We took the train to Valence to Sarah’s parents. The next day we picked up friends from the train station and then drove all to a house we rented in a small town called Viviers in the Ardèche region, where we celebrated Sarah’s 30th birthday: lots of love, food, and pétanque 🤍

The new EP New Worlds, New Horizons by my upcoming Present Podcast guest Kareem Ali is playing on repeat in the last weeks: our conversation is in post-production as well, looking forward sharing this one with you soon!

This Week’s Wisdom from Leonard Cohen:
“There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in” (Thank you to Matthias for sharing)

Input 
✺ Podcast episode from A Millennial Mind with Israa Nasir: What You're Getting Wrong About Productivity (Thank you, Sarah!)
✺ Retiring from the pro tennis circuit in 1998 Shuzo Matsuoka began releasing a web series of motivational videos called For You (こんなあなたに) in the early 2000s ~ Are you just living day to day?:

I had a inspiring interview call with Georgia Graham for her brilliant newsletter Threads of Conversation, which I highly recommend! (Shout-out’s to my friend Ari Sawyers for connecting)

I met with my old friends Sunny and Scott at Café de la Poste who flew in from L.A. to be in Paris for a month. Those two are close to my heart and spending time together is always so wholesome. Sharing old memories from our time at 2x4 in New York and everything in between <3 

This Week’s Wisdom from Joan Tollifson:
“Awakening is truly nothing more or less than being right here in this moment, just as it is, and just as we are.” 

Input
✺ Music for Programming is a series of mixes intended for listening while working to focus the brain and inspire the mind
✺ A well-nourished mind and body make it much easier to have the energy to tackle your THING. I compiled a list of 6 ‘happy chemicals’ and what helps our bodies produce them

Porto—Paris. We went to the MATCH: When Sport Meets Design exhibition at Musée du Luxembourg, which I loved a lot. Highly recommended! It’s still running until August 11.

Currently working on an thoroughly updated Present website and online store which will make the whole user experience better and smoother. Much research and much making. Currently learning some new exciting new tools. This is something I could do for hours on end. Trust in the process.

My colleagues Sofiane und Franchesko were in Paris and we had some good workshop sessions for the upcoming app and more.

This Week’s Wisdom from Karl Lagerfeld:
“You have to like the present; if not your life becomes secondhand, if you think it was better before. Or that it will be better in the future.” 

Input 
✺ I enjoyed the new Becoming Karl Lagerfeld mini-series portraying Lagerfeld from 1972 onwards, when he was 38, and a ready-to-wear designer still unknown to the general public 
✺ I also loved this snippet from an interview with Daniel Kaluuya: “You have this fear of being rubbish. Then, the realisation is that you have to be rubbish, it’s literally part of the process, and you just keep going”

I spent a few days at my sister’s in Berlin before flying to Portugal to meet Sarah there. I feel so lucky to be able to work from anywhere. We stayed in Braga for a week in the house of her grandparents and enjoyed the nature, vino verde and bacalhau, of course! Getting in some sunny runs in the countryside. Newly discovered highlights were the Praça Mercado Municipal de Braga (photo above) and the River Beach Merelim São Paio.

We then drove to the Douro region and spent a night at Quinta da Côrte which was wonderful. From there onwards to visit more family of S in Vila Real. The house of Sarah’s aunt is surrounded by incredible pine tree forests which are my absolute favorites :)

On another note: I’m finally almost done with the edit, so here is a preview from the upcoming Present Podcast Adam Barnard of Otto Resource.‍

This Week’s Wisdom from Søren Kierkegaard:
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”‍‍

Input 
✺ This take by Simon Sinek resonated with me a lot lately: Meditation as a service to others
✺ Google and Vogue created a vast digital archive of historic fashion imagery and it’s an amazing tool for research

I’m currently writing a bunch of scripts for new videos and continuing writing on my guide book. I keep on working in the early mornings on upcoming products with fellow creators in mind. It’s tough at times to keep it all up next to everything else, but I try to stay consistent and proceed with small steps!

We went with a couple of friends to Bar du Moulin to celebrate the release of Pauline, the fantastic new series co-written and co-directed by my friend Alma, now available on Disney+ and Hulu: highly recommended.

