PJK's Blog

Philosophy, the Internet, the World, and I

2023 Year in Review

2023 is already coming to an end, and it’s time for the yearly review.  2022’s year in review I got 80% finished but never published, so I will combine it into this 2023 year in review.

Previous years in review here:

20102011201220132014201520162017201820192020, 2021

2023 Summary:

  • Got married in early January, and my family came out to visit for the first time.
  • In February we did our annual skiing trip to Niseko in Japan which was incredible.  Perhaps the best ski trip I’ve ever had.
  • In March/April, we were in Phuket working on finishing our house (2 years in the making), and we hosted a few friends for Songkran (Thai New Year)
  • In May we were in the USA for a few weeks visiting family (had a great party with Uncle Tim and had a couple fun nights gambling in Blackhawk), and in early June we flew from the USA to Paris (France), took a train to Cologne (Germany), and then a train to Munich to spend a couple days at Therme Erding.
  • We were back to Bangkok in June, got caught up on work, fitness, etc.
  • In July we visited Nan province to visit Kemji’s family up there.  From there we flew back to Phuket to work on the house more and relax in nature.
  • In August we were back in Bangkok visiting friends and catching up on work, and at the end of August I flew to the US.
  • I spent all of September in the US solo, going to concerts (seeing Frank Turner at the Stanley), going bear hunting with Austin, going to Steamboat Springs with Tim/Karla, and attending Richie’s wedding up near Lyons, Colorado.  Was also in Blackhawk for 2 nights with John/mom and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Also saw the Counting Crows at Red Rocks.
  • In early October before heading back to Asia, Renae, mom, and I went to a beer festival in Evergreen, and then saw Gaslight Anthem with John, Scott, and crew the night before departing back to Thailand.
  • I spent 2 weeks in Bangkok getting settled back in before heading to Phuket to get a new couch delivered in the second half of October.  I also attended the vegetarian festival with Steve for the first time finally which people do piercings and push needles and knifes through their skin – it is pretty wild, google “Phuket Vegetarian Festival”.  It is worth seeing in person.
  • At the end of October, Kemji’s parents came to stay with us in the house in Phuket for the first time, and also took them out on a boat around Pha Nga Bay with Aaron and Lenny.  It was an excellent trip.
  • In November headed back to Bangkok, played with VR games at Emquartier, met up with Josh/Shampoo and their new baby, and attended the Bangkok Light Festival at RCA.
  • In the middle of November we flew to Koh Phangan with 10 other friends to stay in an incredible villa as a group.  It was an excellent retreat organized by Chris with a great sauna, cold plunge, and gym in a remote part of the island.  I hardly left for 10 days, and it was productive and relaxing.
  • From there we went back to Phuket and I competed in the Spartan Asian Championship nearby our house there with Gabe and Lenny.  It was a fun challenge and 80 minutes of effort but a lot of room to improve in 2024.  A week later in early December I attended the Cannabis Festival at Blue Tree to see the latest in the industry
  • In early December we were back in Bangkok for a checkup and some business, and currently it’s December 22nd and I’m back in Phuket at our house writing this report.  In 2 days we have 11 friends visiting and we’re hosting a Christmas Party and will be here through the New Year.  It’s been a busy, but fun and fulfilling year.

WHAT WENT WELL THIS YEAR?

This year was definitely up there as one of the best so far.  The year started with our wedding, along with my family coming out to Thailand for the first time ever. It was a treat to have so many amazing friends and family together in Phuket for a party and it turned out better than expected.  If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I ever wanted to get married, I’d have said no.  I have and do stand by the perspective though that every 4 years your perspectives can quite radically change, so whatever opinions I’ve held and continue to hold now I’ve always held loosely and open to new ideas and perspectives over time.

The wedding was more than anything a great reason to bring together a lot of amazing people to celebrate life really.  Anytime you get the chance to bring together a bunch of cool people to celebrate, we should do it.  And we should do more of it.  I’d also say the wedding gave a strong sense of direction about where the next years were heading, which actually made life better so far.

The primary goal of the year was to focus on health, having some fun experiences, and to start a family.  Kemji is now pregnant and it’s been an exciting experience – I’ll write a full post on that for another date.

We also completed building our house in Phuket, which took a lot more time than expected and was 2 years in the making.  It has turned out well and I suppose the effort is what makes it satisfying.  We’ve hosted a bunch of friends and will spend Christmas and New Years there this year for the first time.

Witnessing one of my childhood best friends getting married in the beautiful mountains of Colorado was a great experience.  It’s always good to see other people happy and getting what they want out of life.

I’ve also had the goal for awhile to get my mom a new home, but while I haven’t done that, I did get her a new apartment which she is enjoying.

