Biggest win (business)
Launching the newsletter
I was terrified of writing.
I got labeled 'dyslexic' in grade school. My essays underperformed in college. Somewhere along the way, I picked up the identity that “I’m not a writer.” And whenever it came time to write something, I froze. That’s why I chose videos early on.
Speaking on camera? Fine. Writing for an audience? Absolutely not.
But I knew if I wanted to expand creatively, I needed to get over myself. So last year, during my annual review, I said fu*k it. 2025 would be the year I started writing. Not a rushed promo-only email list either, but a real, value-heavy newsletter people actually look forward to opening.
And that’s exactly what happened.
This year I published over 50 issues. I didn’t miss a single week. Some emails hit harder than others. Others were me just showing up.
But being on the hook to write publicly every week retaught me something I keep forgetting: the power of just showing up.
At first, each newsletter took me over 10 hours, and only a few thousand people read. But now I can bang ideas out in 2-3 hours, and we've built an engaged, good-sized audience. And the best part: I look forward to writing each week.
That’s what consistency does.
So if you’ve been putting off a goal because you’re scared or don’t feel ready, stop focusing on the results. Just start showing up this year. You’ll be amazed how far that takes you.
Biggest lesson (personal)
You run out of energy when you run out of future
I sent a pretty raw letter on this lesson a few weeks back.
The last two years, I had months feeling like something was broken inside me.
When I hit a million subscribers, instead of feeling on top of the world, I felt… empty. Like I was going through the motions of a life I used to be excited about.
I tried everything. Hiring coaches, grinding harder, obsessively dissecting every piece of my life… wondering if I’d already peaked at 34.
None of it worked because none of it was the actual problem.
Here’s what finally hit me:
I wasn’t burnt out. I’d run out of vision.
And in 2024/2025, I was trying to run on a vision I’d already completed. Of course I had no energy! The old vision had already run its course.
AND- when I reflect back on every major breakthrough I’ve had (the gold play button, my coaching program, pro drumming, etc), all those big moments came from a clear vision I saw clearly in my mind years before it actually happened.
I learned vision produces energy, not the other way around.
So if you’re stuck right now, stop asking “what’s wrong with me?” Start asking “what future am I even moving toward?”
If this resonates with you, check out my video here.
Biggest lesson (business)
The myth of passive income
I rarely talk finances, but let's be honest, it's one of the most important areas of life. So let me share something that smacked me this year.
(Fair warning, I'm about to get on my soapbox for a minute)
After a decade in online business, I've watched a lot of people chase the "make money while you sleep" dream. Most never get there. And the ones who do? They usually fumble it.
Here’s what actually happens.
Getting to 1-2M profit a year is brutally hard, sustaining it past four years is even harder, and along the way, most people rack up overhead, teams, and lifestyle creep that eats everything they made. Then they peak. And because they assumed the good years would last forever, they have nothing to show for it.
I've watched friends scale back this year who are struggling badly. People you'd never guess are living paycheck to paycheck behind what they post on Instagram. And it made me ask: if after all that work you have nothing to show for it, what was the point?
(trust me, I've asked myself this at 2 am more than once)
Here's what I've learned. The goal was never passive income. The goal is to become a high earner and funnel that money into assets that compound.
You don't earn your way rich, you invest your way there.
And you don't need to start a business to do it. Most people would build more wealth with a high-earning career and consistent investing than chasing the entrepreneur dream. Somehow that's 'failure' on social media. It's not. It's just less sexy to post about index funds than lifestyle.
Start by setting aside and investing 10%. Don't touch it. Let compounding work for you.
Pay yourself first. Make sure a part of every dollar you make is yours to keep. That lesson might be worth more than anything I've built.
Stepping off the soapbox now :)
🎯 Goals hit
Not a bad year tbh:
Gym PRs — Bench 285 lbs. Squat 315 lbs. Deadlift 405 lbs. Strongest year of my life (also most sore lol)
Email Newsletter — 50+ issues published. Didn’t miss a single week.
My Best Journal — The first product I ever created back in 2015. Completely relaunched & rebuilt from scratch in 2025!
Acting 101 Class — find, enroll, and complete.
Caffeine — 100 days no caffeine challenge (currently on day 65, my personality is slowly returning.)
Travel — 2 x international trips (Mexico x 2)
Dog — Adopted a second German Shepherd and survived a 6-week board and train (she’s a total psycho, but we love her).
