What 2025 Taught Me: 9 Brutal Lessons on Growth, Confidence, and Discipline

Growth is not incremental. It is confrontational.

2025 was not a year of new tactics or surface-level wins. It was a year that forced uncomfortable internal shifts. The kind that expose where you are holding on too tightly, avoiding hard conversations, or outsourcing responsibility for outcomes you quietly tolerate.

What follows are nine lessons shaped by real experiences, not theory. Each one came with friction. Each one required letting go of old identities, habits, or expectations.

Together, they form a framework for navigating growth when the stakes are higher and the margin for self-deception is smaller.

Key Takeaways

Every new level of growth requires releasing old beliefs, roles, or comforts
Outgrowing people often triggers criticism, not support
Energy and intention are always felt in the output
Confidence is built through private consistency, not public validation
You cannot complain about outcomes you did not earn through effort

Growth Ceiling Calculator

Hitting a growth plateau without knowing why? Use this free 2-minute calculator to pinpoint exactly where your growth will stall, see what is holding you back, and know where to focus next to break through faster.

Lesson 1: Every Level Requires Letting Go

Growth is not additive. It is subtractive.

Every new level exposes beliefs, habits, or identities that no longer fit. The resistance usually comes from familiarity, not logic. What once created safety becomes the thing that creates stagnation.

Letting go is not failure. It is a prerequisite for progress. Each level brings a new set of challenges, and overcoming them requires releasing what worked before.

Every level has a new devil.

Dan Martell

Lesson 2: People Will Attack You When You Surpass Them

Support often fades when progress becomes undeniable.

People may celebrate you while you are trying. When you succeed, that success can highlight the choices they did not make. Criticism becomes a way to avoid self-reflection.

This is not personal. It is proximity to their own regrets. Understanding this removes the emotional weight and allows you to keep moving forward without resentment.

Lesson 3: The Energy You Put In Is the Energy People Feel

Effort is detectable.

Whether it is a product, a piece of content, or a conversation, people feel the intention behind it. When the creator is disconnected, the audience feels it immediately. When the creator is aligned and engaged, the work carries weight.

Standards matter. Do not dilute your work to please everyone. Fight for what feels true and fully commit to it.

Lesson 4: Your Life Is the Byproduct of Dominant Thoughts and Actions

Outcomes are predictable.

What you think about most often drives how you act. How you act repeatedly shapes how you feel. Over time, those patterns become your life.

Change does not start with circumstances. It starts with identity. Becoming the person capable of a result always precedes achieving it.

Lesson 5: You Have Never Grown When Things Were Easy

Comfort does not produce transformation.

Every meaningful shift comes through friction. Pain reveals blind spots and forces growth that convenience never will. Hard moments are not interruptions. They are instruction.

Reframing challenges as necessary opposition turns setbacks into fuel instead of signals to retreat.

Lesson 6: Confidence Is the Reputation You Have With Yourself

Confidence is built in private.

It comes from doing what you said you would do when no one is watching. Each kept promise strengthens trust with yourself. Each broken one erodes it.

How you speak to yourself matters. Most people would never tolerate from others the internal dialogue they accept daily. Discipline and self-respect rebuild that reputation.

Lesson 7: It Is Either a Hell Yes or a No

Clarity beats obligation.

If something does not excite you, it costs more than it gives. Saying no early creates space for better opportunities. Dragging indecision creates quiet resentment and diluted effort.

No explanation is required. Alignment is reason enough.

You can’t complain about the outcomes for the work you didn’t do.

Dan Martell

Lesson 8: You Cannot Complain About Results You Did Not Work For

Expectations must match effort.

It is easy to want outcomes without committing to the process. Honesty requires acknowledging tradeoffs. If you chose comfort, travel, or focus elsewhere, accept the results that follow.

Ownership removes frustration. Effort sets the ceiling.

Lesson 9: Do Not Take Criticism From People Whose Life You Do Not Want

Context matters more than credentials.

Feedback should only be weighted from people whose values and outcomes you respect holistically. Success in one area does not justify influence over all areas.

Learning a skill does not require adopting a lifestyle. Distance is sometimes the healthiest decision.

Bonus Lesson: Unhealed Pain Becomes Policy

Unresolved issues scale.

In families, relationships, and companies, unhealed pain turns into rules, micromanagement, or avoidance. Leadership amplifies inner work, for better or worse.