Health wise, 2023 was excellent.  I’m as strong as I’ve ever been, been continuously training for strength and working on improving endurance.  In November, I completed the Asian Championship for Spartan in Phuket, Thailand which was a good challenge, and fun.  It gave a good benchmark to compete against next year.  I go into 2024 in the best shape of my life, but with a lot of room to improve and take health to the next level.

I also cut back on drinking a lot this year.  In part that was due to planning to start a family, and in part because it has been something I’ve been working towards for a few years (see previous yearly reports).

Relationships: This year I had a lot of social activities and a lot of fun adventures with friends and family.  You only have so much time and I would like to spend more time with my family and the closest people to me – this involves saying no to more things.

Business: The business has remained steady this year – I hired 2 new staff to help things run smoothly, and I’ve launched some new projects.  Most importantly, I’ve learned a lot and happy with the current state of the business and where it is going in 2024.  I’m planning to make 2024 the best year yet.

WHAT DID I LEARN THIS YEAR?

I’ve learned a lot this year. I’ve learned how to have a wedding, how to build a house, how to have a kid, and I’ve learned a lot in terms of my business, investing, the state of the world, and the nature of my own mind.  I’ve read a fair bit this year and listened to a lot of podcasts, but I would like to spend more time doing this each day next year.

A lot of these things I’ve learned you can only know through experience.  A lot of life you can gain perspective through reading and talking to others, but many things you have to experience to feel and truly understand.  It’s like hearing a love song and trying to understand it when you’ve never been in love.  You have to fall in love to truly understand.

I learned a lot about patience this year.  Focusing on things within my control and dealing with unexpected events better.  I’ve realized that so much of life and the quality of it is how well you deal with unexpected events that arise and come up often.

WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL THIS YEAR?

For all the improvements I’ve made, I still spent too much sitting and indoors.  I make an effort to run in the evenings outside, and get morning sunlight often.  But I still find myself indoors most of the time.  It is a major issue plaguing modern society and we should all be making efforts to spend more time outside in the sun with the people we love.

While I’ve cut back on drinking a lot and happy with the progress, I also smoked a fair bit of THC.  I enjoy it to relax but I know it isn’t good for my health nor my productivity.  It’s all about figuring out balance, as with anything in life.  I probably smoked a bit too much this year and next year plan to largely cut it out entirely.

Reading wise, I need to allocate more time to reading as I didn’t read as much as I would have liked.  My to-do list and notes are growing faster than I can keep up so I’m working to build out a better system to be more effective in that regard.

WHAT AM I WORKING TOWARD?

2024 is shaping up to be another interesting and fun year.  In July, we have our first baby due which I’m very excited about.  We have an upcoming trip in January to Japan for skiing, and after, several friends visiting from the USA.  In March/April we plan to be in the USA visiting family and seeing the total solar eclipse.

Aside from that, we’re still trying to finish the bar and interior design on the Phuket house, and I’ve got a fair amount of work projects I’m working on. Specifically, I’ve been playing a lot with ChatGPT and the Open AI API which is mind blowing to anyone who has used it – highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t yet.  I’m building out various tools that use the API to create useful products and services, and to learn exactly how it all works.  Often the best way to learn is by doing.

Learning to raise a child will be interesting endeavor – I’ve been reading a lot and taking notes, and excited to learn through doing.  Creating life and bringing them into the world is magical in so many ways, and the feelings of doing it are so much different than I initially expected.

I’ve got about 25 books on my Kindle and Audible that I want to get through so I’m going to make time to spend more time learning and taking notes, as well as organizing my “second brain” better so I can be more effective.  I also will create more content publicly this year in effort to learn more about that skill, and do hopefully be useful to others.  It seems creating videos is one of the best modern skills to have and it has to be done by actually doing.

ALL TOGETHER

Looking back, it’s remarkable how much can be accomplished in a year.  The key it is stay healthy and fit, make small progress each day, and most importantly, enjoy the journey.  You do better work when you enjoy what you do.  You have a better life when you enjoy day to day.  This year was definitely up there as one of the best so far.  Here’s to an even better 2024!

If you’re interested in hearing more about my daily thoughts, follow me on Twitter @pjkmedia.

All the best in 2024 and thanks for reading.


Last year, in 2022, I had written most of my yearly review but didn’t publish it.  So I’m including a summary below of 2022:

