Getting After It

170 - What This Year Taught Me About Work, Loss, and Love

• Brett Rossell • Season 6 • Episode 170

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This episode is my honest year-in-review.

Not a highlight reel.
Not a list of wins.
But a real reflection on what this year demanded of me—and who it shaped me into.

In this solo episode of The Getting After It Podcast, I break down what went well, what didn’t, and the lessons that stayed with me. I talk openly about discipline, faith, fitness, losing my job, strengthening my marriage, building the podcast, and learning how to lead myself when things weren’t comfortable.

This year taught me that growth is rarely clean. It comes through effort, discomfort, loss, love, and choosing to stay intentional when it would be easier not to.

In this episode, I reflect on:

  • The habits and discipline that carried me through the year
  • How fitness revealed what I’m truly capable of
  • Why faith, hope, and gratitude matter most during uncertain seasons
  • Where I fell short—and what I’m committing to moving forward
  • The people who shaped me most
  • Who I need to become for the next chapter of my life

This episode is for anyone closing out a year and asking: Did I grow? Did I learn? And how do I move forward with clarity and intention?

If you’re navigating change, building something meaningful, or trying to become a better version of yourself, I hope this reflection helps you pause, take stock, and step into what’s next with confidence.

Keep Getting After It.

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I hope today’s episode sparked something within you to pursue your dreams and unlock your true potential. If you found value in it, consider sharing it with someone who might need that same push.

Getting After It is for those who. want to silence their self-doubt. Refuse to be owned by comfort. Understand their limits are man-made and breakable. We live in a time of constant comparison. Social media drowns us in highlight reels and overnight success stories. But what most people don’t see is the grit behind it all. The reps. The quiet mornings. The sacrifices. The failures.

You are just getting started. Keep Getting After It. 