Music Production — Produced my own ambient tracks and used them in videos. Small win, but felt cool.
Sponsors — experimented with a new revenue stream and was able to collab with 6 cool brands
YouTube Series — Launched “The Book Breakdowns” and filmed the first 3 episodes.
Blog — Finally launched a home for all the newsletters.
🫠 Goals missed
Can't win 'em all:
Body Composition — goal was 190 lbs at 15% body fat (Pretty far off... like, don’t ask haha)
2M Subscribers — about 80k short
40 Long-Form Videos — ended at 34.
New Flagship Program — in the works for 2026.
Custom Physical journal — everyone’s been asking for this. Might still do in 2026. The economics of it are a bit complicated, but never say never!
Newsletter Subscribers — goal was 75k. Ended around half of that. Still stoked though. 50%+ open rates and dozens of replies every week? I'll take it.
🔥 New goals for 2026
Let's see how many of these I can actually hit
Wedding — may 2nd is the big date.
Launch Reinvention — my new flagship program. Been outlined for years. Time to stop planning and actually build the damn thing.
2M Subscribers — not missing it this year!
35+ Long-Form Videos — write, film, and produce.
Body Composition — 190 lbs at 15% while maintaining strength
New Studio Setup — build out a new permanent shot that shows personality and makes filming feel effortless.
Therapy — find a great therapist and commit to 25+ sessions. Long overdue.
Short-Form Content — find a talented editor and get back into shorts are fun to make.
Read 20+ Books — including the Walter Isaacson biographies on Einstein and Da Vinci. Those have been staring at me from the shelf for too long.
Other Intentions (would be cool, but no pressure)
YouTube Program — A cohort-style program teaching how to grow on youtube. Behind-the-scenes breakdown of how I hit 1M+ subs, 100M organic long-form views, and over 14 years of lessons as a one-man show. Might also experiment with a second channel around this if it feels right.
Drums — Find or build a space to record real drum videos again. E-kits are fine but nothing beats the real thing. Realized how much I missed that part of me. Plus it looks badass on camera.
🏆 My top videos
- 5 Books That Will Make You Smarter Than 98% of People (534K views)
- Ultimate Self-Improvement BOOK Tier List (BEST to WORST) (183K views)
- 10 Harsh Truths I Wish I Knew a Decade Ago (134K views)
- Letting Go: You’ll Keep Suffering Until You Admit This (116K views)
- I QUIT New Age Thought (why I’m NEVER going back) (111K views)
📚 Best books
Ordered 43 books this year, read 25, and finished 15 cover to cover. Here are the best books I read:
- East of Eden — Steinbeck’s retelling of Cain and Abel. The way he writes pulls you in like a movie playing in your head for 40 hours straight. Might be my favorite book I’ve ever read.
- The Fountainhead — Re-read this one. Judging by comments when I recommended it in a video, people either love this book or absolutely hate it. No in between. I’m in the love camp.
- Crime & Punishment — Heavy book, but the way Dostoevsky shows you the power of guilt and morality stuck with me for months after I finished.
- Mere Christianity — C.S. Lewis making the case for faith in a way that actually makes you think. Short and worth your time whether you’re religious or not.
If you want my full list of 10 books I recommend for 2026, watch this video
Two more things
Don’t outsource your creativity to A.I.
Here’s my fear: the same way typing ruined our handwriting, AI is coming for our critical thinking. Sort of ‘use it or lose it.’
I know you’ve felt it too. Everyone sounds the same now, reading off teleprompters with GPT scripts. The whole content landscape feels…sterile?
I’m not anti-AI. I use Claude daily. But I never let AI touch my ideas, because the one thing you have is your humanity. Your stories, your weird, specific lived experience. That’s what makes people care. Not editing or perfect hooks... YOU.
This year, I’m leaning all the way into it.
1,400 Days Alcohol-Free
Still going strong! Rarely tempted anymore (except at weddings. Dance floors test you)
1,400 days ago, I had no idea this is what my life would look like. What started as my 30-day experiment just never ended. Turns out I didn’t lose anything. I just gained a version of myself I actually trust.
If you’re curious, try 30 days this year. See how you feel. You might surprise yourself.
If I had to sum up 2025 in one line: vision produces energy. I spent too long running on fumes from a future I’d already lived. 2026 is about building something new.
Thanks for being here. Let me know what hit. Genuinely, the fact that you read this far means more than you know!
Wishing you a happy New Year.
See you saturday,
CK