  • We rang in the New Year in Bangkok at Sofitel on the roof.  While the view was good, it lacked any countdown or fireworks which was strange.
  • In mid January we stayed on Kamala Beach with Sam and Chris in a villa deep in the jungle, and later moved to a Hyatt closer to the water.  We were in Phuket to relax, and also visit the construction of the house we’re building.
  • We also went to the Bluetree Waterpark near our new place in Phuket with Sam and Chris.
  • At the end of January I did a fitting for a new tailored suit from Savile Row with Marc.
  • In February, we did a lads trip to Phuket and cannabis was legalized in Thailand.  A big move that made Thailand even better.
  • In March, we went to a great omakase in Bangkok and also celebrated St Patricks day at Osheas.
  • At the end of March we flew to New York City, spent a few days there, then flew to Miami to get on the Flogging Molly cruise.
  • We sailed to the Bahamas with the Flogging Molly and many other bands, along with my brother John and a few other friends, it was epic.
  • In April we flew to Colorado to visit family.  I rented a house in Winter Park with a hot tub to relax in the mountains with some family and friends.
  • End of April, my brother Ron came to town and we went to a baseball game and to walking street in Boulder.  We also hiked around Evergreen Lake.
  • I later met up with Austin in Castle Rock for a day of hanging out and catching up, as well as a gym session.  I also went to a Rapids game with Uncle Tim and Karla at the end of April.
  • During that same week, I took Kemji and my mom to an Avalance hockey game, and also saw Joey Harkum play live in Denver.
  • In early May saw the Menzingers in Denver, and also went up to Garden of the Gods with my Uncle Tim.
  • In June we were back in Phuket for the Kolour Festival.  When back in Bangkok we went to a Westin Pool Party.
  • In July and early August we spent 3 weeks in Turkey traveling with some friends, including 3 Turkish friends.  It was an epic adventure and perhaps one of the coolest countries I’ve ever visited.  We roadtripped for much of it, visiting the famous Cappadocia for a hot air balloon ride.
  • From Turkey, Kemji and I flew to Zurich, Switzerland for a few days before heading to Amsterdam to link up with Bryce and Sam from the US.
  • In September we were back in Phuket and went on a boat with Chris, his sister, and his brother.
  • At the end of September, I took Kemji and her dad to Kanchnaburi and the hotel was generous enough to sponsor the trip for us.  It was an excellent resort along the water and very relaxing.
  • In October, my friends put on a bachelor party to celebrate the upcoming wedding in Jan. 2023.
  • At the end of October, Kemji and I went to Bali for Kemji’s birthday.  I ended up getting food poisoning as I always do there so it made the trip worse than expected.
  • In November we celebrated Loy Kratong, and our friends Josh/Shampoo came from Australia and we rented a villa in Rawai in the southern part of Phuket.
  • At the end of November, Lenny and I ran the Bangkok Half Marathon starting at 2am, so we stayed in a hotel in Chinatown the night before.
  • In December we were back in Phuket to wrapup some things for the wedding.  We then were back in Bangkok and went to Wonderfruit Music Festival near Pattaya.
  • At the end of December we went wakeboarding at Lake Taco and was at Tom and Callum’s for Christmas, along with New Years on the roof of Richmond.

Take Action

Action is where all the possibilities live. And where learning lives. Without action, you always wonder what if. Without action, you don’t know.  With action comes satisfaction – the satisfaction of knowing you tried, and maybe failed but learned.  Or the satisfaction that you took action and succeeded.  Action is required to know.

Action is where luck lives – you can’t get lucky without action.  You have to step up to play.  Playing is taking action.  Launching the project, building the idea, executing on the vision.  Actually doing the work, taking action.  Putting in the reps at the gym, running the mile, doing the stretch, reading the book.  Taking action, doing the thing you think about.

Analysis paralysis is the default for most.  And knowing this, you have to be very cautious to avoid it.  Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution of the idea is what makes it valuable.  Because we don’t know what will work and what won’t, you have to take action often.  Shoot for a 10-20% success rate, meaning you need to take action on 10 ideas before you expect anything to work.  Think of action taking as learning.  Even if the outcome isn’t what you expect, you learned, and that’s enough.

When you browse the web, people created what you’re browsing.  When you’re browsing the library, people wrote the books you’re consuming.  When you browse Tiktok, or Instagram, people created all the content you’re consuming.  When you browse Walmart, people created all the products you see.  Be a creator, not a consumer.  You don’t have to create publicly or on social media, but create.  Build stuff.  And ideally, build stuff that is useful, that matters.

We only have a limited time to exist, why waste it working on stuff that doesn’t matter? Why waste your time if it doesn’t help you or someone with something?  VCs are always trying to find founders who are creating the next big thing.  They look for validation, they look for patterns of what makes a company succeed.  They always say, solve problems.  Solve other peoples problems.  That is creating value, which is by definition why people pay for it.

People will pay for useful products and services, or things that solve their problems.  There are a lot of problems in the world, help solve them.  Take action to solve them.  Work on the ones you find most interesting and rewarding.  You’re going to do better work when you enjoy what you’re doing.  Take action, it’s the only way change happens.

Once action is taken, learn.  Humans learn through doing, not by thinking about doing or talking about doing.  Your life is what you do.  Take action on everything.  Take action on caring for your body, improving your relationships, your mind, your environment, your skills.  Take action on what you want to do in life – your hobbies, your traveling plans, your ideas.

Take action.  If not now, when?

