Forty One. / The Reset Button Edition.
On Finding Perspective, the Incredible Journeys in Soul, and Embracing the Doers.
Hey, everybody. It’s been a sprint to the finish line of this unprecedented year.
There’s no question that 2020 has been an emotionally and physically difficult year. The pandemic crippled our daily lives and routines, and we’re leaving this decade as a heavily polarized nation with far too many people skeptical of common sense, ethics, and science in light of the battles around racial justice, keeping people safe, and oh yes, national elections.
With so much to be crestfallen about this year, there IS one reason to be hopeful. We look at the idea of 20/20 hindsight, and this year became a reminder of how much we take for granted. We revisited the quality of what products and platforms go into our routines and looked deeper on what we deem “essential.” More importantly, the pandemic and marches for racial justice and equality forced all of us to put things into perspective, on how far too many people are mistreated, misjudged, and misrepresented across this nation and the world.
As we leave 2020, let’s look at the year as a giant Reset Button. Let’s enter 2021 with a renewed purpose to respect each other and do good for others and uplift ourselves. Let’s live with open hearts, open minds, and an inner fire to move forward, not left or right.
It’s the only way that we make real progress for good and for all.
What are you currently working on?
Swiftarc’s had a busy end to this year. Stay tuned for our quarterly newsletter, where we will announce all of our newest deals (aiming for 5 this year), partnerships (including with an incredible innovation studio), and hires (with new partners and employees, where we quadrupled our size this year). We launched deeper pushes into supporting underestimated entrepreneurs with capital and resources, and I cannot wait to share the new initiatives with you all soon.
Our firm is based all over the country (NYC, Austin, Miami, Santa Barbara, LA, Cincinnati, Phoenix), so COVID-19 put quite a damper on us meeting in person. We still found our ways to connect and get the job done!
What are you currently excited about?
Continuing on the Reset Button trend, I’m feeling a deeply renewed energy in 2021. We’ve battled through three phases of a New Normal; Phase I was a pre-protocol set of dark days, where the virus spread rapidly and we had no testing or tracing protocol, and we currently sit on the end of Phase II (pre-vaccine protocol) and beginning of Phase III (vaccine production and distribution).
Spring/Summer 2021 looks bright and promising, and while our routines may have changed, our energy and appreciation for everything will definitely be higher.
What’s a story or article that you're currently thinking about?
Like many of us, the NBA’s Playoff Bubble was a unique and often weird take on the game, and Taylor Rooks’s piece in GQ isn’t just a great deeper look into the inner workings, it’s one of the best articles I’ve read all year. It covers the highs, low, and awkward discoveries in between.
What’s a product you’re currently obsessed with?
Let’s add one of the best articles of the year with one of the best movies of the year (and one of the best I’ve ever seen) in Soul. It’s a powerful film that tackles death, dreams, and battling the ethical dilemma of what it means to succeed in life. It takes the question we consistently ask to kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” and turns it on its side, focusing on how to appreciate life, to learn to live in the moment, and put everything into perspective.
Two big pieces of the movie also stood out to me:
When you go through the end credits, I recommend looking at the sources and cultural council that Pixar’s team leaned onto. I’ve never seen any movie take this much time and resources to lean on and learn from the right people.
“Nature versus Nurture” is on full display here, as the movie follows the character arcs of Joe and 22 (that’s all I’ll get into without uncovering spoilers), and they’re two journeys that we all can identify with, regardless of who we are.
Speaking of incredible journeys, an honorable mention of a movie to call out here is Happiest Season. Just watch it.
Wild Card: What’s an item you can’t shake your mind off of?
2020 also made me realize that there are two kinds of people: The Talkers and the Doers. The pandemic and abrupt change in our routines uncovered the ugliness that exists within our industry. There are many pools of echo chambers that push unsolicited (and rarely different) advice and push their agendas onto others.
Worse, some of these Talkers have taken aim at people and piled on their insults. In this (rather ironic) case, their target was a Black founder and a longtime friend building an incredible organization uplifting women entrepreneurs. The fact that none of them ever even bothered to look up the person is beyond disappointing.
Fortunately, the Talkers are easier to mentally and physically close off, which is why my resolution for 2021 is to keep looking for more of and learn from the Doers. They let their actions and results speak for themselves, and some leave incredible and genuine insights and learnings while Being as helpful and approachable as they can to everyone seeking guidance and/or advice. This selflessness and impact-driven mentality can be positively infectious, and I enjoy watching these Doers continue to be the real anchors and change-makers, not just for our consumer community, but for others as a whole. Here’s to you all, Doers.
Oh, and a special shoutout to my KicksFan friend group (both Twitter and Slack). You all were a bright corner on the Internet during this unprecedented year.
Happy Holidays, everyone, and I wish you all a wonderful, safe, and warm end to 2020 and an incredible beginning to 2021!
This is the last Le Cinq of 2020, and I'll see you all in the new year.
~ C O L O P H O N ~
Please send all feedback, both positive and negative, to sumeetshahwork@gmail.com as this project continues to evolve.
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