10/05/2026
Last week was my birthday, and each year around this time I like to reflect on the past year and think about what I want to prioritize in the year to come.
We welcomed our second child in February. She's been such a bundle of joy for our little family. It's amazing how much of an impact she has had on all of us. I wasn't sure what to expect from my oldest no longer getting all of our attention, but she has adjusted so well and really loves playing with and taking care of her younger sister.
I'm grateful I was able to take a month off work to prioritize that time with my family. While my business is still in its third year and not quite where I was hoping it would be by now in terms of profitability, I know we are laying a good foundation by serving our clients well, building relationships with our referral partners, and preparing for busier times ahead.
Personally, I've refocused on my health. This summer I started playing pickleball consistently with a friend each week, and more recently this fall I got a gym membership and have been going fairly consistently a couple of times each week. One of my goals with my fitness is to be strong enough that when we travel now as a family of four, I have the energy to enjoy it instead of being exhausted the whole time carrying luggage, strollers, etc.
My wife and I celebrated our 8th anniversary as well. We got married when we were both fairly young, and I will say I'm proud of how we have grown together over these years. It's definitely had its rocky moments, but we've both been willing to reflect and work through our challenges to build the relationship we have today. I'm so grateful to have her in my life.
Looking forward to this next year, here are some things that are top of mind for me...
I want to get more out of my time in each of the areas I prioritize. A lot of my focus the last couple of years has been on making space in my life away from work to prioritize my family. While I want to continue this, I do feel there is a certain amount of energy I need to devote back into my business to grow it to the next level.
A big part of this is focus. I find when I'm consistently exercising and taking care of my health, I have more energy and mental clarity in my work as well.
Right now a lot of my focus is on the lead generation part of my business. My goal this next year is to really solve that piece so we can start reaching our capacity between myself and my underwriter. This will also allow us to turn away some business that doesn't fit so we can prioritize the clients we can truly serve and add value to.
We are planning a family trip to Japan for my in-laws to meet our youngest. It will also be our first time travelling as a family of four, so it will be a bit of an adventure. We've gone a few times now, but this time I want to prioritize doing a bit more sightseeing (as much as you can with two young kids), because most of our previous trips were more focused on spending time with extended family and relatives.
Something that has been a priority for me from the beginning of building my mortgage business is setting it up so I can take time away from work to travel while our clients are still taken care of. This past February was a good test of a longer stretch away, and it went pretty well with some good learnings. This next Japan trip will be a bigger test with the time zone difference, where I can only speak to anyone back in Canada for a couple of hours per day, either in the early morning or evening. Having my licensed underwriter covering for me, along with experienced colleagues in the industry, is my support system to make this happen.
Finally, something I'm really interested in is this idea of creating space and capacity personally. I'm currently testing out Muse, Meta's AI agent, to see how much it can help me with personal errands and reminding me of things that need to be done personally and for my family. The next level, once my business reaches a point where we can afford it, is to look into hiring a house manager: basically someone (likely part-time) whose mental focus is spent on taking care of our household on a weekly basis. This could be day-to-day chores, ordering supplies, meal prepping, helping us pack/unpack for a trip, or even watching our kids so we can go on a date night. While my wife and I are managing well so far, I would definitely love to have more space to simply spend quality time as a family when we are together.
Overall, I'm grateful for the life that I have today. It's taken many years to get to this place, and I'm grateful to be able to build a business that aligns with my personal values of balancing time between my work and my family.