Diligently Living

We are creatures of our environment.  Not that long ago we were hunting for all of our food, and foraging for all of our vegetables.  We were waking up, living to survive, and had limited access to other humans around the planet.  Today we can order all our food on our phones, deliver fresh and hot meals to our houses, we can watch TV while playing chess with someone on our phone on the other side of the world, and we can video call our family to wish them happy birthday.  Times have changed.  Our environment has radically changed.

If a creature is in an environment and simply exists without conscious thought, the environment largely dictates how your life unfolds.  You blow with the wind.  While that is all fine and dandy, blowing with the wind in a modern environment may put you on a path far less superior than one you *could* have lived.

Living diligently is simply becoming conscious of your environment, realizing that environment shapes a lot of how we behave, learning the importance of how to live a good life, and taking deliberate action to steer the outcome.  While life can’t be controlled fully, we can certainly change how we behave, where we live, what we pay our attention to, who we spend time with, how we learn, what we work on, and how we work.  These decisions are the most important decisions of our lives, because they are our lives.  Our life is what we do.  Our life is how we think. Our life is how we live.

Living diligently is coming up with strategies to life, games to play in life, goals of life, and attempting to shape life to how you want it.  It is making life what you want it to be.  It is largely choosing how to exist.

Certainly there are factors far outside of our control that arise in life often, from the very beginning of our existence.  But within the things we can control, those can radically change the trajectory and outcome of our life.  A few things that can change how you live your life:

  • Exercise – people mention it often and there are gyms in every city in the world now.  Our modern environment doesn’t require us to hardly move at all, so diligently spending time each day working on your body is vital to living a good life and having the energy it takes to seize each day we have.
  • Friends/family – learning how to make friends, how to socialize, and working to improve relationships is vital. Choosing wisely who you spend time with and how you spend your time with them is key.  Most opportunities in life arise from the people you know.
  • Create – humans evolved to create, to provide, to contribute.  Build stuff you need, build stuff other needs, create value for the world.  The world needs more entrepreneurs to solve the worlds problems that the government is incompetent to handle.  Plus, creating is fulfilling, fun, and rewarding.
  • Be kind – we all share this rock together for a short period of time.  Genuinely wish the best of everyone you interact with.  Be generous, be kind.  The more we work together, the better off we all are.
  • Learn – learning is important because it makes you more effective – you’re able to understand the world slightly better and therefore make better decisions, share what you know, and hopefully use that information to drive curiosity or help improve your life and the people around you.  Reading is one of the easiest ways to get access to some of the brilliant thinkers minds throughout history – and books have never been more abundantly available.  Podcasts and audiobooks also work.  Constantly be actively learning – dedicate time to learning each day.
  • Time yourself – if you don’t measure it, you can’t change it.  Most people think they spend 3-4 hours a day on their phones, when in reality they spend double that.  Considering how abundant the information is on your phones and other screens, it is important to time it and moderate it so it doesn’t deteriorate your mental health.
  • Get outside – spend more time outside than inside each day.  Get sunlight into your eyes to set your circadian rhythm.  Breath fresh air, focus your eyes far away, smell the roses.
  •  Know the game – what is your goal in life? Know what game you’re playing. If you’re trying to make money, there are certainly better and worse ways to make money in the world.  If you’re trying to find a partner, come up with a strategy of who you want and how you’ll meet them.  There are better and worse strategies to live life and diligently knowing your strategy is vital.  If you don’t have direction then how can you move anywhere.  Bias towards action, it’s where we learn most.

Don’t let your environment be random, and your life just blow in the wind.  While it can work for some people, it rarely does.  Diligently think about what kind of life you want and how to get it, then constantly take strides each day to get there.  Remember, consistency is key.

2021 Year in Review

I started this post towards the end of 2021, but didn’t get around to finishing it until April, 2022.

It’s that time of the year again where we look back on the last year of our lives and look forward to the next.  It is useful because it allows us to review what we did right, and what we can improve on in the future. You can see my previous years here:
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019, 2020

2021 was a unique year in many ways.  The US began to open up after a year of lockdown, while Thailand started to lockdown after a year of being open.  This meant that we spent longer in the US than usual, longer than anytime since 2012.  We also had 7 friends from around the world visit us in Colorado for the first time, which was a lot of fine. Here’s a look back in what I did in 2021.

