100 Things That Made My Year 2021

Every year, I have the opportunity to reflect on the 100 things that made my year 😀.

I have done this in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

I write these because they're fun and more importantly because I believe strongly that gratitude is the antidote for optimism.

2021 has been a year of ups and downs for most people.

Although I'm sharing the things that made my year, there have also been some challenging times.

In particular, I've felt pretty tired in 2021.

Tired of covid and the overall impact on my life and those around me (friends and family).

In addition, I've experienced physical tiredness from doing too much in the year. I hope to be better at this next year.

All that said, this post is a focus on the positive outcomes from 2021 by way of achievements or day-to-day things that really made my year.

I'm grateful to have lived out my dreams in 2021.

100 Things That Made My Year 2021

Here they are in no particular order:

1) We Took 1 Month Off to Travel In August

We'd dreamt about this for years, but in 2021 it happened.

We travelled across 3 countries: UK, Spain, St Lucia in the 31 days of August. It was a beautiful experience.

Travelling is a big part of what Financial Joy means to us. Taking at least 1 month off a year to travel has become our new family culture.

Watch our travel adventures here:

 

2) New Team Members

We started 2021 with 2 new team members.

Julian (Video Editor) and Sue (Online Business Manager).

Both have been incredible for The Humble Penny in addition to our other team member, Tanya (Community Manager).

3) Freelance Writing For The Financial Times

I became a contributor to the Financial Times and have loved every opportunity to do it.

In the year, I wrote two pieces.

One on the art of the side hustle and another on how black entrepreneurs are thriving online even with many challenges.

Being invited to be a contributor for the FT is one of those out of this world opportunities.

I remember qualifying in 2008 as a Chartered Accountant and saw my name printed in the FT.

I bought that edition thinking that might be the only time that I'd ever see my name there.

But it's interesting how life evolves.

Life is filled with possibilities.

4) Creator Of The Year Award: YouTube Black Creator Class of 2021

The Humble Penny was one of some 112 or so creators globally chosen for this.

It has been one of the best experiences of our lives.

YouTube has been incredibly supportive of our creator journey.

In addition, we've met and become friends with some incredible creators.

Then on top of all this, The Humble Penny was voted Creator of The Year by our 2021 cohort:

You can read more about this on our feature on the YouTube Blog.

 

5) 10 Years Happily Married

2021 marked 10 years of marriage to my incredible wife, Mary 😍.

We are still dancing together:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTCuyI4LQqI/

6) Launch of “The Humble Kitchen”

It's official, we've launched a sister food brand called The Humble Kitchen 😀.

Mary is leading all efforts for this brand and we're creating it to bring together her passions for food and finances.

The Humble Kitchen will be home to quick, easy and healthy meal prep ideas on a budget.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel here and follow it on Instagram @thehumblekitchenofficial

Shout out to the 363 people who have already subscribed to the channel even with no content yet 💛

7) Prize Giving at School

Our second son, Elias, won an overall excellent prize for his year in the Summer.

His older brother, Joshua, won the Maths prize.

Parenting well is hard. Truly being there for your kids and putting in the time day after day and week after week ain't easy!

So these signals that they are progressing at school are encouraging, although the more important education is what we're teaching them at home.

8) FJA Became One Year Old

Financial Joy Academy (our other sister brand) celebrated 1 year of operating in February 2021.

We had a powerful coaching call with our members (aka Dream Makers) and it was fascinating to hear the highlights on how everyone had progressed.

There is still a lot of work for us to do at FJA and that work continues but we're super pleased by how much impact it is having.

9) 1 Year Quitversary

I celebrated 1 year of quitting my corporate CFO job!

My brother-in-law asked me the other day if I missed my job and my response was “No way!”.

I'm having so much more fun and impact doing what I'm doing now with The Humble Penny.

Nothing can compare to operating daily from a place of purpose.

10) First Time Ever Snorkelling in St Lucia

I'm not a confident swimmer.

However, a massive highlight for me in 2021 was snorkeling for the first in St. Lucia in between the beautiful pitons (mountains in the photo below).

Even better, I did it with Mary, and this photo brings back so many memories.

 

11) Tales By Light Documentary (Netflix)

I have a love for photography. But I'd forgotten that love until I saw this documentary.

You ever had that feeling when you feel like something that you're watching is speaking directly to your soul?

