☀️ 5 Resolutions I Have for 2024

1. Believe In Myself

There is a big difference between having just some confidence in the value of your work vs. feeling full-body trust and determination around your being and the direction of your life.

For the past two years of building my coaching business, the confidence I had in my abilities to be an entrepreneur would often fluctuate.

There were good and bad days, as I've shared via a video in this tweet, and they often revolved around factors like, my mood, how satisfied my coachees were with my service, and the things people in my life would say to me.

One thing I realized is that for me to elevate myself to the next level, I needed to increase the amount of belief I have in myself, my vision, and my mission.

I'm reminded of my second podcast interview with Danny Miranda where he said:

2024 will be the year where I put all my chips in when it comes to believing in myself and what I'm trying to accomplish with my life.

It's one where I will start my days in front of the mirror and remind myself by saying to my reflection: "I believe in you, man. You got this! 💪"

2. Stay Curious, Courageous, and Expansive 

I have spent a lot of 2023 finally conquering the fear of showing up online and the fear of being seen or judged by the public eye, and I want to continue building on that momentum.

Recently I had a long phone conversation with my mom where she shared with me that she has been learning and teaching other adults like herself how to sing more confidently.

One of the creative goals she has for herself this year is to learn to create these mini-music videos by herself via her phone.

I asked her: "Would you feel comfortable sharing these videos? Like on IG or Youtube?"

"No way."

"Why not? What does it make you feel?"

"It makes me scared. I'm scared of being judged by others. But I'm not the type of person that needs to be seen in public."

It reminded me why it took me so long and much inner work to overcome the fear of showing up online.

I now know and am reminded that I'm not just healing my insecurities, fear, and childhood wounds, but potentially the wounds that my parents, my grandparents, and potentially even my ancestors have felt.

This is what motivates me to show up more confidently this year.

This year I am planning to continue

• publishing my thoughts, ideas, and learnings through this newsletter

• hosting world-class interviews with new guests via the Joy of Building podcast

• sharing about the ups and downs of my journey as an entrepreneur in public via Twitter, IG, & Linkedin

• exploring what it means to be an abstract artist

3. Double Down 

I want to double down on everything I have been doing in the past years that has brought me a lot of joy, fulfillment, and monetary success.

Part of this process requires me to be extremely honest about things that I've done that haven't worked and have the courage to let go of them.

This includes aspects of my coaching value proposition and offer that have not had as much traction as I would have liked and I will be spending more time reevaluating and double-downing on the aspects of it that are resonating with others.

Here are all the things I'm doubling down on:

• My coaching program. I want to take what's been working for me in the past two years and combine it with a new pricing and offer that will allow me to make it more sustainable for myself.

• Continue making new episodes for my podcasts. My goal is to record and publish at least 2 episodes a month.

• Writing and sharing via this newsletter. I want to share more consistently weekly.

• My career as an artist. I no longer just want to do my art as a "hobby" but rather something that is a significant part of who I am. My goal is to be able to sell at least 1 painting this year.

4. Continue Compounding

One thing I'm extremely proud of about what I've been able to achieve in the past years is how consistent I've been in maintaining my habits.

Ever since I read Atomic Habits back in 2019, I've invested heavily in the healthy habits I want to have, and the person I want to embody.

And I'm proud to say I've:

• meditated for 1039 consecutive days

• read daily for 30 minutes which resulted in reading 35 books in 2023

• completed 20+ abstract drawings

• journaled for at least 330 / 365 days

• missed only 1 of my monthly reviews and a few of my weekly reviews

It's just as Charlie Munger says about compounding:

And I don't intend to interrupt any of this compounding any time soon.

5. Find My People

Recently I've been hearing more and more about the word scenius.

The word was originally coined by Brian Eno:

Brian, along with individuals like authors Kevin Kelly and Austin Kleon, believes that if you look closely at history, you will realize that some of the most powerful and innovative ideas and creations didn't directly come from these "lone geniuses" but rather a community or scene of people where they would often look at, support, copy, compete, and collaborate with each other.

Over these past few years, I have experienced this feeling through showing up, hanging out, and sharing online, and also through the experiences I've had from joining virtual fellowship programs. But this year I intend to look more deeply into how I can find, foster, and create these scenius in my IRL life.

I have no idea where to start but for the first time in my life, I'm deeply committed to being intentional about making adult friends and surrounding myself with people that can help me get to where I want to in life.

What are your goals and aspirations for this year?

👀 Come to My Senses

Every week, I round up all sorts of interesting things that I found on the internet that engaged with each of my five senses (sight, smell, touch, sound, taste). Enjoy!

• I can’t stop staring at this image of Uranus and its rings produced recently by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

• I’ve been starting all my mornings doing this to clear my nose. Been trying to pay closer attention to my sense of smell this year!

• One thing I’m looking forward to this year is checking out the new wing of the Natural History Museum and go touch the walls.

• Been enjoying listening to Sampha’s sophomore album Lahai.

• Kewpie Mayo has been my most recent favorite ingredient to use. Try out this trendy recipe!

And that's it for now! ✨

Thank you for reading this edition all the way to the end. I appreciate you 🙏

Did you like this post? It would mean THE WORLD to me if you could share this on your socials and tag me at @atsaotsao. Thanks again!

Hope to see you in the next issue!