Don't Let Crisis Go to Waste

My broken collarbone

While working at DoorDash, my CEO, Tony Xu, said something that altered my perspective on the world. 

Rewind to February 2020, China enforced crippling lockdowns across the country. Covid-19 ran rampant and the virus had swam across the Pacific and onto U.S soil. The United States was not prepared for a pandemic. 

My initial emotion was worry. Worried if my parents would be okay and seeing many people suffer and die is always a horrible event to witness. But that worry sparked a jolt of life into my body. I was driving my life on autopilot and the virus just changed my mental gear. As Tyrese Gibson says in Fast & Furious 7 (Paul Walker Tribute): Things are gonna be different now. 

As governments around the US started implementing lockdowns, food delivery services witnessed an explosion of demand. I was at the right company at the right time. While many companies were laying off their workforce, DoorDash was hiring like crazy. 

Leadership had mixed feelings. They didn’t plan for a drastic boost in demand. Nobody likes seeing people die and lose their jobs. Small businesses needed our service now more than ever. Our CEO, Tony Xu, was sympathetic to this and then said: Don’t let a crisis go to waste. (Not verbatim).

Tony didn’t say this as a way to take advantage of people suffering. Quite the opposite. It was an opportunity to exponentially increase our impact on small businesses. These were the people who needed us the most. 

We expanded into other categories: convenience, groceries and take command of the delivery market share. Post-pandemic, DoorDash increased their market share by nearly 50% and now owns 58% of the delivery market.

I wrote this post right after I broke my collarbone. It’d be a stretch for me to call this a “crisis” but nobody wants their bones broken. It sucks. It limits your life. I can’t play the sports I love.

But what I love about “Don’t let a crisis go to waste” is that crisis become opportunity. When something negative happens, don’t let it go to waste. Life plants difficulties for everyone. Every person will experience heartbreak, death, getting fired or some negative event.

So the takeaways is, don’t just overcome it, be 10X the person you were before.

The Formula to Understand Anything

Source: Bios

If you'd like to know what it feels like to bang your head on concrete, read a technical paper. Random math symbols, archaic jargon, dry prose, all mixed together, is the perfect cocktail of frustration.

As Elon Musk says, “It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”

After sipping the cocktail of frustration for many years, I've concocted a sweet recipe for building this semantic tree in the form of questions. I’ve used this formula to self-teach myself 12 skills in 12 months, get 7 job offers during the pandemic, build ML systems, etc:

TLDR:

To build the tree trunk:

1. What’s the intuition, in a single line?

2. What’s the intuition, as an analogy, example or diagram?

3. What’s the plain english definition, in my own words?

4. What terminology do I need to know?

5. How does this concept work, step-by-step?

6. What’s the technical definition, in my own words?

Building the Branches:

1. What are the assumptions of this concept?

2. What are the pros/cons of this concept?

3. What are the pitfalls/edge cases?

4. How does this compare/connect with what I already know?

5. When/Where can I use this concept?

Phase 1: Building the Tree Trunk

What's the intuition, in a single line?

The gist of any concept can be explained in a single line. By constraining the intuition into a single line, this gives me a simple mental hook for remembering the information.

For example:

• Linear Algebra gives you mini-spreadsheets for your math equations.

• Caching (in computer science) is like a short-term storage unit for your stuff.

Think of this idea like a key that unlocks the entire idea. If you have this key, you can access this idea anytime you want.

What’s the intuition, as an analogy, example or diagram?

Once we've developed the key that unlocks the idea, we'll need to build the tree trunk. If the details are like branches, we need to build the trunk first. To build the base, we need to make the idea tangible in our minds. Typically, this can be done through:

• Analogy: What is this idea similar to?

• Concrete Example: What's an example of this idea in the real world?

• Diagram: What does a diagram of this idea look like?

Examples of each can look like:

• Analogy: Caching (in computer science) is like a short-term storage unit for your stuff.

• Concrete Example:

• Diagram:

What’s the plain english definition in your own words?

