Please Don't Do This in 2026 (521)

A lot of people and creators I know. Save January for the time to look at where the business is going from a content creation standpoint. If you're an entrepreneur, whatever you're doing, how you should be looking at the business for the next year, in this case into 2026. But I, I think that January is too late.

I think right now, as we're in the beginning of November, mid part or November, we need to be looking at not just because of ai, but just to recenter the business and where we want to go with this thing. Especially with everything that's going on, especially with with me personally, a lot of changes have been happening.

The Tilt Newsletter and my Orange Letter have come together as one newsletter. I've cleared the plate of all the other things that I'm doing to focus on this old marketing podcast. This podcast Content Inc. As well as the Tilt newsletter that goes out to about 60,000 people, and I really wanna deliver value.

What I really want to ask are a couple different questions. The first is not to do more [00:01:00] or to do different. It's what do I not wanna do in 2026? What are those things that absolutely I want to keep out of my path? What are the things that are keeping me down? What are the things that make me a worse human being or a worst founder or a terrible content creator?

So it's helped me to start listing those things like when I get up in the morning. What are the things that I'm doing in the morning, in the middle of the day, in the afternoon that don't serve me or anybody else? So I would start there and if you need to do that time audit. Take five days and like jot down what you're doing every 15 minutes of the day and figure out, okay, here's what I'm doing, and then start to rate those things as, boy, I gotta get that outta my life.

So that's the first thing I'm doing that I think would help you as well, is what are the things in 2026 that I'm not gonna do? That's a hard no. It also keeps you really focused to figure out what's right for you and your business and your family. So I would start there. So that's number one. [00:02:00] The second thing is, what do you really wanna build?

Then in 2026, what's the thing that really gets you going? What's the thing that's that you're most curious about? What's the thing that lights you up? If you need to list those things down, take a real piece of paper. Like I have in my hand that I've got paper notes all over the place here. Take a real piece of paper and a pen.

Stay off your phone for a second and just really write down, here's the things that light me up. Here's what I like doing. It doesn't just have to be business things, by the way. It could be spending time with your spouse or your kids, or going to a certain location or a sporting event or whatever it is.

Let's focus on those things and then we want to do more of these things. Less of all those other things that'll help with the previous thing I was just talking about. But once you list all those things, I would then set out that goal, and I've talked about it before on this podcast, that Misogi goal, what's the that 90 day goal that you're gonna focus on getting one thing done?

So that you could [00:03:00] start the year and say, Hey, for the first quarter of the year, this is all I'm gonna do. This is my focus. It's this newsletter about whatever, it's this podcast, it's this video series. It's this in-person event I wanna work on. I wanna do a series of dinners. I wanna go to a bunch of shows and have dinners with a lot of influencers there.

I'm gonna set that up, like whatever gets you going. Let's focus on that and do that really well, and just focus on that as your only new thing that you're gonna focus on for the next 30 days. And I think if you do that, you're really gonna learn a lot about yourself. First of all, you're gonna know what you don't like, what you're not good at, what you stop doing.

Second of all, you need to know what lights you up. When I talk to a lot of founders and content creators out there, and I say, what do you really wanna accomplish in the next three to five years? The answer is. Almost in all cases, I don't know. As I've said before, as many people have said, if you don't know it and you can't write it down, you can't have it.

So [00:04:00] we really have to spend this time being deliberate and strategic about what we wanna accomplish as content creators. So that's what I'm focused on going into the year. Number one, what are you not gonna do? Let's get those things away from you, as far away from you as possible. Number two. Then what do I wanna build?

That lights me up. That makes the world a better place. That just creates an all around better you or me. In this case, I'm gonna focus on that, and then I'm gonna take that thing. I'm gonna pick one, just one thing, not two, not three, just one. And I'm gonna do my Misogi. I'm gonna do 90 days and focus on that thing.

What's the goal and what are the little habits that I have to do every day to make sure I accomplish that goal and nothing else. If you do that going into next year, you and I are going to be really successful. If you got something out of this podcast, if you liked it, please like and share it on YouTube, subscribe to it on content inc.io [00:05:00] or wherever you find this wonderful podcast.

And until next week, go build something.