Wrapped & Ready
'Tis the season of wrapping up the year we just had and contemplating the one that's arrived -- and a million ways to go about it. Here are a couple of hopefully eye-roll-free alt approaches to try.
Learn. Earn. Burn. LIVE!
Well not quite live, but last year’s Learn.Earn.Burn. pdf was ready for an upgrade, so I made a little explainer video instead.
The backstory: After years of picking a single resolution that I inevitably didn’t end up sticking to and then felt bad about, I was determined to find a brand new (and more realistic) way to set myself up to have the year I actually want to live.
So a couple years ago I sat down and thought about what might become possible if instead of approaching it as setting a single, big resolution for the year, I asked myself a few questions as *starting points* about what I want more of — in terms of knowledge and experiences, my relationship with money, and what I want less of and need to let go to make room for the new stuff.
And it became something I call Learn.Earn.Burn. Here’s more about it 👇
🟨 Learn: What do you want to try that’s new, or do differently?
🟨 Earn: How do you want to make money (both in approach and tactically)?
🟨 Burn: What needs to go, in order to make space for the new stuff?
It only takes a notebook, pen, and 30 minutes or less, and you’ll end up with one, immediate action to take — right now — in each of the three categories to get you in motion. Watch the video above for a step-by-step walkthrough.
If you have any questions, or better yet if you give it a try, reply to this email and let me know — I’m happy to help and I want to hear about it. Have fun!
Looking back to look ahead
Spotify Wrapped is great and all (is it, tho? — more on that below), but the lookback I look forward to most is about the year I actually lived.
And one thing that I know about myself is that in order to actually complete an annual exercise like this,
it has to be easy. It has to be tactile. And it has to be entertaining.
So around this time each year, I grab my favorite pen, notebook, and my phone – and get to it.
It’s pretty simple (and particularly dreamy to do solo at a restaurant or sitting at the bar). It goes like this:
Open notebook and write January in the upper left corner.
Open Photos app and scroll back to the beginning of the year.
Scan for the highlights that mattered or stood out – and any of the more challenging ones – it can be helpful to reflect on those, too.
Repeat for each month of the year; then do the same exercise from the top, but using your Calendar app (or planner) to catch any stray moments.
That’s it.
And the biggest bonus of doing this kind of exercise is that it’s a lot easier to consider the year you want to have (see above) if you’ve freshly reflected on the one that just finished up.
My year in music
As you may already know, I’m music obsessed. My favorite thing to think about (and, honestly, that keeps me going and inspired), is the idea that we have an unlimited number of favorite songs that we’ve never even heard yet. Blows my mind every time. And it applies to experiences in life, too — but that’s for another time.
So it should be no surprise that when Spotify Wrapped season comes along, I get pretty excited — but inevitably, it goes something like this:
Me in November: I can’t wait to see what kind of magical insights and mind blowing trends I’ll learn about myself!
Spotify in December: You have the music taste of a 63 year old.
It’s an annual let down, so instead, I created my own playlist of the standout songs I had in rotation in 2025. I hope you’ll find one of those unlimited new favorite songs somewhere in here…
The most unique, unexpected/out of nowhere song that I had on repeat
The artist I’m most excited to hear more from and see live
The sickest visuals x sound combo / world I’d like to live in for a day
The song I discovered in the final days of 2025 and can’t stop playing
The arrangement that knocked me down to the ground (that ending!!)
The niche artist I think is brilliant and will blow up next year
The song that feels old but is new
A favorite song from my childhood that I rediscovered this year
My favorite video discovery of the year (and fashion inspo for 2026)
The track that proves the raw magic under the pop hit (<3 Colors Studios)
The song that I overlooked on the album until I saw it performed live
The song that I think is so simple and pretty and belt out in the car
The classic I’d never heard until this year (and that isn’t on Spotify)
If you made it this far, I really appreciate it, and I’d love to hear from you.
If something in here stood out to you, reply and let me know. If you’re feeling curious about coaching and work with me, grab some time and we can connect. If you’re a current client, I’ll see you soon :), and hey, former clients — I’d love to hear from you too!