Building the intuition first, allows us to immediately attach the idea to something we know. Once we can grasp this, we can start to translate the actual definition into our own words.

For example:

• Caching is act of storing information in short term memory, for later use.

What terminology do I need to know?

Every idea has its own jargon. Whenever we read something new, unfamiliar jargon is the culprit to confusion/lack of understanding. In order to fully grasp the concept, we need to understand the jargon behind it.

I typically, will attempt to understand the jargon, until it no longer blocks me from the main concept.

How does this concept work, step-by-step?

Once I've built the tree trunk, now, it's time to dissect the tree trunk. This is where I break down the method into step-by-step. If this is a technical technique, I'll break the technique into chronological steps. If this is a non-technical concept, I'll break down the idea into its own lifecycle.

Examples using Decision Tress in Machine Learning:

1. Look at feature A + Target

2. Run through each row and keeping track of the value of the feature against the Target

3. Look at feature B + Target

4. Repeat

5. Now, look at the mixtures for each feature

6. Use these mixtures to determine which feature is the most predictive. Features that are solely one type, should be the the first node. This mixture is called impurity.

7. For the specific node, repeat the process, reduce the impurity and re-split

The key here is to not touch any math and only make sure I understand the logic.

What are the technical details?

Now that we've broken down the logic, this should give us enough fuel to make the math less archaic. This is the step where I try to either break down the math formula or attach each step of the math sequence to the logic outlined earlier.

Phase 2: Building the Branches

What are the assumptions?

All model are wrong, but some are useful.

I'd even extrapolate this to all concepts are wrong, but some are useful. Somewhat cynical way of seeing the world. However, my point here, is that every idea will over-simplify the world due to some assumptions, thus making it "wrong."

Therefore, we need to make sure that we understand what any idea assumes about the world. By clarifying this assumption, then we can know when to trust the idea.

Even something as basic as "there are 24 hours in a day." The assumption here, is that we're living on earth. If we live on Neptune, does this actually hold? No it doesn't.

What are the pros/cons of using this idea?

I love coming up with pros/cons for an idea because this forces me to steel-man the idea. In speech & debate, steelman-ing is essentially thinking through the strongest arguments for the opposition.

What I love about pros/cons, is that thinking through the cons forces you to steel-man the concept. This helps me know where this concept may not work well and where I should avoid using this concept.

What are the pitfalls or edge cases?

Each concept has its own idiosyncracy that makes it less useful. This helps us avoid situations where we accidentally use the wrong concept for its context.

How does this compare/connect with what I already know?

By thinking through how this concept compares/connects with what you know, this expands your body of knowledge. This also allows you to contrast the details of the concept with what you know to identify specific idiosyncracies behind the concept.

When/Where can I use this concept?

Too often, I see students who take courses fail to extrapolate what they learn to the real world. This question forces you to think about the exact context in which you can use this concept. Therefore, opening the path toward application.

2022 Vision & Goals

If you’d like to read my 2021 annual review, check it here.

If 2021 was the year I entered my prime, then 2022 is the year I start building the kingdom. Imagine a thriving kingdom. Happiness and fulfillment permeate the air. As you walk around, magnificent buildings are like mini-paintings that litter your senses with awe. Rivers flow through the city and glisten with sparkles of gold dust. People all in love, kissing….. whoops, that’s probably too much.

But building a kingdom takes years, no, decades. A kingdom collapses without a sturdy frame. So 2022 is the year I build the frame of my kingdom.

In order to build the right frame, let’s start with my core values:

Core Values

I need six things to feel fulfilled:

• Making useful things for others

• Learning/Skill Development

• Athletics/Training

• Connection

• Teaching/Mentorship

• Pushing my comfort zone

If my days capture all six, it’ll have been an amazing day.

10-Year Vision

Become Quad-Lingual

Language is the key to another culture’s soul. When I lived in Columbia, the locals didn’t speak English. Every time this large fore-headed asian man (me) spoke to them, their eyes would light up, as if I flicked on a light switch. Language is the bridge that unites cultures.

