How to prevent UFO sightings in 2023: Friday’s with Filar #0011
First of all, I’m shocked that I can keep coming up with different subject matters to write about after 11 weeks of posting the blog. Secretly, there’s a bubble of happiness inside every Friday when I press publish, knowing that a least a couple of you read this. So being conscious of that, it provides an obligation to not only get better at writing week by week, but also come up with unique ways of articulating what’s on my brain and putting them into a bunch of cohesive sentences.
That being said, I clearly ran out of decent titles 😅 So, I’ll apologize for the this weeks title, it is tiny click-bait-y. And I will explain. And I definitely don’t mean real UFO’s. But first…
Dose of Design ✍🏼 :
This is segment is going to provide some insight into my home - which is incredibly rare. I don’t share a lot of my personal life, home life, etc because these slices of my life are my safe space. But, for Christmas I was gifted these awesome sneaker storage bins and after assembling the first 12, I had to order another 12.
It’s been over 6 months since I’ve counted how many sneakers I own, but it’s probably around 100-110. Nothing too crazy, but still takes up a copious amount of space. Myself being a bit of a neat freak too, I’m pretty surprised I hadn’t looked up sneaker storage until getting gifted it first. Well, that’s not entirely true. Some of my sneakers are just piled into big plastic tubs stacked onto of one another…
Regardless, these clear storage boxes are great. 12 of them come in a pretty small package off of Amazon, with very simple and easy DIY instructions to put them together. There are only 3 components, the main plastic box, the plastic backing, then the plastic front door to swing open and put your sneakers in. When you stack them on top of one another, there are these little flaps you fold down and interlock into the box underneath - - they’re surprisingly sturdy!
Check out how they look:
9/10 would recommend.
PS - I don’t think their UV resistant though, if that’s something you’re looking for with your sneakers / protecting them.
Feet Finder 🦶🏼:
Okay the BIG elephant in the room is a subject matter that everyone should think about (especially if you work within footwear). There was recently a Business of Fashion article, on how we are officially out of the sneaker ‘bull market’ from 2021. In that year, sneaker sales were up over +19%. It’s fascinating to think about what percentage of that was with the free money the government was just handing out to people around the United States… I would guess its a healthy amount of it. Last year in 2022, the industry climbed just +2.7% and 2023 is a projected 3.5%. Those numbers seem more normalized and will probably be fairly accurate, but Im not a believer.
I think we’re well past our glory days of mass sneaker sales. 2021 was an incredible year for so many brands, but now we have to face the repercussions of the over production of product. Not only that, but there’s this looming disgust with all these basic collaborations and these shitty ass color ups of old silhouettes. There is NOTHING new out there and I honestly don’t know what people are purchasing. Aren’t you tired of owning 19 colors of a Jordan 4?
Therefore, I think sneakers will see a larger hit than people think. I bet it grows 1.5% or maybe even less.
Or maybe im just more bullish on the idea that humans will change and stop purchasing the same shit every year (definitely in the minority with this one).
THE MAIN IDEA 🙇🏼♂️:
UFO’s BABY.
So in my last couple blogs I talked about new years resolutions, over hype, people failing at it, new energy etc etc blah blah. But now that we’re in the full swing of the new year and first month, there have been a ton of thoughts circulating my brain around having too many positive conversations. This is contradictory to a lot of how I live life as a full blown optimist, but sometimes I need to be realistic.
These are what I call UFO sightings.
When you have a handful of positive conversations all at the same time, especially within business. You get a 4 external emails with new business opportunities. Or you have a week where 5 collaborators verbally express willingness to launch a new product together.
So what’s wrong with that, Dave? Well, what I’ve come to observe over my career is that 90%, maybe even 95% of those types of conversations don’t lead to anything. They take you on the rollercoaster to the apex of excitement, but then you get the crash if they don’t come to fruition .
A rule of thumb that has suited me well over the years is: Don’t set expectations, as they only lead to disappointment. That mantra can be followed in your friendships, dating life, business or really anything else. Expectations are hard to control because it’s sort of engrained in human nature - being hopeful, dreaming of the best, everything working out..
But the reality is, it never plays out the way we anticipate. It’s not to say things don’t come together or you don’t achieve things, they just never happen the way we hype ourselves up about (or stress out about).
So how can we prevent this? For me, it’s pretty simple. If it works out, phenomenal. If it doesn’t, great. Don’t get high on the highs, and definitely don’t get low on the lows - it’ll eat you alive. This isn’t an easy feat… managing your emotions like that. But becoming somewhat neutral to all situations and comfortable in your skin however they may play out I think can help a lot.
So these conversations and opportunities are just UFO sightings, until the UFO lands on your desk and becomes real.
Just some thoughts for the week.
See you next Friday.
Good things.
DF