Planning 2024 Before It’s Too Late

Episode #738

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Transcription

Doug Holt  00:00

Welcome to another episode of the Powerful Man Show. I’m here with my good friends here having a laugh. And gentlemen, we want to talk today with you guys about planning 2024. Now, here we are coming into Q4 of 2023, but it’s also a great time to start anticipating and planning 2024. So I know we talk about this a lot as a movement. How are we going to plan the next year, the next quarter? We do a lot of these things.

So I want to do it a little differently this time. I want to look at this from the five territories that we celebrate here at the powerful man. So for those that aren’t aware, the five territories, again, is a reminder, self, health, wealth, relationships, and, of course, business. So across all those five territories, what are some of the things that men should be looking at, and what are some of the ways in which they should be looking at planning 2024 at this time?

Tim Matthews  01:06

Yeah. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the idea of coming up with a theme for the year. How do you want to feel in 2024? Like, how do you want to live if you come up with a theme, whether it’s feeling or last podcast or the one before adventure? Right?

Maybe the theme for 2024 is Adventure, but coming up with a theme based on what you think you may want to invite more of into your life or what you may have been lacking in 2023. Because if you start with that theme, you could then back into come up with outcomes that feed into that theme in each of the five territories.

Doug Holt  01:42

What’s your theme going to be for 2020?

Tim Matthews  01:43

I don’t know. It’s a good one.

Doug Holt  01:47

Thank you.

Tim Matthews  01:47

Yeah, I don’t know.

Doug Holt  01:49

I’ll come back to you.

Tim Matthews  01:50

Yeah, do.

Doug Holt  01:51

What about you, Arthur? Not your theme, but what are some of the things that you would suggest the men look forward to in 2024?

Arthur Magoulianiti  01:56

Yeah, I love the theme idea, but I also think that going macro first is really key. And what I mean by going macro is looking at those goals, those life goals that if you had to hit in your life, you would call your life a success. Right? That gives you direction, that helps you plug in and then work backwards and say, right, how do I move closer to those in the next year? That ties in, like, long term with the short term because otherwise, what can happen is we get too micro in our thinking and we tend to get involved in stuff that maybe we shouldn’t get involved in, which is another thing. Just because we can do something, we shouldn’t be doing it, necessarily be doing it.

So by having your, let’s call it the lighthouse out there, those five things that you can measure your life as a success when that time comes, how do I move closer to those? And that’ll give you a great direction.

Doug Holt  02:49

So in coaching, we call that the ghost of Christmas future. Right? So to speak, of a future casting as far forward as you want to, or the rocking chair test. You’re sitting on your porch having a glass of lemonade, maybe a beer, maybe Espresso, Martini, whatever it may be for you, and you’re reflecting on your life, what are the things that you’re most proud of? And then start working from there to make sure you achieve those.

Arthur Magoulianiti  03:12

Exactly. Awesome.

Doug Holt  03:14

Well, I’m going to pick one because apparently we’re going a rotation here, and I’m going to steal one that I thought would be your first one. Reflection. I always start my planning of the next year by reflecting on the previous year or years, multiple years, looking at what I got done. What are the lessons? One of the lessons that I often encounter is doing too much or anticipating doing too much and trying to. I know me and looking at it.

And then also a lot of times I’ll pivot, I’ll have a theme, but then things will come up. Someone will say, oh, this is happening, can you help me? And I’ll take on other projects and things that I don’t necessarily need to just because I can. And I’m deemed the best person to do so, mostly because of my good looks. But we’d go in through and I’ll take on all these side projects and we’ll move forward. Right?

And then I’ll leave. What I wanted to get done gets left by the wayside. So reflection. So take time. So the way I do it is I usually set aside a half a day to a day. Coffee shop is an easy place to go to get your coffee, set yourself up, noise canceling headphones, put some good music on. And then just think back with a year. Like, what was the plan? Go back and read my goals previously and what I wrote down and then reflect. Did I achieve them? Yes? No? No excuses, no stories. And then why didn’t I achieve some of them? What pivoted and changed? Because I think pivoting is fine as long as you do it consciously. And then look back at that reflection and see, what do I want to carry forward into 2024?

