Family action deluxe! It was a lot, but I certainly can’t complain. I’m lucky to have such a big, patch-worked, crazy, funky, and loving family!

I was DJing on the 25th at JAKI club with my old friends. The next days lots of movie watching, hiking in forests around the city, endless cakes and cookies…

I also met my 2-years old godson Bruno, the kid of my old of my buddy Felix. Very proud of this young daddy!

Slowly wrapping up 2023 for myself and reflecting on where I want to be in the coming year. Looking forward talking to you all in 2024. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there and following me on my journey <3

“The world rewards those who are courageous enough to stop waiting and start.” ~Mel Robbins

Input:
✺ This one-hour introduction to language models by OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy is a fantastic primer no matter your level of technical knowledge
✺ Learn from the Greek OG! Great video essay about Marcus Aurelius, author of Meditations and one of the founding fathers of Stoicism

Thankful for good energy and stable health in this last week before Christmas.

I finished writing a new version of Why PRESENT? ~ This manifesto is a personal guideline and hopefully also serves as a useful background on the intentions of this project as a whole.

Bottom line: PRESENT is built with the mission in mind to empower, encourage, and inspire every person in the world who is crazy enough to take the risk to get started on their favorite unrealized project (more)

Last action this week: finishing Christmas present preparations and taking the train to my hometown Cologne for celebrating with my family.

Post: XMAS PRESENT(s)
Post: PRESENT Glow Journey
Post: Why PRESENT?

Input:
✺ Tuxedo’s Tiny Desk (2017) is my kind of Xmas vibe
✺ Kobe Bryant: The Power Of Sleep & Meditation

Busy weeks so close to the end of the year! Toomuchness was troubling me, at times I simply didn’t know where to begin. I’m sure you can relate. If everything gets too overwhelming I’m putting all task somewhere I can’t see them and just pick one. One task. Full focus. Nothing else. Then the next.

I’m grateful I haven’t been sick in a long time. I didn’t have less stress, so it must be thanks to the daily cold showers, pretty consistent exercise habits this year, and good supplements. Whatever the reason, this makes me so happy. Never not healthy again!

I went to visit my buddy Adam Barnard’s Otto Resource event on Friday, Saturday I was DJing for 8 hours straight at legendary Spiegelsaal in Berlin for my friends of Volée.

‍“I live in the moment, and I reflect later.” ~Action Bronson

Input:
✺ I’m a Action Bronson fan: start with From Paris With Love from the great F*ck that’s Delicious series and listen to his recent Tiny Desk Concert
✺ Finished reading The Circle by Dave Eggers, which was great. Heard the movie is bad but I’ll try it next
✺ Hooked on London's p-rallel’s Garage tribute I Know

I went with Sarah to Milano this week for some quality time and new inspiration.

Our highlights were Spazio Maiocchi with its current Sara Sadik exposition, 10 Corso Como the OG concept store with one of my favorite visual identities, the Saint Francis of Assisi 'al Fopponino church, Terroir a small but incredibly curated delicatessen store. Risotto allo zafferano ossobuco at Trattoria Masuelli San Marco, mortadella sandwich at Princi for afternoon snack, and the recently reopened Chifa and it's lovely young crew. Also Sunnei, Slam Jam, plus the many fantastic vintage stores. And not to forget Bar Basso and Fondazione Prada :)

Friday back in Berlin was the vernissage of the first solo show I dreamed of Mama again by my sister Marina. It was perfect and I’m very proud of her.

Sunday I went ice bathing in a lake outside of Berlin with some of my good friends. It was cold af and wonderful!

HH Post: Present Event I
HH Post: Present Event II

Input:
✺ Unleashed Invites Silent Noise by French DJ and producer Crystallmess is one of my fav mixes at the moment, so masterful, so refreshing (every episode of her show on NTS is killer)

The year is coming to an end and there are still many things to do for me. This week I had to remind myself to take a break and simply begin again. What helped for prioritization in the morning was asking: If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?

One thing I’m currently working on is improving our community space. I’m taking this project seriously because I believe it can become a really helpful resource for fellow creators. We need more spaces to share tipps, thoughts, and struggles to help each other out.

I worked on streamlining some areas and simplified the channels structure to hopefully make engagement a bit easier and wrote a bunch of new content. There is much that can be still done there, but I love that our little corner on the web is slowly developing into a helpful content hub and hopefully inspiring space for all kinds of makers!

“The real measure of any time management technique is whether or not it helps you neglect the right things.” ~Oliver Burkeman

HH Post: Present Covers
PRSNT: Newsletter ✺ 11

Input:
✺ A new independent movie I really liked: Fremont by Babak Jalali
✺ A quick but profound read: The Past Is Not True by Derek Sivers

First snow in Berlin! Winter is here and I'm reflection on what a ride the last months have been. I keep documenting and try to be as insightful and honest as possible. People tell me that it helps them, and this inspires me to keep going.

I put PRESENT GLOW online so our limited edition natural wine is now ready for ordering. I'm working on further improving the online store to hopefully make some progress in our sales. I'm also preparing new content and editorials to be published soon.

Went to see The Sound of Cologne in the cinema with my friend Magnus, and to the launch of music magazine zweikommasieben with my old buddy Johannes <3

HH Post: Present Issue 3
HH Post: LOG Reflection Aug–Nov

“Everything that you want is on the other side of hard.” ~Chris Paul

Input:
✺ Enjoyed indulging into the masterful FX series The Bear this weekend
✺ Still hooked on the eternal groove of Skyy Can You Feel Me by Raphael Saadiq

This time of the year I always feel a push to make a clean overview of all things I still want to accomplish ~ and reprioritze what can wait until next year. The goal is to look back knowing I tried my best to have done what I was scared of/aimed for in the beginning.

I had much more energy this week, which is needed in those grey Berlin days. Started going to the gym again which made me feel better. Weights and swimming in addition to the calisthenics I usually do in the mornings.

I picked up the work on my goal of introducing a full PRESENT Members program in the near future. There is still some more research and experimenting to be done, but I’m getting closer!

“Mortality makes it impossible to ignore the absurdity of living solely for the future.” ~Oliver Burkeman

Input:
✺ Rediscovered Parallel Life by The Starseeds (1997) “ambient techno, distinctly summery, with the feel of a Balearic haze, or a fusion of Enya and Ecstasy”
✺ Intriguing and relaxing: The beauty and joy of living in the countryside in rural Japan

‍

Slow start into the week dealing with some annoying worries and inertia. What helps me when everything is overwhelming: Running, then sitting with a blank piece of paper and get it all out. Redefining priorities. Starting again.

I’m currently working on the next steps for PRESENT. At first we will upgrade the website, publishing new content and features. I also work on breathing new life into our Community Space, which I couldn’t as much as I wished for in the last weeks. Stay tuned!

I fixed and painted my kitchen with the help of S. It felt good to do some work in the apartment and office. Also chilling with my sister and meeting old friends this week.

