As 2025 is winding down, we’re days away from Christmas, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. With a desire to maximize these last few days of the year, I went back to my AI Personal Board of Directors, I asked this question: “Ending the year, what should I be focused on over the next 10 days as we approach Christmas and the week between Christmas and New Year’s when things get quiet?”
Before I share what they told me, let me say this. There are stories in the news today about individuals seeking AI therapists or developing relationships with AI personalities. That is not what this AI Personal Board of Directors represents to me. I am not sharing my innermost, deep, dark secrets with ChatGPT. Instead, I am using this tool to gather perspectives from a diverse group of individuals, and then I am challenging those perspectives as I compare them with my faith, core values, and conversations with live human friends and mentors. That last piece is essential to this exercise – we each need real human beings in our corner to bounce ideas off of, hold us accountable, and listen when we need an ear. AI is not, and never will be, a replacement for that.
Having said that, here are the insights my AI Personal Board of Directors gave me as I enter these next 10 days…
THE NEXT 10 DAYS:
Protect the Core (Marriage, Family, Faith)
- Jesus: Slow down so you can hear Me. Presence over productivity. Love deeply, forgive quickly, and create space for peace in your home.
- Marcus Aurelius: Stay steady. Don’t be pulled by the swirl of the holidays. Choose virtue, calm, and intentionality.
- Scottie Scheffler: Anchor your identity in the right place—who you are before God, not what you accomplish.
Actions
- Create 3 intentional touchpoints with C before Christmas (walk, coffee, shared planning for 2026).
- Plan one meaningful connection with each kid over break.
- Protect 15 minutes each morning for silence, Scripture, and gratitude.
Reset Your Operating System
- Rob Dyrdek: Refine the machine. Systems are freedom. Your 2026 goals need workflows, not wishes.
- Dharmesh Shah: Simplify, automate, and eliminate friction. Create clarity so you can scale.
Actions
- Map your 2026 Weekly Operating System on one page.
- Decide what you will stop doing in 2026 (this is as important as what you will start).
- Build your “Sweet Spot Operating Manual” draft — what you do best, how you operate best, how others work best with you.
Strengthen the Marriage Priority
- Jocko Willink: Discipline equals freedom—especially in marriage. Lead. Show up. Take ownership of connection.
- Rick Rubin: Create quiet moments. Presence creates intimacy. Remove noise so you can feel what matters.
Actions
- Identify 3 rhythms to elevate your marriage in 2026 (date cadence, rituals, communication habits).
- Ask C: “What’s one thing I can do in 2026 that would make you feel profoundly loved?”
Prepare the Business for a Strong January
- Jesse Itzler: Set the stage now. January momentum is built in December. Get ahead while the world sleeps.
- Simon Sinek: Reconnect to why OBC exists. Reconnect your team to it. Let purpose pull 2026 forward.
Actions
- Identify your top three needles to move in Q1.
- Confirm the 2026 revenue plan with simple, clear priorities.
- Clean your workspace, email, files—physical and digital reset.
Deepen Your Physical and Mental Foundation
- Andrew Huberman: Your state is your strategy. Prioritize sleep, sunlight, and training through the holidays.
- Chadd Wright: Choose hard things voluntarily so the involuntary ones don’t break you.
Actions
- Set your workout rhythm for the next 10 days—no maybes, only appointments.
- Define your physical goal for Q1 (you already know 180 matters).
- Walk outside every day between Christmas and New Year’s.
Quiet Inventory & Clarity Work (Dec 26–31)
This is the “monastic week” of the year. The world slows down—use the silence.
- Napoleon Hill: This is the moment to imprint the dominant desire for 2026 into your subconscious.
- Jim Rohn: Don’t start the new year with last year’s philosophy. Upgrade your thinking first.
Actions
- Review your life categories and assign each a clear 2026 intention.
- Revisit your 10 big 2026 goals—adjust wording for clarity and emotional pull.
- Write your 2026 Rules for Life Manifesto.
- Do a 90-minute “Courage Audit”: where did fear hold you back in 2025? Where will courage lead you in 2026?
Build 2026 Momentum (Jan 1 starts now)
- Earl Nightingale: You become what you think about. Set your mind deliberately.
- Jesse Itzler: Start January with a bang—don’t warm up. Go.
Actions
- Choose your 2026 word or phrase.
- Lock your January 1–15 priorities right now.
- Create a “Day One Script” for the first workday of the year.
THE 10-DAY FOCUS SUMMARY
RELATIONSHIPS
- Deepen connection with C
- Intentional touchpoints with both kids
- Morning faith rhythm
SELF + SYSTEMS
- 2026 Weekly OS
- Sweet Spot Operating Manual
- Stop-doing list
BUSINESS
- Q1 priorities
- 2026 revenue clarity
- Reset workspace + inbox
BODY + MIND
- Holiday training plan
- Q1 fitness target
- Daily outdoor walks
VISION + PURPOSE
- Refine the 10 goals
- 2026 Rules for Life
- 2026 word/phrase
- Day One Script
…
WHAT NEXT?
Subscribe here and stay connected with me into the new year for more insights like this.
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Reflecting back, and setting goals forward…
We’re in that time of year when everyone is starting to reflect. With one year winding down and another on the horizon, reflection seems to be more top-of-mind for all of us. With that, I have two tools to share. First is my free 2025 Year in Review worksheet, a great way to dive into the lessons you’ve learned this year, personally and professionally.
Second, as we’re all thinking about our goals for the new year, I have a set of goal setting strategies to share, as well as a goal setting worksheet I use every year to set my own vision and direction. We’ll guide you through committing to a few goals backed by purpose, clarity, and a proven process, which turns ideas into outcomes. You can find both of those here.
Here’s to making the most of every opportunity the new year brings our way! – John
