Aaron Sumner


2017 in review

As best as I can remember, 2017 was the first year I publicly set goals for myself. I posted a couple of status reports along the way, and now that the year is almost finished, I figured it appropriate to wrap things up and see how I did.

Run my first 5K

As noted in September, I did this! And by the end of the year, I’d run (run/walked) two more. As a general rule, I’ve been running three times a week, even as the weather has turned wintry. Of all the things I’ve done in the past, oh, ten years or so, this is what I’m most proud of.

I’m now able to run/walk at least five miles at a time, at least once per week. If you’d told me a year ago I’d be doing this, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Speak at a technical conference

I just did this the once, in May. But I fully realize, now, the importance of doing this sort of thing on a regular basis. I’m happy that I was able to repurpose this talk at least three times–twice at local meetups, and once at an internal engineering event at my employer, O’Reilly Media.

And while I didn’t leverage this early success into more big public talks in 2017, I submitted a new proposal for RailsConf 2018 the other day. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m hoping to at least get some good feedback so I can present at at least one larger-scale event in the coming year. Wish me luck!

Rebuild passive income streams

I thought that a thorough upgrade to my Rails testing book would introduce it to a new audience, and help generate new revenue. I also felt confident that I could come up with a new idea or two that I could work on outside of my regular job to make the type of revenue I was earning back in the book’s heyday.

I was wrong. Book sales have been disappointing, to say the least. And my ideas for new projects haven’t panned out as I’d hoped. I won’t lie; both of these factors are depressing. And I’m not sure how to address them in the coming year. In the meantime, I’ve started selling the book on Amazon, and am exploring print options.

Other items of note

. Questions or comments? Let me know what you think.