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to another episode of the Getting After Podcast, my friends. Happy as always to have you here and uh Merry Christmas. I hope your Christmas was great. I had a great time with my family. Um Ali got me some awesome gifts. I I got a pair of those uh shocks headphones, which I was really on the edge about. I didn't know if I would like them or not. Um, but I got them as a Christmas gift and I tried them out on the trails today and absolutely love them. Also got a new running vest. So if you've seen some videos of me running in a red vest that is two sizes too small, um now I got a new one that's my size. And uh got a drone. So actually, I'll put a clip up right here. If you're watching this, you can see a clip of me running up a hill right now, and as I come over the hill, opens up to the Santan Valley. And absolutely stunning. I am blown away by the quality of that thing. It's just kind of fun. So expect more content from the drone, and uh, I'm excited to kind of play around with that, get creative with it in many ways. But today's episode, um, kind of going along with the end of the year, um, you know, I think the new year is a great time to set goals for yourself, set new things for yourself, new challenges for you, and set those resolutions for what you want to accomplish in the next year. That said, I don't think it's a worthwhile exercise unless you review your progress from the year that you're in. There's this uh basically just an outline of how your year went on Chris Williamson's website. I'll link it in the show notes because I think it's a very valuable exercise for anyone to go through. But it just gets you thinking about what went well for the year, what didn't, and some of the things that you may want to change uh in this upcoming year. And that is what we're gonna talk about today. I want to have an honest and open conversation about how my year went, things that I'm proud of, what went well, what didn't go well, how do I want to take that momentum going into this next year, and what do I want to change about my habits and activities to ultimately make me a better person? Uh, we'll get into some of those things a little bit further on in the podcast episode. But here's the truth of that that I want to start with today. A year does not change you because of what you accomplish, it changes you because of what you're forced to face. And this year did not give me everything I wanted. In fact, it's been a challenging year, and a lot of growth has had to occur. Um it's that that old adage that growth is uncomfortable, and I felt that pretty strongly this year. You know, I'm living in Arizona now, um, but had to overcome some pretty severe challenges throughout the year, which we'll talk about. But uh this year really demanded my effort, it demanded my honesty and forced me to face my own actions and habits with uh a critical eye. Like I wanted to make sure I want to make sure that I'm always doing things that are aligned with my values, with my goals, and um trying to make others better along the way. Like I'm not saying that I I'll go out and change other people, but I think if you're a good example and you you try and help others with what they're going through, that makes you a better person in turn. And that all said, looking back now, I can say this with confidence, but I'm proud of the man that I have become this year. Not because everything went well, like I said, but because I stayed in the arena when I didn't. And if you are not familiar with the uh Man in the arena quote, in this exercise on Chris Williamson's website, there's a section that asks you what your favorite quote is. And I'm gonna read this, it's a bit long, but I wear this quote around my neck. This little this little pendant that I wear. It says the credit goes to the man in the arena. Now let me read that quote for you. It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error in shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who neither know victory nor defeat. There's a reason that is my favorite quote, and there's a reason why I included it in this podcast episode. Because that quote doesn't say, Hey, the person that that actually receives growth, who who challenges themselves and does great things, it's not the man who's always successful or woman. It's not the person who always shows up and is stronger than others and points out his strength compared to those who he's competing against. It's the person who tries. That's what the quote is saying is it doesn't matter if you accomplish great things, you will become a better person if you are trying, if you are striving, if you're taking the next step and focusing on what the next action will be. And that's what I mean by I stayed in the arena. I stayed in the arena this year. Because I failed. I failed many times this year. I've stumbled, I've had setbacks, I've had injuries, and I'm not gonna let that stop me. Not because I'm better than anybody else, not because I have a discipline that's stronger than yours or or the other guys. No, that's not the case. It's because I'm relentless with trying. And it can be fatiguing at times, especially when you you come off of a setback. Like if you get back up after you just stumbled and fell, it's hard to keep that enthusiasm going. One of my favorite quotes from Winston Churchill is Um success is going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm. And I tried my best to emulate that this year, even when it was hard, especially when it was hard. Because one thing I know, and we'll discuss this, is I have power over my emotions. I am the one that regulates them. It's not someone