Welcome to 2025! It’s natural to look back on 2024 and evaluate the journey you've taken. My recommendation, rather than setting traditional New Year’s resolutions, consider taking a more thoughtful and introspective approach. Reflect on 2024 by documenting your experiences, celebrating your progress, and identifying areas for growth. Here’s how to make the most of this reflection process and step into 2025 with purpose and clarity.

Places You Visited

Where did you go in 2024 that left an impact on you? Whether it was a far-flung destination or a quiet corner of your hometown, revisit these memories. Write about what made these places meaningful—the people, the experiences, or the lessons learned.

Strategy:

• Create a travel journal with photos and short reflections.

• Rank your top three most inspiring locations and note why they resonated with you.

People Who Inspired You

Who were the individuals that uplifted or motivated you this year? Reflect on how they influenced your mindset, decisions, or outlook.

Strategy:

• Write letters (even if you don’t send them) expressing gratitude to these people.

• Consider how you can carry forward their influence in your life.

What Did You Learn?

Think about the challenges you faced and the insights they offered. What moments pushed you to grow, and how did you respond?

Strategy:

• Break down major events into three parts: the situation, your reaction, and the lesson.

• Journal prompts:

  • What is one thing 2024 taught me about myself?

  • How did I overcome a difficult moment?

Handling Adversity and Setbacks

Adversity is inevitable, but how you handle it shapes your character. Were there moments where you surprised yourself with resilience or grace? Or times when you wish you had shown up differently?

Strategy:

• Create a “handle adversity” playbook. Include techniques or affirmations that worked for you and identify areas where you’d like to improve.

• Ask yourself: Did I show up the way I wanted to in tough situations?

Celebrate Wins

Take time to acknowledge your achievements, no matter how small. Pride in your accomplishments lays the foundation for future successes.

Strategy:

• Make a list of your top five wins in 2024.

• Reward yourself with something meaningful, such as a personal treat or a day of rest.

Identify Growth Areas

Examine areas where you’d like to improve. Focus on your reactions and intentions in specific situations.

Strategy:

• Write down one behavior you’d like to adjust in 2025 and how you plan to do it.

• Partner with a trusted friend or mentor to keep you accountable.

Set Intentions, Not Resolutions

Resolutions can feel rigid, while intentions allow flexibility and growth. How do you want to show up in 2025?

Strategy:

• Choose a theme for the year (e.g., “curiosity,” “balance,” or “growth”).

• Write a vision statement for the year: “In 2025, I want to...”

Commit to Thoughtful Living

Rather than trying to overhaul your life, focus on small, consistent changes that align with your values.

Strategy:

• Start each month by reflecting on your progress.

• Practice mindfulness through journaling, meditation, or daily gratitude exercises.

Reflecting on 2024 isn’t just about revisiting the past; it’s about learning, celebrating, and growing. By documenting your journey, embracing the lessons, and setting thoughtful intentions, you can approach 2025 with a sense of purpose and clarity. Let this year be a chapter where you write your story deliberately and authentically.

www.BusinessFinanceAndSoul.com

Episode Overview:
In this episode, I explore the critical concepts of risk tolerance and risk capacity, examining their distinct roles in decision-making across various facets of life, including finance, career, and personal relationships.

Key Themes:

1. Defining Risk Tolerance and Risk Capacity:

   • Risk Tolerance: Described as an individual’s emotional comfort with uncertainty and potential loss, influenced by personality and life experiences.
   • Risk Capacity: Refers to one’s financial and emotional ability to withstand losses.

2. The Misalignment of Risk Factors:

   • Highlighting how risk tolerance and capacity are not always aligned, leading to potential conflicts in decision-making.
   • Examples include being emotionally ready for risks but lacking the necessary financial resources, or vice versa.

3. Impact on Investment Decisions:

   • Importance of understanding both factors for informed investment strategies.
   • Discusses consequences of mismatches, such as panic selling during market downturns.
   • Advocates for a long-term investment approach to endure short-term losses.