This happened to me whilst watching this.

This show is about how photographers are using pictures to tell stories that make the unseen seen.

Two episodes filmed in Bangladesh about the poverty there made me realise even more how fortunate I am.

It gave me the push I needed to go into the streets (with my camera) to have conversations and explore more solutions to financial struggles starting here in the UK.

12) Snow In February

This was such a good opportunity to do something fun with our kids.

We had snow fights and even played football in the snow.

13) Everyday Courage Podcast

Mary and I were featured on a podcast episode together for the first time ever!

We were guests on an amazing podcast, Everyday Courage, with my good friend, Jillian Johnsrud.

Interesting that I actually came across Jillian after a reader of this blog emailed me to tell me that I must check her out!

I'm so glad I did because it led to a good friendship and we're now part of the same mastermind.

Listen to the episode here:

14) Powerful conversation with Julien

Another massive highlight for me this year was a powerful conversation with Julien from Rich and Regular.

He and his wife (Kiersten) have been big inspirations for us in so many ways.

Not only are they a black couple in the Personal Finance (and Financial Independence) space in the US, but they have such a powerful story and message.

Julien and I had a much-needed video call and I was so inspired speaking and learning from him.

15) Power of Mastermind

I've had so much fun this year being part of a genuinely friendly and useful mastermind.

It has helped me to grow and build very important relationships with fellow creators in the US.

In fact, it is one meeting that I look forward to the most each month.

If you're not part of a mastermind, it is something that I highly recommend.

Top tip for getting into one is to build genuine friendships with other creators.

This is how I got invited to one by Jillian Johnsrud.

 

16) Ibiza Surprise

I surprise Mary with a trip to visit the beautiful Ibiza and my surprise actually worked!

It was our first time ever and we really enjoyed exploring that part of the world.

Watch some highlights in this video.

17) Getting on a Plane Again

Getting on a plane for the first time in 2 years (because of Covid) was a major highlight.

It just made us appreciate all the freedoms that we enjoyed before the pandemic and has made us think even more intentionally about our travels.

18) Having a BBQ with the family at Center Parcs

The one thing that I remember so well is that we all danced to Afrobeats! 😀

My mum makes the effort to take all 3 generations of our family away once a year and this year it was to CenterParcs.

Another highlight was a 3-hour spa session with my siblings and their partners.

Something about doing this after lockdowns in the last couple of years was very special.

19) 10,000+ Comment Replies

I'm told by YouTube that we responded to more than 10,000 comments in the year! 😅

We've LOVED helping so many people in 2021 and responding to these comments has been another important way for us to serve our audiences.

Gotta admit though, I almost fell off my seat when our Partner Manager mentioned this stat to us.

20) Take Control programme

To prepare for a tough year ahead financially, we created an epic FREE 1-year email programme to help our audience:

• Take Control of their money
• Grow their money
• Begin the journey to become financially free one day

 

21) 104 YouTube Videos Created

I don't know how we did it, but we put out 104 videos on our YouTube channel in 2021.

That's 2 high-quality videos per week!

Each video was tough to make as each one is in effect a mini-project.

But you know what, it has been not only life-changing for our audience but for us in so many ways.

I'm actually a lot smarter from making these videos as a lot of them have to be researched.

22) Officially Verified

We became verified across all our major platforms (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook) in 2021.

This was a major leap forward for our brand.

If you aren't already, do follow us here on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

23) ‘Made By Design' Netflix Series

This series follows a number of Nigerian creatives (Architects, interior designers) who share their design process for solving problems.

Mary and I were massively inspired by this series, Made By Design.

One big take away for us is the need to have a lived experience of the problem before you can solve that problem through design.

Watch a trailer here:

24) 2.7 Million Views

As of December 2021, we hit around 2.7 MILLION views on YouTube!! WOW!

This for us is a major milestone. Something we never saw coming when we started our channel in the Summer of 2019.

25) Warner Bros Exclusive Film

We enjoyed a Jollof Burrito evening by Jollof Mama with our YouTube creator class followed by an exclusive Warner Bros viewing of Judas and The black Messiah (before it was released).

Daniel Kaluuya had an outstanding performance.

26) Jacuzzi Madness

When we checked into our room in Ibiza, we were not only greeted by spectacular views of the Balearic Sea but we were also greeted by a jacuzzi!

