2023 in review

2023 hasn’t been a big year for me. On one hand, I achieved a number of personal milestones – personally, financially, and professionally. But on the other, it doesn’t feel like that much has changed for me or that progress has been that significant, for a reason.

It might be because of the level of expectation I set for myself or the speed at which I expect feedback loops to cycle. I want things to move fast and in the direction, I want all the time. And sometimes – actually, most of the time – that doesn’t happen because it simply cannot.

I think life starts to feel boring for the same reason some movies feel boring: nothing major happens for a long time, so there’s no clear narrative structure. Or, because things happen quickly to the main characters only, and more often than not, I am nothing but an extra in some situations. It’s not possible, nor is it advisable, to be the main character at all times.

I do not have the right to a life of fast feedback loops and frequent, positive events all in the direction I aim for. As unnerving as it is, sometimes things unfold at their own pace, and I have to seek reward elsewhere. Or not at all.

Writing

I didn't publish as much as I planned, and the pieces I put out ranged from “pretty satisfying” to “needs more work”. I also started sharing my essays more broadly online, seeing a modest increase in my audience. While the progress was gradual, I was able to double down on economics, business, psychology, and politics and get more comfortable as a generalist with a few specific focus areas.

I've shifted my writing tone to a more natural, spoken style, which also requires fewer edits. This approach is quicker, more enjoyable, and less taxing for readers. It's less about trying to sound smart and more about being authentic. I'm still fine-tuning my voice and style, but this writing is efficient and reader-friendly. If you read anything I’ve written recently, I’m sure you can tell.

I've also started editing on the side for another newsletter. It's a very high-quality publication, and although my involvement is sporadic, it's been a great learning experience. It's also helping me write more concisely.

Overall, I feel I'm still skimming the surface on many topics, which is ok, though I’d love to let many different ideas converge toward a central thesis, some master idea. I think this process might take longer than I expected, which I am ok with. There's no magic formula, and I trust the slow evolution of my writing practice.

Reading

2023 hasn’t been a great year for my reading. I didn’t follow a reading plan and jumped from book to book halfway through, way more than I wanted to. I also read a bunch of stuff that was completely forgettable, which, in a way, I kind of regret. This is the last year I read anything related to self-help or productivity. It was obvious from the beginning that most of that content is largely well-communicated crap, but the temptation is always too strong.

The best book I read this year was “Things Hidden since the Foundation of the World” by Rene Girard. It was also the hardest by a long stretch. Girard is one of the most important philosophers of the last century. His mimetic theory – which states that all of our desire is mimetic, as in descends from imitation – is a useful lens to interpret so many aspects of society. I certainly want to revisit the book and many of Gerards’s ideas in the future. It wasn’t an easy read, but it also left me much to ponder on, and this is also the kind of book I want to read more of in the future.

As if I needed ulterior proof, I realized that reading is extremely important. I want to treat it as an educational activity and take it very seriously, building mini curricula on the topics I am interested in and going deeper and slower, without fixating on the number of books I can read in a year. I also want to dedicate time to reading every morning when my mind is fresh.

In the same spirit, I intend to curate newsletters and articles I consume, to help me focus on my interests while distancing from the zeitgeist. I am now in the process of brute rationalization of my substack reading list. I am cherry-picking a handful of great essayists to focus on regularly.

Finance

I had a good year financially. I didn't have big plans for 2023; I just wanted to improve my spending and saving. For the past two years, I've been tracking and budgeting all my spending categories monthly. It's almost never fun, and sometimes it's a hassle to go through my monthly expenses (especially when I go overboard!), but it works for me.

It was the first year I didn’t do any stock picking or anything crypto-related. I just kept buying the S&P500 because I genuinely believe I don’t have any realistic hedge to beat it in the long run. Also, I never believed in the value of fundamental analysis or anything related to price projection. I understand businesses, not price charts.

I did some math and figured out I could achieve all my goals if I kept buying the S&P500 with a (semi) aggressive savings rate for the long haul. As I get older, I'm becoming more frugal and realizing that I don't need as much as I thought I needed. I'm not living like a monk but just avoiding stupid expenses and buying things I don't need. I'm taking better care of my stuff and not replacing it as often. Fashion trends don't affect me, so I'm good at tuning out the latest trends.