The languages on my list so far:

• English (of course)

• Spanish (partially)

• Chinese (only a bit)

• Portuguese (none)

Be a Professional Athlete Forever

My first love was sports. I loved the idea of waking up at 4am to go to grind toward a championship. I loved the idea of being behind, one minute left and finding a way to win the game. I even loved the idea of having my leg broken, walking in crutches to school, as if it were a badge of honor.

The most important gift athletics gave me wasn’t entertainment or a fit body. Athletics gave me the strength of mind and stirred my competitive spirit. I care less about becoming a “true” professional athlete, but more about embodying the archetype of an athlete.

Become a World-Class Teacher

Not a grade-school teacher. I still care about getting paid. Great teachers are the ultimate catalysts for society. Teachers have the power to change the direction of a kids life with a single sentence. Teachers have the power to breathe confidence into their students.

To me, a world-class teacher is:

• Able to take a complex skill or idea and convey it in a way that clicks for a student.

• Breathe confidence into their students.

• Give proper feedback on how to reach the next level.

This can be in-person, through writing, video etc. The intention is, that I want to play a role in helping someone else become great. And in order to help someone else become great, I must become great myself.

Raise a family and children that are 10x the person I am

10X doesn’t mean earn more money or be more successful than I am (but it could be). I define 10x as children who’ve developed their own principles for a successful life and embody them to the max. I define 10x as my children living free of the demons I had. They strive to improve themselves, build their character and give back, in whatever form they feel called for.

The best way to get there, is to work through my own demons , build my own character and most importantly, be this person myself. 

Become the World’s Greatest at ______.

I don’t know what it is yet. However, I’m not looking to become the best playing traditional games (such as world’s best basketball player, best consultant, best programmer).

What interests me more is building a personal monopoly. A personal monopoly is a monopoly where my unique experiences, obsessions and skills form a unique skillset that no one else has.

Examples:

• The greatest investment advisor for pilots.

• The greatest writer on stoic philosophy

The most important way to do this, is to follow my own obsessions and monitor my natural talents. I’ll improve significantly faster on the topics I’m obsessed with. If I’m obsessed with something I’m naturally good at, I’ll become lethal.

I’ll need to keep accelerating my skill development and redefining what I’m doing until I become the world’s greatest at X. But the overarching vision, is to become “the best.” 

Impact 1 million people

Once I become the best (or while I’m becoming the best), I use what I learn to help others. There’s no point in becoming the world’s greatest if I don’t use my skill set to give back to others. 1 million is kind’ve an arbitrary number but let’s roll with it. 

Gracie Jiu Jitsu Black Belt

I started Jiu Jitsu this year. I found Jiu Jitsu to be the ultimate cerebral sport. We’re playing chess with our bodies and fighting with our minds. I honestly don’t care much about belts but this gives me a motivating vision to keep practicing Jiu Jitsu. But my true goal is to be the best I can be everyday:

• Blue Belt (2023/24) - 31 years old

• Purple Belt (2026/27) - 33 years old

• Brown (2030) - 36 years old

• Black Belt (2032) - 39 years old

This also ties in with my “professional athlete” vision as this gives me a sport to consistently train for.

Build My “Scene”

Elon Musk, Peter Thiel were a part of the PayPal Mafia. Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David all worked together when kickstarting their comedy careers. They had their “scene.” 

I’m less interested in short-term, ephemeral relationships. I’m interested in building my “scene.” I’m interested in building multi-decade relationships. Relationships where we’re pushing each other past our limits. We have a level of trust built where the power of our word is as legit as a legally signed agreement. 

Build Financial Freedom

To me, financial freedom isn’t living frugally in Thailand forever. I can do this now. Financial Freedom is what would allow me to realize every other component of this vision. Financial freedom would allow me to: 

• Hire the best coaches to develop my skills to become the best. 

• Go on last minute, epic adventures with friends to deepen connections.

• Hire a chef that’ll cook nutritious food that’ll allow me to stay an athlete.

• Give my family and children the resources to be 10 time better than I am. 

