Recapping 2025: Mourned my past, celebrated the present, and surrendered to my future

I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into 2025.

It was a bit chaotic in 2024, with a lot of family problems, a shaky relationship with Kristi at times, and work becoming overwhelming…

2025 is going to be a year that I will remember for the rest of my life. It’ll mark a pivotal point in my life, where I grew emotionally and spiritually, and took significant steps towards becoming the man I’ve always envisioned myself to be.

Life

Highlights

Got closer to Kristi on a level that I could have never imagined. It’s been an insane year of growth for both of us, and to share those insights from our coaching session with one another has deepened our relationship. I’m grateful that we’re both doing the work because it has transformed our marriage.
Kept consistent with my mantras. I don’t think I realized how deeply insecure and negative I was towards myself until I started to practice mantras. I felt like the biggest imposter, saying things like “I am enough without having to do more.” but I started to believe it more and more as I said it. The mantras have changed how I feel inside, which has changed the way I see everything else.
Took up a meditation and gratitude practice. These both take about five minutes each day. I do my best to focus on a 4-second inhale and then a 6-second exhale for the meditation. The gratitude practice has been the biggest surprise. It’s simple. I sit, set a timer, and say things outloud that I am grateful for. I ran out of things to say within the first two days and started to say things like roof over my head, food in the fridge, ability to breathe, etc. I think that’s where the magic happens.
Became more mature and attuned to my emotions. This one was a big shocker for me, but I admitted that I wanted the love and approval of my father. It stung like crazy, and I felt so damn weak admitting it…but I cried afterwards and felt a lightness that I haven’t felt in years. I’ve always wanted to make it seem like I’ve got my sh*t together, so finally accepting the parts of myself that I’ve hidden for so long has given me immense freedom.
I forgave my younger self and really learned to love myself. I’ve always been harsh on myself. I struggled with a porn addiction, anxiety, depression, and I never really did well academically until I got into physical therapy school. I had confidence issues, drowned in insecurities, and should have worn a t-shirt that said “please validate me” because that was what I wanted. I realized that deep down…I was a little kid who was terrified of being abandoned because I was separated from my biological parents and never really felt the unconditional love that every child should experience. It all started with a dream that I had of watching my younger self play in a room all alone. It was a cathartic experience that I felt in my gut. I’ve shamed you for so long when I was doing the best I could to self-soothe.

Lowlights

Judged others for not doing the work I was doing. This is probably part of the spiritual journey, but the judgment comes from my own insecurities. I am grateful to be in a position where I have access to all of these resources, and I really need to be more patient with people who do not. I also need to be okay when people don’t fully understand where I am coming from. I think it’s okay to be misunderstood. I felt the need to protect my ego, and I think that’s where the judgment comes from.
Overpromised and underdelivered because of my people-pleasing nature. One of the things that triggered me was when people said things and did not follow through with them. Everything that was a trigger, I tried to hold the mirror up to see what I was still judging myself for. A lot of small promises that I made to other people that I never fulfilled on. It felt like death by a thousand paper cuts. I need to say no more.
Too much time on my phone. My screen time has not really changed, and I need to get better at delegating my social media game so that I can get back my focus. I’ve also utilized social media to decompress at the end of the day, which has fed the addiction with funny videos, philosophy, and watches. The algorithm is too strong, and I need to have someone else handle it all.
My relationship with alcohol and all-or-nothing personality. I’ve told myself for so long that I am an intense person. I go from 0-100, and that’s just who I am. The truth is that it became a story that I told myself, and that story continued to manifest in my life because I believed it. I had a nasty hangover in December and finally realized that I can change the story. I have self-control…that’s who I am.

