Lessons From a Year of Change

If you’re reading this, thank you. Not just for opening it, but for staying with me through the shifts and silences. Your time is valuable, and I don’t take that lightly.

This year, I let this newsletter slide. I could blame time or circumstance, but I’ve built my life around a refusal to tolerate excuses—so I won’t start now. The truth is, I didn’t prioritize it. I couldn’t prioritize it. Not when the vision I had for myself and this business was unraveling and reforming at the same time.

Have you ever felt the ground shift beneath your feet, not because of some dramatic event, but because what used to fit no longer does? That’s where I’ve been. The way I worked, lived, and thought—it all stopped making sense in 2023. Yes, I pushed out this newsletter this year but I still was disoriented. I didn’t have clarity, I was still working through the clouds of my thoughts. And without clarity, I wasn’t in a position to write anything worth reading.

Now here we are, nearing the end of 2024. Reflection is unavoidable as the year winds down. Most people glance in the rearview mirror and call it good enough. I don’t. Reflection is work—an honest audit of actions, results, and intent.

This year wasn’t just a series of events. It was a reckoning. We moved. We built. We learned. We walked away from habits, places, and people that no longer aligned. And in the process, I saw clearly what I couldn’t before…

• The rhythm of my life in Los Angeles served its purpose, but that chapter is done.

• I tried to lessen my ambitions when deep down, I’ve never wanted the “normal” life.

The call for change wasn’t immediately apparent. It came like erosion—slowly, consistently, until the old structure no longer held. Moving to Mexico City, leaving behind the comfort of permanence, and chasing something undefined wasn’t just a decision; it was a necessity. I wasn’t clear on what I wanted, but I was sure about what I didn’t.

Three Lessons From the Shift

1. Change doesn’t start with clarity—it starts with action.
   Waiting for clarity is a trap. Clarity comes after motion. Each uncertain step opens doors you couldn’t see standing still. Movement creates momentum. And momentum creates direction.

2. It takes time and yesterday’s process won’t look the same today.
   Growth demands evolution. At 21, I moved to Los Angeles to expand. This year, I had to expand again—but this time, it wasn’t just a city or a career. It was my entire framework for living.

3. Most won’t understand. A few will.
   Not everyone will understand the moves you make. They’ll question your intensity, your focus, your choices. That’s fine. Those who matter will find their way to you or already understand. The rest? Let them stay where they are—talking, dreaming, doing nothing.

2025: The Next Chapter

The clarity I found from this year has positioned 2025 to be a year I’m eager for. PAINKLLR is evolving. I’m evolving. We are ready for the next challenge. Another shift is on the horizon, and it’s one I’ll be sharing with you soon.

This newsletter will be consistent—a weekly reflection, lesson, or insight delivered straight to your inbox. Not filtered, not polished for mass appeal. Just real thoughts for those who want to keep pushing.

Growth doesn’t happen by accident. It’s step by step, decision by decision, shift by shift. If you’re reading this, I want to thank you for being part of that process. Let’s make this next chapter one worth looking back on.

I’ll be checking in soon.

- Conrad