"I must change my life so that I can live it, not wait for it.” ~Susan Sontag

PRSNT Post: Event Recap: Part III
PRSNT Community: 5 books that can help with stress

Input:
✺ Call My Agent! (original: Dix pour cent) is an incredible series starring personal favorite Camille Cottin and many more fantastic actors
✺ “The bigger the dream, the bigger the shadow.” Sensei Steven Pressfield (author of my beloved The War of Art book) about Resistance at Rich Roll

Thankful to have a mission. Thankful to have Sarah as a partner by my side. Thankful for my friends and community. I’m blessed to be able to do what I’m doing.

We started the week with disassembling the event, lots of driving back and forth. Note: Our front installation will remain for a few more weeks on display for the public at BAM/Ritterstrasse 8!

I was very k.o. and love-stoned after the last weeks. We gave it all. Grateful that everything went smoothly. This week I took as much time as I could for reflection and planning next steps.

This Sunday, November 5, was the birthday of my mum, who would have been 67 today. She remains my greatest inspiration.

PRSNT Post: Event Recap: Part I
PRSNT Post: Event Recap: Part II

Input:
✺ Sha’Carri Richardson on the Meaning of Time in Running and in Life by The New Yorker ~ shout-out’s to my friend and fellow sports documentary buff Lukas Korschan

I made another tour to the warehouse to get more magazines. Storage is expensive, so I’m glad every time I’m going and reduce the pile. We also had a nightly screen printing session at my place printing on top of the vintage t-shirts we hand-sourced in Bangkok, Istanbul and Paris.

Finished preparing the location, drilled the last holes for our t-shirts installation, arranging all New Tendency shelves for our Shidō presentation, hanging the PRSNT towels, placing the magazines…getting there! This all took a lot of work, especially with everything else going on.

Friday arrived and the event was a blast! We were absolutely lovestruck by the inspiring, heart-warming, beautiful mix of people. Thankful for everyone who came. It made us very happy! What a night!

PRSNT Post: PRESENT GLOW Unveiling

“Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change.” ~Kobe Bryant

Input:
✺ Whole Earth Index website launched with a mind-blowing full archive of its legendary print magazines
✺ Season 2 of Welcome to Wrexham is out and continues to be a unique documentary I love

We are still busy organizing our launch event and Friday is getting closer! I designed a huge banner that we than installed in the entryway display with the help of our friends. There is a lot of things to plan and take care of. Shout-out’s to the BAM and Volée crews, whom I had so many calls with this week.

I shipped the next edition of my Newsletter this week. My main goal remains: being able to give more love to PRESENT, develop more products and more value for my community. I need to find a way to be able to dedicate even more time to the future of PRESENT.

PRSNT Post: PRESENT Issue 3 Launch Event
PRSNT: Newsletter ✺ 10

“On the meaning of life: There is no answer. The real answer is 'because.' You get to make up your own answer is the beauty. If there was a single answer, we would not be free. We would be trapped. We would all have to live to that answer. Luckily there is no answer.” ~Naval Ravikant

Input:
✺ RIP Jamie Tiller, one of my favorite DJs💔 (Listen to the wonderful tribute show by John Gómez on NTS)
✺ Why You’re Not Doing Creative Work by Dan Shipper from Every newsletter

Finally some good runs in my dear Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Last week in Paris for me...we visited the Tove Jansson exhibition and had apéro with friends at the canal <3 (three sandwich spots I recently loved: Sôma Sando, Le Favori and Chez Aline)

We went to more stores to deliver (or introduce) Issue 3. It was great to go in-person, much more effective then e-mailing. It’s not necessarily the easiest thing to do sometimes, but it always feels good afterwards!

Good progress on Newcoin as well this week. Still working on Newlife v2, in the meantime check Newlife Research. I also met with the team at the new MUGLER offices which was very nice and productive. Exciting things in the making.

PRSNT Post: Tareet Cover

"People didn't believe me when I told them I practiced harder than I played, but it was true. That's where my comfort zone was created. By the time the game came, all I had to do was react to what my body was already accustomed to doing." ~Michael Jordan

Input:
✺ Still listening to the masterpiece that is When I'm in Your Arms by Cleo Sol (2020)
✺ Rediscovered: Breathe (In the Air) by Pink Floyd from The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

We went to the MUGLER show at Caroussel du Louvre on Monday evening: it was truly mind-blowing and very inspiring. What an energy! So proud of Casey and the whole team.

I’m preparing the next Newsletter and we keep on working on our upcoming PRESENT event: Save the date! October 27, 6pm at BAM in Berlin Kreuzberg.

What I’m struggling with: despite likes, which I appreciate, I hardly received as much real feedback on Issue 3 as I had wished for yet. Thought about how good it is that as an athlete you constantly get feedback, data, after each match. I miss this in my profession sometimes.

I’m often wondering how I can make my life more simple. Maybe I got to be even stricter with my priorities. I always have so many ideas, ongoing projects in my head and on my plate … paradoxically, at the same time I often have the feeling that I’m not doing enough.

“Wonderful things can happen when your brain is empty.” ~Maira Kalman

Input:
✺ As sports documentary fanatic I loved David Beckham on Netflix (ManU-Beckham-7 was my first international jersey I got when I was 10 ◕‿◕)
✺ We enjoyed watching Jeanne de Barry by Maïwenn

I struggled with toomuchness at the beginning of the week and had to fight my way back to good energy and more clarity.

Took the train to Paris to see Sarah, which felt good. We dove right into the PFW madness and went to the Marfa Journal party. We also visited the space of Simon Stanislawski & Kasia Kucharska, plus Yara Flinn’s Nomia showroom. All inspiring stuff. Excited for the Mugler show on Monday!

We hand-delivered PRESENT Issue 3 to some of our favorite Paris stores, which was fun. We continued contacting potential partners for our upcoming launch event. Our friends Alex, Gila and Luca arrived in Paris and will stay for the next six months. Another good reason to spend more time here :)

Walking through the streets here I can’t help but feel flashes of sadness at times, imagining how nice it would be to do this with mother, who loved Paris as well <3

PRSNT Post: Dashi Diner teaser
PRSNT Post: SUEA teaser

“Mistakes don’t exist.” ~Virgil Abloh

Input:
✺ An amazing track and music video is Nouveau Western by MC Solaar from 1994
‍✺ Watched The Covenant by Guy Ritchie and No Hard Feelings ~ two very different movies that I both enjoyed!

‍

Grateful for this summer! Back in Berlin now and ready to tackle the next challenges. We had a great call with Phil from BAM, planning and brainstorming our upcoming PRESENT event in Berlin...

I prepared and shipped more packages. We also hand-delivered 30 copies to our beloved doyoureadme?! ~ happy to have the first store in Berlin with the physical copies of our magazine.

We received our PRESENT GLOW wines: a highly limited edition of Riesling Cuvée, combining the aromatic funk of Muskateller and the crisp acidity of the Riesling, an exciting combination of two different characters merging into one, can't wait for you all to try it :)

“Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change.” ~Kobe Bryant

Input:
✺ Alicia Keys reading from her book More Myself
✺ Three questions to help you get unstuck when you're feeling frustrated
✺ I’m longtime Lex Fridman fan and his latest conversation with Neri Oxman was inspiring

We went to Türkiye with a bunch of friends to recharge. We flew to Bodrum and drove down to Datça until Ovabükü. Good times and lots of meze :)

Sarah and I went up to İstanbul for a few days afterwards. Mainly just strolled around, spend an afternoon at the Grand Bazaar and visited the beautiful mosques! Met our friend Meral and her gang for dinner and treated ourselves at Çukurcuma Hamamı.

