I will get even more business and speaking gigs because of my bestselling book.
Are you planning to launch a book in 2015? Let me know in the comments section below!
Helping clients launch their successful virtual summits
I work with a few very dedicated massive action takers to help them rock their summits so they can build more authority, grow their email list and increase their profits. Since this is a premium offering, I don’t take a on many clients like this.
Here’s a few people I help right now with their virtual summits:
Jan Koch is launching The WP Summit. I honored to be coaching him and rocking his summit, and being a featured speaker as well. It will take place in spring 2015… stay tuned!
Aj Amyx and Andy Zitzman is launching a virtual summit in spring 2015. I’m super pumped for helping and partnering with them on this project, but I can’t reveal more details right now.
If you’re a massive action taker, interested in launching your own successful virtual summit in 2015 , just send an email to navid@navidmoazzez.com and we’ll talk some more.
Travel and live abroad
Since my business took off with my virtual summit in December and I’m looking to take things to the next level in 2015, I decided to also take my business on the road, but I will not travel all the time.
I will stay at one place for a couple of months and then move on. That’s more my style and I can also get a chance to to learn more about the culture and meet new people.
As I mentioned, I was going to stay in Thailand for about 2-3 months, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
So I’m actually heading to Cancun and Mexico to live there for 2-3 months before I go to California for a few months.
I have an awesome condo I will rent in Cancun with Ocean view of the Caribbean sea… not too bad considering my old view was a building in Stockholm city centre haha (my apartment and surroundings were great though, I built my business and brand from there after all!)
Then in the summer, I will most likely be based in the surfing mecca outside of Lisbon called Ericeira, to work on my business and devote myself to surfing for a few months.
After that I don’t know where I’m heading next… but at least I have planned my travels for the next 7 months or so.
I couldn’t be more excited since this has been a dream of mine to be able to do this for so many years… and now I can finally live it every single day. I’m extremely grateful!
If time allows, I will also:
Create another EPIC virtual summit similar to The Branding Summit - I have quite a few profitable virtual summit ideas in mind, and since I will be teaching other people how to do their summits, I want to keep doing at least one summit per year if possible to learn more and improve my skills.
Launch an elite mastermind to 20 select people in my community - Would you be interested in joining my inner circle if if launched it? Just send an email to navid@navidmoazzez.com if you want to learn more.
Speaking live on stage - I may already have quite a few opportunities to do that while I’m in the USA.
Guest posting on high leverage websites – I didn’t do that at all in 2014, and this can definitely be a great way to keep growing my email list faster and building my audience.
I will most likely not publish as many blog posts and podcast episodes on my own site in 2015 since I focus on other things in my business right now, but when I do, they will be absolutely EPIC and super valuable.
Things may change along the way, but this is what my plans for 2015 looks like right now. I have the first 3 months of the year planned out in detail, and it feels really good to know exactly how to get there.
Now It’s Your Turn!
What went well for you this year? What is one highlight you’re super proud of from 2014? What’s your goals and plans for 2015?
Feel free to share in the comments – please tell a story and be as specific as you can!
Let’s crush it in 2015 and make it the best year yet! #bestyearever
Stay inspired, take massive action and live your dream… I know I am!
Navid
P.S. After reading my good friend, Chris Ducker’s awesome annual review post, I got a pretty cool idea. If you comment on the blog post with your goals for 2015, I will personally hold you accountable and follow up with you to see how you are doing for the first few weeks of the year. Seriously, that’s like getting a virtual mentor for free. So be sure to comment on this post below!
Thanks to Chris Guillebeau and Jam