Lessons learned

Surrendering to your emotions doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck in that emotion forever. I was afraid to feel abandoned, weak, and vulnerable because I thought that would be a permanent state. I weaponized my logic and tried to build myself up as much as I could to avoid feeling these emotions. The truth is that I didn’t create a moat; I prevented myself from growing. I’ve suppressed emotions for too long. That made me scared to take certain actions because I was afraid of a response that would expose me to the emotions I was afraid to experience.
I am currently rich with moments that I would pay a lot of money to relive in the future. I had Oliver on my lap with his head out the window while I was driving. We were blasting sad boi music, and I saw his ears flap in the wind. At some point, I won’t be able to experience this again. It made me realize that I would pay so much money eventually in the future to be able to do it just one more time…I’ve never felt richer in my life.
Be lighter with myself when I make mistakes. I said some harsh words to myself, like calling myself a f*cking idiot when I forgot my sister-in-law’s birthday. I think there is a world that exists where I take things seriously, but I don’t take them personally. I’ll do things that are out of character, and I can change them without shaming myself along the way.
I will regress at times, and that’s normal. Joe Hudson says that it’s okay to crawl even when you’ve learned how to walk. It’s part of change, and it’s part of learning. Progress is not linear; we wouldn’t expect that for others, and we shouldn’t expect that from ourselves.

Presenting on my journey of radical self-inquiry and self-development at Motion Collab in San Francisco, CA.

Business

Highlights

Highest revenue year that we’ve ever had. It was a surreal feeling to have the best quarter, followed by our best month, and followed by our vest week. I finally feel like there’s a clear path to scaling after struggling with the same yearly revenue for almost three years.
Podcasts were very consistent. The Go Getters Coaching(GGC) Podcast has been fun to record and it has also helped grow GGC significantly. I re-branded The ‘AHA’ Moment Podcast to The Moment Education podcast. It was consistent for a little bit with some ebbs and flows, bt we are going to be taking this to new heights in the upcoming year.
YouTube videos were very consistent. I felt like I really had the YouTube videos dialed in until it got extremely busy in Q4. This helped us create a content system that allowed one long-form content to become short-form content(reels and shorts) and also carousels.
Hired a DM setter, and she crushed it. I did a lot of work with Dan Martell’s group, and a big focus was sell by chat. I eventually wanted to outsource this to someone else, and the return has been amazing. We are getting about a 6:1 ROI from the revenue generated to what we are paying.
Our PR and SEO significantly improved. 10x the amlunt of organic reach that we’ve been getting from Google. CMB Media helped us a ton with PR, getting featured on publications, getting on TV twice, and also backlinks, which pumped the SEO engine even more.

Lowlights

No predictable lead generation. I never really figured out how to streamline a paid marketing channel. It will be the biggest focus for the upcoming year because lead generation is the only way to sustainably grow the business. I already fired the agency we worked with and took everything in-house for Meta ads. It took a while, but we are finally here!
Less hands-on with the onboarding of our team. I realized that if I want the standard of Moment to be very high, then I have to be extremely involved with every physical therapist who joins the team. I was focused on work-life balance, as opposed to really grooming our team to become savages. I shy’d away from providing feedback because I’m a recovering people pleaser, but that’s what people want…they join Moment to develop, and I have to provide those coaching opportunities.
Struggled to find time for deep work and time for myself. The biggest mistake I made was getting frustrated when I tried one iteration of a calendar and time block. I have a better system now after joining a mastermind in December, and I’m excited to see where that takes me. I plan on being more consistent with deep work blocks while also carving out time for lifting, running, and hitting the sauna at least 3x/week.

Lessons learned

Recharging without guilt is crucial for overall health. I really struggled with decompressing without feeling guilty for decompressing. This describes what happened to me in the first half of the year. Insane writer’s block, struggled with creativity, and lacked a ton of motivation. I had more breakthroughs when I finally gave myself some rest, and I plan to do that more often.
Personal brand is the next evolution. I realized that I was playing the wrong game. I wanted to not be known because the goal was to eventually get off social media. The truth is that in this day and age, we need to build our personal brands on these social media platforms. I just don’t have to be the one who builds it. As AI continues to improve, it cannot do this one thing…live a dope life and document it.
Lead with an open heart. Moment grew this year because I grew. A big lesson I’ve learned is to lead with an open heart. It’s not about being perfect and never making mistakes, it’s about radical transparency…in what you want. The quicker that you can lead with an open heart, the quicker your people will find you.

Dungeons and Dynamometers in Reston, VA with the team…pit stop at Wawa!