I’m working on the PRESENT Library, which is essentially a hyper-customized Notion database I built over the years which includes every book I read, with summaries and marked highlights for each one. I aim to make this a resource for the upcoming PRESENT Members program that I’m still tinkering on.

PRSNT Post: Contributors Love

‍“Remember: The goal is not self-improvement. The goal is engaging more deeply with the World.”

Input:
✺ While driving through the Turkish night we listened to the classic Planet Caravan on repeat
✺ I’m rereading the great Grace Jones autobiography: I'll Never Write My Memoirs
‍✺ Ange Postecoglou's on mental health in football

Back in Berlin. Thankful for feeling healthy and awake. I rented a car and drove to the warehouse were the printer send the physical copies of Issue 3 to. It took me half a day to pack the car as full as I could and drive back safely!

From then on I started sending out packages across the globe. Such great feeling to finally share the magazine with so many different people. New stickers arrived as well, and I included them in every box.

I also started to tackle our list of international stockists. Check out our page if you need to find a store in your area!

My sister visited and we went through the magazine page-by-page. She did an incredibly sensible and masterful job as the photographer of several stories in the issue. I’m a very proud brother!

PRSNT Post: i3 Stories Preview

What is something wonderful about your life that you rarely appreciate as much as you should?

Input:
✺ I enjoyed Rick Rubin in conversation with Jay Shetty
‍✺ A great DJ set by Victor at Nachtdigital 2023
✺ Yeah, science! Brain-reading devices allow paralysed people to talk using their thoughts

We officially launched PRESENT Issue 3 this week. Didn’t expect this to get me so emotionally. Maybe it was because of the pressure I put myself on. I’m just happy it’s out there now and ready to ship!

We are currently preparing to send out the first orders and keep on planning the release events. And we designed and ordered some funky new stickers :)

This week Sarah and I finished the wine labels for our collaboration with GLOW GLOW. We used BLO Pen’s which is a kids-game-tool where you blow into a special pen that creates an amazing airbrush effect. We uniquely numbered every bottle this way!

Powerful calls with my Newcoin team’s. We keep on building. Currently working on a new version of Newlife and more exciting apps at the intersection of fashion, culture, finance and technology to PowerUP makers and creators in the future.

"Start before you're ready. Don't prepare, begin.” ~Mel Robbins

PRSNT Post: Issue 3 Cover 1: Hung La
PRSNT Post: Issue 3 Cover 2: Tareet

Input:
✺ Girl by Stratus from 1977 (remastered) is a beautiful song I played a lot in the last weeks
✺ Derek Sivers on the benefits of a daily diary is a good starting point if you need a push
✺ Idris Elba was great in Apple TV series Hijack ~ I watched the whole thing in one go! ¯\(ツ)/¯

Started into this week by finalising the next PRESENT Newsletter which I shipped on Wednesday afternoon, announcing big news: Issue 3 is ready to pre-order!

I'm excited for the next month as we will preview much more of the magazine for you and work on organizing all upcoming launch events 👀

Worn out from the last weeks we felt the need to recharge. I took a flight to Paris to join Sarah. We woke up at 5:00 the next morning to catch the first train to Marseille and from there to La Ciutat, an incredible little town, birthplace of the cinema and pétanque ☀️

We stayed at a beautiful little house that Sarah discovered, surrounded by massive calanques and lush forrests. In flightmode for days. Laying in the sun and reading. But the best was the smell of pine trees mixed with warm summer air. Heaven! I felt grateful.

”How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience and, therefore, the quality of our lives.” ~Sam Harris

Input:
✺ We watched Past Lives by Celine Song, which is a masterfully directed movie with incredible acting
✺ I’m reading Make Something Wonderful a book with collected texts and interviews from Steve Jobs which I found quite beautiful and inspiring. Whatever your view on this man, give it a try here
‍‍✺ What happened last week? is a great weekly newsletter by Sham Jaff curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and Latin America with the goal to help you burst your Western-centric bubble‍

Monday morning we finished the final files of PRESENT Issue 3 and shipped the 300-pages PDF to the printer. Afterwards we refined the covers: we’ll have two this time! ~ it was tight, it was tense, but we made it.

Feeling exhausted but happy. We had lunch in my backyard in the sun. Afterwards simply cleaning. Finished overdue taxes...it felt weirdly relaxing.

Wednesday was printing day. Pretty nervous when we drove there. We inspected all sheets coming out of the Heidelberg and made small color corrections before giving the printer the final green light. Everything looked good in the end and this was the moment when I was finally truly relieved!

Close to the finish line self-doubt creeps in occasionally: “is it actually good what you are producing?” I try to be aware of the Resistance, of my lizard brain talking. The main achievement was to get this thing done. I know we did our best. Everything that comes now is a bonus, more or less out of my control. I try to make peace with it.

We went to have some drinks with friends. Simply felt thankful. The rest of the week I spent having some me-time, preparing upcoming teasers and the PRESENT Newsletter for next week.

Input:
‍✺ I watched Rheingold about the life of legendary German-Kurdish rapper and entrepreneur Giwar Hajabi aka Xatar
‍✺ Rediscovered the Tourist album by St Germain from 2000 and still love it! Remembering pumping it on my bike as a teen while vizualizing my future life…

Spent two days in the countryside outside of Cologne with my dad and sister. We stayed in a cabin and spend our days hiking in the sourrounding forrests. I woke up super early to get some work done, but otherwise off screens!

The train ride back to Berlin was intense. I felt pretty exhausted about the endless e-mails and last-minute refinements to take care off, and I arrived feeling sick.

That was bad timing and quite stressful tbh, but I managed to push through. When Sarah arrived on Friday I was much better. We then had some crazy 72 hours of hardcore magazine finalising for the printer’s deadline Monday morning!

I felt so relieved and proud that we brought it home. We tweaked this beast until the last minute and gave everything we have. Fingers crossed now that the printing will go smoothly. I’ll keep you posted <3

"Focus on the present and leave the rest to fate." was a very helpful mantra for me these last days.

Input:
✺ Wana by nour, a young musician from Cairo, is a track I played on repeat the last weeks. Here's a video about the process behind (also check out: مش حقيقة)
✺ Fascinating interview with Jürgen Klopp, one of my all-time favorite people in football business: Was treibt dich wirklich an?
‍✺ I’m Not Sorry for My Delay: What if we just stopped being so available? via The Atlantic

We are still in Paris, energy is good and we are just excited to finish this thing. We re-arranged and improved the page plan one last time more from the last version. Now it feels right!

Started the week with organising issn number, barcode and last-minute ad’s. We keep on finalising layouts, refining and coordinating with our copy-editor Henry.

