2017 Accomplishments/2018 Goals
Following the same format as years past, I’ll now do:
Following the same format as years past, I’ll now do:
2017 Goals Review
2017 Prioritized Accomplishments
2018 Prioritized Goals
Taking a Stand — Naperville, Illinois — 27 August 2017 (Photo Credit: Soma Raychaudhuri).
2017 Goals Review
2017 was a big year for me, primarily because I fulfilled my 2016 goal of focusing on creating my own stuff instead of waiting on “The Industry” to give me something.
I’ve made more peace with the idea that I’m at “cruising altitude” in my career and that, if I never get any bigger or more successful than I currently am, I’ll be happy.
I live in a house in Los Angeles, California, married to a beautiful woman I love, and get to do what I want for a living. If I don’t say that I’ve made it, well, then I’m pretty much a douche.
And despite having Donald Trump for our President, I didn’t lose my mind — though I came close a number of times.
Here’s what I had listed as my 2017 goals. Let’s review, marking a 0 for nothing accomplished, 0.5 for something significant accomplished (unless it can be accurately measured), and a 1 for fully accomplished.
Make $XXXK through standup, hosting, and speaking gigs. I made 82% of my goal. 0.8
Launch talk show. I recorded five (in addition to the three filmed in 2016) soon-to-be-released interviews. 0.5
Do a summer tour featuring one hour on music. I launched and toured Taking a Stand. 1
Perform... I had a goal I’m not quite comfortable sharing yet. It doesn’t matter, though, as I didn’t do it. Ha. 0
Conduct one Year of The Hustle workshop. Yes. 1
Write and perform How I Got Married at paid shows. The idea is to convert and update my one-person show about dating (No Man’s Land) into standup to perform when I get hired to do an hour. I didn’t do this. 0
Perform regularly at LA Clubs: Laugh Factory, Comedy Store, Hollywood Improv, Comedy & Magic, Ha Ha, Flappers, Ice House, Jon Lovitz. I continued to get up frequently at the Laugh Factory. I got up in other rooms, but I just didn’t make a tremendous effort, mostly because I poured a lot more time into my tour. 0.5
Attend People’s Choice Awards and Oscars (stretch). The Academy Awards were definitely a stretch (so not counted), but I did do the Red Carpet at the PCAs. 1
Release twelve monthly newsletters. 1
5.8/9 = 64%
That compares very favorably with past years’ percentages:
2011: 54%
2012: 54%
2013: 42%
2014: 37%
2015: 50%
2016: 68%
2017: 64%
2017 Prioritized Accomplishments
Here, I lay out my achievements in the order in which I care about each. There’s overlap with the previous section.
Professional
Created my second full-length live show, Taking a Stand: performed to a full house at Spotify; toured 18 cities with singer-songwriter, Taylor Alexander, including sold-out shows at The Cutting Room in NY, Center Stage in Chicago, and India House in Houston; landed an NPR interview; delighted terminally-ill children at Ryan Seacrest Studios in Atlanta, and got three great reviews: here, here, and here.
Recorded talk show interviews with Author Deepak Chopra, Former Miss America Nina Davuluri, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Songwriter Savan Kotecha, Comedian Hasan Minhaj, and Comedian Aparna Nancherla.
Met and then followed Jerry Seinfeld on Comedy Juice, the hottest show in NY.
Hosted, to rave reviews, P&G’s Global Alumni Summit (700 people), in front of P&G CEO David Taylor, three former P&G CEOs, BuzzFeed CEO & Founder Jonah Peretti, and Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.
Had my best financial month ever, via multiple revenue streams, with 90% coming from standup and 10% from comedic consulting and creating ads.
Did my 12th show for P&G by performing standup for the African Ancestry Leadership Network Annual Summit (700 people).
Received three standing ovations in six weeks (Nov/Dec) — Ohio, New Jersey, and New York — after hour-plus-long sets, including the 87 minutes in Marlton, NJ — the longest pure standup set I’ve done.
Performed alongside Lewis Black, Wanda Sykes, and Riz Ahmed on Aasif Mandvi’s All-Star Deportation Show in NY.
Interviewed John Stamos, Bob Saget, Kevin Nealon, and Cheryl Hines on the Red Carpet at the People’s Choice Awards.
Began five-city tour for the Hindu American Foundation.
Performed at the BMM Marathi Convention for the third time — led icebreakers for 200 youths (that actually broke the ice) and did standup for 800 people.
Gave a workshop on The Art of The Hustle at the University of Texas at Austin.
Delivered The Jester Is King speech at Funny Bizz in SF.
Got featured in News India Times and DNA.
Appeared on Laughs TV for the second time, this time headlining the taped lineup.
Delivered twelve (12) monthly newsletters.
Personal
Since I blog as not only a personality but also as a person, here are my personal ones:
Ran a perfect Year of The Hustle, meaning I did the things starting in #8 below everyday (and multiplied by 365), for the second year in a row, extending the streak since August 2015.
Continued to build and nurture relationships with family and friends.
Finished renovating our house in Burbank.
Went on several significant no-anger-outburst streaks: the high was 51 days and currently on a 46-day. (Yeah, this is a thing.)
Read eleven books (one per month, except the 464-page Dark Money, which took two months): The Transcendental Meditation TM Book: How to Enjoy The Rest of Your Life (1986); Don’t Think of an Elephant! (2014); Never Let Me Go (2005); You Are The Universe (2017); No One Can Pronounce My Name (2017); Dark Money: The Hidden History of The Billionaires Behind The Rise of The Radical Right (2016); Hillbilly Elegy (2016); The Song Machine (2015); The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951); Sapiens (2011); The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (2010).
Got into Top 5% on Pocket by reading a lot of articles.
Achieved Platinum Medallion status on Delta for about the eighth year running.
Ate 1,825 servings of fruit and vegetables.
Drank 171 gallons of water.
Did yoga 365 times.
Meditated for 121 hours.
Wrote for 182+ hours.
Did 18,250 push-ups.
Did 36,500 sit-ups.
Did 121 hours of cardio.
Listened to 40+ new albums.
Hit the LA comedy scene at least twice a week when I was in-town.
Kept my email draft box below 50 every Sunday — a game-changer.
2018 Prioritized Goals
As of two years ago, I made this section private. To learn what they are, tune in around this time next year and I’ll let you know if I hit ’em.
As far as the Year of The Hustle, I’m keeping it exactly the same, except that I’m adding “Clean house” to the list, much to my wife’s delight.
Happy Holidays and best of luck to you with your 2018 Goals!
Our Holiday Card. If you didn’t get one, try harder next year.
Rajiv Satyal is a comedian, host, and speaker. He resides in Los Angeles. With a beautiful and loving wife. In a house that’s about to be even cleaner.