Looking Back and Moving Forward, How To Level Up In 2025

[00:00:01] Welcome to Business, Finance and Soul. My name is Shaun Enders and I'm a curious entrepreneur. I love exploring business, personal finance and consciousness. I'll jump around topics, offer my opinions and occasionally interview interesting people. Looking forward to going on this journey. Let's be curious together.

[00:00:26] Welcome back to Business, Finance and Soul. I am happy you are here. It is 2025 and this is the first podcast of the year. So appropriately, I want to talk about strategies and maximizing your year ahead. I think it's going to be an exciting year. It's not an election year, so that's fantastic.

[00:00:48] We don't need to go through what we just went through, which I don't know whichever side of the party or whichever side of the aisle you're on is just it was a lot. It was a lot. And it's a big distraction from you focusing on you.

[00:01:04] And so if you could avoid all of that, fantastic. And if you were in the middle of it, well, now you can move forward and really focus on tackling what you want to tackle for 2025.

[00:01:18] And so I have some strategies for you. That's the point of today is to avoid the New Year's resolution conversation, kind of avoid that trap.

[00:01:31] Because I do find that most of us, when we create a new resolution, are actually drawing on old resolutions. We're drawing on things we've already solved.

[00:01:44] We are just kind of picking out of the hat and saying, okay, this is what I think will add to my happiness or this is what I believe will give me fulfillment.

[00:01:56] But I think the true value lies in the reflection. And I want to start with that. I'm going to start with the reflection of 2024.

[00:02:12] Because when we look back at our behavior for the previous 12 months, it'll help tell us a story.

[00:02:19] And that's what we're going to go through. So I want you to just hopefully if you're driving,

[00:02:26] re-listen to this when you have an opportunity to sit down and take some notes or go back to the show notes.

[00:02:32] I don't always say that. But in this one, I think it's important.

[00:02:35] I think that you take some time to actually go through the strategies that I'm going to lay out here.

[00:02:43] And then you start the process of documentation.

[00:02:50] So let's go through my strategic sessions of how I go about planning for 2025.

[00:02:59] I start with places that I visited. I look at where did I go in 2024 that left an impact on me.

[00:03:09] And this could have been international travel. We went to London and Croatia this year, which was really exciting.

[00:03:17] We also went to the World Championships for cheer.

[00:03:22] And that was in Orlando. And so that was East Coast. We went back to Boston again to visit family.

[00:03:29] I had a solo trip. There were a lot of really cool places that I went in 2024.

[00:03:37] And I like to revisit those memories.

[00:03:39] I want to write down what made each place meaningful for me.

[00:03:46] And was it the people? Was it the experiences?

[00:03:51] You know, did I learn any lessons?

[00:03:54] I think the reason a travel journal, if we'll formalize it and call it that,

[00:04:01] I think the reason a travel journal, if you have any photos or short reflections is so important,

[00:04:07] is it really does anchor in the experience of your everyday life disruption, right?

[00:04:15] Because you're actually getting out of your normal routine.

[00:04:18] You're going somewhere new.

[00:04:20] And travel shouldn't be just checking a box.

[00:04:23] It really should be about the experience that changes your life.

[00:04:31] It could spark ideas.

[00:04:33] It could create or solidify beliefs.

[00:04:42] And it might actually even be a path of where you met people who inspired you

[00:04:48] and set you on a completely different trajectory, which is really cool.

[00:04:52] And you want to document that.

[00:04:54] Who were the individuals that uplifted or motivated you?

[00:04:59] And that could have been through your travel.

[00:05:03] Or maybe it was just your daily journey.

[00:05:06] But let's start and stay with travel.

[00:05:11] Let's look at the places that you visited.

[00:05:13] Let's look at how you were influenced.

[00:05:16] And if you didn't travel a lot in 2024, no big deal.

[00:05:19] But where did you go?

[00:05:21] Where did your journey lead you?

[00:05:22] No one just stays at home.

[00:05:24] So a day trip, a weekend getaway, any place that disrupted the norm to me

[00:05:32] counts as something that I'm going to take stock on and reflect.