We met our friends Jonas and Alma for dinner, and went to yoga class on another evening, which both were great for recharging.

Friday I took the Thalys train via Brussels to Cologne, lovely and productive ride. I worked on Saturday morning, in the afternoon we had our yearly get-together with my Alaaf and Kickin’ crew and lots of old friends in Cologne.

Sunday I worked as best as I could, but was mostly relaxing with my dad and sister: burgers and watching King Richard.

"Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest."

Input:
✺ One of our magazine-finishing-soundtracks this week was The Color of Sound new album by Kareem Ali
✺ The Deepest Breath is a brutal but fascinating free-diving documentary
✺ Tim Urban’s book What's our Problem is a fun and deep analysis of our modern times, in the classic style of Wait But Why

Same procedure as last week! Writing, layouting, daily reviews with Sarah. We also got back the color proofs we made with the printer and happy with the results so far. Getting there.

I’ve printed all 320 layouts in small size so we can physically finalise our page plan: always crazy but rewarding when you see the work in its entirety!

Unusually tough start to the week overall though. Fought my way through, but felt exhausted most afternoons. Power naps to the help.

Took a flight to Paris on Friday night to join S <3. We will finish the magazine here in the coming week.

Saturday we pushed and worked, Sunday we enjoyed the city and just walked the stress away, mainly in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and Cimetière Père Lachaise. Grateful to be here.

“If you’re procrastinating on something because you’re worried you won’t do a good enough job, you can relax — because judged by the flawless standards of your imagination, you definitely won’t do a good enough job. So you might as well make a start.” ~Oliver Burkeman

Input:
‍‍✺ Strawberry Skies by Kwaku Asante on COLORS is a great song and performance (thanks S for sharing)
‍✺ A DJ set that powered me up was Kikelomo at Primavera Barcelona
‍✺ I always enjoy Oliver Burkeman’s The Imperfectionist (read the latest), honored to have him contributing again in our upcoming issue

Fully focused on finishing the magazine. Designing, writing, reviewing. So many things in my head…

I visited our printer in Berlin this week for a few hours to discuss and the upcoming production dates and all necessary preparations. This was good. More clarity and a final timeline!

It was my mothers 15th deathday this week. I miss her a lot. She her gave me strength and confidence. She inspired massively and will forever. I’m so grateful.

Running every single day this week. It helped me maintain good energy and deal with pressure.

Saturday I kept working the whole day and went to UDK in the evening to check out the fashion presentations and support my friend Aimée. Sunday brunch with some good friends in my backyard ☼

Present Post: Towel in the wild
‍HH Posts: LỰU ĐẠN I, II

“Whether you think you can or you think you can't: you're right.” ~Henry Ford

Input:
✺ One of my mother's favorite songs that remind me of her is Across 110th Street by Bobby Womack
✺ I enjoyed this impressively vulnerable interview with Matej Mohorič after stage 19 of the Tour de France
✺ Watching this was refreshing: Man Embraces Radical Simple Living in Japan

Back in Berlin and thankful for a fresh start into the week. Lots of layouting still. Lots of writing. Making progress on the upcoming newsletter as well.

Finishing the magazine is stressful. We are at around 300 pages again, with only Sarah and me producing this beast! But we just need to keep going, one day at a time. We are doing our best and I’m proud of how far we’ve come.

We watched a longer documentary on Simon Jacquemus. This guy always inspires and motivates me. Maybe because I can relate to his mission and background, losing his mother and her being his main inspiration, and the overall personal approach to his work.

We went to Bar Sway and Obermaier (two favorites in Berlin) with a few good friends and also passed by the opening of Blow Shop, which sells beautiful products from upcoming German designers, worth checking out.

“May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful.” ~Mary Oliver on the value of small contributions

Input:
✺ Computerjockeys: My Golden Boy (still love this theme song for a crazy anime I used to watch)
✺ Arnold on Netflix (incredible human being, great documentary)
✺ Apple has a shot at solving the mental health crisis (from the Every newsletter which is one of my favorites)

We went to Marseille for a night and drove from there to the house of Sarah’s parents, where we stayed for one week.

We were working on Present while enjoying the sun, the water, and the cricket sounds in the trees. I loved my long runs in the fields and forests and felt very thankful to be in the countryside, to recharge and prepare for the upcoming weeks.

I took my notepad out and continued sketching ideas and writing the off-voices and the editor’s letter. Sent out some more e-mails to potential partners to support us handling printing costs.

I released the revamped Present website with the aim to push our online platform more and more towards being an Active Archive, regularly publishing new essays and contributions alongside material from our back issues.

“It’s human being, not human doing, for a reason. Moderation. Being present. Knowing your limits. This is the key. The body that each of us has was a gift. Don’t work it to death. Don’t burn it out. Protect the gift.” ~Ryan Holiday

Input:
✺ One of the best non-fiction books to read on holidays (and in general) is Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
✺ Mo Gawdat’s podcast Slo Mo with Vikas Shah on how to embrace pain to give life beauty and why success can be deceiving

I flatswapped my apartment for a week and went with Sarah to Barcelona to get some sun and finish some work. I’m thankful to be here. I love this city and everything is a little less complicated here🌞

We worked on the terrace outside finishing layouts and organising last minute shoots and stories. And we finally found an idea we love for the wine label designs. I’m feeling very grateful that my profession and technology allow me to work from places like this. Swimming, writing, running, designing, reading.

We met with our friends Octavio Barrera und Ampi Aristu, who you know from Present Issue #2, at La Polla, which was super lovely. Good people <3

Some recommendations in Barcelona:
✺ Favorite place for a morning run is Parc de la Ciutadella
✺ As a huge sandwich lover I believe the best ones in BCN you’ll get at Narciso
‍✺ Fantastic tortilla and great wines at El Pollo
✺ Unpretentious and very delicious tapas spot is La Violeta

"Clear Is Kind. Unclear Is Unkind." ~Brené Brown

Input:
Series: After Life
‍Music: Paco de Lucia: Entre Dos Aguas Live (1976)
‍Book: Status and Culture by W. David Marx

Refreshed start into the week. First morning runs in a while after an injury hindered me for two weeks. Realizing again how helpful running is for my whole system <3

New rounds of funding mails to support our printing costs, more designing and tweaking, lots of in-depth layout reviews with Sarah.

We got some new quotes from printers: everything got more expensive due to increased wood/paper prices, inflation etc. but we’ll figure it out!

This week was Sarah’s birthday and we had beers in the sun outside at the our friend Violaine Toth’s atelier. Afterwards went for dinner Barra. Feeling thankful for Sarah, my love and my partner in crime.

On Sunday we celebrated with a bunch of friends at Cocodrillo. It was a perfect ending for a great week and I was filled with gratitude for all the good people around me.