Arthur Magoulianiti  04:43

Love that!

Tim Matthews  04:44

Yeah. My friend does a practice, I admire. I’ve never done it, but it sounds good. So he takes himself off to a cabin for, like, two or three days, completely off social media. He has no connection, no phone signal, no WiFi, just pure disconnect. Reads through all his journals from the past year. Reflection. Right? Then takes some time to plan the year ahead in alignment with his overall life’s ambitions.

And he always comes back from those experiences with such a lightness, I mean, transparently. Also does some psychedelics, too, so he has quite an experience for himself. But it’s a really cool ritual. I mean, he’s done it for about four years now, and it’s a really cool ritual. He gifts himself at the end of every year just to kind of reset and wipe the slate clean and come into the new year with a very fresh perspective. He loves it. He swears by it. I’ve never taken it that far, but I really like the idea of it.

Doug Holt  05:47

That’s great.

Arthur Magoulianiti  05:48

I love that because I think that’s another key element to this, is choosing goals that are true for you. And by taking yourself out of the whole social media scene, you don’t get to compare yourself against somebody else, which so many people do. Oh, in order for me to be successful, I got to do what he’s doing or what she’s doing, and that’s not true. You got to be doing what you need to be doing. And the way you’re going to do that is by tapping into what’s real for you right now.

Doug Holt  06:15

Yeah. It’s interesting because I’m on social media, like the videos that we put out, but I actually don’t go on social media. The only one I do is the community of our men that we work with. So that’s an interesting one. But I would be on the Internet looking up to see classes and fit them in and see if they’re practical for my basis. So I like that a lot.

Tim Matthews  06:34

Turning down the noise on the outside, right? Totally turning it down. Turn up the noise on the inside. Get in tune with yourself.

Arthur Magoulianiti  06:40

Exactly.

Tim Matthews  06:41

Correct.

Doug Holt  06:42

Yeah. You and I talk about this every year, that we should go away big time for two, three days by ourselves, not together, but indifferent. We talk about doing it together, too, for planning, but it’s something you and I have talked about quite a bit, Tim. I got to make sure I say who I’m talking to for those listening versus watching this. Another thing I think is really critical that I’ve started doing. I’ve been doing it for a while, is I bring my wife into it, my partner into this planning and this dreaming, because what I find oftentimes is very easy for me to plan and to dream by myself. And you kind of forget that you have a partner there and that they, in this case, she can be left behind or feeling as if they’re left behind.

So because of what we do for our chosen path and career, we are afforded the opportunity of doing a lot of cool things. We’ve got Argentina coming up. We’ve got two other events coming up after that. We have The Alpha Reset that we put on, which is a transformational event for men that takes place over three days. So all of these things that allow us to fill our cups, we’ll plan those dates and fill those in, and oftentimes our wives will be like, hey, what about me? What about me? And it’s easy for them to feel left out.

So first I will plan what I want, and then I’ll bring that to my wife, and how can I incorporate what she wants for our family? So it goes something like this. For my conversations, I’ll ask my wife, what do you want for our family for 2024? And then I’ll boil it down after we go through that, what do you want for 2024 for yourself? Then I’ll share what I’m looking for and try to find some common ground, because oftentimes what my wife wants or needs, usually in companies, the family, it’s very often not as selfish as my ventures can be, and we can incorporate those in easily. And it’s also more palpatable for my wife to understand. I’m going to Argentina for two weeks with the guys. I’m doing this. I’m doing this. I’m doing this when she feels that she’s being heard and seen.

Tim Matthews  08:37

And also, you set the expectation for the year as well, right? So nothing last minute catches them. Yeah. I’ve done this for the past few years with Amelia, and then we just draw a little spider diagram with the year, little things coming off. It just goes on the fridge, just stays on there. She probably doesn’t even look at it again. Every time I go get to the fridge, I’m like, where are we at? Are we doing well? But I just love, it’s got everything on there, personal, professional, us, very simple, but it just stays top of mind.

