Last one of 2022🤯
On the horizon of 2023... which is gonna be amazing
WHAT IS UP EVERYONE?!?!? Welcome to my final newsletter of 2022! If this magically jumped into your inbox, thank you so much. I appreciate your support 🥰
For those of you who are new, I’m SO glad you’re here. My name is Sasha Przybylski, and I’m 14… wait no by the time you read this I’ll be 15! 🤯 (get used to it, that emoji is going to be popping up a lot in this newsletter) Back to my intro, I’m in a program called TKS (which is an innovation program for teens), and I also love running/sports, and then reading.
CIBC Challenge
If you read my last newsletter, you’ll recall TKS, including our team, was in the middle of an insane project alongside CIBC. (If you wanna read it, click here). Long story short, we were supposed to come up with ideas to help them attract and retain GenZ customers.
CIBC then chose teams to present to them, and they might even implement some of our ideas! 🤯 Unfortunately, my team, consisting of Adam Cheairs, Shani Glassberg, Claire Ma, and Jens Thomsen, did not qualify to present. But that is ok! There’s always next time. I just want to shoutout both my amazing team, and everyone else, especially those who did qualify to present!! Congrats everyone! 🥳
Here’s a picture of our team during our post-mortem :) Top left to bottom right: Me, Jens, Shani, Adam, and Claire (our PM!)
Our team started out like an absolute rocket ship🚀 . . . for like the first week (four week challenge remember). But in the middle two weeks we went super stagnant, and unfortunately were incredibly rushed at the end😭. But an amazing lesson that came from this is the importance of communication.🗣️ We didn’t have enough team syncs, and that led to lack of clarity, and inability to execute upon our goals.
Our solution involved Chat-GPT3 technology to further advance CIBC’s existing chatbot, and a survey that would provide a personalized banking experience for the customer, walking them through the banking process.
→ Side note, after chatting with a member from another team, Konstantin Bukatov, his team found out that 34% of GenZ relies on TikTok for financial advice. Talk about scary.👻
Reading
This month, I didn’t read much, but I still had some really good books. I feel like I say that every month. 😭Oh well, if you wanna check these out you can.
📕Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
I really enjoyed this book, I’m even planning to read it again! It’s filled with stories of people who didn’t let their egos take over, and that’s why they were successful. It’s given me some insights on what an ego really is, and how to suppress it.
📕Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
I’m sure many people have already read this one, but I really enjoyed it, and I don’t even like history! 🤯 As well, I just adore his writing style. It’s exactly what it says on the cover: “a brief history of humankind.” He looks at things from such an innovative angle, it was a real pleasure to read.
Other Insights
This newsletter I’m going to do things a little differently. As it is the end of a year, and I’m sure many of you are making new year’s resolutions (I know I am!), I’m going to try to add some value in this by sharing some things I’ve learned in the past few months (mostly from TKS). Hopefully you enjoy. 😊I recommend revisiting these, because just reading them won’t do much for you. Learning comes from reflecting on life’s experiences.
How you train is how you will perform. 🏋️♀️
Are you optimizing for success, or just mitigating risk?🤔
A black belt is just a white belt that didn’t quit. What is the black belt way to think about this?🥋
Action triggers motivation. 🏃♂️
The number of attempts is what makes you successful. 📈
Know what success means to you, and it will be much easier to achieve it. 🥅
When you appreciate someone, tell them right then and there. Regret is a powerful emotion. 💌
Underrated question: How can I view this as a gift?🎁
Done > Perfect💪
You are responsible for absolutely everything in your life. 🤝
Figure things out → FIO mindset🧠
There are different types of friends for different parts of life. 👯
Time can be spent 2 ways: investing or enjoying. The best place to be is at that intersection. ⌚
Major productivity insight, at least for me: 🕰️
Again, these are things that helped me, but they might not be for everyone. I think that if you really reflect on them, you’ll get at least a little bit of value. 😊
Quote (s?)
This month was full of reflection (it is almost 2023 after all), so I actually have multiple quotes for you! Thank me later. 😁
“Be the vibe you want to see in the world.” - Pranav Menon
This might not be a quote you can search up, but in my mind that makes it even more valuable. Pranav Menon is one of my wonderful TKS directors, and he said this during a session. People reflect the energy you display in an interaction. You can create the vibe, or leave it for someone else to. In the first 10-15 seconds you are interacting with someone, it doesn’t really matter what you say, but more so what energy you bring. Be intentional about this. 🚀
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle
I mean this quote kind of speaks for itself. The power of little things. (Atomic habits, by the way, check that book out!) When you think about it, you’re not going to become excellent by waiting for the perfect opportunity for you to do one giant thing excellently. You’re going to become excellent by living your day-to-day life as an excellent person. Whether through your physical training, relationships, thoughts; every small act, every small habit. They add up. So then, a question for you: what is one small habit you could do that would make you excellent❓
Farewell…
Before I close this, I just want to say that I’m really grateful for where I am right now. Looking over all the stuff I’ve done, especially that within TKS, it’s easy to see how much I’ve grown as a person. I hope you feel the same about your year, and if not, that you take some time to plan how you can grow 10X in 2023. 💪
Goals
Apply (I know I said this last time but it’s taking longer than expected😭)
Get into Velocity (a smaller program within TKS to give you a bit more guidance)📈
Stick to my new year’s resolutions! 🥅
Become a better person, and prioritize my relationships🥰
Goodbye! See you in January 2023! Have a phenomenal day, week, and month!