SUMMARY

  • 2020 winded down in Bangkok on the roof of our place in Bangkok with friends.  January started with a 30 day hip stretching challenge, and working on getting a loan in the US.
  • The later half of January we spent in Phuket.  At the end of the month, we celebrated a friends birthday in northeastern Thailand.
  • In February, we went to Pataya with Kemji’s family.  At the end of February, we went wakeboarding with a bunch of friends and got chess cake for my birthday.  I also closed on my first property, a place in Chicago.
  • In March, we went to Koh Samui to view property, though didn’t find anything we liked.  At the end of March, I was part of the filming of a music video with our friend Taime.
  • April began with Kolour Festival in Phuket, which was a nice opening from the covid lockdowns.  Mid April a group of us did a staycation at Four Seasons along the river, and at the end of April went to Mahanakhon Skywalk.  I also purchased a property in Bangkok.
  • In May, we went to US at the end of the month.  We met in Chicago with my cousins, then flew to Colorado and played disc golf, as well as visited rocky mountain national park.
  • In early June we got vaccinated, went to Ft Collins with my uncle, saw Joey Harkum with Erika and Scott, and drove up to Evergreen with Tim.  In mid June we went to Las Vegas and visited my brother in Salt Lake City.  At the end of June, Marc and Taime came to Colorado and Marc and I went to the Kelly campout for a few days.  After returning to Denver, we hiked south table and took them to their first baseball game.  Richard also came to stay with us for a few days.
  • In early July, Chris and Sam came from Bangkok to visit Colorado. On July 9th, we saw Lindsey Stirling at Red Rocks with Chris/Sam/John/Marc/Taime/Jesse.  On July 11th, we (Marc, Taime, Kemji, and I) met my brother Ron in Montrose and climbed Mt. Sneffels.  The following day we did a night in Salida and visited Andrew, and the following day drove to Winter Park and stayed at an epic cabin.  Chris/Sam flew back from LA and stayed there with us – it has a sauna, hot tub, and epic views.  After Winter Park, we flew to Las Vegas again to see Kygo at XS Club.  Once there, we drove Mustangs to “Grand Canyon”, which was actually just an Indian reservation but still impressive nonetheless.   On the way back we visited the Hoover Dam, and at the end of July we flew to Portland, Oregon.
  • In early August we all drove to Seattle from Portland.  We met our friend Luis (who we know from Bangkok) there. After a few days there, Chris and Sam left to the UK.  The rest of us went to a MLS game.  We flew back to Colorado while the rest of the crew flew out of the country.  Once back in Colorado, we celebrated Ryan’s birthday at his cabin,  my brother John and I played disc golf at an epic course on the way up.  Later we took Kemji’s friend Oui up to Rocky Mountain National Park. A few days later we visited a MLS rapids game with Tim and Karla. and went camping in southern Wyoming with Tim.  At the end of August, I went to the golfing range with my uncle Jeff.  A few days later 2 other friends from Bangkok came to Colorado, Chris and Namtarn.  The following day we took them to a Molly Hatchet concert, which was memorable.  The following day we took them to Boulder.
  • In early September, with Chris and his girlfriend, we drove up Mt. Evans, and took them to their first Rockies MLB game. My brother Ron and his wife came out from Salt Lake City and we went to art gallery in Cherry Creek.  We also met another friend from Bangkok, Lenny, in Ft Collins which was a pleasant surprise.  On Sept 8th, we saw Jimmy Buffet at Red Rocks, which was a lot of fun and something I’ve always wanted to see.  In mid September took my mom and uncle to Bootleg Bottom.  Towards the end of September, I closed on rental property in Virginia.  We also went to Steamboat Springs to support Richard in his 100 mile Run Rabbit Run race.  Afterwards, we drove with him and his girlfriend to Geneses to stay with their friends Jon and Aaron who have a beautiful property there.
  • We later saw Twenty One Pilots in Denver, which was epic.  Our friends from Guatemala, Rodrigo and Natalia, came to visit and we got to spend time with them for a few days.
  • In early October we flew to Chicago. saw the symphony orchestra there.  On October 10th, we arrived into Phuket, Thailand for a 14 day quarantine.  We also viewed property in Phuket and I refinanced the Chicago property to purchase a villa in Phuket.
  • At the end of November, we went to Chiang Rai to visit Vy and Ann, and then took a taxi to Nan to visit Kemji’s family.
  • For Christmas, about 20 friends and us rented a villa in Phuket and had a memorable time celebrating there.  New Years we went to a rooftop bar in Satorn.

Busy year, fun year, and satisfying, though didn’t have a lot of downtime.  It was certainly a year to remember.

WHAT WENT WELL THIS YEAR?

2021 was a year full of a lot of uncertainty, but also a lot of adventure.  When we left Bangkok in May, somewhat last minute, we left as lockdowns were becoming more strict.  On the flip side, the US was opening up.  We left in May with the plan to spend a month or two abroad, but ended up extending multiple times and spent several months in the US.  We had 7 friends from all over the world visit us in Colorado and had a blast sharing the adventure together.  It was the first time that many of our closest friends in Thailand had the chance to visit Colorado.  I also had the chance to spend more time with family, the most amount of time back in the US in a year since I left to Thailand in 2012.  It was enjoyable, but also a long time to be on the road.

Overall, the US trip was full of parties, concerts, camping, hiking, and eating.  I was surprised by the costs of Colorado shooting up with inflation and with the influx of people moving there – AirBnb and car rental prices had increased substantially.  Finding an Airbnb for more than 10 days was nearly impossible as people often book just weekends.

