My 3 Words: 2025
Every year, I select 3 words that act as guideposts for the year ahead. Here's how I did in 2024 and where I plan to grow in 2025.
First, let me hold myself accountable.
2024 Results
Last year, I picked the following words:
Higher Power
Emotional Stamina
Compounding
Overall, I did great on #2 and decent with #1 and #3.
Emotional Stamina (performing your best even when you're at your worst) is the one I'm most proud of. There were many times this past year when I wanted to quit something important or skip a workout because I wasn't in the mood. I dislike waking up at 5:30 AM to do my morning walks, but I feel so much better throughout the day having done them.
So, I give myself an A here.
I'd give myself a B+ on compounding. I did, in fact, build and reinforce many good habits this year with only the occasional backslide. And even when I did have a moment or two where things fell off the rails, I was able to get back on course.
Higher power was the trickiest one.
I struggled with giving up control but attempted to loosen my grip personally and professionally. I made a few key hires to delegate large amounts of work, freeing time. This allowed me to prioritize only the things I could do, which greatly benefited the rest of the team and the company.
Still, I had some relapses from time to time here, so I'd give myself a B/B+.
Now, onto the year ahead.
2025
I'm a different person this year. Something shifted mid-year when I recognized I was allowing my past traumas to define me. I recognized that I didn't have to do that anymore, but old habits die hard.
Also, over the last few months, I've had some great experiences as a father. I've spent a lot of quality time with both kids, and I want to lean into that harder.
Finally, the AI boom is in full force, but if I'm being honest, my actions do not align with my beliefs, so I need to address that.
Given these goals for 2025, I picked the following 3 words
AI
Micro-Moments
Phoenix
Going into each in more detail.
AI
The hype levels surrounding all things AI are off the charts, which is cause for caution most of the time. However, IMHO, the evidence is overwhelmingly positive at this point. I've had numerous experiences where I achieved within 30 minutes what would have taken me hours or days in the past. I have had colleagues who have flat out told me they have 3xed their productivity in 2024 by just using ChatGPT.
From fellow Techstars Mentor Kathy Keating.
I'm pretty sure I'm already at least at 3X+ already just using my simple ChatGPT account. I'm pretty sure 5X is easy achievable in 2025. I get to spend more of my time on the work that brings me joy and drives more high quality results for my clients.
I have another colleague bragging about how he runs circles around his co-workers. He even shows them the exact tools he uses to perform at this elite level, but they still don't embrace them with the same excitement and intensity as he does.
This brings me to my point of choosing AI as one of my top 3 themes in 2025. Despite knowing and experiencing the benefits of AI, I still suck at applying it all day, every day. It's not a matter of motivation. It's more that I haven't developed the habit and instinct to use it at each moment of my day.
So, my intention here is to force myself to get in the reps. As I continue to save time and energy, I will reinvest that time to get in more reps. To that end, I'm starting with 5 deliberate uses of AI solutions each day until it becomes my go-to habit.
Micro-Moments
Micro-Moments is short for "micro-moments of awesome." You know what those are. They are those small yet memorable pockets of time when an otherwise ordinary moment gets a little more special. Maybe a stranger took the time to smile at you. It could be a colleague taking a moment to pay you a sincere compliment. Perhaps it could be an hour of phone-free time with your kid, where you play and laugh.
I love these moments, but sometimes, I get so busy getting things done that I forget to stop and smell the roses.
While some may call this "presence," that's only half of the equation. You can be present but a silent wallflower. Creating micro-moments requires being 100% in the present moment but then taking action to make something happen. If you're willing to, you can create these moments almost everywhere at anytime.
Phoenix
I'm ready to change my story again.
Life has thrown a few curveballs (to put it mildly) in the last decade or so. While I think it was beneficial to share some of these stories as part of my own healing and hero's journey, it became toxic. I started to notice that I was identifying as a victim, both too strongly and too often.
Well, it's time to write the next chapter in my story.
I can acknowledge and appreciate my past without letting it define me anymore. I've done it before and can (and will) do it again.
The phoenix symbol is one of the most powerful representations of this type of transformation, rising from the ashes versus being constrained about them. I'm tired of looking back and wishing things had happened differently back then. I can only live the best version of me going forward.
Onward to 2026
I'm excited. These words make me feel re-energized going into 2025.
Looking forward to reporting my progress on Jan 1st, 2026.
Take care.