For me, success is not a public thing. It’s a private thing. It’s when you have fewer and fewer regrets. ~Toni Morrison

HH Post: When in Paris…

Input:
Video: Pep Guardiola and Thierry Henry in-depth chat (two men I love!)
‍Film: Air: Courting a Legend
‍Music: LTJ Bukem: Journey Inwards

Another week of layouting, trying to get funding, and organising last-minute shoots. So many e-mails and dm’s! But we are slowly seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

My motto this week: Don’t overthink. Start before you’re ready. With so many things on my plate this helped to not get pulled in too many directions but to just pick one task and get started with it without too much preparation.

Whenever I had some energy left I tried to improve the new version of the PRESENT website. I have big plans for it! I want it to become an active archive and a powerful platform for all Present People. Speaking of: I’m very happy for the newest members in our Community Space :)

Thursday I went to the vernissage of my homie and Issue 2 contributor Hannah Kuhlmann’s exhibtion at Forma Gallery to check her amazing work and pick up lamps from her that I got for my birthday by my friends <3

The only thing worse than starting something and failing … is not starting something. ~Seth Godin

PRESENT Post: What we talk about in our Community Space
‍HH Post: Grateful for another summer
‍HH Post: Weekly Log
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Input:
Series: Tour de France: Unchained
‍Video: Nataly Aukar: Escaping War and Pre-Marital Sex
‍Music: Ghost… album by Ayrtn

Too many busy construction sites at the moment. Sometimes this makes it pretty difficult to stay focused on one task at hand. But I have my tactics. And I’m fighting everyday.

Sometimes I’m wondering why I always put so much on my plate. Am I too ambitious? I’m put myself constantly outside my comfort zone. For that I’m proud. But I also need to take care of myself.

We are still layouting. This is what’s crucial now: that we finish our layouts to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and finish PRESENT Issue 3. I’m trying to not get too distracted by all other tasks screaming in the back!

We also started working on the label design for the upcoming PRESENT wine in collaboration with GLOW GLOW.

For Newfoundation we launched the new version of newcoin.org that I designed and developed.

You have to do hard things to create your own meaning in life. ~Naval Ravikant

Input:
Series: McGregor Forever (as a sports documentary fanatic I had a blast. Thankful for the rush of motivation!)
Text: How Graphic Designer Milton Glaser Made America Cool Again
‍Music: Robert Glasper: Black Radio III

Monday was a holiday in Germany and we went to a park and were just laying in the sun, in the grass, relaxing and reading.

I’m doing my best not to get discouraged by the funding situation. It’s really tough to get enough support to finance the magazine. To relieve my stress I was working out hard and ran three times this week. It helped!

We are working hard on finishing Issue 3. It’s only Sarah and me. I feel pressure, because we need to finish this beast soon. I’m juggling my other work for Newfoundation and Mugler as best as I can.

We are layouting every day. When it’s finally finshed I believe this will be the best magazine ever. I’m thankful for having Sarah by my side.

I helped my sister moving on Saturday and in the evening we had BBQ with friends in my buddy Matze’s beautiful backyard. I’m grateful for my friends and my family.

The truth is that every challenging event you've experienced, each toxic person that you've encountered and all the trials you've endured have been perfect preparation to make you into the person that you now are. Nothing was an accident. Zero was a waste. ~Robin Sharma

Present Post: Never Give Up
‍Present Post: Insomnia 2 (1997) by Massimo Vitali
‍Present Post: Massimo Vitali Interview from Issue 2

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Layouting issue 3 with Sarah while continuously reviewing our work together. I’m trying to take as much time in between everything else to progress on the designs.

I had to work myself out of toomuchness this week. Still trying to secure funding for the magazine, still coordinating with contributors and editors every day.

I finally did a complete health check-up. I haven’t been to the doctor in years and it felt great to have clarity: everything is looking good!

I started to work on the next Present Newsletter. This may sound paradoxal (as I’m writing this in a weekly log) but I feel I need to communicate more to the outside world about all the things we are building.

A great, quick excercise to understand what’s going on: Write down your loudest thought.

I met my old buddies Johannes and Claudio this week and also met up with the London crew of W/ (a music project I’m advising for, founded by my friend Carlo) who were visiting Berlin.

Resist the urge to worry about the future, focus on the now and leave the rest to fate.

Input:
Music: Mordechai by Khruangbin
‍Video: Marc Rebillet on Lafayette & Spring
‍Text: Can creatives break the mold and still find success online?

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Back in Berlin, feeling grateful for the beautiful and productive past month in Paris!

This week I kept on shipping funding outreach e-mails like a mad man. It’s quite rough at the moment. Felt pretty stressed at several points this week. Gotta watch out.

We are in intense layouting phase and we’re making good progress everyday! I’m currently listening back to St. Germain’s Tourist album from 2000 while designing.

In the upcoming Issue 3 of PRESENT and we will have a Present People section again, this time we want to ask you: When you feel lost, overwhelmed or unfocused, how do you reboot? You can participate from the Present Community or shoot me a DM :)

For Newfoundation we launched a new research platform that I designed and developed, focusing on emerging practices at the intersection of fine arts, fashion, philosophy and culture.

”You possess a one-of-a-kind combination of passions, skills, and experiences; there is something you bring to your work that no one else could.” ~Todd Henry

Input:
Series: Beef (imdb)
Film: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (imdb)
Album: Okra by David Versace (spotify)

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I’m having troubles falling asleep these days, even after a good night routine, just way too many things and ideas in my head, a never ending stream…

The work in issue 3 is intense, but it’s all coming together and this is very exciting. We are working a lot on layouts and organizing and editing last contributions. Had good calls with our editor Henry, with Nea-Kosma, and with my friend Eosmin in South Africa.

A really nice place to work from in Paris is Pause Café in Bastille. Big up’s to the wonderful team there! One of the best sandwich spots in Paris is Chez Aline.

A feature about my work has been published this week by JOIA magazine from Chile.

I’m working on a new product for Newfoundation called safe.energy, which will be out soon. Good conversations and progress with the team, and promising demo sessions.

We went to a neighbourhood bar in our street to see a Bossa Nova concert and to the amazing Chez Janou for lunch on Saturday. I really enjoyed that and we finally had some sun!🌞

Inputs:
Film: Caché by Haneke (1997) [imdb]
Film: The Hot Chick (2002) [imdb]
Reading: I’ll Never Write My Memoirs by Grace Jones

Make envy your enemy. ~Jerry Saltz

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We started layouting a lot of stories for PRESENT issue 3. It’s this time of the year now! It’s getting intense ~ and I’m so glad Sarah is with me on the journey. She’s a force and on top of everything: a great designer, giving so much quality and love to each layout💫

There are very loud construction works next to our current litle apartment in Paris, so I’m working most of the time from a café around the corner. It’s spring in Paris and this helps!

I soft-launched the new present.xxx website. There is still areas that are getting refined, but it’s coming together! I rebuilt the CMS from the ground up and we will publish many more articles online in the coming months. Let me know what you think!

I ran and worked out more heavily this week. Clearing my head, shaking of pressure. At the end of the week I felt proud that I finally shipped so many funding e-mails. This is not an easy task for me, I think it never is.

We met with our friend David Kaltenbach who living between Berlin and Paris at the moment as well. Saturday we walked the whole day, then had apéro at our favorite Jean Nicot and the dinner at Fro. Paris Est.