We arrived in the US in May, and only planned to stay for a couple months.  However, due to the conditions in Thailand not improving, we kept extending our trip.  In total, we spent nearly 6 months in the US, departing in October to Phuket, Thailand.  It was a fun summer and the longest time we had spent in the US since I had lived there.

Health: The first quarter of the year I ended up in perhaps the best shape of my life in terms of strength and endurance.  At the end of 2020 I’d been training for a trail race that ended up being cancelled, and I had kept doing the Stronglifts 5×5 program, which has been effective in building strength.  After departing to the US and being on the road, the lack of routine made it hard to keep the gains but nonetheless stayed active.  Upon returning to Thailand, I started again.  Overall, I’m happy with my health progress for 2021 and plan to improve in 2022.

Knowledge: 2021 I certainly learned a lot – ended up purchasing 4 houses by leveraging low interest rates and it was quite a learning experience.  I didn’t get to read as many books as I’d planned, but felt satisfied with my improvements in this realm.

Relationships: Between getting to spend months with my family and friends in Denver, and being able to have some of my best friends from around the world visit Colorado in 2021, the experiences I had with the people around me were enjoyable and fun.  I had the chance to go camping a few times and go on some fun adventures.

Business: 2021 was another year of progress in the business side of things.  Along with real estate, which was a big focus on 2021, I made progress launching a new brand for a hangover cure, as well as improving and growing my existing businesses.

Overall, most of the stuff I was working towards in 2020 I improved on in 2021.  I continued to stretch consistently, worked out at least 3x/week, sauna 3x/week, and had a lot of fun.

WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL THIS YEAR?

It’s hard to complain after 2021, but I could have definitely done a better job with routine, both in terms of staying active on the road and consistently lifting/running, as well as writing and reading.  I see writing and reading as fundamental pieces of life in terms of learning and communicating, and I can certainly do a better job at that.  Aside from that, I definitely partied a fair amount and could do a better job at minimizing the late nights and work on waking up earlier in the day.

WHAT AM I WORKING TOWARD?

One of my goals for 2021 was to get a house in Colorado for us and my family/friends.  However, due to low interest rates and Denver’s market exploding, none of my offers went through and was unable to purchase a property.  Nonetheless, going to wait to see the effect of rising interest rates and reevaluate in a few months.

Aside from that, health wise, will continue to do the hip and back stretching 2-3x/week, lift 3x/week, and implement at least 2 days of running a week.  I want to get to 100kg bench for 5×5, maintain 110kg squat 5×5, and continue to work on flexibility.

Business wise, I’m launching 2 new brands this year and excited to see how they turn out.

Lastly, our house in southern Thailand should be finished by October and excited to spend more time there and work on furnishing and improving the first real home I’ve ever opened, which is exciting.

ALL TOGETHER

Overall, I’m satisfied with the progress and experiences I had in 2021.  Looking forward to what is in store in 2022.  I’m about 4 months late in publishing this post as I had it half written but failed to finish it until now.

I’m excited to get back into a regular writing schedule as I’ve written a fair bit but haven’t published much in the last year or 2.  I have a lot of ideas in my mind that I want to write down to clarify my thinking and I enjoy the research/writing process, though it takes a fair amount of work.

Currently, we’re in Denver, Colorado and just finished a trip to New York City and Miami/Bahamas for the Flogging Molly Cruise, which was epic.  We plan to be in Colorado another month or so before departing back towards Asia, potentially stopping over in Europe.

In 2021, I only published one post:

Here a few interesting links from 2021:

Quote to ponder:

Money buys happiness in the same way drugs bring pleasure: Incredible if done right, dangerous if used to mask a weakness, and disastrous when no amount is enough. (?)

A book worth checking out: The Psychology of Money

You can follow me on Twitter here.

Thanks for reading and all the best in 2022 and beyond.

Boredom and Doing Things

When you’re growing up as a child, if you weren’t forced into school, most kids wouldn’t go.  If most kids weren’t pressured to study English, math, read, or wake up and bus to school, they wouldn’t go.  However, in hindsight, as a child grows up, he/she can reflect back on childhood and see that learning English, math, how to read, etc. was greatly beneficial to his/her life.

People often say “I don’t want to do it because it’s boring” or “I don’t want to eat vegatables because they don’t taste good”.  I’ll argue that these statements are terrible misunderstandings about life, and maximizing life involves doing things that are sometimes boring or doing things that you sometimes don’t want to.

Going for a run without your headphones may be boring, though it is vital to how our bodies work.  In our not so distant history, we were forced to hunt, build shelter, and be cautious of potential predators.  However, today, much of what our ancestors were required to do can be bought – we can buy abundant food, can buy shelter, and have no predators.  But ours bodies need to be active, moving around.  To compensate for this, doing daily physical activity is vital – both in terms of cardio and resistance training – lifting weights, doing pullups/pushups, etc.

