Mode of Existence : The Year 2022 in Review
I‘m not a New Year’s resolutioner.
Most resolutions quickly go down in flames (only 9% of people say they complete theirs). Thus, I view self-improvement as a mode of existence with no distinct beginning or end— a way of life cultivated and built upon over time. A long time.
Taking the long perspective allows habit formation without arbitrary goals, end dates, and start dates. It also promotes a life in which marginal gains can compound over time. For me, this is the way.
I still find it helpful to look back on the previous year. Not to criticize but to reflect on the marginal progress and journal the highlights for future reference.
Reading:
I found my nose in the pages of books more than in any year in my life. I intentionally set out to read more, but even I was surprised by how prolific a reader I was throughout the year.
I read 51 books in 2022. Here are the five I rated the highest (the list of all books rated 4.0 or higher can be found here):
Meditations — Marcus Aurelius
When Breath Becomes Air — Paul Kalanithi
The Inner Game of Tennis — Timothy Gallwey
The Prophet — Kahlil Gibran
Ender’s Game — Orson Scott Card
Writing:
Aside from writing, reading is the next best thing to becoming a better writer. So it’s no surprise that 2022 was also my most productive year as a writer.
Writing is hard. Very hard. So challenging that I’ve been working on a piece about how difficult writing is for almost a year. But there’s only one way forward — through writing.
Most read post — Why We’re Moving to Italy for One Year
Most enjoyable to write — Acing the Inner Game of Tennis (& Life)
Education:
I’ll graduate from my MBA program in two months. I completed 11 courses and three projects over the past year leaving just two classes and a capstone. I had a false start after leaving a company I worked for to start my own venture, but I was determined to start again and finish this time.
Formal schooling is only a fraction of an education, perhaps the least important. Informally, I studied topics that won’t result in a degree or directly advance my career, but I’m committed to pursuing my curiosities and expanding my mind whenever possible.
I spent meaningful time studying ancient western philosophy (especially Stoicism), the Italian language, health and nutrition, and to a lesser degree, and poorly, physics.
Podcasting:
2022 was a podcasting transition year. I discovered much about the art of podcasting and learned more about the show I want to create. In August, I stopped recording for Bulls, Bears, and Bourbon and started focusing on creating PhilosoFi — the Intersection of Meaning & Money.
I’m excited to refocus my efforts on discussions that will be both interesting and impactful. Here is a teaser of the introduction:
“On PhilosoFi, we explore how a philosophy of life can help us pursue meaningful endeavors and prepare for the future while enjoying today. Money is entangled in almost all aspects of modern life, so any serious inquiry for self-knowledge and personal development requires that we study the meaning of money.
We learn from business leaders, entrepreneurs, philosophers, investors, historians, and others to develop a relation to money that becomes a tool to think better, work better, invest better, build better, and live better.”
I’ve already recorded the first five episodes of PhilosoFi, which is slated to launch sometime in Q1.
Most Listened to Episodes of 2022:
Arnold Van Den Berg — The Power of the Subconscious Mind: Arnold Van Den Berg is a special investor and a special person. He was born in Amsterdam in 1939, several blocks from the historic Anne Frank House. Arnold’s Jewish family also had to hide from the Nazi occupiers. Fearful of being discovered and executed, Arnold’s parents arranged to smuggle him to an orphanage as a toddler. His childhood and young adulthood were filled with difficult circumstances. Still, Arnold overcame the anger, resentment, and self-doubt to become one of the most successful investors of our time. We don’t talk a whole lot about investing or money. Instead, we focus on things that have made Arnold Van Den Berg the person he is: the subconscious mind, overcoming adversity, universal knowledge, self-worth, seeking truth, and more.
Donald Robertson — How to Think (and Invest) Like a Roman Emperor: Donald specializes in teaching evidence-based psychological skills and is known as an expert on the relationship between modern psychotherapy (CBT) and classical Greek and Roman philosophy. He was born in Irvine, Scotland, and grew up in Ayr. Donald is the author of several books and many articles on philosophy, psychotherapy, and psychological skills training, including How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. In the episode, we discussed Stoic tools for dealing with desire, uncertainty, and more.
Knox Ridley & Bradley Cipriano— Identifying Microtrends and Investing in Growth and Technology: I/O fund runs one of the highest-performing tech-focused stock portfolios in the world. Our discussion covered identifying macro-trends, handling volatility, when to sell, and much more.
Cool Stuff I Discovered:
Coffee Break Italian Podcast: I struggled to learn languages in high school and college, but the coffee break series makes the conversational language much more approachable. In just 15–30 mins a day, I’ve been surprised by my progress.
Namibia Watering Hole Webcam: the 24/7 streaming camera lies within the Gondwana Namib Park — bordering the Namib Naukluft Park. A solar-powered borehole fills a nearby reservoir and is monitored by a water float that opens as the waterhole’s levels decline. I often have this up in the background while I work and check it in between tasks — currently, there’s a beautiful black-chested snake eagle perched atop a nearby tree.
Up Series Documentary: the documentary project began in 1964 when a group of British seven-year-olds from differing backgrounds were chosen to be filmed every seven years. This ambitious project was designed to highlight the British class system and its inequalities, but that’s not what happened, at least in my eyes. Instead, it became clear that “privilege” isn’t just money or class; it’s stability, love, personal autonomy, and more. Kate and I have loved every minute of the series. I’ll soon write about what we’ve learned from it and why we enjoyed it so much.
Favorite Albums:
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t split my two favorite albums of the year!
1a. Letter — Sofiane Pamart: wow. Sofiane plays music the way I’d love to live, with a unique texture and breadth. “Letter” highlights the technical skills of Sofiane as a pianist, born of his years at the Conservatoire de Lille, and his songwriting prowess. He masterfully blends the sounds of history’s best composers with modern sounds, emotions, and feelings.
1b. aubades — Jean Michel Blais: I’d listened to some of Blais’ solo work before, but he ups the ante in his debut ensemble work. The sweeping melodies and vibrant sounds are uplifting. This album never gets old because Blais masterfully drops surprises — auditory easter eggs that keep the music fresh listen after listen.
3. View with a Room — Julian Lage: Having seen Julian twice probably makes me biased, but View with a Room is a beautiful album that puts Julian’s guitar virtuosity on full display.
Habits:
Humans have been aware of the power of habits for thousands of years. The ancient philosopher and formerly enslaved person, Epictetus, compared habits to fire, saying:
“Every habit and capability is confirmed and grows in its corresponding actions, walking by walking, and running by running . . . therefore, if you want to do something, make a habit of it; if you don’t want to do that, don’t, but make a habit of something else instead. The same principle is at work in our state of mind. When you get angry, you’ve not only experienced that evil, but you’ve also reinforced a bad habit, adding fuel to the fire.”
And more recently, James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, has sold over 10 million copies. It’s no secret — we are our habits. Aristotle said as much when he said:
“Virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions.”
Or as Will Durant interpreted it:
“We are what we repeatedly do… therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
In my 2021 year-in-review, I listed the following actions I want to do continuously:
Meditate 10 mins a day (I need to work on this one)
Drink 140 ounces of water a day
Sleep for 8 hours a day
Write for two hours at least two times a week
Read for three hours per week (physical books)
This list remains unchanged, and I still use recurring tasks on Todoist to manage them. And while I believe all of these actions are important, they are subordinate to my ultimate aim, which Marcus Aurelius concisely noted in his meditations:
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
Those fourteen words sum up how I strive to live — this year, next, and the following. I’m no sage, but to aspire is to move closer.