Concluding remarks on vision….

This is my first time taking a stab at writing out a 10-year vision so I don’t expect this vision to stay static. I expect to clarify and change this vision over the years, especially on the areas that are vague.

What do I need to accomplish in 2022 to realize this vision?

If my vision is the kingdom, then what does the frame look like? I’ve broken 2022 goals into two categories: outcome-based and process-based. Outcome-based goals are goals that I don’t have control over. Process-based goals are goals I have complete control over. The thinking, is if I hit my process-based goals, the outcome goals will take care of itself. If not, I re-adjust my process-based goals. 

Physical Health

Become a two stripe white belt in Jiu Jitsu (outcome)

Vision: Gracie Jiu Jitsu Black Belt

Process: Attend Jiu Jitsu Class at least 3x a week

My goal is not to learn Jiu Jitsu as fast possible. I could attend class every day, but I’d need to sacrifice more in other areas of my life. I don’t want to do that. I prefer to be more consistent than be optimized here.

Maintain 10 to 12% Body Fat (outcome)

Vision: Stay a Professional Athlete Forever

Process:

• Limit ice cream/candy to one day per week

• Continue working out everyday

I’ve noticed myself eat a lot more junk food lately. Luckily, this hasn’t affected my body fat % but it’s not a habit I’d like to continue. 

Mental Health

Continue understanding my emotional issues (outcome)

Vision: Raise a family and children that are 10X the person I am

Process: Continuing seeing a therapist every week

I’ve been seeing a therapist every week. Therapy will be the best method for me to work through some of my own emotional issues so I don’t pass it onto my future children.

Work

Grow my email list to 1000 subscribers (outcome)

Vision: Become a World-Class Teacher

Process: Publish useful content at least once every two weeks.

Publishing content will force me to continue flexing that teaching, communication muscle. This also can open the door to future business opportunities, relationships. I currently have a few hundred subscribers despite not having tried to grow my email list.

Earn at least $3000/month in side MRR (outcome)

Vision: Become a World-Class Teacher & Achieve Financial Freedom 

Process:

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science

• Purchase my first real estate property?

• Make XX investment in DeFi?

I want to make three shots on goal in hitting this outcome. 3 shots should give me enough variety while also allowing me to go deep enough. 

Get promoted (outcome) 

Vision: Achieve Financial Freedom & Become a World-Class Teacher

Process:

• Take one course on management to learn fundamentals of being a manager (process)

Per my recent review, I have an opportunity to move into a managerial role. A managerial role will be a boost to income while my role will shift towards a mentorship role. 

Relationships

Build 5 deep, new, meaningful friendships (outcome)

Vision: Build my “scene”

Process:

• Host or organize at least one event per month

Hosting events gives you the most social capital. But my intention here isn’t to throw ragers, but host dinner-parties. Specifically, dinners that facilitate deeper conversations to build connections around specific topics. For example, if I have a group of writers, we have a “writing dinner” where we can discuss topics, strategies and ideas.

Find a romantic partner that I can "move to the next stage"

Vision: Raise a family and children that are 10X the person I am

Process:

• Go on a maximum of 1 to 2 dates per week (aim for higher quality than quantity)

I realized goals like “find a serious relationship” to not be the right goal. Whenever I meet someone new, my mind would jump immediately to whether this person was “long term” material. The problem, is this puts too much pressure on me in the beginning, so I don’t give people a chance OR I get too invested.

The better framing is to find someone I can move to the next stage with. For example, after dating for two months, can I see myself being with them for six months? At six months, can I see myself being with them for a year?

Finances

Be profitable for at least 10/12 months

Vision: Achieve Financial Freedom

Process:

• Budget and track spending weekly

• Stop relying on delivery apps

Being profitable means after I’ve invested my money, my net income after the month stays in the green or is break-even. Investing as the traditional sense (IRA, 401K, stocks) and business investments.

The principle here is to pay myself first. I’m making sure I invest my money first to continue building my net worth. 