Doing the work removes weight. Each healed pattern restores freedom and lightness over time.

Conclusion

2025 was not about external wins. It was about internal alignment.

These lessons are not motivational. They are practical. Growth demands honesty, discipline, and the willingness to outgrow versions of yourself that once felt safe.

If applied consistently, these lessons do not just change outcomes. They change trajectory. And that is what makes the next level possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does growth feel lonelier at higher levels?

Because fewer people relate to the decisions and sacrifices required, and familiarity fades as alignment changes.

How do you know when it is time to let go of something?

When holding on creates friction, stagnation, or repeated internal resistance.

What is the fastest way to rebuild confidence?

Make small commitments and keep them consistently. Trust compounds.

Why do challenges accelerate growth more than success?

Because pressure exposes weaknesses that comfort hides.

How do you filter feedback effectively?

Evaluate the source’s values, behavior, and life outcomes, not just their opinion.

More Resources

Full Transcript

9 Brutal Lessons I Learned in 2025 I Wish I Knew Earlier
https://www.youtube.com/watch/P9e_FTLMDHY

00:00:00.240 I’ve got nine mindset lessons I learned
00:00:03.120 in 2025. I want to go through each one,
00:00:05.520 tell you a story, and tell you what
00:00:07.200 impact it had on my life so that maybe
00:00:09.200 it could serve you at where you’re at
00:00:11.280 right now. The first one is every level
00:00:14.639 requires a new level of letting go.
00:00:17.359 Learning to let go continuously becomes
00:00:20.240 a theme in my life. What beliefs do I
00:00:22.800 have that keep me stuck? What are areas
00:00:25.359 of my life that I know better that if I
00:00:27.599 just learn to let go would change
00:00:29.679 everything in my business? And that for
00:00:32.479 me this year was a big takeaway is that
00:00:35.360 every new level has a new devil and part
00:00:38.000 of that devil to defeat it requires to
00:00:40.480 let go. That’s one. Two, people will
00:00:42.800 attack you when you surpass them. It’s
00:00:45.680 human nature. See, it sucks that like
00:00:48.640 there’s probably people that you worked
00:00:50.480 with a long time ago, went to school
00:00:51.760 with a long time ago, or probably good
00:00:53.120 friends of yours today that were your
00:00:55.120 cheerleader, your fans. They supported
00:00:57.360 you. They wanted to see you well uh do
00:00:59.440 well in life until the moment you
00:01:03.359 surpassed them. I don’t know if you can
00:01:05.680 resonate with this, but I guarantee
00:01:08.080 there’s something you’ve done recently
00:01:10.320 where somebody criticized you for doing
00:01:12.159 it. And you might take it as like, why
00:01:15.119 would they do that? That’s not nice.
00:01:16.640 It’s like, why can’t they support me?
00:01:18.000 I’m telling you that on the comeup, the
00:01:22.400 people that were your biggest fans have
00:01:25.200 to criticize you because in the moment
00:01:27.600 that you surpass, you’ve essentially
00:01:29.520 showed them where they let go. You
00:01:31.759 showed them where they chose comfort,
00:01:33.360 where they chose simple, where they
00:01:35.040 chose an easy life. And you did it. You
00:01:38.240 literally woke up and decided, I’m going
00:01:40.079 to do the hard thing, even though I
00:01:41.200 don’t want to do it. I could just lay in
00:01:42.479 bed. That’s easy. I could eat whatever I
00:01:44.560 want. That’s easy. I could watch
00:01:46.000 whatever I want. That’s easy. But no,
00:01:47.680 you made the right decision and then
00:01:49.600 you’ve grown. And in doing so,
00:01:53.360 you show people where they gave up. And
00:01:56.799 this year, I got attacked. I got
00:01:59.840 attacked in the comments. I got attacked
00:02:01.360 from peers. I got attacked from people
00:02:03.680 that literally I thought were like my
00:02:05.759 friends. I’m talking like close friends.
00:02:09.520 And I kept coming back to this. the
00:02:11.760 moment you surpass somebody, you’ve
00:02:14.800 essentially shown them where they could
