Looking to 2020
Out of any year in recent history, I can't think of one that I've looked forward to quite as much as 2020. Something about it feels different than the others.
I rang in the new year with no bells at all; just a quiet acknowledgement of the turning hand on the clock — a new hour, a new year, a new decade — and then turned my attention back to the movie I was watching on my parents' couch with a friend. There was no carousing, no fireworks, no champagne — just a tiny feeling in the back of my mind that some moment had finally arrived. I'm relaxed, I'm ready.
Some years don't really show you an over-arching theme until you get to the end of them — and even then, there's still no concrete result; only what's yet to be realized. 2019 held plenty of experiences, conversations, and travels that I could list in no particular order. But most importantly, they've added up to what 2020 will hold — namely, a newfound focus for me, and for the company I'm building.
It's been interesting seeing how closely intertwined my life gets with Write.as — I travel for it, I meet people because of it. We've merged in many ways, and as in 2019, in 2020 almost everything I do will serve a related purpose — making the business permanent, sustainable, and something I (and others) can keep building for many years to come.
I've been at it for almost five years now, and this year is going to be the one where something incredible happens or doesn't, but I'm giving it my best shot no matter what. I'm giving up the distractions, the occasional beer, I'm back to working out, I'm settling down so that I might focus. It's different; it'll involve less frivolous fun. But I've never been more excited. There's a plain, clear purpose for me going into this year and whatever comes of it will be, I think, pretty amazing.
Last year's post: end of 2018.