Why was 2022 the best year of my life so far?

(This blog was also recorded as a podcast narrated by Noah Graff). Listen with the player below, Apple Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast app)

Reason Number 1: I Improved My State of Being

I began working with my life coach, Ginny Cutler, in January. She is coaching me on “being” who I WANT to be. The idea is that if you “feel” stuck, the only way to become unstuck is to transform your state of being.

She says to ask yourself, “What would I be doing if I didn’t feel stuck?” And then do that!

With her help I wrote a document with several statements that declare who “I AM.” Every morning I walk around my neighborhood and recite these statements. Ideally it is good to say them loudly, not caring if others around you hear.

The “I AM” statements I recite the most are:

—I am a bullet penetrating all resistance in my way.

—I embrace discomfort.

—I am following all my nudges—whenever, however, wherever they push me.

—I am a serendipity magnet. I create, I see, I seize opportunities everywhere.

—I am successful, and I am becoming more successful every day.

—I am a productivity machine, focused and ready to begin immediately.

My transformation continues to be a gradual process, but I know I am moving forward to a much better state of being.

Reason Number 2: There’s MORE to the Used Machinery Business

It was a great year for our used machine tool company, Graff-Pinkert. According to Lloyd Graff, the owner and my father, we made the most big deals this year in our company’s 80-year history. We made a few blunders, usually when we bought machines at auctions, but we more than canceled them out with some great scores.

Great scores feel good. They help pay my mortgage. Finding treasure though serendipity and coming up with creative deals—that’s fun.

But I want to feel that what I do for a living means more than buying a machine and selling it for a higher price than what we purchased it for. I know there is more to the used machinery business, but I need to pause and look for it.

Noah Graff with Davenport Multi-Spindle Screw Machine at Graff-Pinkert & Co.

I don’t do it enough, but sometimes I think about the purpose we have as used machinery dealers. We provide valuable equipment to machining companies that they might not be able to obtain elsewhere, so they can succeed in their businesses. If they succeed, they create new jobs and create products the world needs.

In 2022, we encountered more startup machining companies than we’ve ever seen. We enabled some of them to purchase their first machine tools. They would not have been able to build their businesses if they had to pay multiple times the price to buy a new machine.

We also helped a company sell their family operation when they wanted to retire. We enabled them to receive some compensation for their life’s work, which they likely would not have achieved otherwise.

It was also fulfilling this year to develop relationships with customers and partners around the world. It feels great to collaborate with other people in the machining industry. We help each other to be successful and sometimes we become friends.

Last of all, working alongside my father, Lloyd, has been a gift this year, as it always has been. We both try to remember to stop sometimes and be present in the moment when we are talking about a deal or collaborating on a blog. Sometimes we even actually tell each other how much we enjoy working together. We know these are precious times. We get to work together regularly with someone we appreciate, and enjoy, and love.

Reason Number 3: We Grew Today’s Machining World’s Podcast

Our podcast, Swarfcast, is growing more than ever. Its download numbers are up 50% over the last 30 days. This is partly do to a new podcast coaching program I joined a few months ago called the Grow the Show Podcast Accelerator Program. The most significant contributors to listener growth have been my participation on LinkedIn and being a guest on other podcasts, which I have to say has been a lot of fun and educational.

Noah and Lloyd Graff doing Podcast Interview

Regardless of download numbers, I’m proud of every one of the 31 episodes I put out this year. They are all enjoyable to listen to, and they teach people things that might help them in their lives. Making the podcast is fun. I get to talk to cool, interesting, smart people. I enjoy the creativity of the production process. But what’s more important is that making Swarfcast, just like writing our blogs, gives me purpose because I know our work affects thousands of people.

Reason Number 4 (By far the most important reason 2022 was the best year of my life!): I Became a Father!

April 6, 2022, my wife, Stephanie, and I had our first child, Abraham! Having any child is a miracle, but we are both in our 40s, so we have extra gratitude for our miracle, as Abe did not come easily.

I understand why people say being a father is the most important job they will ever have in life. It’s a fun job and a hard job. Thank God I have an almost perfect wife and we live in the age of quality disposable diapers. We are also extra blessed that Abe happens to be a great sleeper, a fact which I am probably jinxing now.

My analyst once told me, “Adults don’t make kids. kids make adults.” Up until this year, I was a kid. I only had to take care of myself. In 2022, I was blessed to receive an incredible but defenseless person I now have to protect and support.

I’ve always been grossed out by babies, but being with Abe I feel a love I have never before experienced. He brings new meaning and purpose to my life. My wife, Stephanie, and I think he is brilliant, of course, and we are positive he is the sweetest, cutest kid on the planet. Not trying to brag, but honestly, people tell us all the time that he looks like the Gerber baby or even a cherub.

Questions: What was the best thing that happened in your life in 2022?

How did you grow in 2022?

Bandcamp Fridays will continue through next May