As busy as Mark Zuckerberg’s day job keeps him, he finds time each year to give himself a personal challenge. Here’s a look at his last seven years of accomplishments—and the progress his company has made along the way.
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2009 Personal Challenge: Wear a tie every day.
Company Milestone: Facebook is taken more seriously by advertisers and becomes cash-flow positive a year ahead of schedule, transforming it from startup to long-term comer.
![](https://c.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2015/11/3052887-inline-3052887-slide-s-2-mark-growth-chart.png)
2010 Personal Challenge: Learn Mandarin.
Company Milestone: Although Facebook isn’t available in China, the service exceeds 500 million monthly active users, becoming the world’s largest social network.
![](https://f.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2015/11/3052887-inline-3052887-slide-s-3-mark-growth-chart.png)
2011 Personal Challenge: Only eat animals he kills himself.
Company Milestone: Acquired more than 10 startups. Moved company headquarters to the former home of Sun Microsystems in Menlo Park, on a large, centralized campus.
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2012 Personal Challenge: Code every day.
Company Milestone: Facebook’s IPO values the company at $104 billion, a record for a new listing, though a software glitch slightly marred the debut. Purchases Instagram.
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2013 Personal Challenge: Meet a new person every day who doesn’t work at Facebook.
Company Milestone: Launches Internet.org, in partnership with other tech companies, with the goal of making Internet access available to the entire world population.
![](https://g.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2015/11/3052887-inline-3052887-slide-s-6-mark-growth-chart.png)
2014 Personal Challenge: Write at least one thank-you note every day.
Company Milestone: Among the cards Zuckerberg might have sent: to Jan Koum, for selling him WhatsApp for $22 billion, and to Palmer Luckey, for selling him Oculus VR for $2 billion.
![](https://b.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2015/11/3052887-inline-3052887-slide-s-7-mark-growth-chart.png)
2015 Personal Challenge: Read a new book every two weeks.
Company Milestone: Facebook expands its platform as a publisher, introducing Instant Articles and accelerating its video initiatives. It also begins to seed Oculus with content.
[“source-fastcompany”]