In the next couple of years, I will consider angel investing to learn more about how to pick a good business early on. I will never be a good public market investor, but I think I can do well in private markets — or at least learn a lot. I am a decent business analyst and a good student of human psychology. I want to explore this route in the safest way possible and will allocate a negligible percentage of my resources.

CrossFit

I had a pretty awesome year doing CrossFit. I participated in two competitions, one in February and the other in November. I did progressively better between the two. It was just about the right amount of commitment for me. I love competing but don't want it to become too overwhelming or intense. So twice a year, with enough time in between, works perfectly. I could stick to my training routine pretty consistently without any major disruptions and ate well, keeping track of my protein intake, and sticking to my regular sleep schedule. And it paid off!

In my November competition, I completed all the workouts Rx (as “prescribed”) – a first for me. I even learned to do bar muscle-ups and string a few together, which was cool. I improved slightly on my strict press and back squat PR and found that many gymnastics movements felt easier.

Lately, I have been considering getting an entry-level coach certification to teach a class or two on weekends. I seem to be pretty good at breaking down the mechanics of certain movements, especially in Olympic weightlifting, and a number of people around me have benefited from my advice. This can also be a fun way to develop some coaching skills.

CrossFit is not for everyone. But after three years of practice, I crave that all-out physical exertion first thing in the morning. It’s been great for my mental alertness and overall control over my body. More than a couple of times in 2023, I felt I was in the best shape I’d ever been, and I’m determined to bring that feeling with me in 2024.

Wellbeing

I’ve spent additional time in medical and dental studios. I got all my wisdom teeth extracted and removed my acne scars with laser therapy. I am a bit ashamed to admit I used to dread going to any doctor so much. I still retain some form of phobia of anything resembling a needle, but nudging myself to do the right thing makes me feel psychologically safe. I learned that I prefer to invest early in my health instead of ignoring something that could turn bad just because “whatever, I’ll wait another five years.” I am not paranoid, but this has served me well.

I started counting calories more consistently, which I have experimented with before. I track what I eat daily, which I realize can be overkill, but it’s also the only thing that works for me. I’ve always had a large appetite, and tracking calories made me realize my hunger was even more significant than I thought. I never ate anything criminally unhealthy, but I was also not eating as balanced as I should have. I could have experimented with a million things, but counting and measuring was the simplest, most effective solution, as dreadful as it sounds. I don’t know whether this is optimal for me, but I want to continue until it becomes so engrained and automatic that I don’t have to think twice about it.

Now, onto my mental health. In 2023, I’ve decided to stop going to therapy. I've been seeing a therapist on and off for ~a decade, but I've realized that it's not helping me anymore. Sometimes, it makes things worse, and I feel I make a big deal out of nothing. Plus, it's just not a cure-all for everything. Sometimes, I need to tackle problems head-on instead of endlessly discussing them. I'm happy I figured this out for myself, but I know that therapy still works wonders for people who are dealing with serious mental health issues, so I don’t question the value of the practice itself.

I enjoyed trying out coaching for a while. It helped me understand my need for system thinking and gave me an accountability partner who was a great sounding board. For a number of reasons, I decided to take a temporary break from it. However, I'm open to resuming it in the long term. Having someone experienced to help me steer the ship is excellent for getting things done consistently.

Learning

I dabbled in a couple of online courses on quantum computing and biology. They weren't excellent but enjoyable and reignited my interest in science. I regret not being more awake in high school during science classes. While I'm not aiming to be an expert, this online education has sparked a new breed of scientific curiosity that I intend to cultivate more systematically.

Heading into 2024, I'm improving my self-education, especially with physics. Physics is the most fundamental of the sciences and, in my opinion, the most fascinating. I'm surprised I didn't dive into it earlier. It's also interesting to see many of the greatest using physics to think through business problems, from Elon to Bezos and even Charlie Munger.

I also took part in this cool cohort-based course called "Glue People" by Molly Graham. It's an operating guide for all-rounders like me who work at tech companies. In my opinion, Molly, along with Claire Hugh Jones and Keith Rabois, is one of the best operators out there. The course content was incredibly valuable and gave me many new tools. Now, it’s time to get to work and develop my own latticework based on my experiences.

