Good morning!

Last week I had the privilege to lead some local friends through an evening workshop that left them encouraged about how they could win in 2026. More to come on that in a minute…

Often times when I’m around really smart, inspirational people who are talking about next year - they say a version of this quote, and it smacks me in the face…

“The most important person you are going to lead this year is yourself.”

I don’t know who said it first, but it’s so true. And every single year that passes it’s still true. If I lead myself well - everything else is going to fall into better place in my life and my work. But if it was easy to lead ourselves well, then we’d all be perfect and our relationships would be perfect.

Turns out that I’m not perfect. And my relationships aren’t either. 🙃

THE GAME CHANGING EXERCISE

But that’s all the more reason why I want to lead myself well. I want to be better and I want to be better in my relationships.

And while I’ve always wanted that to be true for me, back in December 2021 I started doing something that dramatically made my life - and my relationships - better.

I was coming out of a turbulent season and it felt like my life was not working.

There wasn’t one exact reason why - but I just knew that something had to change.

And what I had learned from my time at Nike is that often times the best way to move forward in a positive direction is to look back.

So, I created a simple reflection exercise - what I now call the Worthy Wins Annual Reflection - to look back at my year: what worked, what didn’t, and what opportunities I wanted to consider for the upcoming year.

It was eye-opening and allowed me to take an honest look at my life. In some ways that hurt because there were some places I had lost. There were also some wins to be proud of.

But what it ultimately did was set a benchmark in the key relationships in my life for what I wanted to keep doing, stop doing, and start doing.

Going through that exercise was the beginning of leading myself better in the year ahead.

INVITING OTHERS IN

Over the last four years, I’ve invited my wife to do the exercise. We’ve shared ours with each other and it’s made for some awesome dialogue, challenging conversations, and cool breakthroughs in the end.

I’ve also shared the template with a handful of friends to do on their own.

But I’ve never formally taken any one besides my wife through the exercise.

Until last week.

And it affirmed my assumption - the exercise could help other people lead themselves better in the year ahead.

I gathered six friends at my office to have some pizza, talk about life, and ultimately go through the Worthy Wins Annual Reflection exercise.

In the end, we all walked away with our tanks full and a plan to win in the places that matter most in 2026.

Here’s what one of the guys said…

What an honor to get to help my friends enter 2026 like that.

WANT TO GET WORTHY WINS IN 2026?

Why am I telling you this?

Because after the time with my friends last week I realized there are plenty of people who don’t live near me that might be interested in doing the exercise to help themselves get Worthy Wins in 2026.

So, I am going to host an online version of the Worthy Wins in 2026 exercise for anyone who wants to join.

Totally free.

It will be 90 mins. I’ll do it on January 2 at 3pm Eastern, 12pm Pacific.

Mid-day? Yes. The truth is that there is no perfect time to do this.

But the question is this: Are you willing to block off and prioritize 90 minutes so that you can ultimately get more wins in 2026?

Every single friend who came to my office had things they could have done that evening instead. Yet, every single one of them said it was worth it because it was setting them up to win MORE with the people they love the most in 2026.

For those with kids that means you may miss a portion of the evening with your families - BUT every single friend who came to my office a few weeks ago also has a family who they had to step away from that evening.

If you’d like to jump in - sign up here. Again - totally FREE.

I just want to share an exercise that has helped me lead myself better - and that I guarantee will help you lead yourself better in 2026. (Yes I said guarantee - because this is about simple, actionable ways to get Worthy Wins. Anyone will learn something that will help them for next year - I promise.)

Hope to see you there.

Much love,

JO

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WORTHY WINS REFLECTION QUESTIONS

PS: If you don’t want to or can't come I still want to encourage you.... Ask yourself these three simple questions at a minimum…

1. What is one win I had with the most important relationship in my life in 2025?
2. What is one loss I had with the most important relationship in my life in 2025?
3. What is one opportunity to better care for my most relationship in 2026?

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PSS: If you would like to help me out on the book front, the biggest thing I need right now are reviews on Amazon. ❤️

If you haven't gotten a copy and are still willing, here's the best ways: ​Hardcover and Paperback, ​​Kindle, & ​Barnes and Noble.

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{Saint Augustine, FL 32080}