The Silver Linings of a Shattered 2024

1/7/20258 min read

// The Promise

Each year, I write a little review of the previous year and then make a bold statement about what I want to achieve in the following year - 2023, and then into 2024 was no different.

In fact, it was probably worse as The Clique had become a real thing and it was gaining momentum on a scale which I had never imagined so my focus was on trying to be as diligent in my promises as possible. The blog was (and still is) an outlet for my creativity and whilst I made a bold promise at the start of 2024 that 'content' was going to be my focus for that year, I didn't realise the context that would take.

My focus was to remain consistent with the blogging and I am proud to say that I have managed that promise (I'm letting out a little celebratory whoop as I type this) but that was just the basics of what I wanted to achieve.

I didn't however manage to kickstart any other projects - I'll come onto why and what affected me but I am happy that the blog remained consistent - never missing a week (apart from one in March but we'll come onto that)..

// The Start of 2024

Looking back, it's hard to think back a full year and understand how far I have actually come and doing these types of posts, it's a revelation on how much has actually happened in just one year.

A year ago, I was in a job I had grown to hate and I was coming out the other side of being completely burnt out - I had been rinsed of all the effort and enthusiasm I once had for a job and I had been working on overdrive for the best part of 6 months at the end of 2023 but with the decision to leave that job at the end of 2024, I had just three months to see out in the January to March period at the start of the year.

Three months seems like a lifetime when you think of it - imagine I told you that you're going on holiday in the middle of April - thats a long time to wait (if you're reading this when I published it at the start of January) and trust me - the three months I had to wait to get out of that job did feel like that, I was treading water and avoiding every ounce of additional work that I could. I made a conscious decision to pause on the extra work I had been doing and to do just enough until my contract was out.

When you're working a notice period, there is a lot that you get to learn about your former employers - despite giving over 5 years of loyal, hard working service, it's a telling sign when you're only spoken to by your 'boss' to tell you that you need to not wear jeans and a baseball cap to work anymore (despite wearing the same outfit for nearly 5 years). The lack of thanks, gratitude and humility shown will live with me as I continue my career elsewhere and it will shape how I treat any member of my team in the future if they decide to leave.

Despite this - the first quarter of 2024 was quiet - until the end of March.

// Breaking Bones

For as long as I can remember, all the way back to primary school when I broke my wrist, I have always thought I would, at some point in my life, break my leg and in March 2024, I fulfilled that dream.

Although, it wasn't a dream - it was a bloody nightmare.

The pain, immobility, frustration and total boredom you find when you break your leg is on another level - my wife broke her wrist later on in 2024 and whilst that was also painful, she was still able to walk around, collect herself cutlery, make herself food and take herself to the toilet. When you break your leg, you are completely debilitated.

The 'fun' thing about breaking your leg (in the most cynical way possible) was that I had, just two weeks before, started my new job with Yammayap and I was now bed-ridden, out of action and useless to the team. I wanted so bad to get back to work and I think we'd have made progress on our plans a lot faster had I not been out of action for those 5-6 weeks.

March stretched into April and looking back again at my 2023 review/2024 plans posts at the end of last year, I wanted to launch my videography services on the back of the work I was going to do with Mark Masters at Creator Day 2024 (the You are the Media annual event) and having a broken leg meant I lost that opportunity really.

The video I created with John Jocham to explain the Creator Day experience and show what was going to happen during the day was a success, I fully take that on board because when I was standing off-stage and listening to the audience's reaction to the video John and I filmed (he was the star of the video) - I was getting laughs in all the right places.

That wasn't the only video I created in the first part of 2024 either - having been burnt out by all the work stuff through 2023 (and creating absolutely nothing) - I managed to film a vlog in 2024 as I visited a Linkedin Conference in Birmingham and I enjoyed that process so much.

I didn't get to do much more of that but that all changed at the end of 2024 (more on that shortly)

// The Middle Months

The middle of 2024 was a blur - with the new job, the focus on recovery from a broken leg and an appetite to actually do some good work for Yammayap (and repay the faith in letting me sit in my bed for 5 weeks) - I made a conscious effort to just dive into work and try and do some good. It was difficult, I'm not going to lie because building software and developing software for clients is a completely different challenge to selling a plastic valve. It's better because there isn't a physical item which can be compared to another physical item - when you've seen a plastic valve, you've seen them all and the benefits to building software for clients can be intangible - they won't make sense from one client to the next.

