Daniel TedescoAnnual Letters, and Why I Write Them
For the past several years, I’ve written an annual letter to family, friends, and colleagues. It’s both an update (since I don’t post much about myself on social media) and a reflection on the previous year. Shuffling between the U.S. and China during college, I started writing the once-a-year missives as a way to keep in touch with people I don’t see often. However, I never expected how transformational and therapeutic the practice would become. A letter forces me to summarize my year. What ...
Daniel TedescoDaniel's 2021 Annual Letter
Dear Friends, I had no good reason to be unhappy in 2021. Flora and I were healthy, our families were safe, we had good jobs, and we were able to live quite freely in terms of going out and domestic travel. Yet I still felt bad almost every day, and the low mood kept me from pursuing things I thought were important. I’ve had years like that before, and I bet more will come. It’s surely more common than social media feeds would have us believe. Fortunately, unsatisfying times trigger reflectio...
Daniel TedescoDaniel's 2018 Annual Letter
Daniel’s 2018 Mid-Year UpdateDear Mentors, Colleagues, and Friends, I'm sending an extra update because of some life changes. First, I graduated business school and found a job at Google. My team helps local technology companies in Asia bring their products to people around the globe--I'm so excited to start this next part of my career. Second, I wrote my first piece of software, a web application called Tasky. You can try it out here. In my last note, I mentioned my goal of positiv...
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Dear Mentors, Colleagues, and Friends,
I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are tackling the new year with gusto. 2016 offered me a challenge. I was rejected from the business schools I had been hoping for years to attend. After encouragement from many of you, I resolved to try again and am excited to bring news of success: I am now a full-time MBA student at Columbia University.
It's the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I have left China, a second home where I spent over half a decade. I have concluded major volunteer roles in Global China Connection and the World Economic Forum Global Shapers, experiences that brought countless life-long friends and taught so much about building organizations.
In last year's letter, I quoted basketball legend Michael Jordan: "I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." This year, I'm proud to have also missed shots. The grand B2B sales plans I had for Dyad didn't pan out, and I changed jobs midway through the year (though the second half of 2016 brought an amazing time with the Irish building materials powerhouse CRH). My pledge to send monthly newsletters barely made it to March, and I stressed over the lapse, without actually writing or sending anything more. I'm grateful for these and many other failures because they show me my limits and push me to keep growing.
In 2017, my strongest determinations are to make a focused effort in school, be a good husband from the other side of the world, and reacquaint myself with my country, which feels so different from the ideal I held in my head just a few months ago.
The results of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election inspired much introspection while in Beijing. Tomorrow is an important day to reflect on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who, even in hateful times, rallied many to his cause because he sought constantly to understand and engage his own opposition. I am interested in discovering and supporting organizations that engage the whole range of political perspectives--from Trump supporters to far-left liberals to establishment conservatives--in healing a country tired of talking about division. If you know of any or would like to join such groups, please reach out to me.
Wishing you a fantastic 2017,
Daniel
Dear Mentors, Colleagues, and Friends,
I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are tackling the new year with gusto. 2016 offered me a challenge. I was rejected from the business schools I had been hoping for years to attend. After encouragement from many of you, I resolved to try again and am excited to bring news of success: I am now a full-time MBA student at Columbia University.
It's the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I have left China, a second home where I spent over half a decade. I have concluded major volunteer roles in Global China Connection and the World Economic Forum Global Shapers, experiences that brought countless life-long friends and taught so much about building organizations.
In last year's letter, I quoted basketball legend Michael Jordan: "I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." This year, I'm proud to have also missed shots. The grand B2B sales plans I had for Dyad didn't pan out, and I changed jobs midway through the year (though the second half of 2016 brought an amazing time with the Irish building materials powerhouse CRH). My pledge to send monthly newsletters barely made it to March, and I stressed over the lapse, without actually writing or sending anything more. I'm grateful for these and many other failures because they show me my limits and push me to keep growing.
In 2017, my strongest determinations are to make a focused effort in school, be a good husband from the other side of the world, and reacquaint myself with my country, which feels so different from the ideal I held in my head just a few months ago.
The results of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election inspired much introspection while in Beijing. Tomorrow is an important day to reflect on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who, even in hateful times, rallied many to his cause because he sought constantly to understand and engage his own opposition. I am interested in discovering and supporting organizations that engage the whole range of political perspectives--from Trump supporters to far-left liberals to establishment conservatives--in healing a country tired of talking about division. If you know of any or would like to join such groups, please reach out to me.
Wishing you a fantastic 2017,
Daniel
Daniel TedescoAnnual Letters, and Why I Write Them
For the past several years, I’ve written an annual letter to family, friends, and colleagues. It’s both an update (since I don’t post much about myself on social media) and a reflection on the previous year. Shuffling between the U.S. and China during college, I started writing the once-a-year missives as a way to keep in touch with people I don’t see often. However, I never expected how transformational and therapeutic the practice would become. A letter forces me to summarize my year. What ...
Daniel TedescoDaniel's 2021 Annual Letter
Dear Friends, I had no good reason to be unhappy in 2021. Flora and I were healthy, our families were safe, we had good jobs, and we were able to live quite freely in terms of going out and domestic travel. Yet I still felt bad almost every day, and the low mood kept me from pursuing things I thought were important. I’ve had years like that before, and I bet more will come. It’s surely more common than social media feeds would have us believe. Fortunately, unsatisfying times trigger reflectio...
Daniel TedescoDaniel's 2018 Annual Letter
Daniel’s 2018 Mid-Year UpdateDear Mentors, Colleagues, and Friends, I'm sending an extra update because of some life changes. First, I graduated business school and found a job at Google. My team helps local technology companies in Asia bring their products to people around the globe--I'm so excited to start this next part of my career. Second, I wrote my first piece of software, a web application called Tasky. You can try it out here. In my last note, I mentioned my goal of positiv...
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