Hello friends,
I am attempting to pre-write a draft about two weeks early so that I can get this out on time. Due to extensive travel, I foresee a future where this is still a week late.
And if you reading this now- I guess I am a good fortune teller.
To be frank, I am not really sure what to write about this month.
I feel that I have been quite busy and haven’t had a ton of time to “think freely.”
(I also haven’t prioritized time/space to explore and delve into curiosity.)
So!
This month, I am taking the newsletter in a little more personal/update-y direction.
Let’s see how it goes!
Alrighty, since you are subbed to this newsletter, you’ll be getting an ultra-exclusive view into the Life of Anthony.
Since most of you who are reading this month’s post, have most definitely read last month’s post; I am going to format this letter in a familiar fashion.
Career
A high-level recap for the new folks:
I graduated college w/ a finance degree (go bucks), rode a motorcycle around to figure out my life, landed a front-desk job at a WeWork in Austin (thank you, again, Brock 🙏🏽), had a stint of consulting for startups on the side, transitioned to an apprenticeship with an entrepreneur for a few months, and I am now working as the Chief of Staff for a climate tech startup called Funga.
A lot of change in just over a year.
But I guess that’s what life is, right? A constant state of change.
As denoted in prior posts, my path has never been linear. Always twisting, and winding in directions that ultimately end up where I am meant to be.
In an attempt to delineate a tough season of my career-life and convey the corresponding emotions…I made a poem.
I am proud to now stand alongside Gratitude and Luck.
But alas, this state didn’t come without a bumpy road slicked with muck.
Post-college, despite a calm facade,
Anxiety wouldn’t pipe down about “not having a job.”
And although I know what he said was untrue,
I felt alone, unstable, unwanted and subdued.
Then I got a job.
Relief washed over, and it felt good! Though brief,
And after about a month or so, set in a new type of grief.
Frustrated. I wished that my soul could just stay contented,
But it knew, as I knew, it was not what I wanted.
Relief hastily left as Struggle sat back down
and condescendingly inquired, “What is it that you want now?”
So I kept moving and shaking and trying to catalyze something.
"Anything."
More months of applying,
interviewing,
and failing.
Until, Finally!
Catalyzed Something!
An apprenticeship, promising,
Under a successful entrepreneur, “This was it.”
This is what I must want, greenlight, full-steam ahead!
Everything seemed so good…until it wasn’t.
My heart wasn’t in it,
Though a part of me wishes it were.
I should’ve just gotten another corporate job,
That would’ve been easier.
After months of cajoling, coaxing, and bartering with my gut,
I knew what I had to do, dragging my feet, creating a rut.
Reality is so simple, but not easy, they say,
And out goes the window,
When you have a hard decision to make.
I made a promise to stay, as an apprentice, for at least a year.
365 days. Ownership and Equity. Loyalty and Pride.
Oathbreaking is hard. Disappointing others is not fun, especially for a people-pleaser.
Breaking your word and not acting in congruence with your values,
even though that’s what you seem to preach,
is a painful and slow-cutting knife.
I tried to make both work. I really did.
But alas, “no one can serve two masters.”
There is unspoken wisdom in the trinity; head, heart, and gut.
Listening for the truth is a skill.
Acting on truth is another.
I acted accordingly, and I now feel well.
But I guess only time will tell.
I now stand alongside Gratitude and Luck.
I am proud that this state didn’t come without a bumpy road slicked with muck.
I have been pretty lowkey about this position because sometimes it feels surreal.
It has kinda been my dream job.
I get to be on the frontlines of a startup, getting my hands dirty doing a myriad of tasks from managing finances/accounting, setting up HR, executing on biz ops to helping with the science side like traveling to a nursery in Georgia to help run experimental trials!
Additionally, I am also getting exposure to high-level decision-making and strategy (ie taking notes at our Board meetings or Investor calls) and feel that I actually have a small say in steering the direction of this ship.
The experience I have gotten thus far, from onboarding employee number 1 to helping grow our AllHands call to 8 Google Meet boxes, adding/editing slides to our Pitch Deck and then actually pitching our company to an Angel Investor, and just being in the rooms and absorbing knowledge like a sponge, has been truly invaluable.
This is where I wanted/needed to be, and I never could have planned for it.
In addition to working with great people, I also get to help in solving the complex and global problem of climate change! These are key factors to my motivation/enjoyment of my work and play a key role in my overall career-why.
(If you are curious to learn more about what Funga does just reply to this email or check out https://www.funga.earth/!)
It is truly crazy and I never could have predicted this in any sort of 5-year plan.
I am very grateful; just trying to enjoy the ride and do the best that I can.
Okay okay, I am done with the random poemy/rhymey scheme. But seriously. I finally feel “contented,” with my job/career quadrant which has always been a source of anxiety/stress for me. It feels nuts even writing about it.
(Believe it or not, this all happened because of a conversation I had at the WeWork front desk. About food, language, and Austin. No job posts, no cover letters or resumes, no expectations. A 10 min initial convo, max, and without it, I would not be where I am today. Wild to think about. Grateful for the mysteries of time, place, and luck.)
Health
Exercise
Climbing is dope.
I’ve been trying to run or work out once a week. I don’t think it’s enough to “maintain” but I have been prioritizing climbing because that is what is fun/easy for me.
I actually entered a climbing competition last week! A huge thank you to my climbing friends as well as my friend Matiss for encouraging me to enter.
In 3 hours, I ended up successfully sending 10/30 boulders with 18 attempts. This landed me 63rd out of 127 competitors in the Advanced category!
The best part of this experience was the atmosphere. I didn’t realize how much I missed the competitive environment, that was previously fulfilled by soccer.
I am looking forward to continuing to progress in this area and seeking/testing out more competitive environments!
