“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hi Friends!
I know it’s already February, but it’s never too late to wish you a happy new year! I pray your 2025 is blessed and fruitful. This year has had both a fast and slow start—fast because there were so many unfinished pieces of 2024, and I kept wishing for a few extra days to catch up. But also slow, as January tends to be a time for reflection, planning, and spiritual solitude (perhaps financial too—smiles). Whether your start was fast, slow, or both, February is here, and reality knocks. 2025 is fully underway—what will you do with it?
I’m a big believer in thinking long-term—five years, preferably ten. What do you want to be, see, or do? Then scale it back: What does that mean for this year? This quarter? This month? Today? If you haven’t taken time to reflect on your 2025 plans, consider this a friendly nudge. It doesn’t have to be deep. I recently learned that procrastination is often driven by indecision, usually rooted in fear—fear of being wrong, of imperfection. So let’s keep this simple: take an hour, sit back, and dream about what you’d love to do in the next 5–10 years—without self-criticism or feasibility analysis. Then ask yourself: What can I do in 2025 to move toward that?
For me, I’ve identified five key priorities (I like to keep things in manageable chunks of three or five—don’t ask me why; it just feels complete). Sharing them here for accountability, and maybe they’ll inspire yours:
- Learning: This is a season to absorb—learning and relearning, studying history, attending insightful conferences, taking courses, reading (especially beyond your typical range), reflecting, and applying knowledge.
- Sharing: I’ll be sharing more this year, primarily through writing but also through speaking, facilitated sessions, and the UNLEASH Leaders program. I’m also launching a new blog on MEDIUM to share my personal faith journey—so many stories to tell!
- Building Routines: Anything I want to do consistently needs to happen without much thinking. Overthinking leads to analysis paralysis. My focus this year is on building simple, sustainable routines—especially spiritual ones—that support my bigger aspirations.
- Health: Big goals require big energy. My focus here is on strength training and building endurance for sustained energy and focus.
- Play: Last year, I realized just how important play is. This year, I plan to intentionally infuse fun into my daily life, especially with my buddy for life, KO (he might need a little help with this—lol).
My approach? A little each day. Goals fall apart when they’re too lofty and overwhelming. It’s not about going from zero to a hundred overnight (and then crashing) but making small, sustainable progress daily. A mentor of mine always says, “Your success is hidden in your daily routines.” Over the years, I’ve seen the wisdom in that. Of course, I also have specific concrete goals for the year—but that would be TMI. What truly matters are the habits and structures that will sustain success, not just for 2025 but for the long haul.
By the way, Dr. Sam Adeyemi is hosting a conference—SHIFT—this Saturday. If you can attend, don’t miss it! A session he led in 2020 inspired me to research patterns, and it was a big ‘SHIFT’ for me. If you’re between 18–25 and want to attend but can’t afford it, please fill-out this form by noon tomorrow. I’ll be giving away 10 free tickets. Don’t sleep on it—time waits for no (wo)man.
Let’s make 2025 great!
Yours in possibilities
TKO