[00:05:36] Okay?

[00:05:37] So that's number one.

[00:05:38] Places that I visited.

[00:05:41] Number two is really people who inspired me.

[00:05:45] And I was just alluding to that.

[00:05:47] It's really looking at individuals in my life who are lifting me and motivating me to a different level.

[00:05:58] And I want you to reflect on how they influenced you.

[00:06:01] Your mindset, decisions, outlook.

[00:06:06] You know, you might even want to write a letter to them or an email or even a good text.

[00:06:12] It doesn't matter if you don't send it to them or not.

[00:06:14] But just creating that and expressing gratitude to them.

[00:06:20] You know, consider how you can carry forward their influence in your life.

[00:06:25] Now, this is really powerful because as I was documenting my meetings,

[00:06:30] I have about six men in my life that I like to have breakfast or lunch with at one-on-one.

[00:06:39] And I like to do this because, A, I'm curious what they're up to, how they see life,

[00:06:44] how they're tackling challenges, how they're creating their dreams and their aspirations,

[00:06:55] their journey.

[00:06:55] I want to hear about it.

[00:06:56] And each one of these individuals is actually really, really well accomplished in their own unique fields.

[00:07:04] And we all do different things.

[00:07:06] You know, from running companies to creating music to authoring books to selling real estate.

[00:07:16] And it's pretty varied.

[00:07:18] And it's amazing to see what each person is up to and how they progress as individuals each quarter that I get a chance to sit down with everyone.

[00:07:28] And so, I think you've got to pay some gratitude there or you've got to recognize that you are fortunate to have them in your life.

[00:07:43] So, that's one and two.

[00:07:46] Where did I go?

[00:07:47] Who am I meeting with?

[00:07:49] Did I really reflect on my lessons learned?

[00:07:53] So, I think about what did I learn in 2024.

[00:07:57] I think about the challenges that I faced.

[00:08:01] What were the insights that I was able to take away from those challenges?

[00:08:06] You know, what moments pushed me to grow?

[00:08:09] And then how did I respond?

[00:08:11] I'll give you personal examples.

[00:08:14] In 2024, I had some financial challenges in our business.

[00:08:20] I had operational challenges in the company.

[00:08:24] We had two deaths close to us.

[00:08:27] And I looked at how did I respond to each one.

[00:08:31] And I got to tell you, I'm proud of myself.

[00:08:34] And as you look at your life, you should be proud of how you handled that adversity.

[00:08:40] Did you build upon it?

[00:08:42] Because it's all really just lessons, right?

[00:08:45] I mean, even death.

[00:08:47] It's inevitable.

[00:08:49] They're all lessons into life, how you lived life, who you're connected with, the love that you have for your family or friends.

[00:08:58] There's all lessons built into every experience, both good and bad.

[00:09:04] So what did you learn?

[00:09:07] And strategically, you can break down major events into three parts.

[00:09:13] The situation, your reaction to that situation, and the lesson.

[00:09:20] Super simple.

[00:09:23] What was the situation?

[00:09:24] How did I react?

[00:09:25] And what was the lesson that I took away?

[00:09:28] And hopefully, if you're listening to me, hopefully you journal.

[00:09:32] I mean, it is...

[00:09:35] I think sometimes the word journaling can scare people if you don't do it regularly.

[00:09:40] But this idea of not documenting your life is at selling yourself short, I think.

[00:09:49] When you get to your future self, you want to be able to look back and go, man, that's who I was, huh?

[00:09:55] That's how I was thinking.

[00:09:57] And you'll be proud of where you've come.

[00:10:01] Sometimes you'll be like, I can't believe I thought like that.

[00:10:04] Or other times you're like, where did I have that wisdom 10 years ago?

[00:10:07] That's shocking to me.

[00:10:08] But either way, the journey will be documented.

[00:10:13] And here's some ideas for journal prompts.

[00:10:17] What has one thing 2024 taught me about myself?

[00:10:23] And how did I overcome that or this difficult moment?