4. Application Beyond Finance:

   • Exploration of risk in major life decisions, like career changes and relationships.
   • Encourages evaluation of motivations and readiness, both financially and emotionally.
   • Suggests seeking support during setbacks and balancing short-term challenges with long-term gains.

5. Planning and Adaptability:

   • Emphasizes careful planning and the need to adapt to changing circumstances.
   • Importance of understanding personal resources, goals, and inclinations toward risk.

Conclusion:
By gaining a deeper understanding of risk tolerance and risk capacity, individuals can make more informed and aligned decisions, ultimately leading to more favorable outcomes in both financial and personal spheres.

Call to Action:
Reflect on your own risk tolerance and capacity. Consider how these factors influence your decision-making and how you can better align them to achieve your goals.

www.BusinessFinanceAndSoul.com

In the dynamic world of travel rewards, Julian Kheel stands out as a trailblazer, helping travelers unlock the full potential of their miles and points. With a wealth of experience as a former Director and Senior Analyst at The Points Guy and Senior Editor at CNN covering finance and travel, Julian brings unparalleled expertise to the table. Now, as the founder of Points Path, he is revolutionizing how we view and utilize travel rewards, transforming them from mere perks into indispensable tools for smart and intentional travel planning.

Today’s episode is a must-listen! Whether you’re curious about diving into the world of travel rewards or seeking expert advice on points hacks to optimize your journeys, Julian has invaluable insights to share.

Don’t forget to check out Points Path and download their free extension—link below—to start planning your travels with purpose and precision!

You can connect with Julian at:

https://pointspath.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-kheel-a50a0b18b/

https://www.instagram.com/juliankheel/?hl=en

Join me today as I explore Noetic Truth.

There’s something profoundly mysterious about the way humans navigate the world. Beneath the surface of logic and reason lies an internal compass—a subtle, often unexplainable knowing—that many refer to as noetic truth. It’s not taught, nor is it learned in the traditional sense. It simply is, waiting for us to notice it. But where does this inner knowledge come from, and how has it shaped human existence?

To explore the origins of noetic truth, we must look through multiple lenses: biology, spirituality, philosophy, and history. Each offers a unique perspective, yet they converge in one remarkable fact—this truth is both universal and timeless.

www.BusinessFinanceAndSoul.com

Cannon Carr, a regional director at EP Wealth, transitioned from being a Wall Street analyst to an entrepreneur in wealth advisory to have a more meaningful impact on clients’ lives. He merged his firm with EP Wealth Advisors to access growth capital and improved services.

Cannon now aids business owners in achieving life goals through independent wealth management, discussing the shift from corporate environments to entrepreneurship, emphasizing financial freedom, managing overhead, and balancing profit maximization with long-term growth investments. He reflects on the naivety of first-time entrepreneurs and complex business decisions like reinvesting dividends versus taking them as income, learning from family business failures.

Carr highlights that spending habits affect financial stability and happiness more than income levels and introduces the “three R’s” framework—reward, reinvest, and repurpose—for aligning finances with personal satisfaction. He outlines strategies for managing profits, stressing the need for a clear financial roadmap, exit strategy, and cautioning against emotional business ties. He discusses “lifestyle creep,” emphasizing clear financial independence goals and the importance of maintaining liquidity for emergencies. Carr advocates for behavioral discipline and having a financial accountability coach, contrasting scarcity and abundance mindsets with insights from Warren Buffett and opportunities during economic downturns.

You can connect with Cannon through his podcast or Linkedin:

https://businessownertales.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cannon-carr/

Join Shaun Enders, CEO of Transition Staffing Group, and Kelly Swanberg, CEO of Cake Freight, as they chat about how to build high-performing teams by finding the right people and keeping them engaged.

Key Points:

1. Finding Great Talent:

   • Cake Freight uses LinkedIn and works with recruiters to keep a steady stream of candidates.
   • It’s crucial to have flexible team members, especially when the company is growing.

2. Keeping Employees Happy:

   • Focus on team vibes and leadership, not just perks, to keep people around.
   • Clear communication and career paths motivate employees, especially in smaller teams.

