Inspired by a particular “Abloh-ism” from Virgil’s book of the same name, below is a mindset cocktail for the new year.
Stir with optimism, enjoy with friends.
Wishing you the very best in 2024.
1 part unlearning
What conventions did you adhere to in 2023 that didn’t serve you? What advice had you thinking too small? What obligatory trivialities had you running on a treadmill?
Permission to quit all of that.
1 part positive inputs
For whatever you’re trying to accomplish, an equal amount of negative and positive proof exists.
You choose which to look at.
1 part simplification
Many thought leaders have made it their mission to figure out exactly what makes great people great, in a well-meaning effort to uncover a formula that everyone else can follow.
Listen to enough of that, and it all cancels itself out.
Just get good at something, build community around that thing, and enjoy it. Upskill, help others, rest a little, repeat.
1 part you’re the boss
Can’t build a business without acting corny on Tik Tok? Can’t get a job with that gap in your resume? Can’t build wealth without owning your home? Can’t career pivot without specific experience?
All false. Zero rules. Do it your way.
1 part focus
None of this works without a burning desire that you are physically incapable of ignoring. If you’re not sure what yours is, you might have too many.
If you could only choose one area for quantum advancement in the new year, what would it be?
“I choose to make the reality that I see in my head.” - Virgil Abloh
