Skip to content

Tag: New Year

Four Years Of Daily Writing

Published on January 1, 2024

On this day, four years ago, I wrote a Facebook post that had one quote, a few paragraphs of personal insight and a label at the end that simply said “(1/365).”

It was an idea I had from the day before, on that New Year’s Eve, that it was time to start sharing with people what I thought—enough sharing only the words of other people via quotes.

So I took a quote that resonated with me, did exactly that, and posted it publicly for accountability with that little countdown tag at the end.

I didn’t really know what I was doing at first. I didn’t have a crystal clear long term vision… I didn’t have a specific action plan… I just had an idea, kept it simple, and ran with it.

…And here I am, STILL running with it four years later.

Since then, my writing process has evolved, my delivery process has upgraded, and my systems have been refined.

…As is to be expected with anything you start and work on day-in and day-out.

And so this post is a reminder that, while it’s tempting to want to get everything perfectly prepared and ready, none of it will get you more prepared and ready than simply starting.

Yes, I’m looking at you my perfectionist friends. It’s go time.

Happy New Year, all :)

My 2024 Goals

Published on December 30, 2023

I wrote the other day about five things I’m seriously considering pursuing in 2024.

As I mentioned at the end of that post, I know it’s not a good idea to try and accomplish all five. It’d be better to focus on one and give it 100%. And after careful reflection, here’s where I landed:

1. My number one goal for 2024 is to publish one long-form post every week. The reason is because I want to be able to share my writing with more people without having to do the social media dance. There’s no doubt that it’s an invaluable tool, but I’ve decided to take an alternate route. One that’s focused on (1) Article SEO—so people can find me via search engines and (2) Submitting pieces to magazine-like brands who have readers interested in the things I might write about. In short, the goal is to grow my audience with minimal social.

2. My second major goal is to complete my next two digital guides. They’re already mapped out, I just need to get them done. This will complete my first series of lessons on how people can come into alignment with their life—one of the main focuses of my coaching, teaching, and writing.

3. Once those are complete, my final big goal for 2024 (that I’ll only start after the two guides are done) is to create a self-paced video course that uses those guides as the syllabus. It’ll be an incredibly powerful tool that’ll bring all of the written lessons to life and provide added context, community interaction, and more.

…Let’s do this.

P.s. What are your goals for 2024? Shoot me a reply :)

Tearing Down Isn’t A Good Building Up Strategy

Published on December 28, 2023

Before you plunge into the New Year with your list of everything you want to do and improve… take a minute to lay a foundation of good that came from this previous year.

Usually when resolutions come to mind, we think about everything we didn’t do, everything we failed at, everything we woulda/coulda/shoulda done but excused ourselves from for one reason or another… and we enter the year from a place of lack and a mindset focused on shortcomings.

Instead, try replaying the year in your mind and highlighting the things you did do, the things you succeeded at, and everything you didn’t excuse yourself from that you did even when you didn’t want to.

Even if not many things come to mind… bring to light what you can.

…And remember, there’s always something that can be brought to light.

Now ask yourself what went right for you to get those things done; how you approached those tasks differently; how you got those things to stick where other things slipped…

And from there… build.

We don’t construct the life of our dreams by constantly tearing ourselves down. We build up to that life one brick—one success brought to light—at a time.

P.s. Tomorrow I’m publishing an article featuring the most impactful lessons I learned from 2023… I’m curious… what was one (or a few) of yours?

Coming In 2024…

Published on December 26, 2023

There are five things that I’m seriously considering pursuing in 2024.

  1. A Poster Store. I have the words. I’ve been having a great time generating AI Art. I want to combine and share them in inspiring ways.
  2. A Podcast. I’ve been toying with the idea for years. I have my questions and I know who I’d ask… it’s only a matter of doing it.
  3. Video Courses. My digital guides are the syllabus’. Next I would turn them into self-paced courses that would provide significantly more guidance than a simple .pdf file.
  4. Live Workshops. My vision is to keep them small. Five to ten people max. Everybody participates and works together to answer challenging, hard-to-face alone, inner work related questions.
  5. More Digital Products. I have shipped two. I have ten more outlined that I want to produce for The Art of Forward Series. And I have a slew of other digital products that I want to create outside of that series. Including Kaizen templates to help guide daily action, the Ultimate Kindness/ Pay-It-Forward Party, and Poetry books.