This was as standard in all rooms and was a first for sure. This was the view from the room:

27) Brotherly Hug

I shared a big hug with my good friend, Tendai, on our first day back to Church after 18 months away due to the pandemic.

It felt so good to see him and other people in person.

28) Good Health

Health has obviously become a major focus for most people in the current season.

I'm grateful for my good health overall this year. I was ill recently but OK overall.

We've seen family members and friends fall ill this year, but thankfully, they recovered.

I wish you well if you're currently in recovery from poor health. It has been a tough year for most people.

Good health is my biggest focus for next year.

29) Eating Out In Spain

This sounds so trivial but it meant the world to me.

Especially because I was hyper-stressed mentally from working too much and just needed an escape.

Eating Paella at a beautiful restaurant in Ibiza was just heaven.

Something about being in a different environment and not by my computer or phone was just heaven.

30) ASUS Campaign

I worked with ASUS to share my love for their ZenBook Duo 14 laptop

This campaign was hard work but I loved the challenge of making this video ourselves:

31) Decluttering

This was the year that we had our biggest declutter ever!

It felt good giving a lot of our stuff to charity.

32) Tokyo 2020

Watching the Olympics was pretty intense. Particularly because my brother, Kingsley, competed in the Paralympics.

He was the first-ever male African Paralympian Rower.

Although he suffered from an injury during the competition and didn't win a medal this time, I was so proud to see him competing at such a global level 😀.

33) Our 5 am Club

A major highlight for me this year has been to wake up at 5 am for most mornings and meet our community at Financial Joy Academy.

Mondays are Monday MBA – We analyse how someone became a millionaire

Tuesdays are Mindset Tuesday

Wednesdays are for members to share what they learned recently

Thursdays is for our Book Club (where we read a book together)

Fridays is a mental health and wellbeing day

34) FT Money Podcast

I was featured on the FT Money Clinic podcast (with Claer Barrett) to offer some money tips to a millennial couple who want to make their money work harder after a challenging year financially.

I absolutely loved hanging out with Claer and her team for this one:

35) Rocket Your Income Challenge

We launched the free Rocket Your Income Challenge to help our audience to take practical steps to increase their incomes over the next 6 months.

It was a very intense week but an AMAZING challenge and experience.

Feel free to join the challenge as the live version kicks off again in January and will only be done once a quarter.

36) More Money Podcast

I absolutely LOVED my first ever appearance on a Canadian podcast. It was with money expert, Jessica Moorhourse.

If you want to understand how we turned The Humble Penny from an idea into a money brand, then definitely check this out:

37) Budget Day Trip

We enjoyed a £100 day trip on the Spa Valley steam train in Royal Tunbridge Wells.

In addition, we explored the ancient High Rocks Monument:

 

38) Exploring Crypto

We spent a lot of time this year learning about Crypto and continue to. We recommend a lot of research before you consider investing. Plus, read all risk warnings.

To really get our feet wet, we invested some money in Crypto and worked with Coinbase to educate our audience about this asset class.

They created something called Coinbase Earn in the UK to help you learn and earn free crypto by watching videos and answering quizzes.

Our learning continues and we'll create more content on this subject over the next year.

Watch our Crypto Playlist too.

39) Vogue Feature

This is one of those out of this world things that I never saw coming 😄.

We got featured in the September 2021 issue of British Vogue together with our fellow YouTube creator class of 2021.

We didn't get round to buying the physical magazine, so if you have one kicking about, please let me know.

 

40) Mary's Creator Masterclass

Mary co-hosted her first YouTube masterclass with another brilliant creator, Tayo Aina.

Although she was super nervous, she was excellent and we enjoyed learning a lot about his journey.

The after-party (online) was fun as we all got to bond and learn from each other as creators.

41) City Day Break

With all the stress that comes with creating, we needed another break to clear our heads and plan.

One highlight was visiting Cafe Royale in Piccadilly Circus and I had the most incredible time with Mary.

We also absolutely loved chilling at the swimming pool and enjoyed walking around Oxford Circus late at night (a very unusual activity for us as parents).

The food in the hotel was also amazing.

42) Book Feature

We're pleased to be featured in a soon to be published (Penguin Random House) book by Rich and Regular.