Present Post: You're not failing. You're just in the middle of succeeding.

Input:
Film: The Scent of Green Papaya (imdb)
Film: Close (imdb)

Every time you compliment someone in your head, try saying it out loud. even if it's a stranger. do it for the rest of the day and see what happens. ~WNRS

I’m thankful to be able to be in Paris at the moment. I feel so good here, despite such intense times. This was another very busy week. I tried to squeeze every minute, and it felt pretty non-stop!

On Monday I to the home and  atelier of Etienne Diop aka Tareet. We had a photo shoot with Pauline Scotto Di Cesare for PRESENT issue 3. It was fantastic! I had a great time with the whole team and it’s super excited seeing everything coming together.

We had a call with editor Henry Levinson who will help us out in the coming weeks. Excited to have his support! Still, I feel nervous about our printing deadline. I feel a lot of pressure at the moment to get everything done. But I managed these situations many times before, and I will also figure it out now!

I’m trying my best, despite hectic times, to take a concious break in the afternoon to go over my Principles and Wisdom lists. This always makes me feels good. Principles are notes from myself about things I’ve learned and noticed so far in my life. Wisdom are my favorite quotes and texts from other people.

The Pareto principle points us in a very clear direction: the majority of what you want will come from the minority of what you do. ~Gary Keller (From his The One Thing book)

Post: MY DOJO: Hannah Dunkelberg

Monday morning I met with Madeleine, Sofiane and Tony at Full Node where we booked a space and recorded a podcast the whole day. We talked about our backgrounds, projects at Newfoundation, and our hopes for culture and new technology.

Next to all the PRESENT and NF tasks, I continued delivering updates for various Mugler projects this week.

On Thursday night we landed in Paris. I feel thankful that Sarah found such a nice and calm apartment for a low price. For the first days our friend Matthias joined us as well. It feels right to be back in Paris.

PRESENT: Working on a massive e-mail wave to activate potential partnerships and ad opportunities for the upcoming issue. Reached out to printers to get offers. Continued editing texts, coordinating tasks, designing layouts.

We wrapped the week up with having beers in the sun, then headed to Bambino for dinner. Saturday we met with our friends Jonas Vahl, Tereza Mundilova und Lucas Christiansen. Later Carlo, Hannah and Fanette joined us as well. We had dinner at Chez Robert. Sunday: Walking the whole day, Pain de Mie Carré for Japanese sandwiches, Marché des Enfants Rouges for brunch, Ramen Tsukiji for dinner.

Input: Currently reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. I also watched new episodes of Succession and The Mandalorian for relaxation.

There’s a tremendous power in using the least amount of information to get a point across. ~Rick Rubin

Back in Berlin! Fighting overwhelm. I’m pushing through. I’m thankful that my health is stable. Procrastinating on finishing the podcast editing. I’m nervous about issue 3. But I remain ultimately more optimistic and hopeful than ever. And I know we are able to solve and finish it all. And I have to remember that I can figure out everything as long as I manage to put my energy and full attention into it.

We had a great in-depth session with Sarah where we reviewed and analyzed Present issues 1 & 2 and made a list of what we loved and what we want to do differently. To explore what we have achieved in the past gave us a crucial positive push to move forward. Fresh hope for the next weeks of the adventure of finalizing the next issue.

I continued and shipped updates on several projects for Mugler. Thankful to have the opportunity to support another brand close to my heart.

I met with my friend and past Present contributor Erkin Karamemet. And I had another FIFA night with some good buddies. Thankful for my friends. On Sunday night I had dinner with my colleagues who where in town for a few days: Sofiane, Madeleine and Tony. We also recorded a podcast together. It was inspiring!

"I have something more important than courage. I have patience. I will become what I know I am." ~M. Jordan

Sarah and I met with our friend and artist Dennis Buck to discuss ideas for his contribution, which was really nice.

Lots of mails and back and forth with many contributors for the new issue. Worked on editing some upcoming interviews and providing feedback on photo shoots and essay contributions.

As always, trying my very best to juggle everything, trying to figure it all out, without going nuts! Continued building the Present website, while working on the issue 3 page plan and socials. Good call with Nea-Kosma discussing their upcoming contribution.

Started running again. Preferred in the early evening which clears my head from the work hours before and gives some extra energy for a last session in the night.

One good journaling prompt I picked up in the WNRS newsletter: Write down your loudest thought.

Saturday morning I took the train to Cologne for my father’s birthday and easter with the whole family🌷

A winner is just a loser who tried one more time. ~George Moore

Article: The Imperfectionist: Urgency doesn't exist
Series: Welcome to Wrexham

I could smell the spring this week for the first time and it gave me an exhilarating rush of motivation. This might by my favorite times of the year, when you feel that Spring is finally arriving: it always gives me fresh energy and new hope!

And it’s really needed right now. Overwhelm is creeping up on me. Lots on the plate. Juggling more than ever. Next to writing and designing and coordinating contributions, I still need to finish to edit the podcast. And to launch the updated website I’m still building, which I need to be able to tackle funding once more.

Productive Present team call. Issue 3 is in the making. The iron is hot. Lots of organization, but getting closer. We are still a tiny team, so it’s a shitload of work: it’s very intense but we keep it fun!

I took on two additional projects: Working on secret project for Mugler and helped out the Luudan team for a quick job.

Thousands of thoughts in my head, my head is blown away by the daily advancements of AI. What a time to be alive.

A thought: When you think you are at your limit (mind and body) you are not even at 30% of what you are actually capable of. We are much stronger than we think.

“Disregard your rejections. They vanish from history and years from now, you’ll appear to be an overnight success.” ~Markus Almond

Post: Jiu Jitsu Poetry

Monday we met our good friend Carlo who was in Paris for one day. Went to one of our favorite easy apéro spots Chez Prune and had dinner at Onii-San!

Back in Berlin. Still building the new Present website, which should be a big step forward. And will hopefully bring some partners on board! We are still searching for support to handle the upcoming issue and beyond.

I’m thankful my cold is gone and I can work out, make runs, and feel fully alive again!

Thursday night I went with a bunch of friends to the concert of Nu Genea, a band from Napoli that I love. It was amazing. Congrats to my friend Magnus for making this all happen.

Friday I had a call with Casey Cadwallader in Paris for an upcoming Mugler project I’m excited about.

Saturday I met with my Content Boys gang, good talks, good times. Later that night I was DJing a few hours at the birthday party of two of my best friends at Anita Berber club. Bliss!

Podcast: Lewis Hamilton talking with Jay Shetty
‍Video: Paco de Lucia - Entre dos aguas (1976)
Series: Liaison (not as good as I thought but still entertaining)

“Recognize a truth embraced by the most productive and important personalities of generations past: A deep life is a good life.” ~Cal Newport

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On Monday I participated in a Newfoundation/Newforum panel on Defining Transmedia Fashion with my friend Tony Wang and Sam Walker. Thankful for an inspiring and insightful conversation!

Tuesday we met with photographer Pauline Scotto Di Cesare in her studio to talk about her upcoming Present Shoot with fashion designer Tareet. It was great! It’s so good to see contributors in IRL, even if only once.