Final Goal List

Process

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science

• Take one management course to learn fundamentals

• Host or organize at least 8 events in 2022

• Budget and track spending weekly

• Limit ice cream/candy to one day per week

• Publish at least 26 useful pieces of content

• Continue going on dates, but limit yourself to 1 to 2 max per week (continue)

• Continue seeing a therapist every week (continue)

• Continue working out everyday (continue)

• Continue attending Jiu Jitsu Class at least 3x a week (continue)

Outcome

• Be profitable for at least 10/12 months

• Build 5 deep, new, meaningful friendships

• Earn at least $3000/month in side MRR

• Become a two stripe white belt in Jiu Jitsu

• Grow my email list to 1000 subscribers

• Find a romantic partner that I can "move to the next stage"

How am I sequencing these goals?

I have 18 total goals, 11 process-based and 7 outcome based. I have less control over the outcome-based goals. If I execute the process-based goals, I should make progress on the outcome-based goals, therefore I’ll filter the process-based goals into my schedule. Continue-based goals will apply to all months. 

January

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science.

• Budget and track spending weekly

February

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science.

• Take one management course to learn fundamentals

• Budget and track spending weekly

March

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science.

• Limit ice cream/candy to one day per week

• Host or organize at least one event per month

April

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science.

• Limit ice cream/candy to one day per week

• Host or organize at least one event per month

May

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science.

• Limit ice cream/candy to one day per week

• Host or organize at least one event per month

June

• Build and launch a course on ML Algorithms for 365 Data Science.

• Limit ice cream/candy to one day per week

• Host or organize at least one event per month

I’m intentionally limiting myself to 6 months, since I’ll need another reset mid-year. I’ve found it difficult to set specific goals that far in advance.

What memories do I want to have?

The success of 2021 was based off the number of memorable experiences I counted throughout the year. To make sure I keep having memorable experiences, here’s my list for 2022:

• Surf in Puerto Escondido, Mexico

• Sundance Film Festival

• Snowboarding in Utah & Colorado

• Las Vegas

• Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival?

What’s my misogi?

Every year, I need an extremely difficult challenge that pushes the limits of what I believe is possible. In 2021, that was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. This year, a few ideas:

• Live in the wilderness and survive on my skills (BOSS 14-Day Wilderness Survival)

• Climbing Mt. Elbrus in Russia

• Go to France and bike the hardest climb of the Tour De France

• Surfboard paddle from Miami to Cuba

I haven’t settled on the idea yet, so TBD! Targeting summer-time.

What do I want to learn more about?

• Financial System/Monetary Policy

• Learning/Skill-Development Science

• How to build great products

• Evolutionary Psychology

• Causal Inference

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Cheers to a new year!

2021 Annual Review

If you’d like to read my 2022 goals, check it here.

In 2012, Steph Curry signed a 4 year, $44 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. Knowing Curry’s value today, $44 million was a steal for the Warriors (his contract is $215 million today). Analyst's considered this $44 million contract "risky business.” Curry showed promise, but had multiple ankle injuries from 2009 to 2011 that raised doubts. 

Then, on February 27th 2013, Steph Curry exploded onto the world scene by scoring 54 points at Madison Square Garden. Screen and pop? Swish. Fastbreak 3? Swish. Behind the back dribble and pop? Swish.

After every swish, the MSG crowd would groan. But the crowd sprinkled every groan with a spoonful of awe as Curry made magic on the court. They witnessed a man step into greatness. He entered his prime.

Sitting down for my 2021 review, I feel like Steph Curry before his MSG night. Arrogant, but as psychologist William James says: “People by and large become what they think of themselves.”

A few speed bumps with my previous jobs/relationship felt similar to Curry's "ankle injuries." Mentally, I’ve been better than ever. Physically, I’m in the best shape of my life. Financially, I’ve made the most ever in 2021. 2021 is the year I’ve entered my prime.

Most Valuable Learnings About Myself 

Exponential Returns come from Long Term commitments

If I invested $5,000 every year for the next 30 years, compound interest will turn this into $1 million when I’m 65. The idea of compound interest is to make consistent, small investments and over time, your investments will grow exponentially. 

