WWN: Yearly Reflection


Bi-Weekly Wednesday Newsletter no. 140

[GREETING GOES HERE]

This year was kind of wild. Here's some things I've been thinking about:

Thoughts on Failure

These past 3 years I’ve grown so much from having the opportunity to do things like hike and getting paid to draw. But I also realize that I need to be more thoughtful about my decisions if I also wanted to support a family or buy dino nuggets.

So I decided to take a door to door sales job earlier this year, because it was a opportunity to learn but also provided a clear way to make much cash.

I thought I tend to pick things up quickly, yet I really struggled to pick this skillset up. I put myself out there everyday to hear nos and face rejection, and tried my best to learn and grow by reading. I got really close with a sandwich shop owner who said he was interested, but after 8 times of coming back to chat, we didn’t end up closing the deal.

That really hurt because I tried very hard, yet it didn’t work out.

I think I’m just more embarrassed than anything. Like it sucks to fail at things but more so to admit to others that it didn’t work out.

Yet this experience taught me so much about running a business and instilled a deep respect for salesmen. This job was also the reason I got back into coding since my boss really liked bringing us to tech entrepreneur talks.

During one of the talks, I realized the startup path aligns well with my skillsets (cause code + design) and is something I can give an honest shot at.

But I don’t think it’s wise to say that I’ve “found my path.” Since if anything, the very lesson I’ve learned this year is to not say that.

I think the lesson is just that I’m ok trying. If things work out then great! And if they don’t, I’ll be sad, but I want to be the kind of person who can admit and learn from it, then keep moving.

Thoughts on Friendship

One of the things I really appreciate when I moved back to SF was having family and old friends around. But an unexpected gift were the new friendships I formed at the church I started going to.

I’m a person that really values autonomy and independence and just going for things, but because of the sales experience, I’m reminded of my limitations. At one of my lowest points, God put in my life friends that were there for me.

I’m reminded that having a lot of success or money isn’t valuable if I don’t have anyone in my life.

And despite the lack of stable job and income, I reckon that I’ve been the most content I’ve been for a while now.

I think it’s ok to continue to strive to be successful in the world, but I don’t want to forget that I already have all that I need and more.


Thank you!

Thanks for sticking around! I'm really thankful to you for this space to reflect and talk about this life.

It's cool to have the ability to just talk about whatever. I'm always very thankful to hear when some of you find it valuable haha. You probably know more about my life than I do yours lol

For those that are curious, here are the lifetime stats for the newsletter:

It's like kind of surprisingly stayed the same? Thank you!

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Anyways, Merry Christmas and happy 2026! (and congrats Mr. T for your baby)

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Jonadrew Blog

I'm an independent illustrator and artist. Here is the archive of my Weekly Wednesday Newsletters starting in September 2022

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