It's an honour to be included.

43) August Experiment

I mentioned earlier that we took August off to travel. We called this the “August Experiment”.

Planning for and starting the August Experiment was a major highlight.

Life felt calm and peaceful without creating content for a change or going on Social Media.

It was also beautiful and peaceful to just be in a different space. We needed that break sooo badly.

It gave me lots of me time to think.

44) Porsche Experience

They hotel we stayed at in Ibiza surprised us by giving us a lift to dinner outside the hotel in a beautiful Porsche.

It was my first time ever in a car like that and although the drive was short, it was amazing.

Apart from the car looking absolutely stunning, the seats gave us a massage whilst the car was being driven.

Watch a clip here of the actual experience.

I can never justify buying a car like that. I wouldn't want the hassle and ongoing expenses. But I wouldn't mind hiring it for a day for fun.

45) Ludovico Einaudi – Experience

This was one of my go-to pieces of music 🎼 for 2021, especially whilst I was working:

46) Josh Skate Boarding

I've learnt this year that kids can pick up anything quicker than I can

Our son (Josh) went to a skateboard party and for the first time ever, got on a skakeboard and looked like he'd been using one for years.

Kids are more capable than we might give them. I was so happy to experience this moment with our son:

47. Washing Plates

You'll laugh at this but we have a dishwasher at home but we don't use it 😆.

One highlight for me this year was that our kids got more consistent at washing their dishes themselves with a sponge.

Something about doing this helps them to look after other areas of their lives like tidying up their rooms.

48) Investing Success

This year was a year of investing successful for many people we know.

Everyone from members at Financial Joy Academy, readers of this blog and those who subscribe to our YouTube Channel, to my parents and siblings.

I enjoyed another year of investing our money and that of my parents. Plus co-investing with our kids and teaching them how money works.

I also taught my youngest sister how to invest her money as she's great at making money but not growing it.

49) Financial Times feature

I was featured on an FT article with other experts about their embarrassing financial mistakes.

You can read it here.

50) Financial Mistakes From Our Community

We extended the idea from #49 and asked our community what their biggest financial mistakes were, and WOW!

The community contributions were powerful. You'll love this piece:

51) FJA Summer Meet Up

We met our FJA Dream Makers for our first (of two) meet ups in 2021.

This was such a beautiful and fun meetup and we ended up hanging out together for about 6 hours in restaurant in London.

When I look at this picture, all I can see are current and future successes. These guys are taking steps to live life just how they want it.

This particular meetup actually led to our first community property collab.

3 of these guys came together to buy a commercial property together.

With the quality of relationships that we're all building, the future is bright at FJA 😀.

p.s. We'd like to see more of our men at our next event ;).

52) The Humble Penny Website Re-brand

We've been working for months to get our website rebuilt and rebranded.

It has been quite full on re-imagining this blog.

We're doing this to better represent where we are on our journey now and our future vision.

So our updated website will feature both Mary and I, plus, the overall site design will be very modern and responsive.

We've also worked on the core messaging on our site, with a stronger focus on less is more.

Finally, you'll see little to no ads.

You might still see some on older blog posts, but you might have noticed that we've been turning ads off on posts in 2021.

We're doing this because we just want another look and feel. The new website will go live in January 2022.

53) Squid Game

Did you watch it? It's a Korean show on Netflix. It was both gruesome but brilliant from a storytelling perspective.

I can still hear the soundtrack in my head!

We watched it partly for some learning and made a whole video on the debt implications for our lives day to day:

54) CenterParcs Aerial Adventure

I did an aerial adventure with Mary and our boys at CenterParcs.

It was more scary than I imagined and we had huge respect for our kids after it 😂.

Joshua led the way and really showed us what was possible.

This exercise really made me face fear and learn how to deal with it and trust that everything will be OK.

Our second son, Elias, also showed huge bravery and whilst crossing an insane high shaky wire, he decided to stop half way.

It was a complete stalemate. After much negotiating, he managed to carry on. We were so proud of his bravery.

Mary was absolutely incredible and I got to see another aspect of her as a strong woman.

You can watch some clips here

55) Summer Walks

Working from home is nice if it is balanced with time outdoors.

One thing I really enjoyed this year is going for walks with Mary whilst having ice cream in the Sun.

This country is filled with good vibes when it is nice and warm.

