PRESENT Letter ✺ 021: Future Gratefulness
Weeks 45–52 of 2024, end-of-year reflection
Dear Present People,
as this wild year comes to an end today, here is my latest report on life and Present progress for you, wherever you are in the world.
In the last days I was reflecting on my essential why again: I simply want people to do their thing. I want everybody to have a chance to live a life closer to their dreams. I know how hard it is to do just that — but I also experienced the deep joy that comes from conquering fears and getting closer to your thing — and I want to make use of all experiences, tools, and skills I have learned to help people who are on a similar path.
This is what I mean when I talk about courageous makers. Because we all have this fear, this Resistance in us. And it’s bold to act in spite of this fear and find a way to get started on sharing your voice and your work — and finally do the thing. I fight this fight every day myself. It can be tough, but in the end it’s always worth it. And we have to support each other.
Present is my thing, my vehicle to help, to give back. The magazine, the community, the podcast, the website with its growing active archive of essays and interviews — all that is aiming to push and to encourage.
In the new year I keep on working on new ways to help better. I will continue the fight against the inner Resistance that is trying to talk me out of it — because I’m not ready, because I should focus on making money, because there is never enough feedback, because nobody cares, because it’s not my actual job, because I’m not good enough yet — I listen, but I’m aware it’s the lizard brain talking, the part in us that wants to keep us small and comfortable. I use this Resistance as my compass. What I’m afraid about is exactly what I should do. And I will. This is my promise to you.
I published the second episode of the Present Podcast with Adam Barnard of Otto Resource. We discussed Adam’s upbringing in Botswana, his early passion for skateboarding, and the profound influence of the Tony Hawk’s Underground video game on his life. We trace Adam’s career transitions, including his internship with Norse Projects in Copenhagen, and his editorial roles at Hypebeast and Highsnobiety, which ultimately led to his shift into product consultancy.
Adam shares the story behind Otto Resource, a digital design archive born from his passion for research and his mission to combat gatekeeping in the fashion industry. We talk about the importance of making learning enjoyable, and how we are both aspiring to build platforms that inspire and empower the next generation of creatives.
Our Present Community Space and Resources Hub is growing! I made some good progress on improving and revitalising some key areas. I kept my streak in the last weeks of producing content for our builders’ corner on the web: documenting and writing more principles, sharing inspiration, book summaries and resources. Join us here if you feel like this could be valuable for you — and there is a lot more coming in 2025!
My deep thanks —for this year and forever— go out to my bǎo bèi Sarah. We settled in Paris this year and it’s been very rewarding. I feel so grateful for our journey together, all the experiences we made so far and look forward to the ones still coming✨
Weeks 45–52 Highlights
My homie Sebastian Peter visited us for a few days. We went to vernissage of Yasmin Bawa and to the concert of our friends LYLO at Le Hasard Ludique. I loved our brisk morning runs at Buttes-Chaumont. We walked and explored so much and clocked-in a whooping 28000 steps a day :)
We went to the Area of Work and ECAL vernissage of my friend Amine Ghorab, which was fantastic. I was in a team together with Amine at Apple back in the days when we worked on the iPhone Pro campaign. Great memories and great to reconnect.
Sarah and I recorded a Present interview with artist Olivier Urman in his atelier on the outskirts of Paris. He is fascinating and lovely person and I look forward sharing this one with you soon!
We headed to Pantin for a cozy dinner with our friends Philipp Kopatz & Dimitri Vrain (and their great dog Sax) of Studio Racines who are currently finishing to build their gorgeous new work place and home.
I drove with Sarah to the airport: she’ll be working in Hangzhou, China for two months! I’m missing her a lot, but I’m also immensely proud of Sarah for taking and thriving on this opportunity <3
Met with my buddy and designer Arthur Teboul, had dinner with homie David Kaltenbach and lovely lunches with my friend Alex Kropp which are always inspiring and energizing.
A shout-out to all my precious friends —old and new— who I’m lucky to have and enjoyed having spend days and nights of laughter and deep talks with this year. Onwards!
End-of-Year Reflection
My favorite end-of-year reflection is what I call the Future-Gratefulness-Letter. You can do it alone — and it’s also fun together in a group with friends before new years eve:
Take out pen and paper and write a journal entry, imagine it’s exactly one year from now. Picture yourself as if it’s December 2025, and jot down all the things you are thankful for, as if it’s already happened. It's scary how well this works so be careful what you wish for :)
It’s a simple but powerful visualisation technique that sets a gentle, forward-looking tone for the next year. It helped me personally quite a bit and I found it to be more rewarding and impactful than classic to-do list resolutions.
Now I want to thank all of you Present People reading this and wish you the best year ever. Thank you for following me on my journey. It’s an honour to write for you. May you find focus and clarity to go for what you need, for what makes you feel alive!
There is no one on this earth like you. Take care of yourself. And keep on doing your thing.
I look forward to talk to you next year,
Hugo x
PRESENT Input:
✺ “Promise me only this: whatever path you decide to take in this life, be true to yourself.” —Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We rewatched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Ang Lee, which is one of my all-time favorite movies. Never gets old!
✺ L’amour ouf (2024) directed by Gilles Lellouche starring Adèle Exarchopoulos and François Civil was one of the best movies of the year for me. I watched this week in the cinema: highly recommended!
✺ I’m happy to have discovered young producer and beat maker named DB who made this remake of one of my favourite performances by Skepta which played on repeat for me in this month:
✺ We enjoyed the new documentary mini-series In Vogue: The 90s which is a pretty fun and fascinating pop culture history lesson
✺ I recently loved watching the masterful French spy series Le Bureau des Légends which came recommended by my friend Johannes
PRESENT Output
From top to bottom:
✺ 01. It’s never too late and rarely too early – a moodboard on age and action (part 1)
✺ 02. Botswana to Berlin: PRESENT Podcast 002 with Adam Barnard of Otto Resource
✺ 03. Hokusai spent decades recreating and perfecting his ‘Great Wave’ painting. The last one being in 1831 when he was 72, which is its most iconic version, becoming one of the most notable artworks in history
✺ 04. I BELIEVE IN YOU. Yes you can. Yes you can. We live in a world that often tells us to seek validation, to wait for permission, to rely on others to make things happen. Take this as your sign today. Trust in your own ability to create, to build, to make everything you dream of real
✺ 05. R.I.P. Quincy Jones, one of the greatest makers of all times. March 14, 1933 — November 3, 2024. Here he is in the studio with Herbie Hancock in 1984 <3
✺ 06. Deep breaths are like little love notes to your body.
✺ 07. It’s never too late and rarely too early – a moodboard on age and action (part 2)
✺ 08. Finish something. Anything. Stop debating and just make something.
✺ 09. In conversation with: SUEA, Korean-born Brooklyn-based cook and food designer
@hugohoppmann ✺ hugohoppmann.com ✺ @present_xx ✺ present.zone
love the idea of the future gratefulness letter!Debbie Milman has a similar strategy, but she gets her students to write it 10 years in the future… I think 1 year sounds more approachable