else. That falls completely onto me. So this episode is my year in review. We're not gonna have a highlight reel. It's not gonna be a victory lap for me. It's just an honest talk, like I said, of what went well, what didn't, what I learned, and how I'm moving forward with intention for this next year. I feel like overall the year went well. I'm I'm proud of what's happened. Um I feel like I've I've really accomplished great things with my fitness. Uh, the podcast, I believe I'm getting more of clarity on the direction I want to take it for the future. Um, things went well at work, and I feel like my relationships have been very strong. Um, opportunities have come up that I'm very excited about that are will be announced in this next coming year. And um there's a lot that I'm proud of for this year. Also, like there's things that sucked, like getting injured not too long ago, that was horrible, and I'm still overcoming that. Um it doesn't happen overnight, right? Like, I'm not gonna expect a change to happen that quick. Um, other things that were were rough is there were some hiccups at work. Like, yes, I did a lot of great things in my profession, but at the end of the day, there were some difficulties we all had to overcome as a team, and in sales, it's really hard because you have a number that you have to go and hit, and if you don't, then there's gonna be some eyes on you. So overall, I think the year went well, and I'm happy about the progress that I've made. But I worked professionally, personally, physically, and spiritually. Those are the buckets I really focus on. Um, but I worked relentlessly in each of those areas. I tried my best to do my best work each and every day. Um and these are all things I would consider that went right. And it's because I have the evidence that they went well. And if you look closely, progress leaves fingerprints if you're paying attention. Like you have to look for the progress. And that's why I talk about journaling so much and and the power that that brings, because it becomes a live log of how you're doing. And you're you get your thoughts out there, you you understand where you're coming from, you understand what your experiences have been, and it gives you a moment to ponder how can I get better? What are some things I can change to really make this uh process, system, or exercise more effective for me, more efficient, more intentional. You have to have that data, and that's where I believe journaling comes into play because I can see the results from my work, because I've actually documented pretty much everything that went well, what didn't, and um other things that I want to improve. And that's kind of what I would just suggest to anyone is if you are doing a urine review, if you want to see how you've done, make sure you're writing down your thoughts. And you don't have to use Chris Williamson's outline. I think it's a very helpful one. Uh, it puts it into very simple format so you can just go through and edit it wherever you want in your notes or Google Docs, doesn't matter. Um, but I would think about questions, basically those those main ones that we talked about, like what went well, what didn't, how can I improve for this next year based on what didn't go well, what habits are serving me that I want to take into 2026 and what are not that I can stop. Um who has had the most influence in my life? Who do I trust the most? Uh what are some of your favorite memories from the year? It's important to recognize each of these moments because if you don't, life gets busy and you forget. That's why it's important to always take time to think and to ponder. Um and I believe one of the things that really helped me this year is I made a quite a big shift where discipline stopped feeling like a chore. I don't know why that happened. Uh I have a story to talk about, a moment where I believe this happened, but discipline became who I am. Um I don't negotiate it with it with it as much as I used to. I don't wait to feel motivated to go and do the thing. I just try and show up. Because typically, if I do, if I show up, then I'm already there and hey, let's just get this thing done. Let's start. Discipline gets me out of bed, it helps me finish my projects, it uploads another episode of the podcast, it keeps me healthy. And that's not something I had to force this year, it's something that I embodied, which I'm very blessed with, but I I think it's because habits, when focused on and when practiced on a regular basis, it becomes your identity. And I like to identify myself as a disciplined person, and so I try to embody that as best as I can. Of course, there's days where it is hard, right? Everyone struggles with it from time to time. Jocko even talks about it. But the thing is, is I know how beneficial it is to be disciplined, I know how beneficial it is to really stay focused on the goals that you have and do the work that's needed to make them happen. Um, and this is where I'll talk about where I feel like discipline felt automatic. Um, just quiet consistency. And it was leading up to our 50 uh 50k in Moab, Utah in October. But those two months leading up to it, I just felt like I was in a routine. Like I didn't have to push myself to go out and get 20 miles in. Um, I didn't have to uh really tell myself, like, hey, I gotta go out on a run. Instead, I was like, I know I have this race coming up, and I gotta be prepared. So I better get up and go. Um, and it just became kind of who I was at the time. And I didn't stop after that. And that's I think that's one of the reasons why that injury that I had, where I had quadr quadricep tendinitis, I still have it, but when I felt that, and