Just imagine what life would look like if we had 3 – 4 months of sunshine in the UK. It would be incredible! 😀

I think the balance of different seasons is a good thing, provided we actually have proper Summers.

I'd not sure I'd like it if I lived someplace that was constantly hot.

I like the seasonal variations and the option to travel and get some Sun when possible.

56) Interviewing My Mum

I believe strongly in listening to parents and the older generation about how to do life.

I've long dreamt of doing a series of interviews with my parents to better understand my family and generational history.

Sadly, this type of information is not documented. It also resides in the minds of my parents and relatives.

This interview is the beginning of that process of documenting my family history.

I met my mum and interviewed her about her life journey as a business woman and immigrant to the UK.

It's a powerful interview if you have the patience to listen:

57) Sports Day

The boys won brilliant medals for sports day. Elias came first 3 times and a second and third. Josh came first 2 times and the rest seconds.

58) Lifting of The Lockdown Rules

I hear whispers of a future lockdown. I certainly hope that this doesn't happen for all manner of reasons.

Seeing the rules lifted earlier in the year was a noteworthy moment for me.

59) Hitting 50K Subs

Hitting 50,000 Subscribers on YouTube is something that I never saw coming.

It felt like a huge mountain to climb to get there but we've worked extremely hard and we're super thankful for each person so subscribes and supports our work.

The next stop is 100K but beyond the goal, my real focus is to make sure that we're still having fun doing it and that the focus remains on serving others.

60) The Voice Newspaper feature

We were featured here as part of revealing our selection for the inaugural YouTube Black Creator Class of 2021.

If you've never come across The Voice, they are the only British national black newspaper in the UK aimed at the British African-Caribbean community.

61) Ujana Podcast

I was a guest on this really interesting podcast, Ujana, with Carol Oakley. Here I talked about how to design your life's vision:

62) Brand Partnerships

We worked with some amazing brands this year including PensionBee, Coinbase, ASUS, Superscript, Smarty, Vice, etc.

63) ITV News Feature

I went on ITV news to talk about inflation and thoughts on interest rates as people across the UK consider what to do about their mortgage deals:

64) Brainstorming Overlooking The Balearic Sea

Our trip to Ibiza was an opportunity for us to brainstorm about The Humble Penny.

One thing we gained clarity on was who our dream customers are and what results we are getting for them.

This is particularly timely as we update our website and build products that will meet people are their points of need.

65) Our First-Ever Real Christmas Tree

Although we were not able to gather with all our family members (parents and siblings) as usual due to Covid, we were pleased to celebrate Christmas as a family.

This year though, we had our first ever real tree and it was fun making it look festive with our kids:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6p93fKU3Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

66) Business Growth

The Humble Penny grew this year in both income and brand reach as our audiences grew.

This helped us hire more team members and put some money behind some new projects for next year.

67) Defining “Financial Joy“

When we started this blog, we chose the tagline “Create Financial Joy”.

A major highlight for us this year was giving “Financial Joy” a definition and creating a FREE 1-year long step-by-step process for how we can help our audience achieve it.

This journey to creating Financial Joy in your life begins with Taking Control of your finances.

We're even re-building our entire website around this major theme of “Financial Joy” and how you create it for yourself.

One thing Covid has taught us is the importance of using money to truly create a life that works for you. This is a huge part of what a life of Financial Joy is all about.

Join our FREE One-Year email programme here and begin to create a financial life that you love 😍.

68) ‘Our Lean Journey‘ launch

I taught my sister, Jennifer, how to create a successful YouTube channel, and 6 months after she started, she has become monetised and growing new health (weight loss) brand called Our Lean Journey.

I'm so proud of her as she is the kind of person who would never come in front of a camera.

But, she put in the work for 6 months (week after week) and her channel is helping thousands of women to lose weight.

She is also now earning an income monthly (and growing) after 6 months of just creating content for free.

Please check out her channel and if you like what she is sharing, please subscribe.

69) How Much Do They Make Series

We launched an insightful career series on YouTube interviewing incredible people on:

• How much money they make
• and how they became a success at their careers
• Then finally asking them to share advice to help others, etc.

We've interviewed a Software Engineer, Accountant, Pro Gamer, YouTuber, Surgeon, Taxi Driver, Maths Teacher, Investment Banker, Music Producer, etc.