00:02:16.640 have s they could have went with you.
00:02:18.000 Like that’s the crazy part is I want to
00:02:19.200 see everybody win and instead of them
00:02:22.319 going like, "Oh, so cool that you did
00:02:24.080 this. Teach me how." No, they got to
00:02:27.040 talk about me behind my back. They think
00:02:29.120 you don’t hear it. That’s the crazy part
00:02:30.480 is they you they think that nobody’s
00:02:33.840 going to tell me.
00:02:36.400 If you surpass other people, they will
00:02:38.560 celebrate you on the come up and then as
00:02:40.160 soon as you go too far, they can’t help
00:02:42.160 but start to attack and just know that
00:02:43.760 it’s coming and it’s their own journey.
00:02:45.519 And I actually have no feelings around
00:02:47.360 it other than I really hope they get
00:02:49.760 back on the train cuz it’s a lot of fun
00:02:51.280 to win. Third, the energy you put into a
00:02:54.959 project, the energy that is that you
00:02:57.360 feel connected like right now me and
00:02:59.040 you, this energy hopefully is felt by
00:03:03.280 the person watching. So the energy in is
00:03:05.599 felt from the people out. That to me is
00:03:08.239 such a big idea as I worked on my book
00:03:09.760 this year. That’s a big that’s where I
00:03:11.440 continue to come back to it is
00:03:14.080 I’ve been so excited about the content
00:03:16.319 that I’ve been that I’ve been working on
00:03:18.080 and creating and and the ideas.
00:03:20.400 Actually, I said I have nine. And I have
00:03:21.599 a bonus one for you today that comes
00:03:23.200 from that
00:03:24.959 that I’m continuously reminded when I
00:03:27.599 grab snippets and I share it on my
00:03:29.200 Instagram and the reactions I get or I’m
00:03:32.159 speaking and I go, you know, there’s
00:03:33.360 something I wrote about this morning and
00:03:34.560 I share it and everybody’s like, "Oh my
00:03:36.879 gosh, that’s so good." And when I think
00:03:39.760 about where the inspiration or the
00:03:41.519 feeling, even this list today, when I
00:03:43.200 sat down this morning and I was
00:03:44.560 connected to the energy of like the
00:03:46.560 reflection and then also the excitement
00:03:48.000 to share with you today, like the energy
00:03:51.200 that goes in to a creative project goes
00:03:54.720 out to the audience, goes out to the
00:03:56.879 viewer, out to the the reader. And I
00:03:59.840 think that’s something that most people
00:04:01.599 don’t understand. Like, if you’re
00:04:03.680 working on something and you don’t feel
00:04:05.040 it, guess what? The person that’s going
00:04:07.200 to use it won’t feel it. the person’s
00:04:08.560 going to watch it that won’t feel it.
00:04:10.239 The customer won’t feel it. So, honor
00:04:12.879 yourself and make sure you’re only doing
00:04:14.640 things that you like resonate with.
00:04:16.478 Don’t don’t don’t diminish the standard
00:04:18.399 to make everybody happy. Like, fight for
00:04:20.478 what you feel is great. That is number
00:04:24.240 three. Number four, your life. Oh,
00:04:26.400 that’s so good. Your life is the
00:04:27.919 byproduct of your most dominant
00:04:29.280 thoughts, actions, and feelings. Period.
00:04:32.479 Full stop.
00:04:34.400 how you show up with your thoughts, how
00:04:36.880 those thoughts drive your actions, how
00:04:38.560 your actions drives your emotions, those
00:04:41.440 and when I say dominant, the ones you
00:04:43.440 think about most often, that’s what
00:04:45.759 shapes your life. When you hear me say
00:04:47.600 the world isn’t as it is, the world is
00:04:48.880 as you are. That’s what I mean.
00:04:51.520 When you realize that being the person
00:04:54.720 who has $10 million is how you get $10
00:04:57.840 million, not having it will change
00:05:00.880 everything. Because most people wouldn’t
00:05:03.759 want things if it didn’t give them the
00:05:05.680 emotions that it comes with. Like if
00:05:08.240 you’re thirsty and you want water and
00:05:09.600 the water doesn’t quench your thirst,
00:05:10.800 you don’t want water. You want whatever
00:05:11.919 is going to quench your thirst. You want
00:05:13.120 the feeling that comes with the thing.
00:05:15.280 If you want a nice house, it’s not the