But that's where I think I thrive.

Working in a service based industry allows you to sell time for money - the time is all about the perceived value that you're creating and that's where a good salesman (or woman) can weave a narrative which allows you to create that dream.

That's where I started to settle into - finding the little phrases, the little words and nuances which showcased the value a company like Yammayap could create and from April through to September, I attended events, met with lots of people and focused on trying to understand the positioning and focus on trying to identify the clients we could win.

We're also working in a business framework called EOS which means each person in the business has a specific role - mine is the 'Integrator' which means I have to do a lot of the running of the business, managing the people and focusing on moving the business into the right space. That was another challenge because again, that's all new to me (as it was for the entire team) but it was something which allowed us all to have a structure and process to our year of transition.

I don't want 2025 to be another year of transition for me - I want it to be a year where I can look back and say that I've achieved some of my goals for the year (they'll be written about next week) - I feel like with the burnout of 2023 and then the job change and focus on understanding software development and how we can sell that in 2024, I've lost a little bit of traction but 2025 has already started positively so long may it continue.

// Ending the Year

The end of 2024 was a lot calmer - despite losing a senior member of the team at Yammayap, we doubled down on what we needed to do and Rich (my boss) completed on a commercial property meaning that for the first time, Yammayap will own it's own office and we'll be focusing on building out that space in the coming weeks and months.

We tried (and failed) at a few things - we tried to run out first event where we'd talk about software but the audience just wasn't there and we'd tried to pitch it to the wrong space, we tried to create some opportunities out of our client base and whilst we felt a lull in the work towards the end of the year, we definitely felt it pick up again towards the end of November and start of December.

I always feel like it takes a good 6 months to have any effect on a workplace - in my last two jobs, I didn't really make an impact or have my presence felt at all for the first 6 months but after that point, the momentum starts to build and things start to change. I mean, that wouldn't work in a football manager sense where you need to have an immediate impact (and in some areas you can) but over the course of time, I definitely see the improvements in what we're trying to do with Yammayap.

Personally, the end of the year also felt good because I had definitely come out of that post-shit job haze which I was left with - the appetite to create was returning and I managed to rework both my personal and my professional website - I wanted to create something which reflected me and what I was trying to achieve and whilst I am not 100% happy with the outcomes (I'm going to refresh some elements again) - I feel much better about my sites than I did when I had to be ridiculously rigid with Squarespace.

// The Future

Every year, as I sit down to write these reviews, I find myself reflecting not just on what I've accomplished but on the mindset shifts that have carried me through. 2024 was a year of rebuilding - physically, professionally, and creatively. Breaking my leg in March forced me to pause, but it also gave me clarity on what truly matters: consistency, adaptability, and an openness to opportunities that may look different than what I'd originally planned. I was (and still am) grateful to my wife for all her support during that time, I don't think I would have emerged from this side of the injury without the support (and fetching of cutlery) - I picked a good one.

It’s funny how life throws curveballs.

If someone had told me in January 2024 that I’d break my leg, record a vlog, start a new business (let them create), start and then close down a fashion brand and then end the year working at Yammayap, helping to shape a business with such potential and we'd be moving into our own commercial premises, I wouldn’t have believed them.

And yet, here I am - integrating EOS frameworks, shaping client narratives, and helping the business navigate its new path.

2024 wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be.

The failures taught me just as much as the wins. From the unsuccessful software event to the moments of self-doubt while trying to find my feet in a new industry, every setback added a layer of understanding.

Looking back, I see a year of lessons, not losses.

But I am as determined as ever to not let 2025 be another year of lessons.

As I prepare for 2025, I feel ready for what’s next. The consistency I promised myself in January 2024 will continue - this blog, this creative outlet, remains my anchor. But I also want to go deeper into projects that matter.

Whether that’s expanding the work I do at Yammayap, growing my personal brand, or finally launching the videography services I dreamed about before the broken leg saga derailed things, the focus is on action.

2024 was the year I rebuilt. 2025 will be the year I thrive. Here's to making it count.