This post was going to be titled “Pushing Myself in 2024”, but after careful considation for the past week, it has a new name. Let’s dive into why I rewrote this post after only a week of going after my goals.

My Original Big Plans

I originally started by listing three big plans I had for 2024:

Write and publish at least one blog post a week
Upload at least one video a week (YouTube or TikTok)
Release at least one major app update or new app every month

I created this blog to write, so here I am. Writing has been surprisingly natural for me. It’s akin to simply dumping my brain onto a piece of paper. I have so many ideas and thoughts every day, and it’s nice to finally have a place for them all.

I started uploading at least one video a week just this last week, and it didn’t go well.

I planned, recorded, edited, and uploaded a 2 minute video to YouTube and TikTok.

And here it is:

What went wrong?

I had to ask myself that after posting. The video was a static shot of me talking about my big plans to build a time machine for the Apple Vision Pro on the couch. I had a few other shots of footage from inside the Vision Pro and 360 videos. It seemed like a decent video at the time.

After a few days of introspection, I’ve figured it out.

I didn’t enjoy the journey or the destination.

I didn’t enjoy making the video. But why?

I first thought it might be the content. Maybe I don’t enjoy sitting down on a couch and telling the internet about what I’m working on. But I am excited about what I’m working on, so shouldn’t I also be exicted to tell others what I’m working on?

I think the struggle comes from my mindset. I know I can produce better content than what I just put out.

In high school, I used to produce short films for my classes. I loved to dive into the cinematography, script writing, filming, editing, and visual effects creation. I loved the process of creating the best movies that I possibly could. I liked to push myself to learn new cinematography or editing techniques to elevate my movie magic.

I was proud of what I created, and looking back, I’m still proud.

A few months ago, I started posting videos on TikTok. They’re quick videos where I show you what the view might look like from a fancy house on a hill in various locations. I use my drone to do this. Here’s an example of one the more interesting videos:

It gained some traction on TikTok (1-3k views each, 100-200 likes), but I felt dead inside while recording them. It didn’t challenge me or encourage me to think in new, creative ways. It was the same thing every time.

My big question became: How do I create interesting content that I enjoy making?

Because even if no one watches my content, I still need to enjoy making it - otherwise, I’ll stop making it.

My New Big Plans

My new, improved, and revised goals are:

Create videos that I’m proud of
Write and publish at least one blog post a week
Release at least three apps for Apple Vision Pro this year

The first change is the change to my app-related goal. I have three really exciting ideas I’d like to explore and create for the Apple Vision Pro. (specifically: a time machine, a personal orchestra, and an idea space). While pushing myself to continuously release big things each month is good, I think it might interfere with my video-related goal, which I’ll talk about next.

Create Videos That I’m Proud of

My video-related goal doesn’t have any concrete timelines anymore, and that’s on purpose. It’s about creating videos that I’m proud of, not that get X number of views or likes, or hitting X amount of videos posted per week/month. Optimizing for these other metrics won’t help me enjoy creating videos.

By focusing on an internal validation metric (versus external validation, like views), I’m giving myself freedom to experiment, learn, and create the best videos I can. I want to create videos similar to what I did back in high school, where I take time to script, plan, cinematically film, edit, add visual effects, and publish videos.

I want to push for perfection in my videos knowing full well I’ll never get there. But I’m in it for the journey. I’m in it to learn and grow and to challenge myself to make the best with what I’ve got right now.

I want to focus on storytelling through beautiful cinematography. The inside of the place where I live right now is dark and has odd colored walls. I used to think that was a bad thing. But now I’m considering how I can utilize it to enhance my storytelling.

And most importantly, I want to be proud of what I create. I’m proud of the apps that I build, and I want to be proud of the videos I create, too.

Write and Publish at Least One Blog Post a Week

This is a big brain dump for me. I’ve been slowly getting more into journaling, which is really a brain dump but I’ve found that it’s helped me detach my brain from all my ideas during the day. The next day I can wake up and have a clear mind. (I journal at night before sleeping)

Blog posts are a big different than journaling because the audience isn’t me, it’s the internet. The content on here will likely be curated around tech that I’m exploring, and the content will be aimed at a general audience (though will likely get technical at times).

Release at Least Three Apps for Apple Vision Pro This Year

I bought an Apple Vision Pro primarily so that I can make apps for it. To do this, I need to learn Swift, which I currently know nothing about. The best way to learn something is to just get out there and start doing it, so that’s exactly my plan.

I have three big ideas for really fun and exciting apps that I’ll talk about more in a later post. For now, know that they are:

A time machine
A personal orchestra
A think space

Living My Childhood Dreams

If I look back to me as a child, he had a lot of big dreams and ideas. And I’m actually starting to live out some of those dreams:

Building a time machine
Writing a book (this blog isn’t a book - yet - but we’re getting there!)
Directing movies (we’ll start with YouTube and work up from there)

I think that going back to your childhood dreams can help to bring a lot of joy and energy into your life. What excited you as a child, and why did you stop?

If you look at any of the big space companies (SpaceX, Blue Origin), you’ll see that the founders (Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos) were interested in space since they were young children. They’re going after their childhood dreams. Even after building big, successful other companies, they were still doubted for going after space exploration as a business.

Go after your dreams. Find what excites you.