Together We Do Great Things
2026 is the Year of Global Collaboration
The year is an empty canvas. While that might seem scary, you should know that whatever you impress upon this empty vessel, you can create.
So, while new beginnings can be terrifying, they are also a source of opportunity.
If the thought of Monday, January 5th spooks you a bit, you’re in good company with probably everyone else reading this letter.
On Friday afternoon I went cross-country skiing for the first time, by myself, without any instruction.
Let’s just say that the experience was everything you’d expect of a beginner. I clipped a boot into a ski, and then didn’t know how to get it out.
The few people that were in the parking lot with me had no clue how to those bindings work.
So there I am, watching YouTube to figure out how to get my boot out.
Time to head out.
The snow is tough and icey. I have to literally dig two poles in and pull myself forward to get anywhere. This doesn’t seem like the image of people gliding that I know about this sport. Finally I am moving and the trail is taking a downhill slope.
I don’t know how to stop, so let’s count four falls. Every time I get momentum, I will now fall on my hip or my ass in some way.
I finish the trail, and I realize that I could’ve just practiced at the first stretch without going on the full trail itself.
I load up a new YouTube video. This one is three minutes long and explains everything about the movement, as well as how to slow the fuck down when you go down a hill. Oh and they are using the same bindings as me, so watching this video would’ve solved the other delay with clipping in and out as well.
Well thankfully I didn’t smash my head into a tree, so I live another week to send another email to you.
New beginnings are messy. Things feel clunky. You are a klutz, you are a joke.
And you should relish in the freedom of having no expectations of any particular outcome at this stage, and at any stage.
Elliott FM is moving along quite nicely. Last week I launched the service here in this newsletter, and since then I have made improvements to how playlisting works.
Songs that are on Spotify/Apple Music now have links to click through, so you can save them there.
When you visit the site in your car, the songs will stream the proper track title onto your car’s dashboard.
And the best of all - last night I submitted the first version of the iOS app. It will be available early this week.
Thank you for listening and testing it out with me.
Everything in life is a work in progress. Just keep faking whatever it is you need to fake, until it’s made.
We are not here to compete with each other, we are here to support and do great things together. To another year of bagels and good music…
Elliott