And then at the end of the year, take it off, sit down together. How did we do something? I heard that Tony Robbins does. I love this idea. I’ve not done this either, but may do it this year is sit down end of the year with your family or your partner, whatever it may be, and just play like a summary of the photos from the pastry or the videos for ten minutes. Like, here are all the amazing moments that we had. Obviously, you’d have to just plan that ahead of time, get the favorites for the year or whatever, but then just sit and reflect and just sharing those experiences. In fact, as I say out loud, it’d be a great idea to just watch that first and then go into this discussion around planning the year ahead because it’d be such a great energy to be in. Could be great.

Doug Holt  09:52

It is great. My wife, I laugh a little bit because I know for a fact every Christmas I’m getting a photo book that’s just like that. Right? Which is great. I love it. I also know it’s partially for her, too, and she loves putting them together. But every year we have a photo book of our family adventures and things that we do. And it also spurs along the fact that my wife and I formulated our relationship based on adventure. We both loved adventure and travel. These last few years, she hasn’t been able to travel as much as she’d like. Having said that, she does travel, but again, not as much as she’d like.

So we get to look at those other things that we do. Going to the beach, the pond. Now, for now, it’s the TPM Ranch and things that have been incorporated into these adventures because you forget about them, right? You forget about. And the kids are growing up, and as they say, the days are long, the years are short, and you look at these things that we’ve done, you’re like, oh, wow, that’s right. We went to the beach and we had this amazing beach vacation. It was raining and we laughed or, oh, yeah, we went to this and we did this thing and that thing. You start to remember and recall the amazing things you do, which makes planning the next year, to your point, even better, because you can say, we want more of that, maybe a little less of this, and gives you more of opportunity to move forward.

Arthur Magoulianiti  11:07

Yeah. One of the things that we recently spoke to the inner circle about was, and I might pronounce this wrong, but it’s a Japanese term and it’s like Masoji. And it’s like, what is the one thing that you can do in this year or next year that you’ll remember that year? Just one thing. So maybe it’s writing a book. And, you know, in 2024, I wrote my book. 2025, I did something else. I climbed the mountain. But you make that the thing for the year. It’s similar to the theme, but it’s different. It’s the one thing that you’ll always remember because it was so great. It was such A pivotal moment in your life. Whether it was a mountain, a book or whatever, you achieved that and you can look back over the next last ten years and say, each year it just stands out. It’s like a memory forever.

Doug Holt  11:55

That’s a great idea. The way I also know that is something that could be possibly challenging. Right? I think that was the original context of it going through, and I know people that have taken that on in a very serious way. I think that’s a great thing for the family. What’s the one thing pinnacle? You’ll know for your family, but maybe you could do that across all five territories. What’s the one thing for yourself you could do to fill your cup? Guys that are in the movement, get your butts to Argentina. Make sure you get a seat in there, because that’ll be one thing that you’ll remember the rest of your life. Then maybe the area of health. What are you going to do? Are you going to take on that health challenge? Instead of saying, I want to lose weight, set up for an event big time, right?

Tim Matthews  12:35

Big time. The guys love it when they do, like an Iron man or a marathon or even a Spartan wrist.

Doug Holt  12:41

Even a 5K.

Tim Matthews  12:42

Yeah, whatever it is, right? They love it. To your point. They love it when they do these events and they just take them on. It creates those.

Arthur Magoulianiti  12:50

You got to be trading for something. What are you trading for?

Doug Holt  12:53

Yeah. So that’s health, right? So when 2024, do you want to do for your abundance, your wealth, your gratitude, what’s that going to look like? And maybe that is just going on a solo trip to the cabin for a couple of days. Most of us never sit with our own thoughts for more than a couple of minutes. And then we’re on Instagram. We made a joke earlier that if we went back 50 years, if someone had time travel, they would realize that somebody can’t go to the bathroom without their phone. If they do, they feel awkward, right? Like, oh, what do I do while I’m in here? Which is so funny, but really, because we don’t have any time alone, really, with ourselves and our own thoughts these days.