In 2021, I realized that this concept applies to all areas of my life:

• Work: At DoorDash, I worked on all sides of the business. This was a mistake. Every time I’d switch business areas, I’d need to relearn the jargon and rebuild context. Exponential impact comes from diving deep in a single area for an extended period of time (before switching).

• Travel - When I was 22, I wanted to travel to as many places as I could. In 2021, I stayed in Hawaii for six months and intentionally didn’t move around. I invested in a single community, rather than rebuilding my community with each place I traveled to. Exponential impact is the lifelong friends I made.

• Learning: In 2018, I learned 12 skills in 12 months. I got decent but not great at any of the skills. In 2021, I focused only on surfing where surfing has become an exponential source of fulfillment.

Exponential returns come if I invest in something consistently and for a longer period of time. Otherwise, I’ll continue to hug the x-axis.

I’m addicted to novelty and variety.

It’s important to experiment with many things before knowing what to dive deep into. However, there’s a difference between experimenting and novelty addiction. 

Experimentation is the conscious effort of testing many things, with the intention of diving deep. Novelty Addiction is uncontrollable dabbling, without intention of diving deep. From ages 22 to 28, I optimized for novelty. Travel to as many places as I can. Learn as many skills as I can. Date as many people as I can. Read as many books as I can. 

I still need an element of experimentation in my life. I can’t know where to dive deep without trying many things. However, my intention is a T-Shaped model. Have depth in a few things but breadth in many things. I’ve taken care of the breadth. Now, it’s time to dive deep. 

I’m afraid to say what I truly think.

Over time, I became afraid of speaking my true thoughts. If someone had a strong opinion on a topic, I’d blindly agree. My underlying fear was conflict. As a kid, I was always afraid of conflict. If somebody wanted to start a fight or start yelling at me, I’d shut down. I’d stop speaking.

Unintentionally, Jiu Jitsu has trained my ability to deal with conflict. Every day I’m in the gym, I’m in a fight. I train my mind not to shy away from the feeling of conflict.

It’s hard for me to have difficult conversations.

I avoid difficult conversations, especially in dating. Many times, I know the person isn’t the right fit but I don’t break it off. When I try to have the conversation, I stumble over my words like a drunk driver taking a sobriety test. The root of this is combination of many things, fear of conflict, ego, inflicting emotional pain on others.

A successful year is determined by the number of incredible memories I had.

The #1 indicator of whether I had a successful year isn’t just hitting all my goals. It’s the number of unforgettable experiences I had with people I love. If I hit my goals without any unforgettable experiences, I wouldn’t consider it a successful year. 

Beliefs I’ve Changed My Mind On

Digital Nomad/Traveling should not be “The Dream”

When I was in college, I read Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek. I didn’t do much with it, except fantasize about becoming a digital nomad. Over the last six years, I got to experience being a digital nomad.

Traveling solo/nomad-ing had been essential to my growth as a human being. It was the first time I started to listen to that inner voice. It finally put me in the driver seat of my own life. It fundamentally changed who I was. 

These days, I don’t get much benefit from the pure act of seeing many places. I realized I have only three reasons to travel: 1) deepen relationships 2) push my comfort zone and 3) learn a new skill. That’s it. Traveling shouldn’t be the goal, traveling should be a tool to build a more fulfilling life.

Don’t use checklists to select romantic partners

As a nerdy, analytical person, I love creating spreadsheets and long checklists for random things. So naturally, with romantic partners, I created a long checklist of attributes, developed a scoring system and used spreadsheets to track dates, like a dating CRM. I even built an algorithm to automate dating.

However, relationships are not logical, they’re emotional. Many people can check all the boxes but not feel right. And after reading the book How to Not Die Alone, I realized I should evaluate a person based on my feeling. Questions to ask myself:

• What side of me did they bring out?

• How did my body feel during the date?

• Do I feel energized after the date?

• Did I feel captivated? Did I feel in flow?