I couldn't run, I couldn't do these things that I I typically do on a regular basis. When that happened, it felt like I lost a sense of my identity because in my head I was no longer disciplined. That wasn't the case. Um, we'll talk about that a little bit later because there are a lot of lessons that I learned from this injury. But that is just my nature now, and I'm not trying to brag. Like I'm not trying to hype myself up or say that I'm such a great person because I'm disciplined. No, that's not the case. It's just something that has been detrimental to my success and to my progress. Um, and it's because I just try and stay disciplined. Uh, fitness is another thing that's taught me a lot of lessons from this year. This year I ran over 2,000 miles. I beat my previous 50k time. I stayed disciplined with lifting and have built a little bit of muscle. Check this out. Muscle. At least I like to think that's it's uh bigger than it is, right? All guys want bigger muscles than they actually have, so got more work to do. But anyways, I've made progress there. Um and more important than the numbers is the lessons. Like the biggest one I've I've recognized is that I'm capable of doing more. During my conversation with Mason Wright, the buff runner, uh, he ran across Utah. And it I think it took him about 10 days to do. But in there, one of the things I asked him was, What's something that this taught you that you didn't expect? And his answer was that you're capable of doing more. He talked about how there were times during that run where his body was shutting down. There was one day where he felt his leg was broken, and all he did was just get up and go out and try and push himself and just get some more miles in to cross Utah. That's unbelievably hard. I cannot imagine the pain that he went through during that time. But that same lesson that you are capable of more has stayed with me because quick story about running. I had a goal this year to run 2,000 miles, and I think I'm about 2,100 miles right now. And I never thought that was possible for myself. I never looked at myself as a runner until about three years prior. And thinking that I was gonna run 2,000 miles, if you would have told me that three years ago, I would have probably left. I would have been like, there's no way in hell I'm doing that. Not a chance. But I've fallen in love with it. I've fallen in love with the challenge, and I've I've learned a lot about myself on how to push myself, how to dig deep when you don't have any excuses. Those long miles, they strip the excuses away. Um truly shows you who you're made of. And I've come to the point to where I'm I'm consistently having 55 to 60 plus mile weeks. Again, nothing I've ever done before. And I know there's people out there who are much better at running than I am and who have way higher distances under their belts. But the thing is, is I'm proud of that. And that's what I want to tell you with this review. If you decide to do this, which I would suggest you should, but if you decide to do this, make it very personal to you. I'm talking about things that I'm very proud of. We're also going to talk about things that I'm not so proud of, but learned a lot from. And that's just kind of the approach you need to take with this exercise is what are you excited about? What made you proud this year? And what are some things you want to change, right? But I truly learned that I'm capable of doing more because of what fitness taught me. Um, there was this one run that I did in Utah. I was just planning on going for uh an 18-mile run, I believe. And I was just gonna take it easy. That day I wasn't feeling that great. I was tired, um, you know, battling low testosterone, all these different things. And I just decided, hey, I'm just gonna go out, run this race, or not this race, run this trail run and just get it done as fast as I can. Uh, I didn't really want to be out on the trails that day. And it was a beautiful day in Utah. You know, the clouds were kind of covering um, I don't know, the mountains and all that stuff. It just looked gorgeous outside. And I decided to take a trail that I've never seen before. Um, I made it to the top of the mountain, kind of where I decide to go down my normal route. But on the right, there was this trail, I think it's called Sawmill Trail in Utah. Never really seen it. And I just decided I'm gonna go up that. You know, I'm out here on this this run, why not? And so I'm going up this mountain, and it's so steep. Like to the point to where I'm I'm just hiking up this this mountain because I I can't run. Like the incline was insane. Um, I think I had like a 19-minute per mile pace because I was basically just speedwalking up this thing. Um, but it was a lot of elevation, and I just kept going up and up and up, and I thought, you know, I'd come around a corner and it would start to slow down, but no, it just continued going up this mountain. And I got to the point to where I actually I reached the top of the mountain. It took me about an hour to go up um around five miles. But there was this moment where I was just it was like a moment of peace. I was at the top of this mountain, there was no one around. I was literally hiking through bushes and um a ton of crazy terrain, things I've never seen before. Uh, it was just stunning, and I was very proud of that moment because even on a day when I was tired, when I didn't want to show up, I decided to take a harder path. And I don't do that every time. Sometimes I just go out to get it done. But that one taught me that no matter what, I can push my body further than I'm I believe I can. That seems to be a story that I I continually run into uh