2025: The Year I Bet On Myself
This year made me slow down and ask a question I hadn’t given enough space to before. What does a good life actually look like for me?
Not the version that looks good on paper. Not the version that sounds impressive to other people. The honest version. 2025 wasn’t loud or flashy while I was living it. It was quiet (especially my first day after corporate). It was uncomfortable at times and it was filled with small decisions that slowly added up to something much bigger.
14 Years Chasing the Wrong Metric
I spent 14 years in corporate with one primary goal in mind: make money. I believed that financial success was the path to happiness and to be clear, I am incredibly grateful for the income I earned during that time. It gave me stability, freedom, and the ability to live the life I have today. That chapter mattered in so many ways. It taught me discipline. It taught me how to operate. It gave me optionality. But what I realized this year is that money alone was never going to be the thing that fulfilled me. It was a tool (my buddy Austin first told me that) and once I was honest about that, it became clear that continuing down the same path would eventually feel like misalignment.
Choosing a Longer Horizon
The biggest shift in 2025 was choosing to think longer term. Instead of optimizing for the next annual revenue target, I started building for the next ten years. HUMN represents that shift. It’s not a project but a commitment. A commitment to build something that serves people, creates community, and has real impact beyond myself.
The last 7 years, I worked nights and weekends in the health industry as a group fitness instructor, personal trainer, content creator, athlete, and leader (while maintaining a career in corporate Monday through Friday). I bring this up because I didn’t have to do these extra hours, I truly wanted to. I am obsessed with the industry and the idea of health and I was thinking to myself, “Ok… If I’m making a name for myself here with minimal effort and time, how much could I do if I went all in?”
Making that decision came with weight. When you choose a longer horizon, shortcuts disappear. You have to care deeply. You have to slow down. You have to accept responsibility for what you’re building and who it affects.
Betting on Yourself Is Quiet and Uncomfortable
People talk about betting on yourself as if it’s this bold, dramatic moment. For me, it wasn’t. It was quiet. It was full of second guessing. It was staying with an idea long after the excitement wore off and man… there were some moments where I was like, “Dude, have you made a mistake?”
There were moments this year where I felt the pressure of commitment. Moments where I thought, I really don’t want to mess this up but I’ve learned that fear like that doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It usually means you care. The leap wasn’t leaving corporate. The leap was staying with HUMN when it stopped being hypothetical and started becoming real.
Finding Purpose and Leaning All the Way In
Somewhere along the way this year, something clicked. I realized that I had found my purpose. Building HUMN feels different than anything I’ve done before. I’m no longer splitting my energy or questioning whether I’m moving in the right direction. I’m all in. That level of commitment is new for me and it’s not something I take lightly. This isn’t about chasing outcomes anymore. It’s about honoring the responsibility that comes with building something meaningful.
Family Over Everything
None of this would be possible without my family and friends. The relationships I carry are what make this leap sustainable. They’re the people who listen when I need to vent. The ones who let me talk through ideas that sound crazy. The ones who ground me when I’m overwhelmed and remind me who I am outside of the work. Even when they don’t fully understand the vision, they believe in me and that belief has mattered more than I can put into words. At the end of the day, what does any of this matter if you don’t have people to share it with?
2025 reminded me that success without connection is empty and that presence matters. That relationships are the real foundation underneath everything I’m building. Family over everything isn’t just a phrase but more so a value I’m choosing to protect as HUMN grows.
Looking Ahead to 2026
2026 will be the year I physically build HUMN into a company that serves thousands of people. The work ahead is significant as the stakes are higher and the responsibility is real. But I’m ready.
2025 gave me clarity as it helped me reimagine my life, choose alignment over comfort, and commit fully to the path I’m on. I’m stepping into the next year with purpose, patience, and deep gratitude for the people walking alongside me. If there’s one thing this year taught me, it’s this…
You don’t need to have everything figured out to bet on yourself. You just need to be honest about what you want and brave enough to build toward it. I always remind myself… You literally only have one life on this planet so why not live the best life you can imagine?