00:05:16.560 nice house you want. You want the the
00:05:18.080 sense of accomplishment and maybe
00:05:19.440 safety. You want the feeling. If the
00:05:21.520 house didn’t provide that, you wouldn’t
00:05:22.880 want it. And that’s why your life is
00:05:25.919 100% the byproduct of your most
00:05:27.680 dominant. Write that down. Underline it.
00:05:29.600 All caps. Bold it. Dominant
00:05:33.199 actions, feelings, and thoughts. And
00:05:36.000 that I will continue to come back to.
00:05:38.960 Number five.
00:05:40.800 Oh, this is so good. These are all
00:05:42.000 great, but as I read them, I’m just like
00:05:43.919 reconnected with it. You’ve never gotten
00:05:46.080 better when things were easy.
00:05:48.960 Never. Ever. ever in the history of
00:05:50.639 mankind, there’s no person that has said
00:05:53.440 to themselves, "I completely transformed
00:05:56.479 my life when things were great. It’s
00:05:59.199 never happened. It will never happen."
00:06:01.520 Because pain is the perfect teacher.
00:06:05.520 Pain will literally teach you the lesson
00:06:06.960 that you’ve been avoiding. And anytime
00:06:10.080 life got hard and I realized that it was
00:06:13.440 teaching me exactly what I needed to at
00:06:15.600 that moment, I got excited. So I want to
00:06:18.160 encourage you to use this philosophy
00:06:19.919 because this will change everything if
00:06:21.199 you can get to this place is that when
00:06:23.759 things are hard you respond with good
00:06:27.520 challenge good setback good
00:06:31.840 somebody mad at you good
00:06:34.880 massive frigin debacle good why we’re
00:06:38.080 the opponent we’re the opponent see I
00:06:41.680 know that a lot of people go on this
00:06:43.039 journey of life and if they actually
00:06:44.720 start to have a little bit of success
00:06:46.479 they get to to a place where it can kind
00:06:47.919 of feel complacent where things are
00:06:50.479 good. They had nothing. They have
00:06:52.880 something and then they feel good about
00:06:54.000 the themselves. The problem is is
00:06:56.160 they’re not looking for bigger
00:06:57.680 challenges. You know, they’re not
00:06:59.199 looking for new levels, new devils,
00:07:01.360 bigger monsters. To me, anytime I have a
00:07:04.960 massive challenge, I go, "Good." If my
00:07:08.160 problems are not big enough, I get
00:07:10.319 worried. Bigger the problem, the bigger
00:07:13.039 the life. and you’ve never gotten better
00:07:15.599 if there weren’t challenges. And if you
00:07:17.280 can reframe those in the moment instead
00:07:19.199 of like stepping back from them, but
00:07:20.880 actually leaning into them because you
00:07:22.400 say, "Good, worthy opponent," it’ll
00:07:25.199 change everything for you.
00:07:27.599 I know a lot of people watch me because
00:07:30.560 they feel a level of connection and
00:07:33.360 confidence in my words because I can’t
00:07:35.919 teach what I haven’t lived. So
00:07:37.199 everything I’m teaching, hopefully you
00:07:38.800 get that from my stories. These are deep
00:07:41.759 moments where I had to go from the
00:07:44.400 version I was through that challenge to
00:07:46.960 the person I am. And one of those areas
00:07:50.400 that is the point that I want to share
00:07:52.160 is around confidence. Number six,
00:07:55.360 confidence is the reputation that you
00:07:57.840 have with yourself. It’s the reputation
00:08:00.960 you have with yourself. It’s the
00:08:02.319 conversation you have with yourself.
00:08:03.680 that conversation around being
00:08:04.879 consistent, doing what you say you’re
00:08:06.160 going to do, following the commitments
00:08:07.759 you make yourself in private, right? So,
00:08:09.919 for example, when I speak and people go
00:08:11.599 like, "Man, when you talk it’s it’s I
00:08:14.560 can feel you and it’s just it doesn’t
00:08:16.160 look like you’re scared or nervous."
00:08:17.599 It’s like, "Well, because my confidence
00:08:20.319 comes from my intention. My confidence
00:08:23.199 comes from my consistency." And before I
00:08:25.759 get on stage, I ask my creator to use me
00:08:28.479 to serve the people.
00:08:30.720 And then it’s just a conversation of
