Josh Barker
3 min readJan 1, 2021

My first blog — Round up of 2020

Firstly, I would like to apologise in advance if this isn’t written in the perfect format. I have never been much of a reader so articulating my thoughts and feelings into a blog may have its challenges!

Well well… 2020, arguably the strangest year anyone of my generation will (hopefully) experience in there lifetime. For me personally, writing this the morning of January 1st 2021 and it is time to reflect.

Adapt Talent

I entered 2020 with one main objective, to devote as much attention into my professional career as humanly possible. It was my first full year working at Adapt Talent a company I helped create and one I am a Director of. An organisation I would call my baby! We were thankfully never overly affected by the pandemic and for that I am truly grateful. As a business we have saw growth month on month.

Adapt overachieved an ambitious budget target by 10% and myself and Sam hired amazing staff which are shaping Adapt Talent as the business you see today. We plan on doubling this headcount again and creating the best possible workplace for our staff in 2021.

For sure it wasn't easy and no one will truly understand the challenges of being a part of growing startup and the complications it can sometimes bring until you are in that environment.

Watch this space for Adapt Talent in 2021!

Personal life and goals

I entered the year of 2020 with such optimism and just like everyone else, in March that came to a sudden halt. I found new loves and passions and realised spending time with the people you love and care about is truly all that matters and the setting in which you do so isn’t the key factor.

In July of this year unfortunately my dog passed away suddenly in a freak accident swiftly followed by the loss of one of my grandparents. This is the first time I have felt loss in my adult life and in my opinion it is a feeling no book, video or individual can prepare you for. I am constantly trying to find the positives in all walks of life and those losses taught me life is short and enjoy every moment you have with the people you care about.

Curtis the JUG!

On a brighter note, in 2020 I found a new love for running and have since completed two half marathons with my best time being 2 hours 6 minutes (not bad for someone who couldn’t run 5K!), although I have always watched podcasts I now cannot get enough of them and am constantly learning off of different peoples experiences both professionally and in personal life. On a final note, I learned how important it is to have an amazing support network around you who constantly push you forward in life.

Although 2021 will have its challenges both professionally and personally, I am excited and have never been more ready!