Q1 | 2024
A Quarterly Letter from Anthony
Original intro I wrote ~a month ago:
Good morning folks,
You may have noticed the dearth of letters in your inbox last month.
I took a break from writing. Partly due to some extensive personal and work travel; partly due to a long needed revamp and restructure.
I am proud to say the foundations have finally been set, and today, I’d like to reintroduce you to LFA!
The new intro I wrote this weekend:
Howdy folks,1
If you’ve noticed a lack of Letters and Studies in your inbox, it’s because I’ve been paralyzed by perfection, have not prioritized writing, and because 2024 is kicking my butt.2
Here is what I’m working on.3
First, I am in the midst of reworking, restructuring, and reprioritizing my creative ventures.
Creative Rework:
For the past few years of my online presence and internet citizenship…I’ve been throwing spaghetti on the ceiling. Trying to see what sticks.
I’ve grown fond of throwing spaghetti. It’s fun, and I don’t plan on stopping - but I’ve since found myself alone in my metaphorical internet room…with piles of loose digital spaghetti on the floor.
I feel an urge to focus, hone in, and prioritize quality. (Whispers of Phaedrus)
So I’ve spent the past three months inviting some key folks into my room - to help figure out what sticks and what’s sustainable.
Since uhh, nothing is complete/perfect yet - I am going to share my “vision” below of what I want to accomplish creatively in the next 3-9 months.
Who are you?
My name is Anthony. I am a lifelong learner who is navigating the world and sharing his journey on the way.
What do you write?
A few things:
Letters From Anthony (LFA)
A quarterly update NL from yours truly.
A personal update letter. A place for public reflection and a space to share my journey.
Selfishly, to help keep me accountable to my goals and view my progress along the way — unselfishly, maybe someone can learn from my mistakes.
The Saturday Study (tSS)
A weekly digest of the top 3-5 best things I’ve consumed during my weekly Saturday Study at a coffee shop.
Highly curated content of writings, posts, quotes, podcasts, videos, and music that I found valuable and worth sharing.
Selfishly, to keep me accountable to life-long learning and growth — unselfishly, maybe someone will be moved to learn, think, and feel.
Website/Blog
My goal is to resurrect this site and publish a piece monthly.
A space for half and full-baked ideas and thoughts that I want to share, but do not fit into the above categories. This content will range from monthly challenges I do to thoughts/ideas/frameworks that I am wrestling with. Long-form and short-form content - an outlet for “everything else.”
Selfishly, to give me an outlet to ‘experiment more’ with my writing. A loose spaghetti room.
Second, 2024 is kinda kicking my butt.
These letters are a chance for me to pause and look up above the weeds. Look at the compass and reassess and reprioritize the direction I am going. I’ll share updates via a Q1 Reflection and reassess with a Q2 Projection.
Q1 Reflection:
The past 3 months, like most months, have flown by. Most of the time, I’ve felt that I am merely ‘trying to hold on.’
Highs:
Transitioned from Chief of Stuff to full-time Land (and recently wrapped up our 2023/2024 planting season!)
Had some great intentional friend time and had some of the best snowboarding of my life
Found my perfect adventure motorcycle…for a trip to Alaska
Had a wonderful Italian-themed dinner with my
friends*cousins
feat. planting day, powwwda, Ruby, and my cousins
Learnings:
I think the biggest learning here is to plan ahead! Plan fun things in advance that you can look forward to. Sometimes the anticipation can bring as much joy as the event itself.
Lows:
I hurt my ankle pretty bad on my last snowboarding trip :’)
‘Life balance’ has been pretty off. Feel like I am behind/not-on-top of Life. Stuck.
Exercise/nutrition/sleep have not been consistent
I have not been reading/writing consistently
Learnings:
DON’T GET HURT!!!
Hurting my ankle, (and getting sick), really throw a wrench into my
a) plans/busy schedule and b) my mental and physical well-being.
When you get stuck - it’s easy to wallow in the mud and stay stuck. Action, for the most part, always helps. Whether it’s using plywood and sticks or setting timers and busting out awful first drafts.
Buffalo: 4
Caylon and I drove this massive vehicle from Nashville to Austin last week…and I still cannot get over how big/ridiculous/awesome this truck and hydroseeder are hahaha
current nickname: "The Inoculator"
Learnings:
This truck is 1lb under the CDL limit. If it’s under the limit, anyone is just allowed to drive big trucks!
Q2 Projection
Framed through a PSA!!! (priorities, systems, accountability)
Priorities
Sometimes I wish I could ‘care less.’ Because narrowing your scope of ‘care’ allows you to better focus. If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.
You hardly get asked, “What are your priorities” (outside of a work context) and I’ve been trying to ask myself this a lot (in a personal context).
And tbh, I don’t have great answers. It’s just pages and pages of laundry list items and tasks to complete.
Systems
The overused and dreaded word.
But as James Clear said, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Accountability
Sometimes discipline is not enough. Part of the ‘system’ you set up includes having some sort of accountable party to ensure you do the thing you said you were going to do.
For the next 3 months, I will be more intentional with where I place my focus, build the system to support said focus, and add accountability to ensure the prior two are have happened.
Life Bucket Updates/Goals:
Life, Learning, Relationships (LLR):
Priority: The next three months are going to be learning. I am focusing on reading start-up/sales books, signing up for a sales/forestry class, and taking a course/class on something I am interested in (right now it’s between math/history/coding.) Also, continuing to read fiction books that I am interested in.
System: I am committing to a modified 75-hard (pretty much a 75-soft) where I will read ~10 pages of nonfiction per day and I will sign up for structured online courses for the latter.
Accountability: I am doing the 75-soft with my friend Franklin and I’ll be paying for the other two courses - one through work and the other out-of-pocket. My friend Mitchell and I have a book club that keeps me accountable for reading fiction.
Health:
Priority: Get healthy and back into shape. I am still recovering from the ankle injury - so healing that is the first priority.
System: 75-soft, where I will complete and track 6 ~45min workouts a day - among a myriad of other things (water, diet, etc. but not too worried about those.) I also signed up for a 20-class challenge at ABP for the month of April.
Accountability: Franklin - 75-soft, Curtis - weightlifting, social pressure - ABP.
Career:
Priority: Enrolling 7,500 acres of carbon projects with private and institutional landowners.
System: Using Notion as a CRM and Asana to track progress against our OKRs.
Accountability: Team Funga! Specifically, Josh, Ian, Erika, and Joey.
Creative:
Priority: Consistent writing. I will publish 1 quarterly LFA, 13 weekly TSS, and 3 blog posts
System: I’ve blocked out writing time in my calendar for the next 3 months. My one non-negotiable will be writing on Saturday mornings, ideally, at a coffee shop.
Accountability: Rish, Dom, Corey, and Matiss have been my main sources of accountability thus far - but ultimately, it will be readers like you :D
And that’s all I got for this Q1 Letter! whoo-hoo!
Above all, my MO is progress>perfection. I am nervous and excited about entering this new season. I’ll probably write more about that in the coming posts.
As always, if you’ve made it this far, thank you.
If this isn’t your vibe — please unsubscribe! :)
If you have any questions, comments, or ways I can improve this newsletter, please reply to this email!
ML,
Anthony
this will probably not be released in the morning (SIKE - I got’r done!)
alliteration FTW - and uhh, honesty or whatever
footnotes! yay!
h/t Claire for this modified Rose, Bud, Thorn-esque framework!