2019: Brooklyn, NY
January 7th, 2020
We weren’t born to stand in place.
As we enter a new decade, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much change has occurred to me and my world over the past ten years. In 2010 I was living in Beijing, using a flip phone (no apps!). I was studying finance and interned at Novus — studying the hedge fund industry.
Towards the end of 2019, I had the chance to officiate a wedding for two close friends. And over the summer, we met up a lot to talk about what they wanted to reflect in their ceremony. They were clear that they wanted the theme to be centered on witnessing each other’s growth. As part of the ceremony, they asked me to read a passage from Maggie Nelson’s Argonauts:
A day or two after my love pronouncement, now feral with vulnerability, I sent you the passage from Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes in which Barthes describes how the subject who utters the phrase “I love you” is like “the Argonaut renewing his ship during its voyage without changing its name.” Just as the Argo’s parts may be replaced over time but the boat is still called the Argo, whenever the lover utters the phrase “I love you,” its meaning must be renewed by each use, as “the very task of love and of language is to give to one and the same phrase inflections which will be forever new.
One of the fundamental traits of humanity is our ability to grow and evolve. It is inconceivable that I will be the same person when this year ends as I am today. And this point rings especially true as we embark on a new decade. Every day affords us the opportunity to learn, change our minds, and see new possibilities in this world.
And after a few years of doing these reviews, I find they are a great opportunity to check in with friends and reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m headed.
I wanted to touch base and share some highlights of the past year of my life.
Work
I’ve spent the entire year freelancing. Most of my time has been split between a few major projects — Blocknative and DREAM Fan Shares. Several years into the world of blockchain, and I’m still enjoying this ecosystem. It’s incredibly dynamic, and it barely existed a decade ago (Bitcoin was created in 2009).
Here’s the tl;dr on my work:
- Saffron Solutions — a consulting firm I created with a few colleagues to focus on blockchain business use cases
- Blocknative — a startup that is building real-time transaction notification infrastructure for the blockchain ecosystem
- DREAM Fan Shares — a platform to create Professional Athlete Investment Tokens (read about it in Fortune)
After working on the blockchain space for a few years on ambitious projects, it’s exciting to work on two initiatives that are making an impact in the blockchain space — with code in production.
Learning, Writing, and Teaching
2019 also brought with it several teaching opportunities. I advised a Senior Thesis Seminar at Parsons and taught students at Syracuse, Fordham, and UC Boulder about Web3.
Like last year, I found myself reading more white papers and technical manuals. But my top 5 favorite books of this past year were:
- The Name of The Wind
- DAEMON
- Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It
- Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down
- Becoming a Supple Leopard
In 2019 I did a ton of writing off my blog. That’s something that I will change for 2020. But you can find my work here:
- The Guggenheim Effect
- Everything You Need to Know About Canceled Transactions – and How They Break Dapp UX
- Dapp Transaction UX Audit
The classes and workshops I took:
- A drawing class with Yuko Shimizu via Creative Mornings
- David Perell‘s writing workshop in NYC
- I took a lot of movement classes over the past year. I continued to practice in the Bujinkan and got to take several classes when I was in Japan in October. Some other highlights were: a movnat class in Inwood, CrossFit foundations, and Groundcontrol (a pilates style class)
- This year also led me to explore the benefits of hot/cold exposure, and I took a class taught by Lindsay that consisted of intervals of a sauna and an ice bath — all while focusing on breath control
Adventure
2019 was full of some fun trips and exploration. Some of the highlights:
- Hiking in Harriman State Park. I’ve been coming to this park since I was a kid, and I continue to love exploring it — with over 200 miles of hiking trails (across 47,527 acres), there’s a lot to find
- I spent a week in June in Malta with my grandparents. Going to see the streets where my Grandfather grew up was incredible
- I celebrated July 4th at Jacob Riis park in NYC. This is the first time I’ve ever hung at a NYC beach for the day — and it was pretty great
- Moving to Brooklyn has been a blast. It’s given me a totally different view on NYC. Cohabitating has also been a really fun adventure and I’ve really enjoyed living with Kaleb. Living near Prospect Park has also been great — and its full of dogs!
- Japan. I was lucky to spend most of October in Japan. Initially in Osaka for Devcon and then traveling to Tokyo and Kyoto. Every time I’ve been to Japan, I feel like I could spend years there. It’s an incredible country — full of great food, incredible history, and kind people
- I ended the year in Colorado with some good friends — snowboarding in Aspen-Snowmass. It was a great way to cap off a busy and exciting year.
Products That Made My Year
I tend to be an early adopter. I get excited by innovation and the possibility of the new. There were a few things I’ve added to my life in 2019 that really made a positive impact:
- Whoop Band — Nothing has shifted my behavior like the Whoop band. It’s a simple strap that measures my heart rate (and heart rate variability (HRV)) and gives me updates on my strain and recovery. In just a few months, I’ve noticed deliberate actions that impact my recovery. Get a free band here
- Baron Fig Strategist Cards — All note cards were created equal, right? Well, note quite. These note cards are so much better. They have a great paperweight, dot grid, and rounded corners. And they’ve changed my workflow. Each task/meeting gets a card. Notes get captured there and then as action items are taken care of, I can either toss the card or archive it to visit later. Get $10 off your first order
- Grammarly — This copy-editing software is incredible. Matt Cutler suggested it to me and it has changed my writing patterns. The Grammarly extension and app are great at ensuring that my writing is clear, concise, and typo-free. Check it out for free
As I embark on the new year, I’m thinking a lot about some questions that Taylor wrote and ways to increase my impact. I’m excited to work more with ReadWorks this year and take part in their Young Professionals Board. I’m also excited to continue to grow what was started in 2019.
Let’s make a ruckus in 2020 =)
-Sean
p.s. how has your year been? shoot me an email, it would be great to catch up.