I started this week with a lot of drive and intensity. Then today, the CEO asked me to work on something that required effort, but didn’t feel like it would move the needle in a meaningful way. That’s when I noticed my false identity showed up: “Just work harder. Put in the hours. Be useful.” But underneath that was a deeper truth. I don’t actually thrive on activity. I thrive on meaning. On work that creates leverage, direction, and real impact. Today felt uncomfortable because my old identity wanted to stay loyal to busyness, while my real identity was asking a different question: "Does this actually make a difference?" That tension was the signal. Curious where others are noticing this gap between activity and impact this week.

Finishing up January: 1. What is now true about me that wasn’t true on January 1? 2. What promise will I carry into February as proof that I am a different being? 🔹 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝟏 – 𝐔𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. February 1 - Who have I been pretending to be, and what does that pretense cost me? February 2 - What standard have I avoided installing because it would make me unrecognizable? February 3 - What identity or role am I still clinging to even though I’ve outgrown it? February 4 - Where am I waiting for clarity, when what I really need is courage? February 5 - What fear is keeping me loyal to a version of myself I no longer respect? February 6 - What part of my past identity do I still use as an excuse? February 7 - What story am I done telling myself about who I am?

In the spirit of Ben Hardy, attached is my January 1-Pager. I have been utilizing AI to facilitate the goal setting, review, and 1-Page generation process. It is becoming less time consuming to thoughtfully review the past month and set goals for the coming month. For me, 2026 is all about identity. I'm noticing a couple of things: 1. It's harder to have measurable goals when identity is my target 2. Despite 1. my productivity is more consistent. Looking forward to the rest of 2026. If you have a 1-pager for January, feel free to share it.

Based on everything you know about me, generate an image a famous person, living, dead or fictional, that symbolizes best my personality. Let's see what shows up. Pretty funny what shows up in ChatGPT anyways. What is yours?

As I mentioned on the call and in a post a few days ago, I sent out a text to the clients that attended my client appreciation dinner. When I read it, I felt a bit uncomfortable because I see positive feedback about myself. I'm posting it here to force myself to recognize the value I bring to clients and to step out of my comfort zone and let this positive message affirm my value. Hi Michael, You were reading my mind! I have been planning to reach out to you... We enjoyed the evening immensely, thank you. The food, service & atmosphere were lovely. I had a delightful time visiting with your wife... I don't think we've really had a chance to do so in the past--she's very easy to talk to! In terms of the presentation... I really liked how you alternated between dinner courses and slideshow. It kept the evening flowing, gave us a chance to eat leisurely, and removed the distraction that passing dishes usually does. The presentation was a great balance of information and brevity. Very effective. If you were looking for additional content, I would suggest: - Go over the Allianz Tax Summary pages briefly: The income tax brackets, the cap gains tax brackets, the RMD table, and the Medicare table... make the point that managing taxable income AFTER retirement has a huge impact, so tax strategies matter as much as investment strategies. And yes, you can help with that. - Offer more insight to remove the mystery of ATS. I know you've been burned when you shared too much of your strategy, so go with less data and more of your relationship with your clients. 1) Time segments matter for each stage of life: Leading up to retirement / reaching retirement / medicare vs medical insurance / social security start date strategies / legacies & trusts / long-term care. Everyone has different needs at different stages. So how can you build a flexible plan? 2) Time segments ALSO matter for keeping the nest egg growing through market trends. The strategy is NOT unique enough to sell itself. However, you have an advantage over traditional financial advisors. We're all coming to your for our taxes, so point that out. YOU are the key here. YOU are a guru at blending the financial concerns with the tax implications to plan a long-term strategy. Don't underestimate your dual role. The ATS is a solid tool that you've used for many clients, but in the end, it's YOU that we are trusting. This is a strategy that you rely upon, so it's part of the package.