I’m sharing this because I’m sure you, too, have a bunch that you want to do in 2024. My recommendation is don’t make it your goal to do it all. Start by writing and feeling them all out—yes.

But then, pick one thing to focus 100% of your energy on. None of it ever works out to be as easy as it seems in your mind. Try to do too much and you’ll fail at it all. Get an A+ in one and you’ll be well on your way to properly conquering them all.

Using Easy To Find Alignment

Published on December 21, 2023

What’s the easiest exercise you’ve ever done?

What’s the easiest reading you’ve ever done?

What’s the easiest writing you’ve ever done?

What’s the easiest work you’ve ever done?

What’s the easiest connecting you’ve ever done?

…Because one thing is for sure, not all exercise, reading, writing, working, or connecting is created equal.

By reflecting on all of the different ways you’ve tried to accomplish the above tasks, think carefully back to the times when it was easiest for you to complete them. Thinking about times when it was hardest for you might help guide you in the right direction as well.

The answer(s) you come up with provide pivotal insights that will help you come into alignment with these pivotal life tasks. And the more aligned you are, the less resistance you’ll feel, and the more likely you’ll be to continue doing them day-in and day-out.

If the task you’re trying to make a habit of is misery inducing… you’re out of alignment. And it’s only a matter of time before you quit and yo-yo your way back to where you started.

If the task you’re trying to make a habit of feels relatively easy (compared to all the other ways of doing it)… you’re in alignment. And until you find another way of doing it that’s more in alignment… there will be no reason for you to quit or yo-yo because you’re already doing it in the easiest way possible.

…Which is an excellent strategy for building pivotal lifestyle habits in 2024.

A Case Against BIG Goals

Published on December 19, 2023

If you’re the type of person who likes to set BIG goals, but usually only commits small effort or only lasts for short periods of time… might I suggest doing the opposite this year…

There’s nothing inherently wrong with BIG goals… but, there is a problem with not following through on what you say you’re going to do. The problem slowly becomes one of self-belief and self-trust.

Saying you’re going to do something that you don’t end up doing has the same impact on your inner relationship as it does with a spousal or friendly relationship. Tell your wife you’re going to give her the world and yet haven’t even delivered a bouquet of flowers… and you’re going to develop trust issues. Tell your friend you’d do anything for them, but can’t make time to hang out with them once in a month? …And, again, you’re going to develop trust issues.

Back to my original suggestion…

What if, this year, you set a small goal, but delivered on it in a HUGE way?

What if you read one page of a book every day for the entire year?

…Or did five push-ups every day for the entire year?

…Or spent ten minutes every day completely present and undistracted with your family?

The benefit would be two-fold. First, you’ll get the inherent benefit of the task compounded over an extended period of time. But, second, and this is the real key… you’ll start building/ repairing self-belief and self-trust.

…So that when you say you’re going to do something, you (they) actually believe it.

Less, But Better

Published on December 15, 2023

I don’t know you.

But, if I had to take a guess, I’d say you generally feel pretty busy.

…Like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

…Like you’re constantly juggling more balls than you can manage.

…Like no matter what you do, it isn’t enough and you always feel like you’re falling short.

This is the modern way… Hustle more. Do more. Make more. Maximize. Outperform.

And if it is… how’s that been going for you?

…Constantly stressed? Always overwhelmed with anxiety? Feeling insecure and wanting to drown in distractions anytime and always?

What if in 2024… you tried a new approach?

What if in 2024… you tried doing… less?

What if in 2024… instead of trying to juggle seven balls… you hyper focused on five instead?

What if instead of adding to your life… which is what most people will undoubtedly try to do with their new year resolution(s)… what if you tried subtracting from your life so you could focus more of your precious life energy on what’s essential?

…What if instead of giving essential tasks what’s leftover after long, hard days, you gave those tasks some of the best energy of your days?

What if this next year was your year for less… but, better?

What if you spent a few minutes today planning out what that might look like and started… tomorrow instead?