Fun

Highlights

I went to Disney World and the US Open for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised by Disney, and I don’t know what got into me, but I loved the rides. I am normally terrified of roller coasters. Kristi has also been in NYC since 2019, and I never took her to the US Open. It’s a surreal event, and we had way too many Honey Deuces.
I ran a sub 1:50 half-marathon. The NYC Runs Brooklyn Experience was a super fun route to run, and I shocked myself with the time. I’m going for a sub 1:40 half marathon in 2026 and continuing the trend of shaving 10 minutes off every single year until I can’t…I think that next year will be the last year, haha.
I hung out with my high school friends a ton this year. Alan’s bachelor party and wedding. Victor’s wedding. Kevin’s bachelor party. It was great seeing the homies. I feel like I’ve been grinding a ton these past couple of years, and it was really refreshing to be able to spend time with everyone. I need to make a concerted effort to hit people up and check in on friends more often.
Oliver and I got to show Kristi what our life was like living in Eureka, CA. Even though I was sh*tting my brains out because of a virus that I caught from Alan’s bachelor party…I was so happy to be back in the Redwoods with Kristi and Oliver. The city has changed tremendously, but the nature is still breathtaking. I was so happy to be there with Kristi because she
Traveled to Austin, TX, for the first time with Kristi and Oliver since we started Moment. Our last meal at Terry Black’s was the sole reason that we have the life that we have today. That was in 2022. We ran the same loop, taught a seminar, hung out with Chance + Lexi, and reflected on how far we both came since we were last in Austin. I also got to grab coffee and catch up with Nikko.
Spent a week in Miami, FL, with Kristi for my birthday. We’ve done a yearly trip to Miami since we graduated, but it has been almost two years since we last went back. Every single day felt like a step back in time. Cuban food in gas stations, dinners at Fratellino with Beto, aimlessly roaming around the Grove, and visiting our old apartments.

Lowlights

I didn’t hit the misogi I set for myself. I think it’s fun to do something challenging every single year, and I really wanted to learn how to swim. That is one of the biggest goals in 2026 that I’ve already tried to chip away at, and the goal will be to do a sprint triathlon if things go well.
I didn’t really have a lot of mini-adventures. There’s something that Jesse Itzler calls Kevin’s rule, and it’s essentially doing something that is outside of your regular routine. I created a list of a bunch of random adventures like running a Central Park loop, going to a jazz club, sitting down to eat lunch with a random person + paying for the meal, etc.
I didn’t spend anytime with my family. I don’t have a relationship with my oldest brother, and my father…I think my all-or-nothing mentality prevented me from spending more time with my mom and my middle brother + his family. Family dynamics are absolutely crazy, and life moves so damn fast…I want to see my family more.
I lost patience with Kristi at times. I have such a hard time not taking action towards solving a problem, and I think it’s extremely difficult for me to be patient when I can see action steps that can be taken to resolve something. I’m not saying that I won’t lose patience with Krist in the future, but I want to be more emotionally regulated. I want to be a better husband.

Lessons learned

Set goals for having fun just as much as I do for work, and make sure to look at them daily. I want to learn how to swim and box. I want to travel more often. I want to learn another language. I want to have more random spontaneous trips and weekend getaways to see friends or decompression with Kristi and Oliver. I’m hoping to have mini adventures every month as well as slightly bigger ones every quarter.
Do more things out of the ordinary and make every day a little adventurous. It can be so easy to get into a rhythm of the same day-to-day life, and I’m excited to inject some more spontaneity into my life. Explore new neighborhoods, take different ways home, run new routes, try some new spots, and more. Doing new things for the sake of novelty without any expectations. I find myself getting used to certain routines as I get older, and that’s…terrifying.
Prioritize experiences based on the stage of life that I am in. I save for retirement, I dollar-cost average(DCA) the VOO with my non-tax advantaged account, and my financial literacy has increased a ton since I used to go into debt to take courses, haha. The problem? I can probably spend on things that are more timely. You probably shouldn’t try to summit a mountain, run with the bulls, and do crazy sh*t when you have kids…now is the time to get into some fun trouble.