Introduction:
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” – Hal Borland.
As we prepare for 2025, take a moment to reflect on your accomplishments, both personal and professional, and the lessons learned along the way.
Reflection can be both a celebration and the foundation for future success. By pausing now, you set yourself up for a fresh start and a clear vision for the year ahead.
To guide your reflection, we’ve curated a Google Doc list of our most impactful questions for your private reflection…
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How to Create an Incredible Year?
Jesse Itzler is most famous for being married to Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx and Sneex. He also grew up in a middle class family and became a billionaire entrepreneur, so I invested in Jesse Itzler’s 2024 group coaching program. I learned his 3 step planning system to create an incredible year:
- Misogi is an old Japanese ritual focused on 1 big year-defining thing, so at the end of the year you have something to show for your hard work. Examples include write a book, run a marathon, launch a new company, etc. In 50 years, you’ve got 50 BIG accomplishments.
- Kevin’s Rule states that once every other month (usually on a weekend) you do something you normally wouldn’t do for a mini-adventure. Examples include a trip with old friends, concert, sporting event, camping trip, yoga/meditation retreat, etc. If you do 6 mini-adventures every year, then in 50 years, you’ve got 300 mini-adventures on your life resume
- Every quarter add a winning habit. Examples include 15-minute morning yoga, ride 1+ mile on the exercise bike 3x week, read 2+ pages of a book daily, listen to 2+ minutes of an audiobook daily, spend 5+ minutes of playtime with your kids with your phone in the other room, etc. If you add 4 new habits every year, then in 50 years, you’ve got 200 positive habits shaping your life.
There are 2 ways to show up in any interaction → 1) with enthusiasm and radiating positive vibes, or 2) eh. You get to choose how you show up from moment to moment. I desire to pick the first way every time, and that’s why my theme for 2025 is Radiate Enthusiasm.
Pro Tip: Buy one of Jesse Itzler’s Big Ass Calendars to help you and your family visualize an incredible year.
Annual Calendar Audit to Adjust Next Year
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein
You had 100s of meetings and events on your calendar in the past 52 weeks. Now’s the time to go through your calendar by reviewing each week and make note of a few things.
Keep the Positive Energy
- Which events created the biggest positive impact on yourself and your business last year?
- Who were the attendees that energized you?
- Who do you want to spend more time (professionally and personally) with next year?
- When did you successfully time block deep work for maker time?
- Where did you successfully batch similar meetings like 1:1s for manager time?
Cut the Negative Energy
- Which recurring meetings can be canceled and replaced by an async email update?
- Which opportunities/projects/clients were a huge time suck?
- Which events drained your energy? (Hint: you’ll feel a twinge of negative energy just seeing them on your calendar)
- Who did you meet with that drained your energy and you don’t want to see again next year?
Pro Tip: Write down your reflections from your annual calendar audit, and then apply them to proactively design your weekly calendar for next year.
The 4 Desires
Everyone has higher desires in life. Now is a great time to reflect on your desires for the year ahead. These are the things you feel are most important beyond safety and sustenance. Brendon Burchard’s research has shown that almost all desires fit into 1 of 4:
- Aliveness. Seeking higher levels of aliveness is the cause for so many actions you take in life. This could sound like fitness, purpose, passion, or spiritual energy. You may seek to feel free from frustration, pain, or negative self-talk. Ask yourself if you have set up the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly routines that support your quest for unique aliveness and if they support your ability to get a result.
- Deep Connection. Dissatisfaction in life often stems from the quality of your relationships. Better relationships and deeper connections with yourself, others, and the universe equate to a healthier, happier life. Focus on the routines that will improve your relationships – like spending 1 minute/day sending a scroll back text – open your messages, scroll back quickly a few times and when it stops, pick 1 person on the screen to text an old friend to simply say “Hey I was just thinking about you. Hope you’re doing well!” This is a daily routine for me and has created so many delightful reconnections, including multiple friends telling me that their wife is pregnant, so I could share my new dad advice.
- Meaningful Pursuits. Finding purpose and feeling more fulfilled is about the pursuit. Thinking about it and taking no action will detach you from your meaning. Commit and pursue your desire with real meaning.
- Growth. If you are feeling unfulfilled, usually it’s because you’re leaving growth to randomness. To grow in aliveness, in relationships, and in what you do, you need to understand it’s a lifelong journey with a growth mindset.
Pro Tip: Keep these 4 desires in mind as you answer a few of the reflection questions.
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Onwards:
As we close the chapter on 2024, let’s carry forward the lessons, growth, and gratitude into the new year. While not every goal may have been met, the consistent effort you put in matters most. Celebrate your gains, don’t obsess over the gaps.
Remember: success isn’t about perfection, it’s about persistence. Keep moving forward and enjoy the journey.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
Here’s to making 2025 your best year yet by starting with reflection and a dad joke…
Why are you not supposed to kiss anyone on January 1st?
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P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here’s how we can help:
1) 1:1 CEO Coaching to lead your company more effectively and work through challenges. Email me if you’re interested because I only have 1 coaching spot open this year.
2) See if a Fractional Executive is right for you to scale your company with top-tier talent on your terms. No pressure to hire, just the chance to talk about your unique situation and interview 2 vetted candidates (plus a third on request) who could help.
3) Free Entrepreneur Roundtables for entrepreneurs seeking advice at any stage to come in with problems and leave with a new lens to examine their business, helpful DIY resources, and potential solutions. Join me on Wednesdays in October at 4pm ET on Zoom.