00:08:33.200 trying to figure out how can I add value
00:08:35.120 and pour into other people because my
00:08:38.159 reputation with me is intact.
00:08:41.440 See? See what I’m saying? Like the
00:08:42.799 confidence is your reputation you have
00:08:44.640 with yourself. And if you don’t trust
00:08:47.040 yourself, if you don’t appreciate your
00:08:50.320 discipline, if you don’t appreciate the
00:08:51.920 right choices, if you don’t, you know,
00:08:54.000 reflect and and celebrate your
00:08:56.240 accomplishments, then how do you build
00:08:57.920 that reputation?
00:09:00.240 Here’s what I know. If most people had
00:09:03.760 somebody speak to their spouse, their
00:09:05.760 partner, their brother, their sister the
00:09:07.519 way they speak to themselves, you would
00:09:09.360 punch that in the face.
00:09:12.720 And yet you talk to yourself that way.
00:09:15.839 Again, confidence is a byproduct of the
00:09:18.240 reputation you have with yourself. So
00:09:20.240 work on that reputation. Be more
00:09:22.240 consistent. Be more giving. Make what
00:09:25.920 you do for others. Be a good person.
00:09:28.399 See, most people have a hard time
00:09:29.760 sharing who they are because they have a
00:09:31.120 lot of shame around who they are. And
00:09:33.200 that internal narrative holds people
00:09:35.440 from shining their light massively.
00:09:38.399 Huge. Number seven, it’s either a hell
00:09:41.839 yes or it’s a heck no.
00:09:45.120 The more you honor this kind of like the
00:09:47.760 excitement, another way to ask yourself
00:09:49.279 this is if whatever you’ve been asked to
00:09:50.800 do is tonight, would you do it? And if
00:09:52.720 the answer’s like no, then don’t say
00:09:54.480 maybe. Don’t say yes. Just say it’s not
00:09:56.800 a fit. And guess what? No is a complete
00:09:58.560 sentence and it ends with a period.
00:10:01.200 You’re allowed to say no. Well, what if
00:10:03.839 they get upset? Blah blah blah. Hey,
00:10:05.200 that’s their journey. All I know is that
00:10:07.760 I’ve never been upset when I’ve said yes
00:10:10.800 enthusiastically things that were like,
00:10:12.800 "Of course I want to do that." Versus
00:10:15.120 like mediocre replies like, "Yeah, I
00:10:17.120 guess we could do that." No. Fun fact, I
00:10:19.760 was just at the gym. Some guy recognized
00:10:21.440 me and he’s like, "Hey man, if you’re in
00:10:22.800 town for the next couple days, I’d love
00:10:23.920 to have you on my podcast." My internal
00:10:26.000 thermometer said no. I said I appreciate
00:10:28.240 the opportunity but unfortunately the
00:10:29.680 calendar schedule the answer is no
00:10:31.839 because it wasn’t a hell yes. It could
00:10:34.240 have been a hell yes, but it wasn’t. Am
00:10:36.079 I upset about my decision? No, because
00:10:39.519 my gut said, "Man,
00:10:42.079 honor yourself. You know, I’ve been
00:10:44.399 doing this talk for a really well-known
00:10:46.640 guy who is incredibly amazing. I’ve been
00:10:48.959 supporting his project for the last 2
00:10:50.480 years." And this year it went from hell
00:10:53.440 yes, hell yes for the last 2 years to I
00:10:56.240 just don’t think it’s a fit anymore. And
00:10:58.399 that was a tough one because there was a
00:11:00.079 commitment and a conversation and a kind
00:11:01.760 of a mutual support for each other, but
00:11:03.920 even really incredible opportunities.
00:11:05.839 Like I know everybody watching this
00:11:07.440 would be like, I can’t believe you’re
00:11:09.040 going to say no. Yep. Not because it’s
00:11:12.880 not great. It’s because it’s just not a
00:11:15.760 fit anymore for me and what I want to
00:11:17.839 do. And when I start to feel like that,
00:11:19.440 I’m just I’ve learned the more I can
00:11:21.839 honor that and just approach it right
00:11:23.760 away when I start to feel that way and
00:11:25.279 not let it linger, that it usually
00:11:27.200 creates the space for something more
00:11:28.800 amazing to come into. See how that
00:11:30.959 works? Number eight, you can’t complain
00:11:34.320 about the outcomes for the work you
00:11:36.079 didn’t do.
00:11:38.320 So good. You can’t complain about the
00:11:40.480 outcomes for the work you didn’t do. As