A lot of people say “I don’t like carrots”, or “I don’t like eating vegetables” or “I don’t like going to the gym, it’s boring”.  Does this mean you shouldn’t ever eat them? No.  Just as exercise in modern day is necessary for us to be healthy, eating  vegetables is necessary to be healthy.  While food is abundant today, and tasty, it is killing us.  Eating vegetables that may not taste as good as a bag of candy, a processed hamburger and bun, it is vital to our health, and therefore should be eaten regularly.  It is a bit tough to see, but consuming things that you may not feel like is important, and encouraged.

People today have a hard time simply sitting and doing nothing.  Feeling bored.  In a modern world full of constant stimulation of our devices, TV’s, radios, and music, simply not listening or watching or staring at anything is vital.  Just as running when you don’t want to, eating vegetables that you may not like the taste of, and studying English as a child even though you didn’t want to is important to the quality of a healthy life, sitting in modern day and feeling bored even if you don’t want to is vital to the human mind.  The mind needs time to reflect, process, and be aware of simply the present moment.  Most people today have a hard time sitting for 10 minutes doing nothing.  Try it, do a 10-20 minute meditation session and see how it feels.  Boring, right?

The overarching point is that in order to live a good life – one that is healthy, clear minded, energetic, motivated, and aware – we need to often be doing things that we may not want to do.  The world we live in is far from what we evolved in, so we need to compensate accordingly.  The rise of gyms, meditation apps, and diet plans is a clear indicator of the growing number of people aware that simply living in the modern world without compensating for what we’ve lost is killing us.  It’s killing our bodies, our souls, our minds.  But there is a solution – understand what the human body/mind needs and give it that.

The human body/mind needs vegetables, daily activity, daily boredom, close and caring relationships, and creativity.  Just as people feel better when they’re immersed in a hobby or creating something, society needs more people creating and solving problems.  Your tribe needs you to contribute – contribute to the greater good, something beyond simply satisfying yourself.  Life isn’t about simply doing what you want – it’s about helping people who are less fortunate, creating and solving problems in your circle or beyond, learning and sharing wisdom along the way, and contributing to society.  Instead of thinking what to put on your resume, think how you can use your unique mind and perspective to contribute and make the world a slightly better place than when you arrived on it.

2020 Year in Review

It’s that time of the year again where we look back on the last year of our lives and look forward to the next.  It is useful because it allows us to review what we did right, and what we can improve on in the future. You can see my previous years here:
20102011201220132014201520162017, 2018, 2019.

Here’s a look back in what I did in 2020.

SUMMARY

  • New Years started in Phuket in southern Thailand at a beach club with a few friends.
  • At the end of January, we went to Krabi and Railay in southern Thailand for a week.  A small escape from the pollution in Bangkok.
  • In February, a group of friends and I went to Niseko ski resort in Japan for a week.  Was an awesome experience.  In late February, we celebrated my birthday, with some great friends making me a proper Rubik’s Cube cake.  We also visited Nan and Chiang Rai in February.
  • In March we went to Kolour Music Festival in Bangkok, had a few friends visiting from abroad, and Covid restrictions began.  We also attended a few house parties from our close friends.  I had a few pints of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day just before lockdown in Bangkok.
  • April, May and June were largely spent working on various online projects, running up and down the 24 flights of stairs at my building, and lifting water jugs to stay active, despite not being able to go outside much or visit a gym.
  • June found a new appreciation for the small things in life – visiting a cafe, eating at a restaurant, or visiting a gym.  In the middle of June, a group of us visited Koh Samui, and then Koh Tao, a nice break from the city after lockdown.  The amount of deals on AirBnb was hard to overstate.
  • In July, a group of us rented a yacht in southern Thailand and sailed for a few days.  It was perhaps one of the most beautiful trips in Thailand I’ve done, with an incredible group of people.  At the end of July, we took Kemji’s family to Pattaya for a weekend trip.
  • In August, I did a month of no drinking, while we enjoyed a few friends birthday parties, and I also did cryo therapy for the first time, cooling the air temperature to 200-300 degrees F.  We also did a trip to Naithon Beach in Phuket with friends.
  • September was largely spent going to saunas, working, working out, and hanging out with friends.
  • In October, we went to Chiang Mai with a group, followed by a visit to some friends to Chiang Rai.  It’s always beautiful visiting there.  At the end of October, we had a big group and celebrated Kemji’s birthday.
  • In November we went to Karma Fest in Bang Krachao with a group of friends, and it was an awesome experience along the water.  I also played a decent amount of basketball, and bought a VR headset for the first time (recommended, incredible technology).  We also did a boat trip with my girlfriends mom near Asiatique.
  • In December we moved to a new apartment, and spent 5 days in Phuket for Christmas with a good group of friends.  We celebrated New Years on our roof with friends.

