#76 | 1.3.25 - Start With Why: Design Your Best Year Yet / Perspective Shapes Illusions / Top 10 Movies from 2024 in Emojis
Hello, friends, and welcome to Further Faster Fridays! Happy New Year! 🎉
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Start With Why: Design Your Best Year Yet
A fresh new year always brings with it a sense of possibility. There’s an energy in the air that invites us to pause, reflect, and set our direction. But I’ve never liked the idea of jumping into just setting goals, as it feels like there’s the temptation to skip the deeper questions that make those goals truly meaningful. Goals, after all, are only powerful when they align with who you are at your core.
This year, I’ve created a simple approach to help you design your year in a way that honors your deepest motivations, values, and sense of purpose. This method helps you zoom out to see the bigger picture of why you do what you do before you dive into the specifics of how you’ll achieve it.
Rather than starting with tasks and deadlines, we begin at the top: your “Why,” the guiding principle that sparks everything else. From there, we move downward—examining your How, Values, Value Statements, and ultimately setting goals and habits that tie your everyday life to your greatest aspirations.
Feel free to grab a notebook and jot down these sections. We’ll go through them step by step.
✅ THE WHY
Your "Why" is your North Star—your reason for getting out of bed in the morning and the source of your deepest satisfaction. It’s the compelling purpose behind your life’s work. Philosopher Dan Dennett once put it this way:
“Find something more important than you are, and dedicate your life to it.”
What does that look like for you? Here are some questions to guide your reflection:
Which activities or causes bring me the most fulfillment and joy?
What lasting impact do I hope to make?
What issue or mission could I devote my life to and never tire of?
Aligning with a compelling "Why" isn’t about adding more to your plate; it’s about letting your purpose shape everything else on the plate.
✅ THE HOW
If your "Why" is the fire in your belly, your "How" is the way you channel that fire. It represents the methods, roles, and vehicles through which you live out your mission.
Example:
If your Why is “helping people realize their full potential,” then your How might include coaching, writing, speaking, mentoring, or any activity that allows you to guide others to growth.
Ask yourself: In what ways can I bring my Why to life? This might be your job, but it could also be community work, a side hustle, or volunteer service.
✅ CORE VALUES
Core Values are the “hills you’re willing to die on”—the non-negotiable principles that define who you are at your best. When you’re living by your values, you feel most authentic and alive.
Tip: Think of your core values as the foundation of a house. Your life’s endeavors—goals, career, relationships—all stand on these. If you removed any one of them, the structure wouldn’t feel like “home” anymore.
FREE RESOURCE: Earlier in year, I put together the Individual Operating Manual. Part of that resource includes a section on discovering and articulating your Core Values. If you haven’t already, feel free to download it here.
✅ CORE VALUE STATEMENTS
Once you’ve named your values, give them feet—put them into action. Core Value Statements articulate how you demonstrate your values daily. They transform abstract ideals into guiding principles for real-life situations.
If you need a little help, you can even ask AI. For instance:
“My core values are ___, ___, and ___. Please help me come up with core value statements for each. I would like 3–5 ideas for each value.”
The key is to craft statements that inspire you and guide your decisions.
✅ ANNUAL GOALS
Now that you’ve identified your Why, How, Core Values, and Core Value Statements, you’re ready to set annual goals that naturally grow out of these insights. Consider using categories—like health, relationships, career, finances, or personal growth—to ensure well-rounded progress. Tools like the Wheel of Life can help you think holistically.
✅ DAILY/WEEKLY HABITS
This is where vision becomes reality. Habits are the consistent steps that move you closer to your goals, day in and day out. If you have a goal to run a marathon, for example, the daily or weekly habit of running is non-negotiable. Without it, that goal is just wishful thinking.
When you start with your “Why” and build down to your day-to-day habits, you create a life plan that reflects your deepest motivations—one that’s more likely to yield both success and fulfillment.
Here’s how I’m applying this approach to my own life for 2025:
THE WHY - Help individuals and teams go from here to there
THE HOW - Coach, Speaker, Author
CORE VALUES - Excellence | Communication | Hope | Community | Growth
CORE VALUE STATEMENTS
Talent starts the journey; growth defines the destination.
You can’t pour into others from an empty cup.
Clarity is kindness; deliver it with care.
The way you frame it shapes the way they see it
Show them what they can’t yet see.
You can always rewrite the story you’re part of.
Words create worlds—choose them wisely.
Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed. Being negative will ensure you won’t.
Small actions lead to big results.
Do your best with what you have, where you are.
2025 GOALS (Categories) - Physical | Mental | Coach | Speaker | Author | Artist | Other
2025 DAILY/WEEKLY HABITS
There’s nothing quite like the start of a new year to kindle fresh inspiration. So, grab a journal, find a quiet space, and let your Why guide you. Feel free to comment or email me to share what you come up with. I’d love to hear what you discover!
Perspective Shapes Illusions
A powerful video that reminds us how much we rely on our current perspective when making decisions!
Top 10 Movies from 2024 in Emojis
Thanks to Jordan R. for sending this along this week - the Top 10 movies from 2024, represented by emoji. How many can you decode? (answers at the bottom).
Answers: (1) Inside Out 2 {2) Beetleuice Beetlejuice (3) Deadpool & Wolverine (4) Twisters (5) The Fall Guy (6) Wicked (7) Challengers (8) Kung Fu Panda 4 (9) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (10) Paddington in Peru
Words to wrap up:
"If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are an excellent leader."
- Dolly Parton"