[00:10:31] The key thing here is that the year should have and would have created some adversity.

[00:10:39] You probably had a lot of great moments in the last year.

[00:10:43] A lot of celebrations.

[00:10:45] And you want to reflect on that.

[00:10:47] We're going to get there too.

[00:10:48] But we're just focusing on the adversity right now.

[00:10:51] But you did have some adversity.

[00:10:54] Whether you glossed over it or not, it's inevitable.

[00:10:57] Because if you're not having it, you're actually not learning.

[00:10:59] You're not actually growing.

[00:11:00] So, given that adversity is inevitable, you want to look at how it shapes your character.

[00:11:06] See, I'm a character guy.

[00:11:09] I value things where I know I can be proud of the person that I am.

[00:11:15] I want others to look at my character and respect the way that I show up.

[00:11:25] I know anybody can say, oh, it doesn't matter what other people think.

[00:11:28] It does to me.

[00:11:29] It matters that other people look at me and say, that's a man who's dependable.

[00:11:34] That's a man who cares about his family deeply, loves his family, cares about his community, gives back, shows up for his employees.

[00:11:46] That's a man I'd like to emulate.

[00:11:48] And the reason that it's important for me is I like to have impact in life.

[00:11:51] So, character for me is huge.

[00:11:56] And how did adversity shape my character?

[00:11:59] I'm looking at that.

[00:12:00] Were there moments where you were surprised with your own resilience or your own personal grace?

[00:12:09] That's a cool one.

[00:12:11] I really like to look at, you know, the resiliency, my ability to grit through.

[00:12:16] There was a book, Duckworth.

[00:12:21] Is it Andrea Duckworth?

[00:12:27] She, Angela Duckworth, that's what it is.

[00:12:30] And the book is grit.

[00:12:33] And this was a book I read years ago.

[00:12:36] We actually had one of our yearly kickoff sessions in our company outlining grit.

[00:12:43] But that sense of resiliency is huge in life.

[00:12:48] And if you had it in 2024, highlight it.

[00:12:54] Talk about it.

[00:12:54] Build upon it.

[00:12:55] You know?

[00:12:58] Because I think that's going to be important for your next go around.

[00:13:03] Not only just in 2025, but beyond.

[00:13:08] What about the times where you wish you would have shown up differently?

[00:13:12] That's okay too.

[00:13:13] You don't want to beat yourself up here.

[00:13:14] It's good to recognize it.

[00:13:17] Because if you recognize that you would want to show up differently, the next time life plays a hand, if you've seen that hand before, you say,

[00:13:26] Oh, yeah, I know where I'm going with this.

[00:13:29] So, you can show up the way that you really aspire to show up.

[00:13:36] And the strategy here is to create kind of an adversity playbook that can have techniques or affirmations that really work for you.

[00:13:46] And they identify areas where you'd like to improve.

[00:13:51] Did I show up the way I wanted to in tough situations?

[00:13:55] It's okay to ask yourself that.

[00:13:56] Did I show up the way that I wanted to in tough situations?

[00:14:01] Now we can talk about the wins.

[00:14:04] And I really want you to celebrate and build upon your progress.

[00:14:09] I want you to take time to acknowledge your achievements, no matter how small.

[00:14:15] I think that having pride in your accomplishments, it lays the foundation for future success.

[00:14:21] I'm going to give you an example.

[00:14:23] In our personal life, we have two kids and our daughter is very independent.

[00:14:32] She's a teenager and she's brilliant.

[00:14:38] She's intelligent and self-motivated.

[00:14:41] But she also wants her own independence free from us.

[00:14:44] But she's not of an age of where we're there yet, right?

[00:14:47] Where we can't give complete independence.

[00:14:50] You know, she's almost 15, but she's not all the way there.

[00:14:55] So, our guidance is still very necessary.

[00:14:57] But you know what?

[00:14:58] In the last week of 2024, she talked to her mom and they were talking about, you know,

[00:15:06] subject about health or something like that.

[00:15:09] And she said, you know what?

[00:15:10] All those years you've been talking about what they put in food, chemicals, things like that.

