2025 Year in Review
Reflection
Every single year as December approaches I feel this self inflicted anguish about my lack of accomplishments in the passing year. Then I write out what happened in the year I am inevitably surprised to find I did a lot that I'm proud of. This process has become a favorite ritual of mine and I would love to convince you to do the same.
Highlights from the year
I married Miss Kate
Miss Kate is saved as "The Jackpot" in my phone, which is the correct nickname.
It's a blessing to have a partner to walk through life with. Not everyone has a true partner, many are resigned to simply a state recognized roommate. Miss Kate and I are ever changing, learning, and becoming ourselves in front of each other. It's often scary and embarrassing to grow in close proximity to another person but she has been a blessing to experience the human process with.
We got married in a small backyard venue here in Austin Texas with a very small group of friends and family.
A few weeks later we hiked Kilimanjaro together.
I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
8 days and 19,000 feet of elevation. The final ascent was the single most difficult day of my life.
My 2 favorite parts of the journey are that I never have to do it again and that I get to brag about it forever.
Climbing this mountain forces a person to ask themselves "What mountain can't I climb?".
Goals from last year
52 interviews - quit almost immediately
52 book clubs - success
12 blog posts - success, but barely
3 beacons (private events I host) - 2 hosted
I admit I did not do well with goal setting last year. I really only had these 4 goals and I barely completed them. I can't say I'm proud of that, but I can say these 4 goals are only a mediocre representation of what my life was really like. They don't include all the travel I did, helping to build the quilt store, all the work I put into the War Room, building forever friendships in Austin, going to the gym, and more.
I think the idea behind these goals was mostly correct. My driving forces are people and cameras, and this list mostly fits that.
I also need to make a bit more money. like the idea of being the worlds richest photographer. I think I could pull that off...
What am I actually spending my time on?
Writing this out lets me read back through the years and see patterns.
When we ask ourselves "what do we want to do with our time?" or "what should we do with our time?" it's easy to lie. It's easy to sell ourselves a grand dream of what we wish we were instead of what we actually are. To combat this, I find it more useful to look at the evidence of what actually happened. Then, I aim to build a life around what I naturally gravitate towards. I never want to fight my biology.
Real Estate
Even though it wasn't on my goal list this year I did buy another rental this year.
This world runs on money. I don't need all of it, but I definitely need more if I want to to buy a house in Austin and create more freedom for Miss Kate and I. I scooped up a completely destroyed single family house in Austin Texas and fixed it up to rent.
Why did I go back to single family when I spent so much time learning commercial multifamily? Well, it's because of how much I've learned about real estate in the last 10 years.
When I started all the way back in 2014 I desperately wanted to get just one rental. I wasn't even sure that I would be able to do it.
Then I ended up buying 8 houses in 3 years. I then bought a few apartments, I still own one. In 2020 I converted some of my houses to short term rentals and I flipped some houses too. Despite all of this effort I admit that the only thing that has worked out super well for me has been long term single family rentals. More importantly a simple investing style fits my personality better.
I want freedom, I don't want to create a business.
"You don't become completely free just by avoiding to be a slave; you also need to avoid becoming a master." - Taleb
A steady acquisition of single family homes will create all the wealth I will ever need, it doesn't require a bunch of partners or systems, it's not complicated, it's not a business that is likely to change too much, and I can hire out 100% of the work.
So my current goal is to get this deal done and then buy another and keep that process on repeat.
Books
Most of what I read now is with my book club, which has been going for 4 years now. You're welcome to join. I have moved away from self help and business books and read almost exclusively fiction philosophy lately. I find that overall non-fiction gives you an opinion about the world based on facts whereas fiction forces the reader to have an individual opinion about the world.
The Beacon
My idea for the Beacon started in 2019 as a coworking space. I don't think a coworking space is the best idea anymore but I'm still driven by connecting people. In 2024 I hosted 2 events here in Austin where 12 people came to network and workshop together.
In 2025 I'm going to do 3 local events and an international trip to Peru to hike Machu Picchu.
I really want to stick with this and iterate it over the next few years and make it a big part of my life
The Quilt Shop
I'm so proud of my Miss Kate. She started the quilt shop 3 weeks after we moved to Austin last June and she has worked her tail off every day since then.
In June of this year it outgrew our house and we had to rent a 2,000 sqft warehouse here in South Austin
Follow the BTS journey here on YouTube:
The gym
The gym is getting more difficult as the years go by, this is to be expected. I'm still hanging in there and I still think it's one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I will lift heavy free weights until I'm unable.
Photography
Bury me with my camera
War Room
If you're a service member or veteran and you're in real estate then you should be in the War Room. Period.
This community is a blessing and I'm grateful to have been part of it since 2019. I spend a lot of my time in this group and I'm excited for it to continue to grow.
Going forward
My 2025 word of the year was foundations, which I desperately needed. I can look back on my entire life as repetitive eras of chaos or obstacles that I believe have all been overcome now.
Between age 0-22 I was very constrained into boxes. My family, school, and the military were all made boxes that were too small and/or didn't understand me. From 23-31 I was able for the first time in my life live without any boxes, and that was better but I was too immature (and insecure) to build anything sustainable and I eventually got myself in trouble. From 32-36 I created foundations for the first time and I began to thrive. That's when I made money for the first time, when I started reading, and found my camera. However, at 37 I had to crash out part of that life too and started fresh again and that era was a lot of chaos. I've moved 4 times in the last 5 years, had no real financial plan, and no consistent social group (which I need).
In 2025 I fixed all of that. I married Miss Kate, and that is forever. Austin is also forever. Moving was bit of a roll of the dice but it's going to turn out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I have a damn near bullet proof financial base, and I know myself better than ever.
Which means into 2026 I have deep foundations to build off of, and I am confident I can do that.
2026 word of the year
Late in this year I went through this really impactful "era of NO". It's really helped me focus and I thought about making it my word of the year this year but after some time to think about it I ultimately decided that it was too negative. I don't want to spend the whole year with a negative word as the driver, even if it's needed in some (many) circumstances.
In 2026 I don't need any elaborate or lofty dreams, I don't need to rebuild anything, all I have to do is live on the foundation I built and put consistent work in. My 2026 word of the year is Repetitions
I'm already doing all the things I love. I'm creating every day, I'm helping the quilt store grow, I'm serving in the War Room, I'm buying real estate, and I'm creating a big life here in Austin.
I don't want to do anything else, I want to do tons more reps of these things I'm already doing.
2026 Goals
I've created this set of goals to guide me towards the things I find most fulfilling: reading, writing, storytelling with my camera, and building community.
- Host 3 local Beacons
- Post 24 Quilt shop vlogs (2x per month, will probably need to hire an editor)
- Publish 12 Newsletters
- Host weekly book club
- Purchase 1 piece of real estate
Cheers to your 2026
Thanks for reading, I hope this can act as catalyst for you to write your own annual review, and to help you I created a short PDF with some notes and encouragement to make it easer
I would love to hear your 2026 ambitions. Email me and tell me what you want to accomplish for the year ahead.
alex@lifeandlens.media
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