WHAT WENT WELL THIS YEAR?

Health: Even with lockdown from the pandemic, I stayed quite active doing stair runs, lifting big jugs of water, pullups, running, and when things were open, going to the gym.  I also tended to eat quite well, though I did indulge in a fair number of parties which involved drinking, a net negative on health.  A work in progress.  Overall I’m quite happy with my health this year.

Knowledge: I didn’t read as many books as usual, but did read a fair amount of articles, magazines, and had a fair number of conversations.  I learned a lot this year, in large credit to the conversations I’ve had with the people around me.  I do plan to dedicate more time each day to actively reading though.

Relationships: With lockdown and less traveling, it meant creating stronger bonds with the people we could hangout with.  I’m happy with the progress made this year with the friends around us, though was unable to visit my family this year, so will hopefully improve on that aspect in 2021.  Not traveling meant more time at home, in Bangkok, which definitely created stronger relationships here.

Business: 2020 was perhaps the most interesting year in business for me ever, and I’m happy with the progress made.  I expect 2021 will be even better as I plan to launch a lot more projects.

I also had the goal by the end of the year to buy a property and restructure my business, both ended being in the works by the end of the year.  I’m happy with the progress on this front.

WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL THIS YEAR?

While I’m happy with the progress made in 2020 for my health, I could definitely cut back on the late nights and the drinking.  I did moderate, but working to improve further and further.

I also meditated a fair bit in 2020, but wasn’t as consistent in my practice as I’d like to be.  Like with anything, I need to work further on consistency.

I’ve slacked a lot in my writing schedule for 2020, perhaps the worst ever.   I plan to get back on track in 2021.

WHAT AM I WORKING TOWARD?

I’m currently enrolled in a 21 day hip opening course to improve my mobility, and I’m enjoying it.  I plan to make flexibility a much bigger priority in 2021.  I’ve also lined up a few 30 day challenges, and hopefully will complete 6-12 30 day challenges in the coming year.  Starting in January, I will be doing 50 pullups each day for 30 days.

I also plan to run more in 2021 to keep my heart going strong – I’ve done a lot of resistance training this year, but only ran in the last couple months while training for an obstable course.  I want to integrate running more into my weekly schedule.

I’m in the process of simplifying life – that is to say cleaning up my to-do lists/email, setting better priorities, and alloting more time each day to reading/thinking.  It’s easy to have the days pass with no real progress, and I want to get a lot of the admin work out of the way so I can make the most of the time each week.

Business wise, I have a lot lined up in the pipeline.  I tend to think that success in business (or in life in general) comes from stepping up to bat and giving yourself as many chances as possible to succeed.  While 2020 was successful to me, I think I can do a lot better in improving my output in 2021, and I’m in the process of doing that now.

ALL TOGETHER

Like for everybody, 2020 was an incredibly unique year.  It was perhaps the first year in 8-10 years where I wasn’t on the road every few weeks, or wasn’t traveling abroad for an extended time.  This meant exploring more of the places in my own community in Bangkok, connecting with friends at a deeper level, and traveling within Thailand more.  We also took advantage of all the cheap Airbnb prices all over Thailand, something I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do.

Contrary to many, 2020 was perhaps one of the best years of my life.  It is not something I’d like to say, I wish everyone was enjoying their lives, living their dreams, and pursuring their desires.  I’ve lucked out in the fact that the internet has blossemed even further in 2020, and was well positioned to provide tools, products, and services for people around the world.  We’re at a time in history where we all need to adapt to the new ways of life, grow and learn each day, and connect with one another to make everyone better off.

I believe that we evolved to create, to produce, to provide value to one another.  The more that each of us tries to provide value to society, the better off we are and the better off society is.  Everyone should contribute to whatever extent and whatever means they desire.  If this means bulding a business that helps others, or if it means spending time educating children, I think the only way to truly reap the value you create in the world is to do it yourself, with your ideas.  Then bring together others who share that vision and grow.  Everyone should contribute.

I think 2020 is the year where we all stop blaming each other, the government, or big corporations for our failings.  While these all need to be improved, we all need to take responsibility for our lives, our actions, our discipline, and contribute.  Make 2021 the best year ever of growth, of new experiences, and of contributions to society as a whole.

Here are a few posts I wrote this year, if you haven’t read them yet:

Here are a couple things worth checking out:

And as a repost from last year, here are….

Habits that have a high rate of return in life:

– sleeping 8+ hours each day
– lifting weights 3x week
– going for a walk each day
– saving at least 10 percent of your income
– reading every day
– drinking more water and less of everything else
– leaving your phone in another room while you work

You can see all of my posts from 2020 herehttp://www.patjk.com/posts/2020

I wish you all a happy new year, let’s make 2021 the best year of our lives.

Thanks for reading.

Note: You can follow what I’m reading and things I find interesting daily on my Twitter and/or Facebook page.