[00:15:16] She never really subscribed to that.

[00:15:20] Our daughter, she always blew my wife off when it came to that conversation.

[00:15:25] But she said, you know what?

[00:15:27] You're right.

[00:15:30] You're right.

[00:15:31] I've been listening and learning.

[00:15:33] And I just wanted to let you know, you know, that I really appreciate you, you know, showing up in that area.

[00:15:40] And it was just something small like that ended up being really, really big for us because it showed that every day we show up with best intentions, healthy life.

[00:15:54] And our kids are recognizing that.

[00:15:57] Or sometimes it just feels like we're nagging or that we're just beating the drum for nobody to listen.

[00:16:05] But that was a big win for us, even though it might have seemed small for someone else.

[00:16:10] So make a list of your top five wins in 2024.

[00:16:14] What were they?

[00:16:15] And then reward yourself with something meaningful.

[00:16:18] You know, give yourself, I don't know, a massage, some type of treat, something where you go, you know what?

[00:16:27] I'm proud of me.

[00:16:28] Because no one else, you shouldn't need outside accolades.

[00:16:33] You shouldn't, it feels good, but you shouldn't need someone else to tell you, you know, that you're doing a great job or that they're proud of you.

[00:16:41] That's extra.

[00:16:42] You need to be proud of you.

[00:16:44] And I'll bet you, you had way more than five wins in 2024.

[00:16:49] But if anything, get the first five down.

[00:16:54] And then it's okay.

[00:16:55] Identify the growth areas.

[00:16:57] Examine the areas where you want to improve.

[00:16:59] Focus on the reactions and intentions.

[00:17:02] And then really say, hey, I'm going to write down, you know, or I want you to write down one behavior you'd like to adjust in 2025.

[00:17:12] And then how you plan to do it.

[00:17:15] Now, I'm a big fan of accountability.

[00:17:16] I think that you should partner with a good friend, a mentor, if you feel comfortable, you know, your spouse and really talking about your strategies for the upcoming year.

[00:17:30] Because I'm all about intentions, not resolutions.

[00:17:37] Set the intentions.

[00:17:40] I don't want resolutions to feel rigid.

[00:17:43] You know, intentions allow flexibility and growth.

[00:17:46] It's overall, how do you want to show up in the year?

[00:17:52] You know, sometimes the resolution.

[00:17:58] This is why.

[00:18:00] What's the statistic?

[00:18:02] You know, large statistic.

[00:18:05] 80%, 90% or more of the resolutions are gone after the first month in the new year.

[00:18:12] I mean, that's crazy.

[00:18:13] You'll see it in the gym.

[00:18:15] If you're a regular gym goer, you'll see more people showing up in the first few weeks.

[00:18:21] And then about mid-February, it's back to normal.

[00:18:26] So there's kind of a big push for about six weeks.

[00:18:29] The machines are taken.

[00:18:30] People are all over the benches.

[00:18:32] You're like, jeez, this is crazy.

[00:18:33] And just, if you're a regular, you know, let that pass through.

[00:18:38] But that's people making resolutions that they're going to get fit.

[00:18:41] You know, this year I'm going to do this.

[00:18:43] It's just be intentional.

[00:18:45] Start to manage your life.

[00:18:48] And don't just go for one resolution.

[00:18:53] Here's a strategy for you, though.

[00:18:55] Maybe you choose a theme for the year.

[00:18:58] You know I'm all about curiosity.

[00:19:00] I want you to be curious.

[00:19:01] I want you to look at life.

[00:19:03] I want you to think about your thoughts.

[00:19:05] You know, that's how much curiosity matters to me.

[00:19:09] But maybe choose a theme for the year.

[00:19:11] It could be curiosity.

[00:19:13] More curiosity.

[00:19:14] It could be balance.

[00:19:15] It could be growth.

[00:19:16] It could be excitement.

[00:19:17] It could be travel.

[00:19:18] It could be focus.

[00:19:20] But choose a theme for the year.

[00:19:22] And maybe write a vision statement.