I took a trip to Germany to spent some time with my Newcoin team, then off to a pre-wedding weekend for Carlo with many friends at a get-away in the countryside. It was very lovely and one of my highlights was sharing a yurt with my old buddy Johannes. Good times :)

This Week’s Wisdom from Marcus Aurelius: “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ‍

Input
✺ Rose Glass’s newest film Love Lies Bleeding is an gripping, gun-toting, neo-noir love story
✺ Are you ready to put yourself out there? is an essay from the great Things Worth Knowing by Farrah Storr
✺ Check this snippet from an interview with Francis Ford Coppola about Megalopolis, the most ambitious project of his career, at Cannes last week

I had troubles sleeping, my thoughts were constantly jumping from ruminations of the past into irrational future worries. When it became way too much my mind suddenly came to the conclusion: Leave the past and the future where they belong and rest where you are now! I felt much better immediately. This was the cure. This is always the cure! Giving-in to the moment and simply falling into being. I finally fell asleep.

One of my best friends Matthias came to visit Sarah and me in Paris. We walked for miles and miles, talking and dreaming and fueling ourselves with ideas and delicious food. We went to Frank Elbaz (which is always worth a visit) and Palais de Tokyo, laying in the grass at Buttes-Chaumont and ended the day at one of our favorites Ama Siam.

Carlo and Hannah were also in town and we all went to Senegalese restaurant Waly-Fay. Next day apéro and dinner at Martin with the crew, including our new friends Loft and Pernilla, which was wonderful.

This Week’s Wisdom from Maya Angelou:“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Input
✺ Back in 2001, before her child was born, photograper Annie Wang started the long-term project titled The Mother as a Creator documenting herself and her son growing up for 17 years
✺ Support System and Essential Tools for Modern Makers: Present Community is a Resources Hub, where we explore and exchange with 150+ fellow Present People from around the world

Planning, compiling, writing every day a little bit on my upcoming book. It will be a guide/workbook for my friends and community on a concept I’m passionate about called Ikigai.

I’m deep in the post-production of two upcoming podcasts. It’s a lot, but thanks to having made all important mistakes in the first episode, it’s overall a little less time-consuming than before!

I’m currently reading the book Do Nothing: Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing and Underliving by Celeste Headlee, which is super interesting so far and came at a good time, after I was feeling a bit overwhelmed last week.

We had a lovely dinner at Amatxi with S, Jonas, Tereza, David and Tahnee.

This Week’s Wisdom from Isamu Noguchi:
“We are a landscape of all we have seen.” (a reminder that each and every one of us is an extension of the places we’ve been to, the people we’ve known, the conversations we’ve had, the hardships we’ve endured, the wins we’ve celebrated, the food we’ve eaten, the books we’ve read, the things we’ve done.)

Input
✺ Actor Mike Faist (Challengers) on tackling feelings of self-doubt and allowing yourself to look like a fool
✺ Keep on coming back to DâM-Funk in his Los Angeles pad playing his record collection: 80 minutes of pure funk and soul bliss

Output
✺ Published: Logo rework and a new star for MUGLER in collaboration with Casey Cadwallader. Thank you to the entire team at @muglerofficial

I had to deal with some negative thoughts creeping in several times this week resulting in a little downer due to overwhelm. I have so many dreams and goals and ideas. Trying to do it all can be a lot at times.

Sometimes it feels like I hardly get any feedback on what I’m building and doubts appear. But that’s just my brain producing thoughts, trying to distract me with worries. All I have to do is to focus on my craft in the present. The important reminder here is: You can control your output, not the outcome. I simply have to keep on with my own rhythm, and focus on what I can control.

I recorded a new podcast with Kareem Ali, an amazing musician from New York, now living in Tucson, Arizona. We talked about his upbringing, his daily rituals, and his process in recording a new album. I’m excited to share it with you as soon as I can!

This Week’s Wisdom from Maya Angelo:
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

‍Input
✺ I’m glad I rediscovered hip-hop legend Bahamadia through her classic Uknowhowwedu, currently listening on repeat to her dnb fueled Pep talk
✺ I enjoyed Luca Guadagnino’s documentary Shoemaker of Dreams about the fascinating life story of the great Salavatore Ferragamo

Output
✺ “Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the person’s capacity to act.” ~Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (link)
✺ Fluid Meditations: Interview Excerpts from PRESENT Issue 3: Self-Care with DJ Gigola (link)
✺ A Public Note To Myself: Essential Reminders For When You Just Don’t Feel Like It (this felt so good to share) (link)
✺ Cleaning the slate with Rick Rubin (link)