23 Big Lessons from 2023.
#17: Life’s chaotic. Shit falls apart and so do we, but the magic lies in piecing it back together one broken shard at a time.
👋🏼 Hey, I’m Anna! I’m a founder and operator in an ongoing relationship with writing. Welcome to my weekly newsletter where I share business, career and life lessons that I’ve learned over years of trying hard, failing often, and on occasion, succeeding too.
It’s the last working day before Christmas, which means I’ve closed Slack, opened a bottle of Pinot Gris, and am kicking back reflecting on the last twelve months.
For me, it’s been a year of many firsts. It was my first time starting a Substack, my first time having a knee reconstruction, my first time consulting for a Silicon Valley tech startup, my first time going overseas with my boyfriend, and my first time working a 4 day work week (or at the very least, my first time trying to).
I learnt (slash am still learning) some Big Lessons this year, so without further ado here are some of the ones I’m carrying into 2024:
Make Mondays meeting free. A meeting free Monday feels a little like Sunday, and having time for deep work at the start of the week helps you get immediate runs on the board.
If you do the work that only you can do, you’ll see results that only you can see. Lean into the skill, talent, craft, knowledge and experience that’s unique to you. Doing this will never send you down the wrong path.
A one degree turn yields far bigger results than trying to do a 180 on your life (read why).
Related to #3: it’s all about the reps. To achieve big results do one small thing over and over and over again until you become better and better and better.
Burnout isn’t just about overworking, it’s also about overthinking. Agonising over things outside of your control, suffering in silence and doing mental gymnastics are equally as destructive as grinding for 12+ hours a day.
Do what’s sustainable, not what’s possible. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. This applies to business, career and life in general.
A kind word from someone can turn a horrible state of affairs into a beautiful one. Even a situation as shitty as snapping your ACL 3 weeks before your long-awaited Italian vacay can be made tolerable (and dare I say, enjoyable?) when your doctors, nurses, anaesthetists and physios are the most delightful angel-humans on earth.
Check the fine print on your health insurance. Otherwise, you may end up finding out the night before knee surgery that you’re not covered for ‘joint reconstructions’ and you have to fork out a ton of money for the surgeon and anaesthetist and theatre and hospital bed and medication and nurses…and on and on and on. Also: have an emergency fund.
Capture positive feedback and store it in a folder on your computer called ‘Love Notes’. Save positive emails from clients, praise from your boss or words of encouragement from your peers. When you feel like shit or doubt your capability, go back and read every one. It’s like having a personal cheer squad on tap.
If you want people to support your work, support theirs first. Subscribe to their newsletter. Like their LinkedIn post. Rock up to their market stall. Buy their products. Send them a nice message. If you do you’ll receive tenfold in return. Karma’s a real thing.
Being in the right relationship is a super power. It can make you happier, smarter, stronger, more resilient, more powerful, more successful and more fulfilled. When you find it, hold on tightly.
You’ll never regret spending money on courses, books, mentors, therapists or coaches. You can’t do it all alone, so why try?
Anything that you do more than once can be systemised. Making content, your creative practice, scheduling sales calls for your business, keeping on top of your inbox, deciding what to each for dinner each night, managing your money…all of these things can be made easier and more efficient by putting an operating system in place.
Don’t dip your toe in the water, put both feet firmly in. Life’s too short to be tepid. Get piping hot.
Don’t bow to peoples’ expectations of you. Others might expect you to act, think and show up a certain way. But just because you may have done before, doesn’t mean you must again. The only expectation you need to meet is your own. The only obligation you have is to your own life.
You are literally a bunch of atoms controlling another bunch of atoms. When you think you’re not capable of doing something difficult, remember this wild and unbelievable fact.
Life’s chaotic. Shit falls apart and so do we, but the magic lies in piecing it back together one broken shard at a time.
If you forget to water your plants for three weeks straight don’t expect them to survive. If you forget to feed and water yourself, you’ll also likely shrivel up and die.
The greatest joy in life is having your best friends in the same apartment building. Especially when one of those best friends is a self-taught plant doctor.
Passive consumption of social media (particularly Tiktoks and Reels) completely fries your brain. Keep. Your. Damn. Phone. Out. Of. The. Bedroom. At. Night.
Remain open minded, even for the things that are long shots. Ask yourself what it might look like if everything in your business or life went right. If you think this way, one day you’ll wake up and realise that what you once thought was impossible, is now normal.
Time is only valuable if you have something meaningful to spend it on. An open calendar and a full bank account won’t necessarily stop you from feeling bankrupt. A rich life isn’t about collecting coins and saving seconds, it’s about spending them in the most meaningful ways you can.
Gaining clarity about why you’re here is the work of a lifetime. You’re a project without a deadline so there’s no point in rushing. Know that whatever is meant for you, you’ll find.
👀 What has been your biggest lesson this year?
Let me know in the comments!
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I loveeee this! Beyond just the life/business advice...what's your system for dinner?