This year we launched fast track money course with Financial Imagineer, helping tons of people master the concept of time, money, and life. With the knowledge and tools we provided them, they have transformed their financial life and are on the way to achieving financial independence.

For the Fast Track Podcast, we arrived at episode 68. Sixty-eight weeks of episodes covering topics of entrepreneurship, career, and money. I am very grateful for all the guests on this show, and I am very proud of myself for being so consistent in the last year. I had many great guests, but there are a few episodes that are interesting for you, if you have not listened to them: millionaire series with Peter Saddington and Matthias Richter, global citizen lifestyle with Andrew Henderson, journey to financial independence with the Poor Swiss, and fast track business and personal wealth with Thomas Brandon Kovacs (Sparkojote). In the last recent episodes, I also have David and Lisa talking about real estate investing, fascinating strategies if you have not heard of those.

Besides what I have done with Fast Track, I co-founded a digital marketing agency serving blockchain tech startups in Switzerland. I have been working in this industry for a couple of years, and I am very interested in helping tech startups grow, and anything related to entrepreneurship is my interest.

With all those happened this year, you can imagine how my life is. I am also learning how to find the right balance. Here are three lessons I learned in 2021.

1, Put Myself first

I would have an hour-long conversation with a friend on the telephone even though I had tasks on hand that I needed to finish as soon as possible. Or I need to help someone with something even though I am busy with my work. Or I would be invited to an event or a coffee meetup, even though it did not bring me value nor joy, just because I feel obligated to say YES. Or I would sacrifice my time to act on a request that is not urgent nor important.

In the end, I suffer the consequences of all the useless things I engage myself with. Therefore, ‘put me first’ means I will spend my time on activities that bring me value, either for personal growth, networking, or having a good time with friends. I will say NO to activities that do not get me value and are simply a waste of time.

I will also not entertain and fulfill other people’s requests by sacrificing my happiness or time.

I always hear Tim Ferriss say: learn to say no. Some others will say, ‘ Say YES to everything.’ I think the difference is, when you are still in the learning phase, exploring new opportunities, say YES. When you are in the growth phase and need 100% concentration and wise use of your time, learn to say NO.

 2. Surround yourself with the right people

Again, this ‘find your tribe’ is one of the central themes for this year. Many people told me that they feel unhappy or cannot be themselves. It is not because they have something wrong, because they have not found their tribe. They have not found the right crowd to make them feel comfortable for being who they are, say what they think, do what they want.

You can ask yourself, how do you feel when you are around this person? How does it make you feel after your conversation? Do you feel inspired? Uplifted? Happy? Or do you feel anxious, nervous, or stressed?

If you have not to find the right group, go out to attend events that interest you, go online and start conversations that inspire you. I have made so many friends on Twitter, even though I have never even met them. But I had the opportunity to interview some very inspiring people I got to know from Twitter.

Also, I met many incredible people through my friends and networks. Imagine if you hang out with a couple of friends often and have a similar mindset. Most likely, their friends have a similar mindset as you do. You can expand your networks and friend circles and surround yourself with the right people.

 3. Use time wisely – Productivity

I have heard of ‘building a second brain’ from Pat Flynn, Ali Abdaal, and all those online content creators; after a quick assessment, I signed up for the Building a second brain course, created by Tiago Forte.

There are a few reasons why I invested in this course:

• Time is the most valuable resource. When I work on something, I pay attention to how productive I am and what kind of results I deliver within the time frame.

• I wish to bring my productivity to another level. If I can get things done within a shorter period, I free myself up and have more free time by using the right system.

• I sometimes said, ‘ I am so busy, I don’t have time.’ I think it is just an excuse, and if I am truly productive and make a good plan and act on it, I should have free time to enjoy spare time activities such as sports, traveling, crafts, etc.

Like what we taught in the Fast Track Money course, time is your most valuable resource, and I want to improve my productivity to get the same amount of tasks done within a shorter period. Besides the course, I read a few books on productivity that I highly recommend, <Atomic Habits> by James Clear and <Deep Work> by Cal Newport.

Every day, I make a list of the to-dos and assign a time frame for those tasks. If I get to finish them sooner, I have a more free time of the day to do whatever I want. The perfect way to balance work and life is through productive work.

Ok, here are the three key lessons I learned in 2021. What are the lessons you learned this year? I’m eager to hear from you. Please leave me a comment or DM me on Instagram or the website.

 Have a great 2022! I wish you all your dreams come true!