Feb '23 Update

Some 1/3's, learning to lead with imposter syndrome, and cottys

You’re receiving this monthly newsletter because you’ve been a valuable part of my life in some shape or form (or I’d like for you to be 🙂). See this video for context.

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What I’ve been up to 🌱

1. I’ve spent 1/3 of this month at a cottage - first with the Onova team for an internal sprint and then with my girlfriend’s friends in Muskoka for a few chill days. It was a refreshing balance of work and play over the cotty weeks, and I learned how to play mahjong too which was great!

2. I played my first 1/3 game in poker. Busted after shoving 18bbs preflop with AKs and getting called by 85o (trips) but learned so much, really enjoyed it, and am excited to continue getting better. Many thanks to Alex for bringing me out! Btw - check out his great Substack on the creator economy :)

3. It’s tax season so I spent a few hours actually re-organizing my internal drive (not that taxes and organization are related…)! Pretty proud of this because have been able to very quickly find files and see past projects in a systematic way now. My inner ops nerd is really happy about that haha.

What I’ve been thinking/learning about 💭

1. Thinking about any parentally imposed psychological barriers (conscious or not) which may be holding me back. The influence of my parents’ cultural upbringing on my own may shape certain tendencies that may be playing a larger role than I am aware of - I’m now working through that and trying to uncover them. Thanks to William for planting this seed of thought.

2. Currently learning how to lead while feeling imposter syndrome. I’ve been navigating a new role at work in sales/marketing - something I have never formally done before. I’m feeling tons of imposter syndrome and have been trying to learn as much about the role (and also dealing with IS) as much as possible. The biggest piece of advice yet: growth comes at the brink of being uncomfortable.

Lmk if you are (or know someone who is) working on or thinking about the above!

Personal asks 🙏

1. Would appreciate any introductions to people who work or have worked with CIOs in any capacity. I’m trying to better understand their world and how one may particularly deliver value to them from a B2B perspective.

What’s next for me ⚡️

1. Going to grind out a few assignments/midterms in the month of March to give myself some more leeway heading into exams.

2. I had previously had an 11pm-6:30am sleep schedule but am thinking of shifting that back an hour to accommodate late basketball practices and events while still prioritizing sleep duration.

3. Heads down on learning at work (particularly in sales and marketing) to hopefully overcome this imposter syndrome by the end of March.

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Thanks for reading this month’s update. Would love to hear how I can help you this month (maybe I can make some intros, work through some thoughts with you, or otherwise). See you next month 👋

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