January is, well, funny.

 

In my book it’s got two big sides:

-Total excitement for a clean slate.

-Dread when you don’t feel like you’re ready and it’s coming for you, anyway.

 

 

In 2024 and 2025 I started a pattern I came to love: instituting a prep week for the first week of the year. It took discipline and courage not to give my time away before I’d considered my own vision. I was ready to run this practice again for 2026. 

 

Life happens when we’re planning and sometimes the wheels fall off. Expectations get squashed and we’re invited to pivot. One of the biggest indicators of success in my book is how we handle it when things don’t go as planned. Do we sit in frustration or look for what is available in the new scenario? 

 

I haven't always pivoted super well. 

 

Expectations are often disappointments waiting to happen, and we’ve all been smack dab in the middle of a season filled with the highest expectations I know of. There are highs and lows and romantic visions of what “festive” looks like in December. Followed by Herculean ideas of how you will have already transformed yourself by January 1. 

 

And yet a lot of my clients felt more like this👇 coming into the year.

 

 

How do you expect yourself to start a year strong when you feel like this? Carrying a bunch of energy feeling guilty and alone that you do? 

 

One of the most enlightening things I learned recently offered a ton of peace. The Roman calendar was only ten months - beginning in the spring and ending in December, leaving winter as an unassigned space of days before the new year began. This absolutely tracks with my soul right now. 

 

Winter is meant to be the time of hibernation - when old things die. Nature and habits and expectations we build up over time. It’s a time to rest and reflect and build clarity for the new ahead. Since when is this an overnight process? Who said it was supposed to be done come January 1? This is just the beginning of the process.  

 

 

THIS is what I’m focused on right now. Defaulting to No until I know what the Yes is. Leaving sometimes painful space to allow the right thing to get my attention. 

 

Last week one of my favorite voices wrote about a professional pivot that inspired me to think differently about where I am right now. Arthur Brooks, Harvard’s “happiness” professor, is also a self proclaimed “lifelong melancholic”. His research revolves around how we, as humans (whose circumstances are so often out of our control), can learn to practice happiness, even when it doesn’t come naturally. 

 

 

 

Sometimes a simple statement or question has the power to change everything for us. 

 

I write this newsletter as an infusion for you. Knowing how key mindset shifts can awaken a fire in you that I know I feel when I read or listen to something life giving. Here are some inputs fueling my January, I hope they do the same for you. 

 

 

 

Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. I heard about this book for years and no wonder! It is such a fun journey through shared lessons, failures and successes from the process of building a world renowned restaurant group and brand from scratch. It is transparent, entertaining and compelling as Guidara invites us to consider the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect. Giving always feels better than receiving, and it happens to include a huge payoff in the business world, too. 

🎧 PODCAST:
 

Mel Robbins as the guest on Aspire with Emma Grede. While I've followed Mel from the beginnings of her speaker journey and her 2017 TED talk, it was refreshing to experience the authenticity and honest reflection she brought to this conversation on her incredible success. Despite the perception, it wasn't overnight - there were 16 years of unseen work, mission‑driven clarity, and relentless consistency for her rise as one of the top podcasts in the world. It's so easy to forget what goes into great and deep work and she reminds us of a lot of those in this episode. There's something for everyone here - don't miss it.

 

 

 

 

So, what is fun, interesting and would make you think differently? And what in your world is NOT? 

 

This is the lens I'm using to consider my January (and ultimately my 2026). Would love to hear what filter is informing your year. 

 

I most want to say: Don’t fall for the hype this month - and the race to have it all figured out next week. Leverage the real purpose of winter - to rest and use this time to get clarity, so you can game plan an amazing 2026. 

 

The time to build is close, but don't rush the pause. It's worth the discomfort.

We want to walk this journey with you. Here's what we have planned for 2026!

 

The next round of our men's group, LEAD, begins March 25th. Earlybird pricing is available now, hit reply to learn more! This powerful community offers coaching, connection, and accountability for those ready to grow in clarity, confidence, and leadership. Transformation guaranteed.

 

If you’re craving space to grow your personal and professional leadership, to stretch, and stay anchored alongside others — this is it.

 

The 19th round of Emerge, our flagship Women's group coaching program, begins TODAY! Spots are full but we are looking ahead and reserving spots for our fall cohort now. Hit “reply” to learn more!

 

 

Prefer to go deeper in a more personalized way? We have an amazing team of certified leadership coaches available for powerful 1-1 coaching to support your leadership, mindset, or personal development goals.

 

We are now booking spots for Q1 and Q2 2026 team workshops…including our popular LIFO workshops, to help your team build trust, communicate better, and improve productivity. See our Teams page for more information.