with my fitness training, is it always surprises me what I what I can do. And the same goes for you. Is if you push yourself a little more each time, you'll look back and say, Man, I didn't know I could do these things. I didn't know I could push myself on days when I really didn't want to do it. And you'll have something to be proud of. It's a good feeling. And I would encourage you to go out and find that, whatever it looks like for you. It doesn't have to be an 18 mile, very steep incline run. I would just challenge you to go out and find something that you enjoy doing that pushes you and challenges you. Um something else that was very important for me this year was my favorite. Faith in my relationships. Like, I can say this very confidently, and I believe Allie can say the same thing, but this was probably the strongest year of our marriage. My relationship with Allie is deeper, steadier, and more grounded than it's ever been. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm I'm here in Arizona. You know, we've been doing distance for quite some time. It sucks, you know. Not every weekend Allie would be with me, and um during the week she would be gone in Arizona flying, and I'd be up in Utah, and it just wasn't good. And I think we both recognize that. And I moved down to Arizona, and since doing that, we've gotten so much closer, we've we've had so much more fun together. Um, I trust her more than ever. And it's really been good for our relationships. But same goes for the other relationships in my life. Like I'm very close with my brothers. Yes, it helps that I'm in Arizona, but um some of my friends, like my buddy Carsten, he's he's been really getting after it. So, Carsten, if you're listening, you're a beast. Um, but now like he's one of my closest friends. He'll call me randomly throughout the day, and like I will never miss those calls now. Um, just because I I love that dude. And that's something that's kind of changed for me too, is relationships have become much more important to me than they used to be. Not saying that they weren't before, but you know, I I many times put work, I put my own personal uh aspirations and and sometimes even my fitness above the above the relationships with others that I have. That's not necessarily a great thing to do. Because at the end of the day, those people are going to be there for you when you are going through hard stuff, when you are in need of a friend, when you struggle and have questions and just need some support. That's the power of relationships. And I feel like I've really done a good job at nurturing those and building them with other people and reaching out to people for the podcast. That's been something that's been so fun for me. Like Mason Wright, he was awesome to have on. Knives and Monroe, he talked about creativity and and um some of his challenges and wins in that realm. Um I've had Allie on to share her experiences many times this year, and um just a lot of interesting people came on this podcast, and I'm I'm very happy about that. Uh the other thing I would say is my faith became something that I leaned on, and not necessarily just something I believed. I have always believed that I needed to have strong faith, faith in God. And this year I did intentionally make time for God. Um, and I felt his influence more clearly in my life. And that matters more than any other metric to me. I had to rely on him quite a bit. You know, Allie and I, we've been battling infertility, and it's not her, it's me that has the issue. Um, and this year we started a treatment with, you know, kind of the last hope to have kids naturally and biologically. And I had some long conversations with God during those times. I let him know what I was feeling. I had faith that he was listening, and I trusted that he would take care of me. If you don't believe in God, believe in something greater than yourself. That could be a higher power, that could be, you know, the universe. But I know that God's real and I know he listens. And this year has taught me that. Um, don't discount God. If you need a little bit extra strength, he's there to offer it for you. One thing that uh I wanted to share is just how you can make memories with the little things in life. Um, this is actually a very recent experience. So Allie had to go to training uh on December 21st in Las Vegas, and she was gonna be there until Christmas Eve. Um, we were both going there kind of like, oh man, we gotta be in Vegas for the next few days, but hey, we'll try and make the most of it, we'll try and have fun. And we did. We had a great time. But we got there on Sunday, we went to Din Tai Fung, which is a delicious restaurant. If you like dim sum, if you like dumplings, you gotta try Din Thai Fung. It is on the more expensive side, but man, is it worth every penny? I still think about those dumplings sometimes when I'm going to bed. I'm like, man, I could really crush five or six dumplings right now. And then I usually fall asleep after that. But we went to Din Tai Fung, we walked around the strip for a while, and um, here's a Christmas miracle for you. We had the idea, we're like, okay, we we want to watch our two favorite Christmas movies, which is one Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, the old school one, I think it's from the 60s, and Home Alone. Those are our two favorite Christmas movies. We have great memories to both. And um, we got to the hotel after Din Tai Fung, and we're like, okay, let's just turn on the movies. And come to find out, there's no streaming services on the TV. Ah, damn, what do we do? So we're scrolling through the channels and we find um I can't even remember what it