From Birthday to Breakthrough: My Commitment to Achieving Every Dream

A few days ago, I celebrated my birthday, and this year felt different from any before.

Typically, my birthday is just another day on the calendar. I might indulge in a few extra hamburgers, but I’m not one for big celebrations, going out, or partying. I prefer to stay productive, and my birthday is usually no exception.

I also don’t bother with New Year’s resolutions. They never quite work for me. I always have a running list of goals, so starting fresh at the beginning of the year doesn’t feel necessary.

But this year was different. My birthday festivities kicked off early, with a few days spent in the company of my closest friends. We gathered in my favorite city, in one of my favorite workspaces, making it a truly memorable start to a new year.

I’ve been juggling numerous projects as usual, and Founders has been advancing at an impressive pace, with milestones being reached ahead of schedule. Yet, I firmly believe that the journey is always just 1% complete and that we must continually strive to be at least 1% better than the day before.

Despite this progress, I often grapple with fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). I frequently battle feelings of inadequacy, questioning whether I’m being productive enough, getting enough done, or properly reaching for my goals. Unfortunately, this struggle means that my personal and health goals often take a backseat to my ambitions for Founders and other projects.

I frequently employ all the proper goal-setting techniques to ensure I’m setting myself up for success. I use SMART goals, strive to make them realistic (though some might say my timelines are a bit ambitious), manage my time fairly effectively, and remain dedicated to completing my work.

However, after spending time with one of my favorite people in the world, she shared some wise words that resonated deeply. She reminded me of the importance of balancing my ambitions with self-care, and helped me remember the qualities I appreciate about myself.

When I set my mind to something, I make it happen. That’s always been my approach to work, play, and everything in between. Life is incredibly short, and I believe in maximizing our experiences before our time here ends. I don’t want to grow old and look back with regrets about what I could have done; I want to reminisce with fondness about all the things I did.

As I begin this new cycle around the sun, I want to introduce a new tradition: reflecting on the past year and outlining my goals for the “new year.”

While I’ve done this past year’s reflection privately with friends, next year, I plan to share my reflections and goals publicly. This way, we can look back and see what I’ve accomplished, where I could have improved, and speak these aspirations into reality.

So let’s start with some goals…

Launch Founders Circle

We’re excited to announce a new offering coming soon to the Founders website. This will enable our members to support the organization while enjoying a host of exclusive benefits. This initiative is very close to completion, and this is the first time I’m mentioning it publicly. We’re currently wrapping up the development sprint, and I hope to launch it very soon.

Speak at One Event

It’s been many years since I’ve spoken at any events, but this year, I’m determined to change that. My goal is to speak at least one event. It’s time to shift out of my current mode and return to actively pursuing what I love.

Have Founders Be Break Even

Ensuring Founders reaches a point of self-sustainability is crucial for the organization’s continued growth, and I’m dedicating this year to making that happen. Building something that can impact others while sustaining itself is incredibly important to me.

Donate at Least 1% of my Time.

I aim to donate at least 1% of my time to empowering others and making a meaningful impact. Ideally, this percentage will increase over time, but I want to set an achievable goal for now. So, for this year, I’m committing 1% of my time to this effort. I’ll be keeping track and am excited to see how it turns out.

Read Every Single Day

The recent Founders Reading Challenge rekindled my passion for reading, and a captivating book from someone I deeply care about, called The Midnight Library, reignited my desire even further. As a result, I’ve set a goal to read every single day.

Write Daily

Writing is another activity I want to do more often. It lets my creative juices flow and always puts me in a better mood, so I aim to dedicate time to it every single day.

How do I Reach These Goals?

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of my goals for the next year, it’s a representative sample. The key question is: how can I achieve them all?

What sets these goals apart? What sets me apart this time?

The goals themselves are similar to my usual aspirations. The biggest difference lies in my perspective—how I view myself and my capabilities. This year, I truly believe in my ability to achieve every one of these goals.

Believing in myself will be a major factor in achieving these goals this year. I will surround myself with supportive people who encourage and inspire me. Additionally, I will celebrate small victories along the way to keep my spirits high and reinforce my determination.

I’ll frequently check in on my progress for each goal and share updates on the sidebar to track how things are going. Regularly reviewing and adjusting my plans will keep me on track and help me adapt to unforeseen challenges. I’ll also provide reports on my progress and share my experiences.

This is going to be an amazing year and I am happy you are here with me for it.