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Endings · Beginnings

2020-01-07 · letter vlog · John · 3:54 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life (also: Projects, Global development, Books & writing) · mode: Personal update · tags: fundraising ask, civic or action cta, self promotion

John frames his yearly letters to himself around endings and beginnings: in 2020 he will finish Crash Course European History, hopes to finish raising Partners In Health's $20 million for the Maternal Center of Excellence and to write a book, wants to stop working nights and weekends, will tour for Sarah's and Hank's books, and will write a thank-you note every day.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — John's yearly letters to himself, this year about beginnings and endings

  • ★★ Every January John writes himself two letters, one looking back at the year and one setting goals; over ten years they have become a big deal to him, helping him reflect and choose consciously. — 00:00:00
  • ★ John says the letters have helped him achieve many goals, from running half marathons to writing novels. — 00:00:16
  • ★★ This year (2020) John is thinking about the letters differently, focusing on beginnings and endings: what he wants to begin, and what to end or finish. — 00:00:21

00:00:30 — Ending Crash Course European History and other creative projects

  • ★★★ John will finish Crash Course European History this year (2020): it has been great fun and taught him to shift perspectives in history, but it ends as it approaches the present. — 00:00:31 · Crash Course
  • ★ John has a couple of other creative projects he would like to wrap up this year (2020) but can't talk about publicly yet. — 00:00:43

00:00:48 — Finishing the $20 million for PIH's Maternal Center of Excellence in Sierra Leone; big donors

00:01:30 — Finishing a book; no more working nights and weekends; the tour this weekend

  • ★★ The last thing John wants to finish this year (2020) is writing a book, not necessarily a novel. — 00:01:30
  • ★★★ John wants to stop working at night and on weekends: to keep the goal specific, measurable and achievable, no more than one night a week and never weekends except work travel. — 00:01:36
  • ★ John notes that every new beginning leads to some other beginning's end, quoting Semisonic by way of the Stoic philosopher Seneca. (playful) — 00:01:46
  • ★★ John says he will be on tour with Hank in St. Petersburg, Atlanta and Raleigh this weekend and invites viewers; he thinks one show is sold out. — 00:02:02 · Hank Green

00:02:16 — Sarah's You Are an Artist and Hank's A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor; touring for both

  • ★★★ John says Sarah's book You Are an Artist, a collection of art assignments and creativity prompts with lots of art history, comes out in April; the galleys are here and it is available for pre-order. — 00:02:16 · Sarah Urist Green, You Are an Artist
  • ★★ John says Hank's book A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, such a good title, comes out in July. — 00:02:29 · Hank Green, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
  • ★★★ John will tour with both Hank and Sarah, hoping to help their books have good beginnings. — 00:02:35 · Hank Green, Sarah Urist Green
  • ★ With so much travel John must care for his body and brain, which is part of his body: what a weird thing it is to have a mind made out of body. — 00:02:40

00:02:49 — A thank-you note every day, and what John wants to continue

  • ★★★ John wants to write one thank-you note every day this year (2020); doing it for a month in November made him more grateful and less pessimistic. — 00:02:49
  • ★★ John got the idea from an 82-year-old woman who wrote him a thank-you note explaining her project; he lost her address, so he thanks her here in case she is watching. — 00:02:56
  • ★★ John wants to continue exercising at least 150 minutes a week, making Dear Hank and John every Monday and a Vlogbrothers video every Tuesday. — 00:03:09 · Dear Hank and John, Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ John also wants to continue not losing large swaths of his life scrolling through Twitter as dread washes over him. — 00:03:09 · Twitter · also in: Looking Back at My 2020 Goals

00:03:24 — Comment your beginnings and endings; take the Census; sign-off in a third decade

  • ★★ John asks viewers to share in the comments what they want to begin, end and continue in 2020 and what they see looking back at 2019. — 00:03:24
  • ★★★ John hopes viewers will begin the year with the Nerdfighteria Census, which helps the brothers set the community's priorities; links are in the description and comments. — 00:03:32 · Nerdfighteria

In the description and comments

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Partners In Health · You Are an Artist

Also: People: Sarah Urist Green · Seneca the Younger

Projects: Crash Course · Dear Hank and John · Nerdfighteria Census · Sparks Fly Up

Works: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

Organizations: Maternal Center of Excellence · Twitter

Groups: Semisonic

Concepts: gratitude · Half marathon · mind-body dualism · physical exercise · SMART criteria

Places: Atlanta · Raleigh, North Carolina · Sierra Leone · St. Petersburg, Florida

Only in the description or credits: child mortality · maternal death

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