There is no series like this on YouTube. It is a must-watch!

70) Way Maker

This was my most uplifting music of the year. If you're into worship music, you might like it:

71) YouTube Partner Support

A special thanks to Nima and Maz (Partner Managers) at YouTube for what we can only describe as an incredible year of love and support.

72) Our “Architect” Programme

A special thanks to my sister, Pamela, for working with me to put together what will become a life-changing programme for the people in our community that we're calling The Dream Architects.

i.e. these are people who will build other people up by creating purpose-led platforms and businesses.

I've been thinking for some time about how we'd serve this third community and we now know how.

Our “Architect” programme will go live in January 2022 and will be an implementation coaching programme for a small group of 12 people each time.

I'll be working with them for 3 months to create something game-changing. More info to follow. Watch this space 😊.

73) Working With Corporates

In 2021, we started doing corporate training and workshops.

We did workshops with YouTube, Cambridge University, Imperial College, etc.

Our session with Imperial was to almost 300 people and I absolutely loved every moment of doing it.

If you would like us to deliver a workshop for your workplace, please get in touch.

Areas we've delivered workshops on include:

• Financial Resilience
• Financial Bravery
• Financial Wellness
• Financial Independence
• Financial Control

74) Watching the Sunset

Watching the sunset with Mary in Ibiza and drinking some mocktail Pina Colada is a moment I'll always remember.

 

75) Making Chocolate at Hotel Chocolat

We visit Hotel Chocolat, St. Lucia for a chocolate making exercise.

Here is Josh marvelling at the fact that chocolate is made from this Cocoa pod:

Here is my finished chocolate. Gotta admit it didn't taste too bad.

It definitely tasted more bitter than I expected and nowhere near anything you'd buy from the shops usually.

But I absolutely loved the experience of actually making my own chocolate bar and doing it with my family.

You can watch us making chocolate here

76) Having “Ice cream of the gods”

This was our treat whilst we waited for our handmade chocolate to take form at Hotel Chocolat, St. Lucia.

 

77) Waterfall Experience

For the first time ever, I had a water fight beneath a waterfall.

The power of the waterfall was way more than I actually anticipated.

78) Decorating Our Living Room

For years, we'd been wanting to decorate our living room space to make it more welcoming.

We finally did it this year as we needed a new space for filming content at home.

It's amazing how much of a difference it makes (in terms of quality of life) to paint a wall and shift a few things around.

It just made our space feel so much cozier.

79) Latin America Business Summit

I was honoured to be invited to speak at the Latin America Business Summit.

It was incredible to hear how people in different countries from Latin America think about money and planning for goals like Financial Independence.

I was fascinated by the types of challenges people faced but the desire to become financially free was the same.

Interestingly enough, language was not a barrier. Money is such a globally relatable subject.

80) Coaching Business Owners

I enjoyed working in small groups of 3 this year to coach some small and beginner business owners.

This type of work required more of my energy than normal, but I enjoyed the experience of helping people bring their ideas to reality.

81) Hosting “Top Creator Day” 2021

YouTube asked Mary and I to host Top Creator Day 2021 (a gathering of top UK YouTube creators).

It was pretty daunting and I remember still practicing our lines at 2.30 am the morning of the event, LOL!

We wanted to do an amazing job and the feedback was excellent!

It was our first ever hosting gig together and we loved it. Here are some pics:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVn3dy_qWLD/

82) Created Shorts

We created our first ever “Shorts” video on The Rule of 72 for investing.

83) Meeting Jeremy Lynch

I had no idea how much of well-known creator he was but we met him whilst hosting Top Creator Day.

Jeremy is one of the most insanely creative storytellers that I've come across.

The video on “Savage Dad vs Gangsters” is just another level. Take a look at what he does with filters.

He was super kind and left our son a personalised message about making sure that he eats his dinner 🙂

84) Men's Retreat

I was invited to my first ever men's retreat by my good friend, Marvyn Harrison.

It turned out to be one of the most reflective moments of my year because I got the opportunity to truly understand a different side to the word “intimacy”.

Men struggle to share how they feel about life and their challenges.

At this retreat, for the first time ever, I saw a different side to guys sharing and connecting. It helped to improve my self-awareness.

