Is it just me or don’t you loathe a phone update? You have to download all your apps again, figure out what password you used and once all of this is sorted out then you have to get used to everything looking slightly different. The configuration feels funny and the fonts seem wrong, sort of off balance, and you long for the ease pre-update offered. The interesting part is as the weeks go by you realize that the upgrade disruption was worth it. The phone is faster, has better memory and is capable of a lot more. It’s a better version. Upgrading your life by taking risks can feel a lot like the phone update. To me trying something new is about challenging yourself mentally and physically, but it can be easy to put off because its uncomfortable and it requires patience, a sense of humor and the ability to endure in order to get better, but just like the phone update in the end after you live through the discomfort it proves to be worth it. It’s not easy to go into your operating system with settings you have gotten used to and reconfigure things but I think if you try it, you might find after the uncertainty comes a whole lot of fun. All New in 22 is the mantra I have been laughing about with friends. Texting the hashtag #allnewin22 and loving that it had the word WIN in it. I decided that in order to experience it I needed to compile a list of 22 things I wanted to do in 2022 and I thought it would be fun to do with our KOCH Community. When I was in my twenties I had a German professor in a master’s program who talked about the importance of developing your soul. He often cited Goethe and the philosophers constant pursuit to develop yourself as a human being.

“As long as you don’t practice it, this dying and becoming, You are but a dreary guest on earth.”

Goethe never saw a cell phone and at first reading his quote can seem a bit heavy and daunting but if you think about it he is just encouraging us to update and reconfigure to let go of the old and let the new in. I always liked the meaning behind it. Dreary to me is living without challenge or purpose. Betty White died recently and I can’t imagine a better role model than Ms. White who was trying new things at age 99. I think Goethe would say she had a life that was anything but dreary. It seems to me when you become a smarter, wiser version of yourself the light you have within increases and when your light is bright it makes routing for everyone around you and seeing their win as yours so much fun. This idea that you need to let go of parts of yourself in order to allow something even greater in takes imagination and it is our imagination that allows us to dream and cultivate our visions of seemingly impossible goals into beautiful realities. This is what makes us special as human beings and is something a phone will never have no matter how many updates it does. We get to choose who we want to be and create the life we want to create and we get to celebrate others doing the same.

So here are a few of my 22 risks I hope to take in 2022! I hope you send me your lists at joy@shopkoch.com. Your upgrade, update, win, success, attempt or whatever you want to call it will make my 2022 that much better. Your light will bring me light and I hope mine does the same for you. Grab one of our KOCH Journals and write down your 22 risks! 

We are so excited because our new Shoot for the Stars Collection releases next Tuesday. All of the designs were hand drawn in our studio and are some of my favorite creations. I just might wear everyone's sign! Use code SHOOT4STARS at checkout to receive 10% off items in the Shoot for the Stars Collection!

Tune in to Tik Tok Tuesday at 4:30 and Instagram live at 5:00 for our trivia giveaway, launch and announcements.  

We have a new concert giveaway you won’t want to miss! 

Also don’t forget to check out our Resort Collection. The Disco Stripe is one of my favorites. I grabbed the Erica Skirt, Phoebe Top and Cecilia Top because I knew it wouldn’t be back in stock again!

Quote of the week:  "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." E. M. Forster

Podcast of the week: Ann Muira-Ko - The Path from Shyness to World-Class Debater and Investor

Hope you listen to this one, she is a total rock star and has been called the most powerful woman in startups by Forbes and is a lecturer in entrepreneurship at Stanford.