was. I think it was Home Alone 2 that said it was playing. So we click on Home Alone 2. It wasn't Home Alone 2, guys. It was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and we're like, that's crazy, no way. So we watched it, and then right after that, Home Alone came on. Don't know why this happened. It was a Christmas miracle, like I said, but just little things like that. Like it was a it was a great moment, and we got really excited about it, and then we just spent time there um making memories together. And yes, she was there for training. Yes, uh I was working during the day and uh we just kind of partying at nighttime. But you can make the most of every opportunity, like Allie dreads going to training, she doesn't like it because it's a lot of pressure, and um sometimes you know that fear builds up. But even she loved the trip because we just made the most of it. We made memories together and we had a lot of fun. Um, so, anyways, that was just a quick story on one, the power of relationships, and two, that you can make the most out of any situation. Now, let's talk about what didn't go well. Um, let's talk about the other side. Because growth isn't honest if you only talk about what worked. And I am no stranger to to failures. But one area that I know I need to focus on is I could have been more focused during my work hours and during podcast creation time. You know, I procrastinate at times and I avoid deeper thinking because it's work, right? Um, I'll just jump on my phone and you know take some time to be on social media, which is a distraction. I've recognized that this is a distraction for me. Uh, and I'm very excited because Allie for Christmas got me something called the brick. Uh very cool little device, but it's basically it's literally a brick. It's a magnetic brick that you like put anywhere. Right now it's on my fridge, but you tap your phone to it and you select the apps that you want it to uh restrict access to. So things like for me, it's like TikTok, Instagram, um, any of the social medias, random things like that, right? You tap your phone to it, and you're not allowed to access those apps until you tap your phone back on the brick. So kind of a cool thing. Like you tap it on there, you go out um with your family at dinner time or whatever, and you're not on your phone. So it's kind of a cool blessing there. And I'm excited to use it um because you know, I don't want to be distracted all the time. And phones for me are a tool, but also a vice. And I don't want to make them be a vice. And so I need to control that, I need to regulate that. And the brick's gonna help me quite a bit. Um also kind of a funny story. When you do tap your phone on the brick, it'll say, your phone's been bricked for X amount of time. It's kind of a cool thing. So get your phone bricked. Um, but another thing that didn't go very great for me is I I felt like I mastered my job. I feel like I've mastered my routines. But just because you master something doesn't mean you need to or doesn't mean you get to coast. And because I I feel like I'm I'm decent at what I do, I had moments where I did coast, where I didn't really push myself and didn't challenge myself to take to the next level. Um, I didn't always think deeply enough about podcast topics or guests that I want to have on what I actually believe. And that's all on me. You know, I am not, you know, just because I say I master something doesn't mean I actually am a master. I, this is what I believe, that I master these things. But in the end, no one truly masters anything. Like there are experts out there, but there's always things you can be doing better and improving on. Um, so that one hit me quite a bit. Is like I recognize that there were areas where I was coasting. I was just kind of doing the bare minimum to get by, and uh that's not a good thing. And so I'm I'm really gonna work on this this next coming year, is being intentional and focused uh on the things that matter to me. Because at the end of the day, yes, my job matters to me. The podcast matters to me, thinking deeply matters to me. And you can't have that if you're procrastinating, if you're distracted, and if you're coasting, if you think that you've already m done everything that you can in this area, then why are you doing it in the first place if you think that you're the best? Right? So I need to be better there. And you know, this really came to fruition like uh a few days ago. I was working on uh a podcast topic, and you know, I'd I'd work on work on it for probably like 10 minutes, and then I'd be like, oh man, I don't feel like doing this, and I'd pull out my phone and distract myself for a little bit, and then I'd go back to the podcast. And the danger with that is there's not real long terms where I'm I'm or long times where I'm thinking about something um specifically for a long period of time, right? If I was to instead put my phone in another room or use the brick app um while I was working on the podcast, then I wouldn't have the temptation to distract myself and I would be forced to sit there and think and get my thoughts out clearly onto whatever I'm working on at the time. I tried doing that with this podcast, and I hope you can kind of uh hear and see a difference in in this episode compared to the other ones. You know, I spent a lot of time coming up with this um coming up with this outline that I wanted to discuss just regarding the year in review, you know, thinking what's important to me, what I want you guys to know, and um being more intentional with actually writing out the the podcast. So that's something else that's um kind of come up to my mind too. So I need to be more