For the upcoming upgrade of the Present website I indulged myself in technical explorations, building a new and highly adaptable cms system, subtle animations and a dark-mode-switch, which was fun. I’m getting closer to soft-launching it👀

On Friday we went to see the Faith Ringgold black is beautiful exhibition at Musée Picasso ~ and it was really phenomenal. Afterwards we headed to Belleville and went to a small gallery for the vernissage of Hôtelissimo.

I never had better ramen than on Saturday night: Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji ~ amazing experience and highly recommended.

Sunday we went to the 1997 Fashion Big Bang exhibition revolving around the most important year in fashion, shaping the business and aesthetics until today. It was so fascinating, we read every single text of the whole exhibition.

My Paris Tipps from me and Sarah:
• Jah Jah By Le Tricycle (fantastic Jamaican food, vegan)
• Haikara (another great izakaya)
• A Jean Nicot (our favorite original bar-bistro, ran by a really lovely older couple)
• Fréquence (dance bar)

Other input this week:
‍Film: Le monde est à toi
‍Film: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Vocation at its deepest level is: ”This is something I can’t not do, for reasons I’m unable to explain to anyone else and don’t fully understand myself but that are nonetheless compelling.” ~Parker J. Palmer

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I took a flight to Paris on Tuesday night and went straight with Sarah to the Ciccolina party at Folies Pigalle, marking the end of Fashion Week. Good times and amazing music by Bearcat.

We met with Liselotte Girard who reached out to the Present team with a great contribution idea. It was nice meeting IRL and making further plans. I wrote a bunch of posts in the Community and recorded my monthly video update. We also had another fireside chat. (The next one will take place on March 23)

What I’m struggling with: I’m making good progress on a lot of things, but: severely procrastinating on the edit of my podcast. But I’m aware, and I’ll get there. Still battling with taxes stuff. When will AI solve this pain?

Had a great call with my friend Moritz Gottlob, amazing producer, moving to Japan next week, who might be able to help coordinating and connecting when it comes to future Present Products.

I’m thankful to be in Paris. I always love to be here. I’m thankful for encouraging messages from my friend Lars. I’m thankful to be completely fit and healthy again.

Film: Call Me Chihiro (lovely!)
‍Podcast: Jay Shetty: Ex-Monk and His Hell (these guys!)
‍Book: I’m reading Delta-V by Daniel Suarez, a near future sci-fi novel, and I like it a lot. I think I’m just really enjoying finally reading fiction again for a change!
Post: Junko Tabei🏔

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I was struggling to get completely fit again this week, but now finally I’m back 100%. Simply the best feeling. The only positive thing about beinging sick: The contrast once you feel better again. Feeling fully alive again. Realizing that being healthy is by far the biggest gift.

I continued working on a new, upgraded version of the Present website I have in mind since a while. I’m drafting in Figma and Webflow and build something that I find exciting. I caught myself feeling like a kid on Christmas building a new Lego set. Thankful to have something that is challenging and at the same time giving me so much fun and satisfaction!

Every day we are working on Issue 3. Lots of coordination, planning and e-mails. What I'm struggling with: I’m very happy seeing more new members in our Community. But I’m stuck in how to engage everyone more. How can we change this, and inspire more engagement?

Helped my brothers with their birthday party flyers. It’s been like this since I’m 15. And it’ll probably always be like this, I love that I can help with my craft :)

I’m thankful for my apartment. I’m thankful that I can be hopeful for the future. I’m thankful that I have a longterm vision.

Recognize a truth embraced by the most productive and important personalities of generations past: A deep life is a good life. ~Cal Newport

Input I enjoyed this week:
Movie: Ad Astra
‍Documentary: Rhythm Is It!
‍Essay: How to Get Out of Your Own Way at Work

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I turned 35 on Monday. I’m not one to freak out over numbers, but this one felt a bit different I have to admit. But my 30s were so damn good so far and I feel so thankful for everything in my life, so let’s fucking go✨

I celebrated with family and friends in my hometown Cologne. It was beautiful to hang out there for a few days, and it was in the middle of the carnival! I was DJing on Saturday and we celebrated the Rosenmontagszug on Monday before heading back to Berlin.

On Thursday we had our first live event in the PRESENT Community with Pauline and Carl Baumberger, founders of GLOW GLOW wines. It was a super insightful and fun 1.5 hour conversation, where we talked about the joys and struggles in the life of a wine maker, family dynamics and much much more. I’m grateful it worked out so well and I’m looking forward doing more of those events.

Most of the week I was fighting off a gnarly cold and trying to get fully fit again. This was annoying me, I hate nothing more than being sick. Also, I had to do my taxes which didn’t necessarily lighten up my mood. But it was all ok in the end :)

Saturday I was having dinner with some buddies and we ended up playing FIFA22 which we borrowed from another friend. I haven’t played in 15 years and it was incredibly fun and my thumbs were swollen afterwards🥹

Never underestimate the degree to which people crave clarity and respond positively to it. ~Ken Segall

Article: The Cup of Coffee Theory of AI
‍Video: How This Mushroom Savant Identifies Fungi by WIRED

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What a week! It started with a personal highlight on Monday watching Rihanna’s phenomenal Superbowl performance and discovering she wore the Salomon x Margiela sneakers with the logo I designed❤️�.

I finally booted up Adobe Premiere for the first time and got started on cutting the first PRESENT Podcast. While editing I decided for the next guest and could confirm already!

On Wednesday we had a video call and interview with artist and food stylist Suea in NYC. We talked for almost two hours and it was really lovely and insightful! This will published in PRESENT Issue 3.

I helped Sarah to develop her new website (check it out!) and then had some organizing and packing to do for my upcoming birthday and travels to carnival in my hometown Cologne. (I’ll DJ there and go as Ace Ventura🦜)

I talked to my friend Pauline Baumberger to plan the event next week and to clarify some open question for our upcoming collaboration and published the announcement🍇

Recorded a new welcome video for the Community Space. Hope this makes it a bit easier for new members! Additionally I shared a community update via video to keep everyone in the loop about recent developments. We also had our first fireside chat test. Nice!

We went to MIBAP on Friday night for some delicious Taiwanese food and then to Cologne on Saturday morning. It was a wild and beautiful trip!

Input: Break Point (I just love sports documentaries. Always motivates me to improve my craft!)

Post: GLOWGLOW Wines Live Event in the PRESENT Community

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Week’s Highlight: We launched the PRESENT Community to the public! Grateful for the first new members, and grateful for all beta testers so far! I’m excited for how this space will evolve and how we’re going shape it together🌿

A revelation this week: You don’t need more time, you are just scared. Some tasks sat on my to-do list way longer then they should, and I blamed all the “small tasks” that I needed to get out of the way before. But I was just procrastinating out of fear of failure. Which was of course just a cheap trick of my monkey mind aka Resistance trying to hold me back. It didn't succeed😌

Present team calls and follow-up’s with contributors for Issue 3. I’m also reviewing past Chapters and Present Principles and writing new ones. Would love to write more again in general.