00:11:43.600 a content creator, my expectations for
00:11:46.240 myself are way up here. And even though
00:11:49.279 our team hit the goals for the year,
00:11:51.279 okay, my expectations are here. We hit
00:11:55.279 our goals that were here. There’s a
00:11:57.279 delta. That’s the outcome that I wanted.
00:12:00.560 And then I had to reflect myself on
00:12:02.959 this, right? I can’t be I can’t complain
00:12:05.279 for the outcomes for the work I didn’t
00:12:06.720 do. Why didn’t I do the work? Well, I
00:12:09.600 had to remind myself. I decided to
00:12:11.440 travel the world this year with my
00:12:12.639 family. That’s not a great environment
00:12:15.279 to create content. Um, I decided to
00:12:18.480 focus 97% on Martell Ventures, my AI
00:12:21.120 venture studio, not on media. I only
00:12:25.360 allocate 3 hours a week to create
00:12:27.279 content for my team. Not a scenario
00:12:29.839 where they have unlimited access to me.
00:12:31.360 So, how can I complain about an outcome
00:12:34.320 I want for the work that I’m not willing
00:12:37.519 to do? That’s just honesty. And you got
00:12:40.880 to look at yourself and say like, "Oh, I
00:12:42.560 wish my content was popping off." Are
00:12:44.480 you actually giving it a 10 out of 10 or
00:12:46.399 are you doing some six out of tens? Are
00:12:47.920 you lobbing up? Are you inconsistent?
00:12:49.440 Like, just just don’t complain. Be
00:12:51.680 honest with yourself. If the work ethic
00:12:53.760 isn’t there, quality, drive,
00:12:56.720 consistency,
00:12:58.240 you can’t complain for the outcome you
00:12:59.839 didn’t get. And number nine, don’t take
00:13:02.480 criticism from people whose life you
00:13:04.720 don’t want to live. as I read in the
00:13:06.560 comments and there’s all these people
00:13:07.519 and they’re talking about, you know, I
00:13:09.040 don’t like the I don’t like his hair. I
00:13:10.639 don’t like what he said. I don’t agree
00:13:12.160 the statistics and who would want to
00:13:13.680 live. And I’m thinking there and I’m
00:13:15.120 like, at first I was like, now I go, do
00:13:18.000 I want their life? Like, can I just
00:13:20.480 assume what kind of life a person that
00:13:22.079 would take the time out of their day to
00:13:23.600 leave a comment on my social media is
00:13:25.440 living? And if I wouldn’t trade places,
00:13:27.839 why would I accept that criticism? Now,
00:13:31.120 that’s an easy one to dismiss. the the
00:13:33.440 people in the comments. The harder one
00:13:36.639 is somebody that you consider a massive
00:13:39.600 mentor in your life. You know, years
00:13:42.240 ago, I hired somebody I look up to. He
00:13:45.920 is incredibly wealthy. He taught me a
00:13:48.800 lot.
00:13:50.639 And as I got to know him, got closer to
00:13:53.279 him, I started to see the cracks in the
00:13:55.680 character. And as a young person that’s
00:13:58.880 easily influenced by people that were
00:14:00.560 way further along, I kind of made
00:14:03.519 exceptions. I accepted things that I
00:14:06.639 wouldn’t have accepted from a friend,
00:14:08.079 things that were said, comments that
00:14:09.680 were made, requests of me that I just
00:14:12.160 absolutely didn’t agree with. Just it
00:14:14.720 was just these little tiny things that I
00:14:16.399 just kept overlooking them. And then
00:14:18.320 eventually I said to myself, I don’t
00:14:22.079 want that person’s life. I wanted to
00:14:24.560 learn the skill that they taught me. I
00:14:26.320 wanted to be mentored around the the
00:14:28.320 thing that I saw them do world class
00:14:30.480 levels at. But when I got close enough
00:14:33.440 to actually see the life they lived and
00:14:35.040 the challenges they had with their
00:14:36.079 health and the challenges they had with
00:14:37.199 their friendships and the challenges
00:14:38.240 they had with their family, I was like
00:14:40.160 no. And eventually I just created some
00:14:42.959 space.
00:14:44.720 Stop replying to the text messages. Stop
00:14:46.639 checking in. Stop showing up. And I
00:14:48.959 created space because I had to be honest
00:14:50.399 with myself.
00:14:52.320 Why would I take feedback? Why would I
00:14:54.320 take coaching? Why would I be mentored
