Good Day everyone, Tonight we start and end with hope.

Today is not just another Day it us a new opportunity to become stronger wiser, and more disciplined.  Forget Yesterdays failures, focus on todays actions.  Small Steps taken now can create a life you once only dreamed about.  Take one step with me tonight and be on your way to the next you.  Or in the words of Gold Medalist Mikala Shrifferin, “Stop Dreaming, and just ski.”

So, we just left 2025 behind. Your 2026 journey is just beginning.  Part of any journey is deciding where we are going.  We talk a lot about change over the past several months, so tonight we are going to make a road map for you to follow to achieve the change you want.  So lets start by Defining who you are today.  Include at least 5 things about yourself you are happy with.  Using these five things you like about your life, write a paragraph that tells me who you are today.  Remember those intentions we talked about two weeks ago.

Now, list all the things you would like to change about yourself this year.  My guess is that this list will be more than one or two items  as we are always our own worst critic.  Break each change down until you are at a level where you can make a clear, achievable, and measurable path to each end result.  Along the way we will learn a method to take small bites out of an elephant sized goal that you can follow along with, make your own goals for 2026 and hopefully build an authentic life for yourself as i have endeavored to do this past year.

The next box on each line is for Your WHY.  Your Why is the key as that is what is going to motivate you.  This is YOUR reason to keep going, to overcome procrastination.

Start today, start now.  Laziness dies when your purpose feels bigger than your excuses.

Start small, momentum builds faster than waiting for motivation

Every wasted hour delays the life you say you want.

Energy comes from movement not from sitting and thinking.

Discipline means doing it, even when you don’t feel like it.

Comfort is a trap disguised as peace

Your future self is shaped by todays action, not tomorrows plans.

Death is not the greatest loss, in life. True loss is when life dies inside you, while you are alive and can still do something about it.

You do not get a practice swing at life.  This is it.  Your one wild fragile beautiful life.  So live it fully.  You are allowed to make mistakes.  You’re allowed to change your mind.  You’re allowed to begin again.  Don’t let fear make your decisions.  Don’t wait for the Perfect moment, it rarely shows up.

Don’t keep postponing the life you want to live.  Because if you start postponing what you really want, One day turns into someday.

Someday turns into next year and before you realize it the moment you were waiting for has quietly passed,

The truth is “later” is a promise time rarely keeps.  Call the person. Take the trip. Start the dream.  Say the words. Send the message, Start the thing you’ve been overthinking for months.

Life doesn’t pause while you hesitate, it moves, with or without you and the heaviest regret isn’t failure, It’s wondering what would have happened if you had simply tried.

This is the only life you’ll have, and its happening right now, quietly, imperfectly, and often faster than we expect.  One day you’ll look back and realize how many moments passed while you were waitron for the right time, the right version of yourself or a life that felt less complicated.  So Live fully in the moments you are given. Chase the dreams that keep tugging at you heart evil if they scare you. Make mistakes without letting others or yourself convince you to stop trying. take chances, fall down, stand back up and begin again as many times as it takes,  Forgive when you’re ready, not to excuse what hurt you, but to free yourself from carrying it forever,  Choose kindness even when the world feels heavy.  Let go of the fears that shrink your life and love deeply and honestly without holding back.  You don’t need a perfect life to make it beautiful, you only need the courage to live it as your own.

Your Words shape your reality. Stop saying I’m tired.  Im broken, I’m depressed.  Start saying I’m grateful, Im growing, I’m thriving I’m winning I’m successful.  Speak life into yourself as your words shape your reality.  Convince yourself that you can instead of talking yourself out of doing things that will make your life better.

The best times in life happen after you have the courage to change or let go of the things that no longer bring you joy.

Now, before you make an actual plan, look at your goal one more time.  Does it align with where you intentionally want to be with your head, heart and soul.  If not, pick new goals that do before proceeding.

Now, recognize the steps that you need to take to reach your goal, classes, certificates, or just good old skills you need to develop.  Those are your small bites and stair steps along your path to your goal.  Start with what you feel will be the easiest steps, put them at the bottom of the page.  That is where you start.  If one of your steps depends on another, in my case the Nebraska class needed to be completed before my state certification test, put the class box at the bottom of the page and the test, or whatever it is for you directly above the class box.  This is called skill stacking.  Your final plan should either look like a pyramid with multiple roots or a stack of boxes, in each case leading to your ultimate goal at the top or pinnacle of the pyramid.  

Less complaining, more clarity. Get clarity on your dream. What is it you really want to do, achieve, or become? Reflect on my  20 pounds and that is really was not pounds at all, I just wanted to be able to walk further. Recognize that seeking that clarity is your first step to manifesting it. This road map that you are starting tonight helps you get that focus on your dream.  Even when you encounter a setback, your connection to your road map will get you going again and will help you stay the course.  And most of all do not be the fool that says to himself “

People said follow your dreams. So I went back to sleep.”

Every morning remind yourself that you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone.  Not a single soul.  You don’t need to justify, defend, over explain, or convince anyone about any aspect of your life or choices.  You are doing your best.  You are healing, hurting, growing, grieving, loving, learning, and most of all, you are trying. Anyone who wants to judge where you are at, or criticize has no place in any part of your life.  You’ve spent a lifetime trying to get people to accept you or feel proud of you, but now all the matters is that you’re proud of yourself. You have set goals and mapped out a path and don’t have to seek validation from anyone.

Remember failure is a learning experience. If you fail, figure out why and try again.  This strategy works for 
almost everyone with very few exceptions.  Just remember, If at first you don’t succeed , skydiving may not be for you

Never regret a day in your life,. Good days give happiness.  Bad Days Give experience, worst days give lessons, and best days give memories. 

Make self-improvement a way of life. Working on yourself is an ongoing process. Challenge your mindset and beliefs around your identity and always seek your next action of integrity. When you reach a fork in the road, ask yourself “What would my 2025 self choose, and what would the new self I am building choose”  This helps you see the progress you have already made while aligning your choice with the you that you are trying to become.  When you abandon self-improvement or think that you’re done, you give up on being the best version of yourself.  

Recognize the barri-OR. Barriers are never blockages, they are choices for you to make! You can either listen to the negativity and let it hold you back or turn towards positivity. Negativity will tell you that your dreams are impossible, people will make fun of you, and you can’t do it. That all pushes you further from your dreams. Even if they seem out of reach, remember the goalpost doesn’t move, YOU do!

The thing to remember when you come up against obstacles is

Don’t detach from your future. 
There is a bigger reason why you are pursuing your dreams. Your powerful “Why”.  Connect to what encourages you and pulls you up. Learn to listen to that internal voice of encouragement. Attune yourself to inspiration and a higher level of consciousness. Train yourself to focus on that love. Your job is to see the fullness and expansiveness of your spirit. Tap into that.

“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”  Do not be afraid to release parts of the old you that do not align with the person you are trying to become.

Remember, we cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.
You have to be true to yourself in order to attract the right people. IF you have to shed some of society’s expectations to find who you really are, do it. You have to learn to be authentic, awakened into your full and true spirit. If you don’t live as who you truly are, then others can’t connect to the you that you want them to connect to. Being here is a great first step in leveling up your peer group.  Just being around those who have been where you are and understand.  Your time is now.  It is time to dance.

This coming year, I hope beautiful things happen to you and when the do, I hope you realize that you are worthy of every single one of them

Remember alignment of heart/ mind. and soul.  When you are pursuing this as your authentic self, progress will fell natural and be rewarding as you build a life worth living.

Hope is the fuel for change, and alignment is the framework that gives you your path.  Somewhere, there is a place for us as our best authentic selves living our best lives.