[00:19:25] For where you want 2025.

[00:19:29] Why do you want to remember 2025?

[00:19:31] Maybe write it like it's 2026 and you reflecting on 2025.

[00:19:39] You know, where you say something like, I had the best year ever.

[00:19:44] It started out with this.

[00:19:46] And then I did this.

[00:19:48] And then I was exposed to this.

[00:19:50] And then I had lunch with this individual six times.

[00:19:55] And then I found a mentor.

[00:19:56] And I kept my house clean.

[00:20:01] And I was on point and focused with my work.

[00:20:05] I was doing things that inspired me.

[00:20:07] And I traveled to this place.

[00:20:08] If you write as if it's already happened, it's kind of cool because you're allowed to dream.

[00:20:13] But you're really documenting almost like you're writing a book.

[00:20:17] And that's a great way to write a vision statement.

[00:20:20] So it's less about like, oh, okay, this is what I want to do.

[00:20:24] Because that kind of seems like it's difficult to cement in.

[00:20:28] And more like what I'm proud that I already achieved.

[00:20:31] I did that three years ago with my five-year self.

[00:20:35] And it's fascinating.

[00:20:36] You know, I wrote what I was and what I had experienced for the last five years.

[00:20:43] It was a fascinating exercise.

[00:20:45] But it's a great way for you to tackle this.

[00:20:48] And you can commit to thoughtful living.

[00:20:50] You know, don't try to overhaul your life.

[00:20:53] You just focus on small, consistent changes that align with your values.

[00:20:59] And you get to start each month reflecting on that progress.

[00:21:03] You can practice the mindfulness through journaling.

[00:21:07] As you know, as I say, meditation, huge breath work, gratitude exercises.

[00:21:13] You know, things that really set you up on thoughtful, intentional living.

[00:21:20] And, you know, as I reflect on my 2024, it's not just about revisiting the past.

[00:21:27] I know a lot of people who say, I just keep focusing on the future.

[00:21:30] It's true.

[00:21:30] And you need to.

[00:21:32] But you have to learn from where you came from.

[00:21:35] You have to look at patterns.

[00:21:36] You got to look at the way that you showed up.

[00:21:39] It's not just about revisiting the past.

[00:21:41] It's about celebrating.

[00:21:42] It's about growing.

[00:21:44] You know?

[00:21:45] It's about documenting your journey so you can actually see your progress.

[00:21:50] It's a lot more fun when you can see your progress.

[00:21:54] Seeing pictures of myself from childhood, as I'm sure I didn't want pictures taken of me when I was a kid, sure feels cool now as a full-on adult.

[00:22:02] And I wish I could read journals when I was 10 or 11 or 12.

[00:22:08] Just know what was I thinking at that time.

[00:22:10] And to celebrate how far I've come.

[00:22:12] And to notice patterns for myself and where I go, you know what?

[00:22:17] I've always been that person.

[00:22:19] That's amazing.

[00:22:21] That shows you, you know, your God-given gifts.

[00:22:25] Things that were just, you know, part of your biology.

[00:22:30] But I want you to have purpose.

[00:22:32] I want you to have clarity.

[00:22:34] And I want this year to be a chapter where you write your story deliberately and authentically.

[00:22:44] So, as always, until next time, stay curious.

[00:22:49] I'm excited for more episodes in 2025.

[00:22:54] I am absolutely excited about being tactical this year.

[00:23:00] Being very focused and specific on my goals.

[00:23:03] There's going to be some really, really exciting things.

[00:23:05] Big things coming up.

[00:23:06] And I can't wait to share those with you as they unfold.

[00:23:10] But for me personally, I just get really excited about the person that I'm becoming.

[00:23:18] And I'm proud of the person that I was last year.

[00:23:20] And how I handled a lot of adversity in my life.

[00:23:23] I want to build on that.

[00:23:25] I want to continue to build on that.

[00:23:27] And I want to be there for all of you.

[00:23:29] So, thank you so much.

[00:23:32] Happy New Year.

[00:23:34] And we'll talk soon.