Sleep
Mostly good here. I’ve been experimenting with taping my mouth shut for a few months now, and I think it has helped improve the quality of my sleep. At the very least, it has helped me be more conscious of breathing through my nose > my mouth.
Improvement areas include consistent sleep/wake times and not hitting snooze 7+ times before arising.
Food
Cooking is tough. Not necessarily the act of cooking, I just feel like I am still trying to find “my thing,” meal concoction, or handful of recipes that are sure-fire nutritious, delicious, and efficient.
The current diet mostly consists of salads, eggs, beef/turkey/chicken concoctions, rice, cereal, and soup.
My friends Dom and Emily gave me an awesome chipotle honey chicken crock pot meal with an amazing effort/taste ratio.
If you have any more asymmetric effort/taste recipes, please please reply :D
Creative
Music
I went to NY-city! (joke)
I got to both visit with some good friends AND record music in the same studio as “Toast Cajon” and “Lary Giles!” Very grateful for the DiHD? Lads continuing to push our music forward.
(a huge thank you to Dom, Jake, Coop, and Connor)
Writing
I love writing. It has been hard though. To be honest, I have found myself scrambling to complete newsletters on time and to see blog post ideas from start to finish.
On one hand, at least they are getting done? I am usually pretty happy and proud to put them out there.
On the other hand, sometimes I worry that I am “phoning it in” too much…and that I don’t actually like writing…I am just forcing myself to do it for some external reason?
Fighting perfectionism? Giving into procrastination? Writing to clear up my thoughts and sharpen my writing and thinking skills? Or just another thing to consume Anthony’s time and attention - reaching for something lasting, immortal maybe, whilst simultaneously grappling with the inevitably of death and his own finitude?
I vote it is some concoction of the above.
Music (Again)
I have been absolutely ENTHRALLED with the new Arctic Monkeys album: The Car.
What a lovely month for new music. Alvvays, Backseat Lovers, KGATLW, and much much more.
I’ll be honest, I was kind of hesitant during my first listen-through of this album. It was tooooo… ~tranquil~(ity base hotel and casino)
BUT! After the second and third listen through. It clicked.
This album feels like the perfect transition from their last ‘rockier’ and most popular album, AM, and their previous, more ‘concepty’ and least popular album, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino.
The Car, is the puzzle piece that links them both.
This newsletter isn’t supposed to be a music review, and my opinions are def biased, but I think Alex Turner really shows how he and the Arctic Monkeys have matured and changed over time. Although Alex hates diving in and speculating lyrics, much less his own, I hear not-so-subtle undertones of the inevitable effects of change.
The Arctic Monkeys will never again be what they were in their “prime.”
They will never be the band I fell in love with in High School.
They know that, and this album feels like the goodbye to that era.
It is somber, hopeful, and just…beautiful. Their progression as a band throughout the years is something I aspire to and look up to creatively.
Life/relationships/learning
Ahh yes, the biggest chunk of the pie.
If you know me, you may know that I am absolutely terrible at responding to text messages.
If you don’t know me, I currently have 53 unread texts on my phone…and this is a low number!
My reasoning is so that I can “stay in the present” as much as possible - and be wherever I am.
My goal is to batch respond to texts (like how Tim responds to email) but the problem is…sometimes I don’t, or I forget, or I just don’t have the energy to when I am supposed to respond…and then forget.
Idk what to do here.
I have a lot of people I care about and want to keep in touch with.
But it’s just so damn hard.
Honestly, a lot of readers are my good friends. Any help or ideas here is greatly appreciated.
My in-person relationships and interactions are great though. Love my roommates. My climbing friends. Coworkers.
Really all my Austin friends.
I feel very satisfied and content here.
Learning - I would love to improve in this area. Something I would like to do is pay for a math class to re-up on the fundamentals and become a baller in “nature’s language.”
I also want to learn to code. (like everyone else)
And I also just want to be better at guitar, piano, and singing.
Since I cannot decide and commit to one…I have currently pursued, you guessed it, none!
Hopefully, I’ll have more updates in this department in the next couple of months.
(Dates: 0/2 for the year. Still have over a month!)
QOTM:
I guess it was a busy month for you all too.
I received 0 responses to my last question haha
Alas, I am going to attempt once more, and if the outcome is the same, I’ll take the feedback and pivot from this section of the newsletter.
Q: How do you form and maintain boundaries with friends? And if they get upset with you- how do you handle this and balance the needs of both yourself and others?
Nothing existential today, just something I’ve been wrestling with and am genuinely curious about your answer(s).
Value
Quote:
“It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol."
- Brené Brown
Eff status symbols
Working on this myself. My take is that hustle culture and burning yourself out will eventually…burn itself out. I think having quality values and living a balanced life that YOU enjoy - will prevail.
Tweet:
This just made me laugh really hard.
Blogpost: “How to Have Fun Again,” by Wendy MacNaughton
Wonderfully simple and short; relates well to the aforementioned quote
If you have trouble viewing due to the paywall - refresh and hit the “x” right after…works 85% of the time :)
Podcast:
I am secretly a huge stan of Ali Abdaal. I feel that I align with many values and philosophies as well as look up to similar folks. (Tim, Cal, Sivers, etc.)
This is an episode I need to rewatch/listen/take notes on. I was originally turned off by Alex Hormozi and his overall appearance/candor on the internet (when someone says they have “nothing” to sell you, they are selling you something!)…but after this podcast I “get it.”
My most important takeaway: “Instead of investing in the S&P, invest in yourself (the S&ME).”
Current Reads:
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Paradise Lost by John Milton (Audiobook)
As always, if you have made it this far in this very long and very personal letter, thank you.
If you have any questions, comments, or ways I can improve this newsletter, please reply to this email or tweet at me!
ML,
Anthony