3. Skill Growth and Teamwork:

   • Keep developing skills and match personal goals with the company’s vision.
   • Work with recruiting firms to ensure new hires fit well with the company culture.

4. Tackling Hiring Hurdles:

   • Avoid biases and don’t focus too much on fancy backgrounds to prevent hiring mistakes.
   • Use a structured onboarding process with clear goals and performance indicators.

5. Refreshing the Hiring Process:

   • Include collaborative projects before hiring and extend interviews to 30-60 days for better assessment.

6. Streamlining Recruitment:

   • Use tools like LinkedIn and video interviews for smoother recruitment.
   • Partner with recruiting firms that align with your company culture.

7. Building Long-Term Partnerships:

   • Do thorough checks to ensure candidates are a good fit.
   • Develop lasting relationships with search firms to understand top performer traits, crucial for selecting the right candidates.
   • A search firm’s reputation and knowledge of your business can greatly affect the company’s market image.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyswanberg/

https://cakefreight.com/

In this episode I address the common tendency to repeatedly tackle familiar problems, creating a false sense of progress. I call it the problem solving loop and there are reasons for this cycle, including the comfort of familiarity, the allure of quick fixes, and the avoidance of complex challenges.

Key Points:

1. Understanding the Cycle:
   • Exploration of why we gravitate towards solving familiar problems.
   • Analysis of the comfort and security provided by known issues.
   • Discussion on how simple solutions provide immediate gratification.
2. Strategies for Effective Problem-Solving:
   • Emphasizing the need for identifying deeper, sustainable solutions.
   • Importance of building upon existing resolutions to achieve real progress.
3. Examples from Sports:
   • Insights from sports like pickleball, illustrating the concept of advancing beyond basic skills for continuous improvement.
4. Application Across Life Areas:
   • Encouragement to focus on new challenges after completing smaller tasks to clear mental space for significant goals.
   • Strategies for tackling more complex and impactful challenges.
5. Consistency and Evaluation:
   • Highlighting the necessity of consistent implementation of solutions.
   • Regular evaluations to track progress and ensure growth.

I aimed in this episode to share my personal challenges in this area and I encourage listeners to move beyond the comfort of repetitive problem-solving by embracing new challenges, focusing on deeper solutions, and consistently evaluating progress. This approach not only enhances personal and business growth but also frees mental energy for more significant goals.

www.BusinessFinanceAndSoul.com

Episode Theme:
The transformative power of solo trips in a hectic world.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Importance of Solitude:

   • Solo trips are essential amidst life’s hustle and bustle, providing a space for personal time that fuels creativity and self-reflection.
   • Being alone helps individuals connect with their true selves and visualize future aspirations.

2. Personal Growth Through Solitude:

   • Listening to one’s own thoughts and instincts is crucial for personal growth and self-discovery.
   • I talk about planning and embarking on a solo trip, though initially intimidating, led to empowerment and fulfillment.

3. Supportive Partnerships:

   • Mutual support between your partner is very helpful and encouraging, because the truth is, you will come back as a better partner for them.

4. Activities to Enhance the Experience:

   • Engage in journaling, meditation, and connecting with nature to enrich the solo journey.
   • Journaling is recommended as a powerful tool for processing thoughts, with hand-written entries offering deeper insights.

5. Practical Tips for Solo Trips:

   • Choose safe and peaceful destinations, minimize distractions, and prioritize self-reflection.
   • Pack essentials like comfortable clothes, a book, and a journal to facilitate the experience.
   • Stay flexible, trust your intuition, and embrace the opportunity to escape chaos and gain clarity.

6. Overcoming Hesitation:

   • If a solo trip seems daunting, view it as an invitation to explore with curiosity and embrace the potential for growth.

Conclusion:
Solo trips are not just escapes; they are journeys inward that offer mental clarity, emotional resets, and the chance to address personal and professional goals. Embrace the solitude to reconnect with yourself and navigate life’s chaos with renewed clarity.

www.BusinessFinanceAndSoul.com