Some of the logical stuff does matter (like financial situation, location, age) but past a certain threshold, I should listen to my feelings.

Money can buy happiness

The often cited study is “after $70,000, additional money doesn’t make you happier.” Science has proven that gratitude, relationships and helping others makes you happier. Money can buy happiness if you use it for gratitude, relationships and to help others. 

If I spend $100,000 to help someone achieve their dreams, I’d be incredibly happy. If I spent $50,000 on therapy, that’d make me significantly happier. If I spent $10,000 to take my family on a vacation, that would create lifelong memories we could cherish forever. 

Reading 100 books per year isn’t impressive

The quality my reading should be determined by the number of quake-books I can find. Quake-books are books that fundamentally change or alter my world-view. It’s not the number of books I read that matter. It’s the number of books that make a significant impact on life that matter. 

2021 Outcomes Review

Establish myself at Spotify by delivering a high-quality product and developing deep expertise

The common theme amongst my review this year is this idea of commitment and going deeper. At Spotify, I've focused on a single area for over a year, and now that I'm near the end of the year, I'm starting to really reap the benefits of deeper knowledge. I’ve delivered significant revenue impact, delivered a brand-new forecasting system, and kickstarted workstreams that have large substantial $$ impact for our bottom-line. 

The learning here is that I can still learn many areas, but better to focus on one area, go deeply first, before transitioning.

Grade: A-

Build a roadmap for my career direction

My initial vision for this project did not come to fruition. I ended up over-estimating the amount of time I actually had to dedicate to this and didn’t end up doing this. The problem with not doing this is that then, I’m just following the default path (which isn’t bad). 

Grade: F

Cultivate positive serendipity through creating and sharing something useful 1x per week

I initially did great at this for the first few months of the year with 66 Days of Data challenge. But I ended up caring a lot more about surfing than actually sharing these and ended up caring a lot more about my relationships in person than doing this. In reality, I had scheduled this goal for the latter half of the year and just wasn’t my priority.

Grade: D

Review & learn the fundamentals of investing & set myself up for success financially

I ended up signing up for an investing course and getting a financial advisor to help with IPO sell-off. I’ve also allocated a % of my portfolio to “play money.” I do feel like I've set myself up somewhat.

However, I realized that active investing isn't a super high priority for me. I don’t really want to allocate the time to reading annual reports and doing finanical analysis as it would take time away from other activities I love, like sports. 

Grade: B

Go on at least 10 dates with the same person

The initial idea here was to use this as a metric to go deeper in a relationship. I accomplished this. However, I realized that living in Hawaii temporarily meant a long-term, serious relationship didn’t make sense. I’ll spare the details on this one. 

Grade: A

Build a strong, social circle in NYC by hosting at least 4 second-degree dinners. 

I ended up building a really strong social circle in Hawaii. Covid threw off my NYC move situation, however, I'll count this as a success. I didn't host any second degree dinners, but in this case, I accomplished my outcome through BBQ's.

Grade: A

Call my family at least 1x every two weeks

I did a better job of this in the beginning of the year than the end of the year, near the end of the year it started becoming more like 1x per month. 

Grade: C-

Eat plant-based for two out of three meals per day

I did a great job of this on the weekdays, eating salads and smoothies for lunch. The days where this stopped was either on the weekends (which I'm okay with) or after a night of heavy drinking.

Grade: B

Meditate everyday

Haven't been great with this. I probably meditate once every 3 days. This occurs less and less the more and more I drink alcohol.

Grade: C

Be able to top turn, cutback, cross step and nose ride on a surfboard (new)

This wasn't a goal I set in the beginning of the year, but a goal I set for myself while I was in Hawaii. This goal ended up being more important to me than the others and I accomplished it.

Grade A

Learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Just as I expected, I really enjoyed brazilian jiu jitsu. The sport has unexpectedly addressed a lot of my conflict-avoidant tendencies since I'm just constantly in conflict.