Great work sessions with Sofiane and Daša, building new intro and outro sequences for Newforum, new profiles and diagrams for the Newfoundation ecosystem.

Then I was struck down by food poisoning for 24 hours. That wasn’t nice. But I watched Last Of Us and Wakanda Forever, which I both enjoyed very much.

Friday night I went to ORA with Sarah, Saturday I had a dinner with friends at my place. Recharging<3

Input: The Story Of Sean Paul "Get Busy"

Post: An excerpt from Louise Friedlaender in PRESENT Issue 1

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This week I got caught up too many times in that feeling of toomuchness. Struggling with not being able to do enough work for Present. Just felt I have too much other shit that I need to eliminate before I can’t get to the important stuff ~ the classic old struggle. I did my best to push through, and in the end just accepted for how this week unfolded.

Not complaining though: I had productive team calls with Sarah and Paz, mostly about Issue 3. Wrote many e-mails to clear things up with contributors. Made overall small progresses here and there, keeping the ball moving.

Lunch meeting with Sofiane, Madeleine, Rafa the Builder, and Victoria Camblin (032c) to talk about web3, publishing, AI and everything in between. Lovely!

With Sarah and Gila I visited Schinkel Pavillon for the opening of EVERYTHING BUT THE WORLD by dis. Afterwards we went to “Zentrale” for another funky exhibition. This was inspiring.

Saturday I went to St. Bart for some great pub food with some good old friends, and Sunday to Cocodrillo (both highly recommended✨)

Input: Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story
‍Input: What Discipline Really Means - Jocko Willink

Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. ~ David Foster Wallace

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On Monday night I recorded the first Present People Podcast episode with my friend Jasmin Truong. We talked for four hours!✨ It was a special situation and we had to get used to it in the beginning, but then we found a great flow…it was really fun. A first episode wouldn’t be real without a technical problem. One of the cameras overheated and stopped recording multiple times, so we had to restart a few passages. I don’t think it’s a big problem, it’ll be just a bit of extra work for me in post-production.

I’m quite on the edge of my capabilities at the moment, trying to squeeze in time here and there to cut the episode ~ can’t wait to publish it and share it with you!

I’m thankful how the beta version of the Community Space is evolving. There is already so much valuable content in there. Thank you to everyone helping out so far. We are working on launching it for the rest of our community next week.

I finished my work for Mugler, the show took place on Thursday in Paris and was mind-blowing! Congrats to the whole team.

On Thursday night I went to Rome with some old friends of mine. We spend most of our days walking around and eating tons of pasta and Birra Moretti (also Trappazetti Roma and Focacceria Roscioli were heavenly!)

Input: How I Became The Worlds Best DJ With Only One Arm: Black Coffee
‍Input: The Power of Routine, Intuition & Ayurveda With Thomas Tuchel

Imagine all your responsibilities and obligations vanish overnight. What would you miss doing? What would you choose to add back to your life? If you're searching for more time this year, start with a clean slate and choose what to add to your days rather than starting with a full schedule and trying to figure out what to eliminate.

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I finished and shipped my interview for JOIA magazine from Chile🇨🇱

I made last preparations for recording the first PRESENT Podcast beginning of next week. I’m nervous and excited. Fingers crossed!

Next to pushing projects at Newfoundation, I was supporting the team at Mugler this week with producing graphics for their fashion show on January 26th in Paris.

New smoothie recipe I’m loving at the moment: açaí, banana, frozen berries, oats, cinnamon, coconut water. (I’m mixing in one scoop of AG1 as well).

Went to Kadewe with Sarah (she’s starring on the massive billboards outside!). We met Carlo there and our buddy Jakob had a stand for his Avaa/Verjus drinks. Afterwards we went to the Bubble Crew’s pizza event by my friends Taylor and Raoul. Really enjoyed that🍕

This week I watched an amazing documentary about the life and mathematical vision of Maryam Mirzakhani who became the first woman, and the first Iranian, to be awarded the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics. It moved me to tears. → Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani

The goal of adulthood is to let go of the other possible existences and to make the best of the one. A successful adult is one who understands that it doesn't matter which life you ultimately pick, only that you live it well. ~ Chris Ballas

I feel grateful that I had such good energy this week. Finally, after a tricky December. I felt a new clarity in general, which is always and simply a main energy boost! Life and work are much better once you see cleary what you want to do and what you have to do, short-term and long-term. Clarity is power.

I took time to clean up my priorities for the next weeks and months and worked on building a much clearer PRESENT Dashboard (in Notion) for me and the team, so everyone know exactly what to focus on.

I continued working on getting the PRESENT Membership program off the ground. It’s technically tricky, as I want to avoid Memberstack and build it directly with the Webflow Memberships Beta. I’s seems it hasn’t been done so far in the way I want to do it. But I’m getting there.

I adapted the podcast equipment one last time. Got different cameras, which work much better now. I continued writing my answers for my upcoming interview with Joia magazine.

Thursday night we went to Sameheads for the Banoffee Pies records party. Really enjoyed the proper UK sound. Good vibes. Friday I attended the playlist call with my W/ crew and played a track from Little Simz’s new album (Who Even Cares) and an old Nelly classic (Luven Me)🥹

Input: How to Create More Clarity in Your Life

Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. ~ James Clear

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a fulfilling 2023. Health and strength to get started on whatever it is that will make you happy in the longterm. I believe in you.🤍

I took it slow in the first week of the year. Really didn’t feel like rushing into the new year. That was a good decision.

Lots of reading and running. I did some reviewing and planning ahead of the next months. Here are some questions I asked myself:
• What do you want out of life?
• It's one year from now. December 2023. The habit you were hoping to build during the year didn't stick.
• Fill in the blank: I’ll be upset with myself if I'm still ______ next year.

I continued testing a refining the setup for the upcoming podcast recording ~ I’m excited about it!

Met my old friend Max (Vallot) of District Vision who was visiting from L.A. for a tea at Château Royal. On Sunday I went with Sarah to the exhibtion Let’s See What We Find curated by my friend Sebastian Peter at Museum für Fotografie, recommended!

Input: Everything had a first version, find them here.
Input: Questions to ask before giving up: https://www.dropbox.com/s/52yhkp4897o1608/9ad5a624-0481-48f2-8e44-0c3729e854a3.jpeg
‍Input: Simplify via Alex Tan
• One of the most intelligent case studies in design is the Chinese tea cup. They’re made without handles simply because if it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to drink.
• Humans naturally want to add more. Add a cardboard sleeve, add a warning on the outside of the cup, add a handle. The result of all these things never cools down the actual contents. And in the end, you’ll still burn your mouth from drinking too early. It’s not that people don’t see the warnings, we’re just adding more layers of separation between us and the answer.
• Simplify until it's obvious.

Watched: The Menu (not as good as I thought!)
Watched: Amélie (a joy to rewatch again after so many years!)
Watched: The Banshees of Inisherin
‍Watched: Charlotte Perriand - Pionierin des Alltagsdesigns ~ for me personally, one of the absolute most amazing women of the 20th century

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