Lots of people would love to trade places with Chris, but not me. I’m not saying that I’m lazy, but it starts to get crazy when it get’s like this:

I thought about the inanity of waking up at 5:45AM after going to bed around 12:45AM and not really falling asleep until closer to 3AM.

Click here to view the embedded video.

See more in his Overnight Success series.

It’s the first week of the new decade and I’ve been thinking long and hard about my priorities. Things have changed for me, I’m gonna be a daddy. I have nothing but respect for Chris, but I think I’d rather follow the footsteps of Tim Ferris, Jonathan Fields or John & Lea Woodward. I bet they get more sleep, and more time to watch their kids grow up.

Career

I started off 2009 as the Web Analytics and Social Media Manager for AGENDA. We had moved to our new office in Solaris Mont Kiara and my commute had grown longer. It was a good job that helped me gain the experience I needed to springboard my own business.

In June, I took Buzzmedia out of hibernation and started working full time on it again. This time, it felt like Buzzmedia 2.0 because I think I finally managed to get my business on the right track. Many people asked why I was leaving my job in the middle of a global recession, so I wrote down my answers why.

I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunities to consult for some big brands, to help Restaurant Dubrovnik and Delectable with their online marketing and to collaborate with and be inspired by Reese. I’ve also ventured into seminars and trainings and would say that overall, Buzzmedia has been doing well.

I’ve also now started up a 2nd company, Level5 Creative, with a bunch of friends (Vernon, Danny, Wilfred, Juan and Intan). Level5 is best described as a creative agency in the style of Voltron, where 6 different specialist combine powers so we can take on bigger projects. Besides the fun factor of saying that I now run 2 companies, Level5 totally opens up new possibilities for myself and my partners.

Social media, Twitter and LinkedIn have opened up new opportunities for me this past year. It’s also led me to be involved with the Social Media Club, KL chapter and helped me make a (small but respectable) name for myself in the industry. I knew goofing off on the internet would eventually pay off!

In 2010, I’m hoping to continue building a name for myself. The plan is to help educate others through the Buzzmedia blog and with 1-2 ebooks this year. Oh yeah, sign up for the Buzzmedia Mailing List too.

Random photo: Four Davids at SMC-KL #1

Family

So many things happened to our family in 2009, but the one that stands out is Ah Kong passing on. He left us almost a year to the day that Ah Mah passed on, which brought up lots of painful memories for all of us. Ah Kong had deteriorated steadily after Ah Mah left us and unfortunately had a fall in March. We also discovered later that he had a tumor in his stomach. I felt especially bad for Ah Kong in his last few days, but I’m glad that he’s in a better place now and resting together with Ah Mah. I was close to my grandparents, they helped raise me, and I’ll miss them dearly.

There were also a few more events that was painful in my family. It’s too private to share but suffice to say there were at least 2 very down occasions this year.

On the other end of the emotional scale, Pei Chyi and I were blessed with a baby in July! The little guy is due end-March or early-April in 2010, so that’s another thing for me to look forward to next year. I’m super excited and a little scared at the same time. 2009 has been a coming-of-age for me somewhat as I settle down into my new home, my own home. However, having a baby and becoming a parent is going to bring even bigger changes. See Pei Chyi’s blog for updates on our little Muffin.

Married life has grown better and better as Pei Chyi and I celebrated our 1st anniversary as husband and wife in March. She’s been my source of strength and joy. Words can’t express how much I love Pei Chyi

Travel

Gallivanting around Paris on Segway!

Travelling is always fun, and this year I  did quite a bit of it, together with Pei Chyi.

1. Melbourne (14-18 January) – Pei Chyi & I returned to Melbourne for the 1st time since our graduation for Gavin & Joanie’s wedding. We’ve decided Melbourne is our Love City, since we fell in love there and really love the city. Photos on Flickr.
2. Paris (28-29 March) – Pei Chyi had to go to Dakar, Senegal for work and on the way home we met up in Paris. We only spent 48 hours in Paris, but it was super fun. I’m now toying with the idea of an extended stay in Paris–6 months! Photos on Flickr.
3. Port Dickson (11-13 July) – This was the 1st family holiday in a long time since Ah Kong and Ah Mah have not been able to travel. It was also the 1st family holiday completely organised by the ‘young generation’, my cousins and me.
4. Kuching (29 Oct-1 Nov) – We decided to go for another holiday before Pei Chyi is unable to travel due to the pregnancy, hence this 2-night trip to Kuching. The venue was decided because Grace was travelling back home to visit her parents, but oh man, Kuching is real quiet for city slickers like us. Photos on Flickr.
5. Singapore (5-6 Dec) – The final trip of the year was an overnight trip to Singapore with Josie for Lye Keat & Mei Li’s wedding. Singapore is.. Singapore, didn’t have the time to do anything of note.

Projects

There’s not much to say in terms of projects. The only thing of note is perhaps that myMacBUZZ was invited to official Apple events along with other members of the traditional media. I’ve also been invited to more blogger events by companies wanting to get their word out to the public, so apparently I’ve grown a bit more influential than last year.

The lack of successful projects to show for in 2009 is perhaps an indication of how busy I was this year. That’s not good, because the reason for working for myself is so that I can spend time working on projects I enjoy. As 2009 draws to a close, I’ve got a firm idea of at least 1 project that I will really push next year. So, stay tuned I guess

Those who know Seth Godin will recognise it as “The Dip” from his book of the same name. The Dip is the crappy part that you need to push hard and slog through before you achieve massive success.

For me, I will transition from a pretty good career on the left to the life goals and the things that are important to me on the right. Along the way I know and expect to get caught in the Dip, but this graphic will help remind me exactly why I’m doing this and the rewards that await me when I slog through. Yes, afternoon naps are really a life goal for me

On the top of the list of my life goals is living fully and consciously. With this I mean that I want to decide my life’s path and not just ‘flow along’ with everything else. Too many people just allow themselves to flow along in life. I want to be able to guide my way towards something I can call my own, that I will look forward to when I wake up each morning.

Quitting my job and running my own business is the only option I see (at the moment) that puts me in direct control of my journey towards my life goals. I like having a job, and I’m not saying my employer sucks, but it’s too easy to get caught up with work and end up just doing stuff blindly or un-consciously. Man, that sounds like crazy hippie talk.

Making this decision is not easy and involved a lot of thought. Now that I’m married, it’s not all about myself and my lovely wife, Pei Chyi, has really been supportive throughout. Thank you dear, I really couldn’t do it without you.

Stay tuned! It may take a while, but in my next post I’m going to describe what I’ll be up to. Thanks everyone for your support.

Update 6 July: I’ve launched my business site