I was so moved by the experience that I shared a bit more about it here if you have time to watch:

85) Graduating From the YouTube Black Voices Fund

After what I can only describe as a fun-packed and relentless year of learning, we graduated from the inaugural creator class of 2021.

It was a life-changing experience on so many levels and a lot of what you see today in terms of our output on YouTube is directly connected to our learning on the programme.

The programme helped us to invest in a video editor for the first time ever and gave us a stronger belief in what we do and a feeling that we are truly supported as creators.

86) Interviewing Perry

This made my year because we interviewed Perry Wilson about his journey of going from being a Taxi Driver to building a £1m investment portfolio.

The zoom recording was not very good quality and our backup recording had failed!

We almost didn't publish his interview due to the poor visual quality, but guess what, soon as we did it completely took off!

That video has received some 35,000 views and counting. His energy and drive inspired many and continues to.

Moral here is: Focus on Progress, not Perfection.

If you've not seen the video, you can watch it here:

Perry returned for part 2, but this time to teach a masterclass at Financial Joy Academy on how to invest in cheap properties for passive income.

 

87) “What Could Only Ken Do?“

This is the powerful question that I got asked in 2021.

It came from a friend who in his 30s, currently runs one of UKs Unicorns (i.e. a company worth more than $1billion).

He asked me this question as I'm currently wrestling with doing too much and needing to shift some of my work to other team members.

88) Birthday Celebration

We're thankful for another year of celebrating birthdays, healthy and happy.

89) Financial Joy Academy December Meetup

We met our community for the second time in 2021, and it was lovely to have a meal together and discuss highlights of 2021.

You can see some of the meetup in the video below (we combined it with our Cotswolds getaway).

90) Exploring The Cotswolds

We'll be doing more staycations in the future.

To end the year, we visited the Cotswolds and stayed at a stunning property that was only surrounded by the beautiful countryside.

It was 3 nights of no social media, no noise, and no pollution:

91) Harriet

We loved watching this incredible film about Harriet Tubman on Netflix.

Cynthia Erivo was phenomenal in this film. Highly recommended.

 

92) Mentoring Others For Free

I've enjoyed giving my time this year to mentor others. Everything from 121 sessions to group quarterly investing sessions with the youth empowerment organisation, 20/20 Change.

93) Childcare

Huge thanks to my parents, in-laws, and siblings who are all within 30 minutes drive for a truly helpful year from a childcare perspective.

Without family, it would have been a hugely stressful year.

I'm super grateful to have a truly supportive family who are happy to take the kids when we just need a break.

94) Dad and Grandkids

Over Christmas, I saw my dad and his 7 grandkids relate in a way that I'd never seen before.

The kids all lined up to give grandad massive hugs. Why you may wonder?

He gave them cash instead of random presents that the kids may not want or need.

The cash aside, something about just seeing my dad make time to hang out with his grandkids this way was special.

95) Creativity and Entrepreneurship

Our kids are becoming more entrepreneurial.

They've figured out that what it takes to make money is to solve a problem for someone else.

One recent highlight was that they made a phone holder (from lego) for Mary and priced it at £2.

They'd seen their mum struggle to balance her photo to watch a video, so they designed something practical for her.

They even made me a photo frame to put some pictures by my working desk.

96) Series: Business Success Stories

I got tired of working indoors in 2021 and so we shifted some of our content to outdoors to force us to leave the house.

This inspired our new series, Business Success Stories.

Our motivation outside of sharing the success stories from everyday people was to leave the house, drive somewhere and see real people at their place of work 😀

97) 90-Minutes of Football

At the age of 7 and 8, our boys played at least 90-minutes of football every Monday.

This has been good for their fitness and all-round resilience.

98) Dancing at 1.30 am.

I can't remember exactly what happened but I was so happy on this day.

At 1.30 am, I was up and dancing to this music on repeat:

 

99) Family, It's Worth Fighting For

This video about fighting for your family brought tears to my eyes:

100) Unusual Qualities

In this last video of 2021, I took deep reflection on what has helped me to get to where I am today.

I wanted to create a video that inspired others and helped them believe more in their possibilities in life.

In this video, I shared 8 unusual qualities that helped to get me to where I am financially today.

As you think about your wealth-building journey this year, it is my belief that this video will help you from a mindset perspective.

 

I thank God for another incredible year of living my dreams 💛