Rodolfo's 2024 Yearly Review

The Lion King and My Journey

Growing up the Lion King was always my favorite movie and it’s somehow poetic how strongly its story feels like a metaphor for this past year in my life. Mufasa and Simba’s father and son bond always reminded me of my own special relationship with my dad. My year began with me feeling lost like Simba. I had unexpectedly lost my dad, Jose, in late 2023. I didn’t know where to go from there. I asked myself, how does a son learn to become a man without his father? How could I some day become a great father without him to guide me?

This year taught me that dad left me the answers in our memories together. I can’t keep tears from streaming down my face as I reflect on how the scene where Mufasa and Simba gaze at the stars together brings me back some of my favorite memories from childhood of my dad singing lullabies to me as we looked at the moon from our backyard. Remembering this moment actually becomes the turning point in the movie, when Simba sees Mufasa in the starts after seeing his reflection in the water. Like Simba, one day I looked at myself in the mirror and saw myself… in the same way that Simba truly saw himself in that water… as a man worthy of the his father’s legacy and teachings.

Dad always called me his lion and he believed in me so passionately, no matter the obstacle, that it gave me courage to pursue my dreams. Although afraid at times, this year was entirely about embracing my dreams and believing in myself just like he would have. And somehow, every time I took a risk and embarked on a new adventure, I felt him there by my side.

Now that I’ve succeeded in making myself cry, I want to share my 2024 reflection with you. I split it into 3 parts:

1. Key 2024 Moments

2. Reflections from my community

3. Top Lessons

Later this month I’ll share my 2025 goals with you.

Key 2024 Moments

• I went on a solo trip to Japan in the Spring and it turned into an almost spiritual journey. In every moment of the trip, I felt like dad was walking beside me. As I hiked my way to the top of Fushimi Inari and walked under the red tori gates, I felt him holding my hand. When I spotted Mt. Fushi during my bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo, I imagined that smiling out of excitement that he was experiencing this incredible moment. I honestly wanted to never leave because of how strongly I felt that I had gotten to reconnect with his spirit.

• I gifted myself a video tribute to dad. Working with my videographer and friend Guillermo, I made a short film that captures a monologue of me talking to my dad’s spirit. Guillermo edited the video by himself and sent it to me the day before my 34th birthday. I watched it for the very first time the morning of my birthday with my mom and aunt in Tokyo. My mom and I cried in each other’s arms and I felt dad there with us.

• I lived my DJ dreams this year. I DJ’d at the Brooklyn Mirage, the premier venue for DJs in NYC, and opened for massive artists like Marshmello and Alan Walker. I played almost monthly at venues throughout the city and Mission Nightclub became like my artistic home. Special shout outs to John, Pika Jenn, and Jane for making my Brooklyn Mirage debut possible and to Kevin and the team at Mission for believing in me and giving me the first shot that led to my DJ career blooming.

  

• My first product at Spotify, daylist, went super viral! One day I woke up to my entire Instagram feed being total strangers sharing their hilarious tities. If you haven’t tried “daylist” yet, go to Spotify, search for “daylist”, and let me know what you think. I also launched 3 totally new product experiences at Spotify! One of them, the ability for Spotify users to select the winners of real live idol shows by voting on the Spotify app, even got featured in one of our earnings calls (link here).

• I got to be a part of making some of my closest friends’ wedding days extra special. I traveled to South Korea to be there for my close friend Kevin’s wedding and took over the DJ decks at the after party because someone needed to help him and his wife get to the dance floor. I traveled to Las Vegas to tie a proper bowtie for my friend Viet and this time was officially a part of the wedding’s DJ plans.

  

• I took my first steps to becoming a content creator. Thanks to my friend Lilian Chiu taking a risk and interviewing me on her podcast, I discovered that I have a natural talent for sharing my personal story and career learnings with others. We even got to work on a new course together! It’s crazy when I look at the videos because I feel that I look like some sort of influencer. You can learn more about our course here or see one of our interviews here.

