I'm excited to "formalize" this process. If anything it will be cool for me and my future kids to have something to look back on.
Annual writing, quarterly writing, and any consistent general updates over long spans of time are very interesting to me. It’s fascinating to go back and read regular updates from leaders that I admire. I admittedly haven’t parsed through all of them, but once and a while I do find myself seeking out a Warren Buffet shareholder letter or a blog post from Paul Graham. There’s something exciting about going back to someone’s consciousness X years ago and tracking what they ended up being “right” about, beat expectations on, or changed views completely on.
I made a small stab attempt at doing an annual letter to myself last year, and the year prior, but I’ve either lost them or did not save them in a memorable place. During 2024 I seemed to have been able to “commit” to Substack as my current home for all long-form writing, word vomits, and otherwise. In the spirit of keeping everything in one place I will be writing my 2024 reflection letter here. One day when I have the energy, time, or interest (ideally all three!) I will create a personal website that will be more all encompassing. Substack seems to work fine for now.
2024 was a year marked by humility, reflection, and confusion.
I was in my Georgetown graduate program for the latter portion of the year, until July, and I was very ready to be done with it. I got a lot out of the program, met a handful of new close friends, but confirmed to myself that learning doesn’t have to (and often isn’t as good) in the classroom. I was laid off from the job I was working in 2023 at a startup, which lead me to go to school to buy a year of contemplation, and I think I achieved that goal. I also broke up with my girlfriend of roughly two years in July of 2024, so the summer of this year brought a lot of powerful personal reflection. I felt humbled by the amount this reflection consumed me, and it felt like the first time in my life I took such a critical view of myself. I got back into reading, picked up some new sports in a more meaningful way, and got serious about fitness in general.
The wrapping of school and everything that comes with that made the Spring and late Winter of 2024 feel like a blur. I was jolted into reality when school ended and my girlfriend and I broke up. Then, in October, I turned 28 which brought with it another set of reflective moments. All this to say summer into early fall of this year was a one-two punch of reflective moments.
I came to the conclusion this is my last shot to “go for it” before life gets too complex. Marriage, kids, etc, etc, are all very much on the horizon. Many of my friends began that process this year, and it’s only a matter of time before I’ll be well on my way. I don’t think this will fully knock me off track, but if I’m going to go “all in”, this seems like a pretty damn good time to do it.
Note- when I refer to “go all in” or “go for it” generally I’m speaking about my entrepreneurial goals.
Now more than ever in life I find myself feeling the need define my principles and values. I also feel the need to determine what in my life is wasting my time, and cut it out. Especially if it’s wasting my time and is negative. If it’s something easy to cut out (not a family member) then begone. I’ve listened and read countless times about the importance of not wasting time, and the riches the youth possess without even knowing it. I want to begin taking this seriously. I’m convinced that the only way to ensure you live in a rewarding way is through “The Regret Minimization Framework”.
I’ve decided that I can filter basically everything in my life through the following; Does this help me reach my long-term goals (entrepreneurial or otherwise e.g family building goals)? If not, is there a good reason to do it anyway (e.g a long walk with Mom in the woods because that won’t be around forever, a spontaneous memorable trip that will be worth it’s weight in gold when I’m 80 and the memory is the easiest way to travel)? And lastly, when you’re 90 , what will you remember about this decision?
I’ve wrote about second-order thinking previously. Ben Franklin, Ray Dalio, Charlie Munger, and Charles Darwin all employ it deftly. If I decide to do X, what’s going to be the Y and Z outcomes from it? Where are the opportunity costs? Of course, this system is far from perfect. There are obviously times when it makes sense to deviate and drink some beers with friends by a lake on a lazy Saturday, but it’s about trying to treat life with some urgency and care. I feel as though I haven’t taken life as seriously as I could have in the past, and the latter half of 2024 marked the end of that for me. In more ways than one I now approach my life with a stronger feeling of finality.
A great example is health. I have been working out more in 2024 than ever before and I feel great. I go when I don’t feel like it, I go when I’m fired up, I go when it’s inconvenient (like sneaking out early for a run when on a group trip). This habit took some time to form but now that I feel it’s firmly taken hold I have learned so much from it. It’s another maxim that I’ve heard before, but it’s something like, “Olympians practice like Olympians”. They treat every facet of their life, not just time training, as progress towards their Olympic aspirations. You don’t have to go to extremes with everything, but for the average person, examining how different aspects of your life influence your drive to “stay alive” can make it much easier to decide when to eat, make healthier choices, and maintain better habits. Why is staying alive the framework? Well for me it’s a critical piece of achieving my lofty goals (Warren Buffet made most of his money after 80!).
I spent from around 16 to 27/28 being generally pretty loose with my body. I never once considered the impact decisions had on my health and longevity, and I’ll probably end up paying the price for decisions already made. I’ve decided in 2024 and into the future to take this much more seriously. This isn’t because I have the goal to build muscle specifically or run a specific mile time, but I have such large expectations for my life from an entrepreneurial and family perspective that I’d like to be around for as long as possible!
To return to my previous point, I’ve become much more focused on what values and principles define the decisions I make. These will change over time, but it’s been helpful to think about them even abstractly throughout my days and weeks over the year. It’s helped to make sense of my decision making process. This is my first attempt at putting them in writing, and I’m sure they will evolve.
Principles to Live By:
Lastly, in 2025 I want to start a simple repository of things I love—great movies, books, shows, places—so one day my kids can see what inspired me.