So maybe that’s the category for wealth or. But maybe it’s a financial goal for somebody like, hey, look, I need an extra 100K or 10K, whatever it may be for you. That could be the wealth category. And then how are you going to obviously break down how you’re going to do that? And then we also have relationships. Is this going to be the year you turn things around with your wife, with your kids? Maybe you’re going to learn the art of communication, really understand how to communicate. Or maybe in relationships, per our other podcast, you’re going to learn how to be in a master in bed, like a man that can fulfill his wife all the time, or most of the time for that matter. There’s all kinds of things to do. Maybe you’re going to save your marriage without having to talk about it and go that route too.

Then of course there is business. What are you going to do in your business? That’s going to be your Masoji, right, your Masoji moment that you’ll remember. Are you going to explode your business this year? Maybe instead of exploding your business, you’re going to maintain your business and take Fridays off, as many of our men do. So I think these are the kind of conversations you want to get in. The thing I see most men get stuck in, they don’t dream big enough. They put a limiting factor on what their goals are.

Tim Matthews  14:45

You know what? Most men don’t even do this well, of course. Yeah, they don’t even do this bit. Right? They hear this podcast and they think it’s a good idea, but so few will even give themselves a time to sit down and reflect on the year and plan the year ahead. The holiday season will come and go very quickly. They’ll get swept up in the busyness, in the chaos. They’ll be into the new year, two weeks in, what’s the point? Now it’s too late. I’ll just do Q1. And they’re already on the back foot.

Arthur Magoulianiti  15:19

And it’s exactly that because they leave it too late. Right? And to do this process successfully, you have to review the year.

Tim Matthews  15:27

First two weeks of December.

Arthur Magoulianiti  15:29

Exactly. You got to get the review done and then based on that, plan the future. There’s two parts to this and you got to give yourself time to do it adequately. You can’t sit in one afternoon and do both those components. And so the sooner you start doing it, beginning of December, do the review, get that done. Then on that you can build a great plan for the future in a second session.

Doug Holt  15:51

Yeah. Well, previously we’ve had two things that we’ve done with the men that have been three day events, the Alpha reboot and the planner gets slaughtered. Right? So planner gets slaughtered for the next year and Alpha reboot combined. But men alone get to do this. And so the men that were successful, that went through our program when we offered that is, they would check themselves into a hotel, even though it was virtual. They check themselves into a hotel and do it as if they were in a live event. Maybe that’s something that gets to be revisited this year that we can put on for the guys coming through.

But in the meanwhile, the key is just doing this. Everybody knows they need a goal plan, a goal set. Very few take it seriously, and therefore they do what most people do and not do anything. And they want to get these extraordinary RESULTS. Yet you can’t get extraordinary RESULTS  doing what the ordinary do.

Arthur Magoulianiti  16:37

Here’s a pro tip: book into a hotel with your partner, and both of you can sit and review the year together. We did this with Penny last year. We were in Athens. We booked ourselves into a hotel, went into the. It was a nice hotel, nice bar area, restaurant area. We sat there. It was inspirational. Yeah, because you don’t want to be sitting in your office doing key. Environment is key. And we sat there, we ordered the drinks, and we took most of the afternoon just to review, have chats, compare notes, and it was a fun, memorable experience. And you walk away ready for the year.

Doug Holt  17:11

I love that idea. That is absolutely perfect. So, guys, if you can get away, do. Do that, take your partner with you. You can plan ahead, too. Right? So you can have some things to guide them and then help them, because Your partner might not be as versed in it and do so not as a business person, but as a lover.

Arthur Magoulianiti  17:27

Exactly.

Doug Holt  17:28

Yeah. Any other last minute tips, or do you have your theme, by chance, that come up to you?

Tim Matthews  17:34

Yeah, I did. The theme is coming of age. Yeah. I think the things that are on the horizon, the seeds that have been planted.

Doug Holt  17:46

Metaphorically.

Tim Matthews  17:47

Yes. Yes.

Doug Holt  17:52

Just checking.

Arthur Magoulianiti  17:56

Be it fatherhood, be it vectivation method for self, be it. Whatever it may be. It just keeps coming back to that. So, yeah, that’s going to be mine. I’m going to go with that.

Doug Holt  18:10

How about you, Arthur?

