Things I want to learn
Some things I want to learn:
Fashion illustration
Leather bag making
How to swim
Wine
Lighting a studio for photography
Vietnamese (Fluency)
Managing people
Pasta from scratch
Storytelling
To relax and enjoy the ride
Style rules for 2023
Commit to more signatures - A drink. A cologne. An outfit. A haircut. Fewer decisions to make. Signals confidence in your taste. (Renegotiate them every few years.)
Never buy anything on sale you wouldn't buy full price - It's on sale for a reason.
Always pay more for - Cashmere, leather jackets, dress shoes.
Never spend more than $100 for - T-shirts, haircuts, AlBirds.
Your clothes don't need so much stretch - 1% stretch, max. They're cotton jeans, not a Spiderman suit.
The right fit will solve 90% of your style problems - Your tailor is your style wingman. Tip them well.
Don't be so precious with your clothes - At the end of the day, where you go in your shoes matter more than how new they look.
Spray more cologne on your clothes than your neck - Not only will you smell good, but so will everything in your closet and dresser.
Get ONE proper suit - Especially if you have "no place to wear one." Wide lapels, nipped waist, high rise trousers - tailored to your body. Make it a dark one (navy, gray, or my personal favorite, black) so you can also wear it in the evening. You'll be surprised how many occasions you'll find to wear it when you can't use " don't have a suit" as an excuse.
Embrace it - You're not overdressed, everyone else is under. Don't be embarrassed that you like to make an effort.
Boy, people do love lists.
This has become my most popular post on Instagram so far.
Bucket lists
Northern lights in Norway
I love the optimism and ritual of planning for the new year in December.
This week, I’ve been setting some Rich Life goals ala Ramit Sethi. I was so surprised doing the bucket list exercise.
Ramit recommends doing a mind dump of 15 things on your bucket list — anything from things you want to buy, dream trips, events, people you want to meet.
No filter, nothing is too ridiculous.
Here’s what I have so far:
1 month trip to Japan, with a 5 day stay at the Aman Kyoto
Fly first class to Japan
40th birthday party with a fancy dinner that’s all paid for
Cartier Louis tank watch, brand new
Bespoke Anderson and Sheppard suit
Stand alone art/work studio
See the northern lights with Sheena
Take the Orient Express around Europe
Swim with dolphins or whales
Get a large snake tattoo
A larger apartment with a home office
??
??
??
??
A few things stood out to me
I don’t need a lot of traveling - I’m happy with one big trip every 1-2 years.
Food is not huge on my list right now - I enjoy trying out hole in the wall places and Michelin star lists. But with health being a bit focus of mine in 2023, it’s not a priority for me right now.
Experiences and things are kind of equal - This is one area that’s remained pretty consistent.
This exercise encourages you to get specific, not just with the bucket list, but also to identify which items excite you the most.
It also encourages you to do the numbers. In doing so, you’ll find that most things are more attainable than you think.
Let’s take a look at my list again, now with some prices I found after doing a bit of Googling:
1 month trip to Japan - ~$8k-$10k depending on how much shopping I do. (With a 5 day stay at the Aman Kyoto) +$5800
Fly first class to Japan - Nearly free with points
40th birthday party with a fancy dinner that’s all paid for - $3,000
Cartier Louis tank watch, brand new - $10,600
Bespoke Anderson and Sheppard suit - Starts at ~$6k
Stand alone art/work studio - $2-4k/month
See the northern lights with Sheena -
Take the Orient Express around Europe - ~$15k
Swim with dolphins or whales -
Get a large snake tattoo - $4k+
A larger apartment with a home office - $5-8k/month depending on whether or not I stay in NYC
These items aren’t the cheapest, but I certainly don’t need to be a millionaire to check things off my bucket list. I mean, I spent more on Door Dash and Ubers some months this year than what some of these items cost.
Take an hour today and try out the exercise. You might be surprised how attainable your bucket list is.
Lists
I love a good list.
Something about people distilling things into neat, tidy lists is so satisfying.
I enjoy lists that are guidelines — like cartoonist Chuck Jones’ rules for writing Road Runner cartoons. Or conman Victor Lustig (known for “selling” the Eiffel Tower) commandments for aspiring conmen, which includes:
“Hint at sex talk, but don’t follow it up unless the other fellow shows a strong interest.”
My favorite kinds of lists are the ones that give you a peek inside a person's life, like late writer/filmmaker Nora Ephron's list of things she will and won’t miss:
What I Won’t Miss
Dry skin
Bad dinners like the one we went to last night
E-mail
Technology in general
My closet
Washing my hair
Bras
Funerals
Illness everywhere
Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism
Polls
Fox TV
The collapse of the dollar
Bar mitzvahs
Mammograms
Dead flowers
The sound of the vacuum cleaner
Bills
E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.
Small print
Panels on Women in Film
Taking off makeup every night
What I Will Miss
My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie
For more lists, check out Lists of Note.