2025 - The Year of Finishing

Every year, I try to spend a significant amount of time in December pondering what I want my next calendar year to look like. I've always been a person to dream, set goals, and plan, but for some reason this year, long before I turned the calendar page to December, I've spent a significant amount of time thinking about 2025. I suppose I have an urgency to my days and years I didn't have before stupid cancer. I know this is partly because my job demands it, but I think I also live with the sense that no "new year" is a given and I want to be as intentional as I possibly can with the days I am given. 

I work in a business where discouragement and rejection are a part of the weekly, if not daily, conversation. Creatives, in general, face a certain level of despair on a regular basis, but for those of us whose creative work is also part of our vocation, I feel like it's even more of a beast. There are loud voices in our heads telling us our work is worthless, but they are not impossible to silence. Over the years, I've found ways to wage war against the beast of discouragement and those loud inner voices. The battles I have won have led to the completion of some projects I am fiercely proud of, but not because they've won awards or reached millions of people. Not because they're amazing. Mostly I'm proud of them because they were finished. 

I also have a list of projects that remain unfinished, too. Some of those things still need time to simmer. Some need to be crossed off the list. A couple I've identified as needing to take top priority in 2025 and I can't wait to get started. And finish. 

While I love tackling my own creative projects, I have also found immense joy in helping others realize their potential and achieve their own accomplishments. I've walked songwriters through the process of writing and recording an album. I've coached authors from wrestling an idea to the ground to shaping it into a manuscript, and eventually we've celebrated the release of their book. I've helped creative organizations formulate their mission statements and clarify their vision. Every step in these processes has been an act of living out my personal mission statement of doing creative work that inspires and equips others to do their creative work. 

As I approach 2025, I am narrowing my focus a bit, choosing to dive deep into fewer creative projects that I want to see cross the finish line before December 31st, 2025.  I am also making room to come alongside four other creatives who want to see their creative projects cross the finish line in 2025. If you are interested in this opportunity, feel free to reach out to me. After communicating about your idea and how I might be able to help you, if we think we're a good fit, then let's do this thing and make 2025 a year of finishing.

Yes, there is a cost involved. Why? Well, for a few reasons. Some of the most valuable experiences I've had that got me across a finish line are experiences that cost me something. The cost results in a determination on your part to get things done. To steward your time well. To be accountable. To meet expectations. This relationship we'll enter isn't for everyone. It really is only for people who want to work hard, who want feedback, and who want a kick in the rear sometimes. It's for people who want to end 2025 with a project completed, a book in their hands, a recording unleashed, or your unique creative vision realized. 

For more info on how I can come alongside you in 2025, email me at [email protected]. I'd love to help if I can. 

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