January 2025 Updates
Conferences, distinguishing traits, and bought vs earned status
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.
A week later, here’s the first update for Jan 2025! A few new faces here this month, so say hi if you haven’t yet!
Before diving in, I want to just say how thankful I am for all of the people in my life; I’ve been catching up with old friends from high school, teachers from high school and even elementary school, and past managers and coworkers.
It’s been nearly 4 years of writing this, and I stand firm on my stance that this is one of the highest ROI things I’ve ever done. Very thankful to each and every one of you here.
Please do reach out if there’s anything I can be of help it, or just to catch up!
My updates
Back in the Bay, and back to the 6-day grind. I’ve found myself leading a lot of our strategic conversations, scoping down technical projects, and identifying real customer painpoints. It’s been a huge learning to lead this pivot towards the next chapter of Biogenesis, and something that’s been rewarding so far.
Prioritizing health and fitness. I started off the year with 75 hard. Unfortunately, it lasted 16 days until I had 6am-10pm conference days in the city. In retrospect, 75 hard would not fit my current lifestyle — but a morning workout 4-5 times a week, with occasional basketball and outdoor sports would.
An update on experiments. I’ve recently been finding myself in a lot of new environments. I went to three executive conferences (where the average demographic was white, male, and over 55y/o); picking up new and different activities (eg. outdoor sports, street photography, community volunteering); and actively taking steps to break down current stigmas (eg. SF is an unsafe place, need to be technical in the Bay, etc).
On my mind
On bought vs earned status. Naturally, status is something that we seek. Subdividing this into two categories of bought status (eg. expensive watches, fancy cars, brand name clothing) vs earned status (eg. a good body, high praise from friends/family, emotional maturity) was a helpful exercise in revealing what my deep motivations were.
On finding balance. Despite going to three intensive conferences, and pulling intense 6-day workweeks, I’ve felt the most balanced that I’ve been in recent life. I attribute that to a diversity of types of conversations, people, and activities (eg. from church, athletes, and new friends).
On distinguishing traits. I own a Logitech MX Mechanical Mini keyboard at the office. It’s a decently loud keyboard, and paired with my 125wpm typing speed, it’s a sound that keeps my desk plant growing (apparently sound affects plant metabolism). Paired with my known obsession with keyboard shortcuts and optimization, it’s been a frequent topic of conversation amongst my team and friends. So much so that a few people have called and texted me, asking about specific shortcuts or better ways to improve X app or process. It’s got me thinking a lot about distinguishing traits that we all have as people — certain obsessions of ours that our friends share across their group. I’ve been fortunate to have been surrounded by friends who love competition, introspection, or even things like tennis (to an obsessive degree). I respect that a ton, and it makes me think of what I want to be known for; what my distinguishing traits should be.
Lmk if you are (or know someone who is) working on or thinking about the above!
Personal asks
I’m exploring AI model training using audio-visual datasets. Would love to be introduced to anyone who’s thinking about or working on this.
Looking to meet with some AI engineers interested in sports analytics for a friend; intros much appreciated!
Any conversations or intros would be very appreciated! Find a time here.
Next month
Back in Toronto in late Feb! Reach out if you wanted to catch up :)
Sitting in on a few classes for fun at Stanford!
Touring a few of my friends around the Bay area when they visit
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 👋
Tweet or reply, or find some time to catch up. Subscribe here if this was forwarded to you, or read my past updates.
“or even things like tennis (to an obsessive degree).” — I feel seen and heard hahaha 😂
On a serious note, really great to see you thriving in SF! Sounds like things are more balanced and feel more fulfilling, even with a busy work schedule! ☺️
Excited to catch up with you in Toronto later this month Brandon! 👊🏻