00:14:56.000 by somebody whose life I do not want
00:14:58.000 just because of a financial
00:15:00.720 level of success they achieved when
00:15:02.320 other areas of their life are not things
00:15:04.160 that I aspire to? It’s a dangerous
00:15:06.240 strategy and a lot of people fall into.
00:15:09.519 Those are nine those are nine strategies
00:15:12.320 from levels and devils and people will
00:15:15.279 attack you and the byproduct of life and
00:15:17.440 all these things. Review this.
00:15:18.959 Confidence is your reputation you have
00:15:20.639 of yourself. But I want to give you a
00:15:21.839 bonus one is unhealed pain becomes
00:15:25.680 company policy.
00:15:27.839 Now company policy could be your family
00:15:29.680 company. Like think about it. Unhealed
00:15:31.519 pain becomes company policy. If you have
00:15:34.480 unhealed pain, you might be creating
00:15:36.800 rules for your kids that make no sense.
00:15:40.160 If you have unhealed pain around how you
00:15:43.360 learn to deal with the world, you might
00:15:45.920 be creating policies in your business
00:15:47.839 that are going to keep you stuck where
00:15:49.759 you’re always asking people like, "Hey,
00:15:51.199 work on this, but come see me." "Hey,
00:15:52.399 work on this, but come see me. Hey,
00:15:53.440 before you make a decision, come see
00:15:54.399 me." Like, there’s all these weird
00:15:56.720 permutations of the unhealed pain, but
00:15:59.920 it literally shows up in the way you
00:16:02.480 talk with your team and the policies you
00:16:04.639 enforce amongst your team. If you ever
00:16:06.880 get to spend time with me, you will
00:16:08.079 notice one thing. I am I am almost from
00:16:11.440 your lens typically irresponsibly
00:16:13.759 hands-off because you don’t understand
00:16:16.160 the work that went in behind the scenes,
00:16:18.000 the conversations, the chats, the
00:16:19.920 coaching, the support, the training,
00:16:22.240 etc. where I can feel absolutely
00:16:26.000 comfortable in letting go in a way where
00:16:30.320 I don’t expose myself to massive pain as
00:16:34.079 well because that’s also unhealed pain.
00:16:36.720 Being a doormat is unhealed pain. Being
00:16:39.040 a dictator is an unhealed pain. And when
00:16:42.320 you realize, like I said earlier, the
00:16:44.320 world will show you where you’re not
00:16:46.560 free and you choose to do that work,
00:16:49.759 you’ll start to feel weightless. You’ll,
00:16:52.240 you know, it’s like having a backpack
00:16:53.680 full of big rocks. And every time you
00:16:55.360 work on something, you take that rock
00:16:56.720 out and you put it down, the backpack
00:16:58.240 feels a lot lighter. And you keep doing
00:17:00.399 the work and you keep walking, you keep
00:17:01.839 climbing that mountain, the backpack
00:17:03.360 feels a lot lighter. That weightless way
00:17:06.240 of living is what I want for you. A lot
00:17:08.799 of the spiritual gurus of the world will
00:17:10.799 call it enlightenment.
00:17:12.720 I just call it doing the work. And if
00:17:15.439 you’ll honor these mindsets, these nine
00:17:17.039 mindsets that I share with you, plus the
00:17:18.400 bonus one, I guarantee 2026 is going to
00:17:21.280 be a completely different year for you.
00:17:23.359 If you internalize them and work on them
00:17:25.280 and apply them, 2026 will be a breakout
00:17:28.480 year for you. Even if 2025 was an
00:17:30.320 amazing year, 2026 even better. So, let
00:17:34.240 me know on everything I just shared with
00:17:35.600 you. What’s the one thing you needed to
00:17:37.200 hear most below in the comments? I want
00:17:38.960 to read every one of them. I want to
00:17:40.320 hear from you. Post your answer below.
00:17:42.320 And with that, I’ll see you guys next
00:17:43.600 week. Peace. Later.

Dan Martell

Dan Martell is the bestselling author of “Buy Back Your Time” and the #1 executive coach for founders and CEO’s in the world. He was named Forbes Top 10 Business People to Follow on Social Media and is a highly sought-after speaker, including events by Tony Robbins and John Maxwell. He’s a husband and dad of two boys, and when he’s not in family mode, he’s competing in Ironman races and supporting troubled youth.