Arthur Magoulianiti  18:12

I’m going to have to give it a little bit more – [Crosstalk] Yep. No, I’ll come back to you.

Doug Holt  18:21

Fantastic. Well, gentlemen, how about you? I don’t know what my theme would be yet either. I have a couple that I’m tossing around, but I honestly don’t have an answer. And to give you an answer would be…

Tim Matthews  18:32

One of those two – [Crosstalk]

Doug Holt  18:34

When I say a couple.

Tim Matthews  18:37

One of those five.

Doug Holt  11:38

Exactly. I think my theme for next year is going to be the two words that come by is explosive growth. Exponential growth is what comes to my mind specifically in the area of self. That’s what I’m leaning towards.

Tim Matthews  18:59

Beautiful.

Doug Holt  19:00

But I’ll come with a more defined theme. I’m a marketing guy, so I’ll have a different name for it. It’ll be polished up.

Arthur Magoulianiti  19:05

Got to sound pretty.

Doug Holt  19:07

Sound pretty. I’ll run it through AI a few times, clean it up, then come back again. But I will have one. I like the idea of a theme. We always have a theme for the movement we call The Powerful Man. And I’ll look forward to our theme for next year, which I think will be intangible. I think the theme will be very similar because I don’t see my personal life and my, quote, professional life being any different. I just don’t like they usually come through it.

Gentlemen, what’s your theme going to be as we come into 2024? What are you going to do? How are you going to take these action steps that these beautiful men have shared with you coming into it? Are you going to plan or are you going to plan to fail or fail to plan? Right. So when you fail to plan, you plan to fail, as they say. What are you going to do the first two weeks in December or the last week in November? Somewhere in that ballpark is a great time. Don’t wait till the end of the year. You don’t need all your financials in because then you’d be waiting till January. Plan now and start taking action.

Now, where are those action steps? Is it in the area of your health? Okay, great. What’s your theme going to be? What’s going to be your Masogi? Sign up for that class. Sign up for that course. Sign up for that marathon. Do it now. Make sure that it’s on the schedule for yourself. Maybe it’s in the area of relationships. Maybe it’s The Activation Method, which is our flagship program. The Activation Method for self or for relationships? If it’s for relationships, get on a call with one of our advisors today, get on the calendar. You can’t get on a call today, but you can get on the calendar for the future if you qualify.

And they’re going to let you know. Hey, look, this may be a good fit, it may not be. We’re very picky on who we take in. We only take nine guys for a group. That way we can have expert coaching coming in and you get a more individualized, personalized experience, and we can guarantee the RESULTS.

And then maybe, in fact, maybe it’s in a different area. Maybe you’re doing this in the area of your business. What do you need to do to move that ball down the line? Maybe it’s getting a business coach, maybe it’s taking a business course, or maybe it’s cutting the fat off of your business. Whatever it is, get it on the calendar. Because when you have a goal without a date, it’s just a dream. And we want to make sure you guys take massive action each and every time. Until then, guys, have an amazing week, and we’ll see you next time on The Powerful Man show.

All right, guys, that’s a wrap for this episode. But as I always say in the moment of insight, take massive action. You see, there are two types of men that listen to a podcast like this, those that go on from one podcast or show to another just hoping things are going to change and realizing that they’re going to be in the same place month after month, year after year.

You see, I was this guy so I completely get it. You may just not be ready. But there’s also a second man, a second man that listens to a show just like this. And this is a guy who takes massive action so they can shorten the learning curve, compress time, and get RESULTS to be the WOLF. See, WOLF is an acronym for Wise, Open, Loving, and Fierce.

Now ask yourself, which one am I? And just be honest with yourself there. And there’s no judgment on my end. But if you’re ready to move from deactivated DEER mode, which is Defend, Excuse, Explain, and React to activated WOLF, Wise, Open, Loving and Fierce, then go over to thepowerfulman.com/grow. And go there now. In fact, I’ll make it super easy for you. I will even put the link right in the description here so you can just click it and go over there now to learn more. Guys, in the moment of insight, take massive action. Go from deactivated to activated, because like I said, life is too short for average and I’ll see you on the next episode!