Grade: A

Learn how to freestyle sing play guitar at the same time

I didn't take any lessons, but I ended up buying a ukelele in Hawaii. As I started getting really into jamming, i started singing and I figured out how to do this.

Grade: A

Overall

Overall, I gave myself:

• 6 A's

• 2 B's

• 3 C's

• 1 D

• 1 F

I received an A on 46.5% of my goals. I should be targeting about 60%, so going into next year, I should set fewer goals and lower the bar just a bit.

Things to do more of

Make Stuff and Share it

Reflecting on my 2021, many meaningful relationships came from sharing my work online. Sharing my work, is like shooting a signal into the sky, pulling in everybody on the same wavelength as you.

Sharing my work online has opened me up to opportunities I had never expected.

Read more deeply

I gauge reading success not in the number of books I read, but the number of books I read that made a significant impact on my life.

In 2021, I noticed that I read significantly less and had fewer books make a significant impact on my life. I started replacing reading with Twitter, Youtube, Netflix which is a direction I'd like to stray away from.

Build strong community

Throwing the first BBQ in Hawaii was one of the most memorable, impactful experiences of the year. The BBQ was like a lighter, that jumpstarted my community in Hawaii. The intention here is to build a similar community out in NYC in 2022.

Sports

I get so much fulfillment from playing sports. I envision three sports for 2021:

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

• Snowboarding

• Surfing

I missed out on snowboarding last year since I was in Hawaii. This year, I'll make up for the lost snowboarding time.

Disciplined Spending

My shifting my approach to my personal finances to be more like a business. I earn income, have expenses and my goal will be to stay profitable each month. I realized my spending has started to get out of hand over the last couple months. 

Things to do less of

Drinking Alcohol

Thinking forward to my goals next year, drinking alcohol is going to get in the way of those goals. When I first got to NYC, I was drinking a lot. Looking into 2022, I'll still go out and have fun, but I'll be tapering down the number of times I'm "going hard". Every time I've "gone hard" it's diminished the quality & effectiveness of my work for the following week.

Watching Youtube

As stated, this year my Youtube/social media consumption significantly increased while my reading consumption significantly decreased. While I don't intend to eliminate Youtube, I'll start tracking my Youtube usage in order to curb my consumption.

I also notice I tend to watch Youtube more when I'm hungover. Addressing the alcohol component should help.

Eating Out

I made this a goal last year to eat out less and I failed. By default, I see the process of preparing food just for me a waste of time. Time I could be using productively somewhere else. I’ve tried and failed in the past with meal prep. Air Fryers have been popular so this is something I’ll try as replacement. 

Sugar

I started building a bad habit of eating candy and sugar. Luckily, because I exercise so much and don’t eat too much, I still have the same physique. However, I know that as I age, I won’t have as much leeway with my diet. However, I don’t want to completely restrict myself so my intention here is to limit sugar to one day per week.

Things to continue

Therapy

Every insight I had under the section "Most Valuable Learnings" can be attributed to therapy. Therapy has been a game changer for me in building my self-awareness and sparking many of these insights.

Things that used to cause anxiety, like texting, flaking no longer bother me anymore. 

Highlights

Favorite Memory(s)

• Hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, Day 5 especially

• Getting barreled in North Shore, Oahu

• First BBQ in Hawaii

• Brooklyn Mirage Nights, first few weekends in NYC

• North Shore Trips

• Puerto Rico Trip, surfing 3 times in a day

• Miami Trip, especially the night we went out

• Teaching my friends how to surf in Waikiki

Favorite Documentary: 14 Peaks on Netflix

Favorite Books:

• Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

• The Changing World Order by Ray Dalio

Favorite Tweet:

My dad was a lawyer until he was 37. At 37 he came home and said I’m going to be a doctor He resigned and went back to get undergrad prerequisites, then applied for med school at 38. Didn’t become a doctor until 46. As I approach 37 I realize how crazy that story actually is

Favorite Video

Favorite Podcast: HOW HUMANS SELECT & KEEP ROMANTIC PARTNERS IN SHORT & LONG TERM

If you’d like to read my 2022 goals, check it here.