intentional. I need to remove distractions, and procrastination has no room for being in my life. I don't want to be a procrastinator anymore. So I won't be. I'm gonna change it. Um and when I look at the why behind all these reasons why I procrastinated, why I uh would distract myself and why I would coast, it comes down to something very simple. It's one common answer, and that all those things are uncomfortable to me. You know, pushing when I'm tired, thinking deeply and being intentional with small things. Like, growth isn't blocked by a lack of knowledge, it's blocked by resistance to discomfort. Discomfort it is powerful, but you can overcome it. And I know that from experience with running, I know that from um this podcast, I know it from the things that I do in my life and the habits that I I live up to, the values I believe in. But it still gets me sometimes. Discomfort is still there sometimes to to pull me in and and tell me that it's better than me. When in reality I know I can overcome it. It's hard. This year has also taught me that intentionality is a weapon, and avoiding it always comes with a cost. Uh so just a few things to think about. But I want to also shift now to talk about some of the lessons that I um that I learned from over the from this year, and and here are the lessons that I believe earn their place. Um, not because I'm gonna read them, but because I actually lived them this year. So, number one, injuries and setbacks are not the end, even when they feel like it. Number two, discipline includes controlling your thoughts and what you focus on. Number three, no one is coming to save you. If you want it, you must build it. Number four, you can't control other people. Only your next move. That one's big. Do not spend your time focusing on others' actions. You can't control them. They're gonna do what they want to do. You can only control what you want to do. So focus on that. Number five, faith works and God listens. Number six, when the answer isn't what you want, always ask what you're meant to learn. Seven, hope gets you through dark days. That one is true. Eight, gratitude builds abundance. Abundance. Nine, love is rare and must be protected. And ten, you are capable of more than you think. Another thing I want to discuss is that growth does not happen alone. It is a team effort. And this year there have been a lot of people who have shaped me, but three really stand out. The first, of course, is my wife, Allie. She is literally love in action, she embodies love. She's made me less afraid of the future, especially when it comes to fatherhood. That has always been something that scares me. But seeing her love me and seeing what kind of woman she is does not make me fearful of becoming a father. There's a lot that I I am nervous about, I'll say. But I'm not I'm not as afraid of it as much as I used to be. And I think a lot of it's because of how I see Allie and how she treats me and the love that we share. She's also taught me what it means to work hard. You know, this year she's done a full year of her siblings in crime episode with her brother. Or her siblings in crime podcast with her brother. And she's put out almost 52 episodes. The rest are coming out next week. But I'm so proud of her of committing and staying committed to the goal throughout the year. That is something that is so hard. Especially in the beginning of a podcast, starting it is so difficult. On top of that, she's been killing it as a pilot. She's been doing great work with her fitness, and she's always trying to improve herself. The second would be one of my mentors, his name's Bryce. He believed in me enough to challenge me. He put me through very uncomfortable situations that have forced me to grow. He is my boss at work, but he's also someone I look up to and admire. And we have conversations all the time about um, you know, things that I want to learn from him. And uh he mentors me and he talks to me. Um, but he's also someone that believes in me. He knows or he says that he knows I'm capable of much more than I'm doing now. And because of that, he's put me through some hard things. He's challenged me at work, he's uh pushed me to, you know, get out of my comfort zone and take that step into fear. And without someone who believes in you like that and pushes you to do these things, growth is much more difficult. You know, if I was at work by myself, I don't know if I would go and and do the things that he made me do. But, you know, he's he kind of forced it upon me, and I had to act. And that is something that I I truly value and I admire about him is he he tries to make you recognize your potential, and I'm very grateful for that. And my brother Drew. I have seen him become one of the most consistent people I've ever seen as a runner. Um, he's a great dad, he raises his kids with love, and um he's one of my best friends, if not my best friend. And I'm just glad that you know I have someone to look to as an example for what I want to be like as a dad and uh how I want to show up and be an influence and an example to my kids. Um, it's a standard that I respect. Um there was one day when Drew and I were running in the mountains together, and we were just talking about life and how heavy it is. And it was during a time when I was going through some hard conversations with doctors about my infertility. Um, and I just remember him looking at me and saying, like, hey, the time will come when you're gonna be a dad, and you're gonna be a great dad. And I don't know why that stood out to me so much, but you know, it's just going back to that thing with Bryce, like Drew is someone who believes in me. You know, I've I've he says