• I ended my year the best way possible… seeing my mom experience true joy. I took my mom to Japan and her smile every time she experienced something new and surprising really healed a lot of the emptiness I felt from losing dad. She marveled at what it was like to fly business for the first time, she was astonished by how clean Japan was (particularly the bathrooms), she fell in love with convenience store culture, she was in awe of Japan’s natural beauty and historic places, and she found peace, like me, in its zen gardens. To top it off my adopted brothers, Richard and Charlie, helped me show her Taiwan after. By the end of the trip, mom understood why I love Taiwan and Japan so much. I, on the other hand, finally understood the joy that she and dad felt every time I experienced true wonder and happiness as a child

  

Community Feedback 2024

Every year I ask close friends for feedback. This year I decided to open it up and also switch up the questions. Seeing yourself through the eyes of others is a gift because it helps you understand if their vision of you aligns with your vision of yourself. If they do or don’t, understanding why helps you chart a clear path to the life you want to live.

This year I asked 3 questions and below I share some of the highlights (combining quotes in the same theme).

• Leave a "Google Review" of Rodolfo

• What is one thing I did this year that made you smile?

• What is one new thing I should try next year?

Leave a "Google Review" of Rodolfo

Extroverted, positive, proactive, creative, warm and kind …

I get motivated seeing you do all the cool stuff in your life and support your family and it makes me want to chase my dreams and live life fearlessly …

He is so approachable… just when you think things are not going well, he comes and and tells you “it’s ok we can figure this out”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5: An absolutely shining soul.

Even God (mode) needs a day of rest

Always thoughtful, deeply empathetic. Confident, assertive. Needs to work on staying healthy….

Two stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour.

What is one thing I did this year that made you smile?

Sharing heartwarming memories of your family and seeing how close you all are

Your daily reflections. Something I look forward to reading everyday and just your overall perception of life.

Watching you travel with your mom

Banger pho

Always a great listener and willing to help

Your reflection posts are so comforting to read.

I've met a lot of people since moving to NYC, but your kindness and genuine personality really stand out.

Seeing you post about your dad and how much you miss him, and watching you take your mom on vacation made me reflect on my relationship with my parents a lot and inspired me to show them more love

What is one new thing I should try next year?

Producing OG songs!!?? 👀

Make your own Youtube channel!... I’d love to see more of your podcasting content on your career, the ups and downs…

Speed dating in the cities that you are in

Meditation retreat

As you think about finding a partner, I hope that you will find someone that can share your spirit and adventures in life!

Keep being you while continuing to find new ways to grow 🫡

Let us help you too!

What learnings from 2024 do I want to share?

• Believe in yourself. Be your biggest advocate. If you don’t believe you can make your dreams come true, you can’t expect others to believe in you. This year I finally believed in my creative power and it led me to places I never thought I’d go, DJing at the Brooklyn Mirage, DJing internationally in Seoul and Taipei, and launching a new course on business skills.

• Being vulnerable is true bravery. As a kid, I always dreamed of becoming a superhero, but always thought I needed to have superhuman strength and perform these massive acts to save others. This year I learned that I was capable of deeply inspiring people to believe in themselves by sharing my reflections, no matter how raw and scary it might be. Being brave enough to be vulnerable is a super power because it allows others to understand that they are not alone in facing their fears. If someone else can look that scary thing in the eye, so can they.

• You are never too old or too late. Don’t use time as an excuse to not push yourself to follow your dreams OR to believe you need to sprint or you’ll never get there. This year I pushed myself too hard to rush to make progress on different goals because I thought I was running out of time and it backfired on me because I felt totally exhausted and rundown the last 3 months of the year. One of my focus areas for 2025 will be to take things slower and to focus on recovering from a couple of sports related injuries so I can go into the rest of my 30s feeling healthy.

Conclusion

Thanks so much for reading! If you have any other thoughts or learnings you want to share with me after reading this, please send them my way. And thank you for being a part of my life.