Traveling

2023 was quite a year in terms of traveling. I had fun exploring Portugal, especially the Algarve region. The country has an amazing coastline that makes you feel like you're at the end of the world, and I love gazing at the dramatic ocean views. I hiked a lot, especially in Upstate New York and Scotland's Isle of Skye, one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. Although Skye can be a bit of a food desert, and the weather is consistently terrible, I still love Scotland, and the summer season in Skye is just breathtaking, with almost perennial sunlight.

I also spent some time in Southern California, one of my all-time favorite places. The region has a cozy, chill vibe and boasts spectacular year-round weather. As someone who's lived in California before, it's always a pleasure to visit. As cliché as it may sound, being in nature, especially hiking, is essential for me. I love being in deserted places, getting close to wildlife, disconnecting from tech, and going for long walks. It's incredibly restorative for the mind.

Towards the end of the year, I went skiing in the Alps with my family, a tradition for us. My dad taught me how to ski, which has been a part of my Italian upbringing since my teenage years. Although I was a pretty bad skier and struggled most days, something clicked for me a few years ago, and now I can't wait to hit the slopes. Skiing is like meditation, and it's a lot of fun now that I got the hang of it.

Although I'd love to travel more in the future, it's not a priority for me right now. I don't keep track of the miles I fly yearly, but I'm sure it's a lot. Traveling long distances is super tiring and disrupts my routines (not to mention expensive). I'd be happy if, by 2024, I could travel less and take short trips to escape the city and enjoy some time at the beach, in the mountains, or the woods.

Location

I've been all over the place this year - Lisbon, New York, Milan, with a sprinkle of London, too. It's been fun, but it's my last year splitting my time across many cities. In the past, I liked the flexibility and opportunity to connect with different people in my international network. Still, I've come to confront the tradeoffs with building a more solid local community.

It's taken me a while to figure out where I want to be. Italy was always out of the question, so in the past, I've been bouncing between Amsterdam and Lisbon. Lisbon has been cool, but it's time for me to go. I never really clicked with the place. Connecting with the locals without a common cultural and language background is hard. Plus, it seems like everyone there is just passing through.

I've always had my eye on the US. Culturally, it just makes sense to me. Many of my European friends don't get it, but I'm not interested in old-money comforts and nostalgia. America is culturally and economically upstream of everything in the West, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t be desirable to be there. So, I'm considering a serious move there for the long term.

Admin

This year has been heavy on admin for me. I spent half of it dealing with my US visa process, and honestly, it's been a total headache. Shockingly, I've never been a big fan of bureaucracy and tedious paperwork. I'm more of a procrastinator. I wait until the very last minute to get things done, and it's not always the best approach. But now I've learned my lesson. I must take action proactively, no matter how much of a mess I must untangle.

Besides the visa stuff, I've also been dealing with many other admin tasks that I've been putting off for months if not years. But I've realized something important: I can finish everything in a few hours if I block some time and focus. Virtually everything is fixable. And it's worth leaning into the process to avoid stress later on.

As I head into 2024, I feel like many aspects of my life are much more organized and under control. That's a good feeling. I don't want to run around with many loose ends. I'd rather be prepared, have my paperwork in order, and minimize call center waiting times as much as possible.

There are better ways to spend my only precious life than paperwork.

I had a positive year for both my physical and mental health. I have undergone some small to mild checkups and medical interventions. Besides my annual complete health checkup in January, I have done for the first time a full stomach endoscopy as a form of preventative checkup for stomach cancer, under the suggestion of my doctor, given my high familiarity with that condition. It was not fun, but I'm glad I did it. It was on my radar for a whileI’ve spent additional time in medical and dental studios. I got all my wisdom teeth extracted and removed my acne scars with laser therapy. I am a bit ashamed to admit I used to dread going to any doctor so much. I still retain some form of phobia of anything resembling a needle, but nudging myself to do the right thing makes me feel psychologically safe. I learned that I prefer to invest early in my health instead of ignoring something that could turn bad just because “whatever, I’ll wait another five years.” I am not paranoid, but this has served me well.