I feel the urge to write something before the end of 2023—and the beginning of 20241. So far, I have not done a retrospective, nor have I defined any goals for the next year. Maybe I should give it a try.

Let’s start with my personal life. What can I say? I am happy—for being in the extraordinary position to be able to choose what I want to do. After the most awesome partnership I could ever imagine, our paths parted after 22 years. It has been a rough time for the whole family2 during the last one and a half years, but for a few months now, all questions have been settled and we all are starting to find our way into the new life, together and apart.

For me, personally, I met a lot of new people, gained new impressions and experiences3, and I am looking forward to the next year. In retrospect, I can’t imagine living my life any other way. Feeling stuck, bored, or unhappy? Change something, and life will respond with opportunities beyond your imagination.

My professional life has been a powerful journey, too. Coming from a position where I was responsible for a technical environment, I am now responsible for an entire company. I have learned a lot during the last two years, and I am looking forward to what the next year brings. TypeFox is unique in many ways, and I am proud to be part of it. Software development is about people, and I am happy to work with the best people I can imagine.

To be honest, it has been hard for me to talk about goals for the next five or ten years. I always had the impression that it would hinder me from taking opportunities that come along the way. I would rather call them visions than goals. A vision can be reached with the help of many people, while a goal is something you have to reach on your own4. It is hard to describe in words, but I hope you get the idea.

When I think about my achievements, I was pretty lazy in 2023. I haven’t written any new books, launched any new open source projects striving for world domination, or collected any recognized titles. I did not even earn a new certificate from an online university.

But wait—I did something else. I learned a lot about people, about myself, about life. This helps me communicate better with customers, understand the needs of my colleagues better, be a better father, and be a better friend. It helps me understand myself better, be more relaxed, and be happier. 2023 has been a year of personal growth, one of the most important years of my life.

Which failures did I have? I would say the same as my achievements—because we are on a journey, and we can’t learn without failing.

See you in 2024!

  1. Which is weird, because a year is just a number. ↵

  2. We have five children. ↵

  3. Not sure if I should write about those here. These experiences would be worth a whole set of books and I won’t miss them for anything in the world. ↵

  4. My art teacher once said: You will never reach the goal, the way is the goal. ↵