that I've helped him a lot with running, and I'm sure that he's gonna help me a lot when I become a dad. You know, Allie's not pregnant yet. I don't want to get anyone excited, but she's not pregnant yet. But when that time comes, that's gonna be my main focus is being a father. Yes, the podcast is still gonna happen. Yes, I will still um go out and run long distances, but at the end of the day, that child is gonna be my number one priority. And you know, having someone who's been through it, you know, Drew's battled with infertility uh with his wife, and um he understands it very well, and it's just nice having someone who's been there who understands that issue, um, kind of say these things about you. So the last thing I want to talk about very quick is one of my favorite thought exercises, and I think a lot about my 85-year-old self. You know, what do I want that person to look back on the years that I'm in now, and how do I want them to think about them? Do I want them to be regretful of the choices that I made or the things that I did? Or do I want them to look back with nostalgia and uh be proud of the the man that I became? And so I ask myself all the time, well, what would what would ruin 85-year-old me? What would ruin their life? And it's things like laziness, neglecting relationships, forgetting God, avoiding challenges, trying to take the easy road, you know, trying to just coast, like I was saying earlier, and be distracted all the time. I think if I was 85 and I look back, and if I continued those patterns and I continued those habits, I would be regretful. I wouldn't be proud of the man who I was during that time. And I think about what he would wish I did more of. That's things like love. Love deeply. My family members, my wife, my friends. Like love goes far. Um, he'd want to have me build build meaningful things that I'm working on. He'd want me to take care of my body, spend time focusing more on my interests, and lead myself well. You know, that's one thing that we all have. You know, a lot of people don't think they're leaders. But at the end of the day, there's always one person that you're leading, and it's yourself. Are you gonna lead yourself to be disciplined? Are you gonna lead yourself to be uh a procrastinator or someone who doesn't get things done and live up to their word? Are you gonna be someone who challenges themselves and takes that next step and is there for other people to help them when they need it? Like, these are all things that you need to ask yourself, and it all comes from how you lead yourself each and every day. I don't know what the next year holds, but I do know who I need to become to be the best version of myself. I need to be a leader. I need to be known as a man of faith. I need to be a disciplined husband, and I need to be a future father who shows up fully. On top of that, I think it's important to be hopeful, to be aspirational, and to be present. That's why I'm so excited for that brick thing. It's gonna help me be so present. And those are all the things that I want to be in this next year. I don't know what's gonna happen. I do know I've signed up for a 50 mile race in April, I know I've signed up for high rocks in February. Other than that, I don't know what's in store for me. It could be a really easy year, it could be a really fun year, could be a really difficult year, one that pushes me to my edge. But if I do those things, if I become a leader, a man of faith, a disciplined husband, a future father that shows up, and I remain hopeful, aspirational, and present, it's gonna be a damn good year. Even if it's hard, I know that there will be lessons that I can come back next year and talk about what I've learned that have stayed with me, that I want you to know. And it all happens through making the disciplined choice and being intentional with every decision that you make. This is uh if I had some some closing thoughts, I would I'd speak to myself as if I was 12 months ago. So January 1st, 2025, but also to you right now. And I would say this the work you do shows up in the life you live. Be proud of your effort, be intentional, commit fully, adjust when needed, but do not quit. Become someone you would have looked up to in high school. This year mattered, and you're not perfect. You're progressing. And that's really it. You know, there's there's a lot that we can learn from reflecting and looking back and thinking about each and every lesson that we we've found. Once you reflect, you know, you have a uh you have a waypoint of how you can improve. And I would really encourage you to do something similar to this exercise. It doesn't have to be as in-depth as the one I that I did, but I would just ask yourself, you know, what went well? How can I improve this next year? And then write down your thoughts. Because then you'll start the year strong. You'll have an idea of where you want to go and what you want to become. I appreciate you guys for listening to this episode. Um, it was a little bit more focused on me, but again, I I want to share the lessons that I've learned because they've made me a better person, and I know that can they can do the same for you. And so if this helped you at all, please um leave a like, uh, rate the show on Apple and Spotify, that always helps, and share it with a friend. I always appreciate this going around. So it's gonna be a good year, guys. 2026 is going to be a great year for all of us. If we are intentional, if we make the right decisions for progress towards our goals, and if we hold our heads high and remain helpful. Appreciate you guys so much for listening to this episode, and as always, keep getting after it, my friends.