Happy Holiday Season!
As we come to the close of 2025, I want to thank you for always being here, reading, and learning alongside me.
Since Fiore Group Training Inc. was founded over 25 years ago, we have continued to evolve and grow. My mantra for life has shaped the business philosophy: never stop growing and learning. And my aim in each class and in each article is to inspire you toward the same. The future is a lot closer than you think, and the day you stop evolving and growing, you can literally feel yourself inching backwards.
There were times this past year when I felt that happening to me as well. There were days when I could not complete the writing and reading I set out to do. As a result, the podcasts slowed to a halt. But the end of the year is the perfect time for reflection and recommitment.
It’s All Recorded in my Daily Journal
For the past twenty-seven years, I have kept a daily journal.
Ever since reading Jinny Ditzler’s suggestion in her brilliant book, Your Best Year Yet, I have been writing in my journal. In the self-improvement/development world, it has been my ‘strategy anchor.’
Ever since reading Jinny Ditzler’s suggestion in her brilliant book, Your Best Year Yet, I have been writing in my journal. In the self-improvement/development world, it has been my ‘strategy anchor.’
Writing in my journal grounds me and saves me from drifting all over the place. I may wander a little from time to time, but I always return to the place where I know that I am meant to be.
I find that here, writing and talking to you.
I find that here, writing and talking to you.
For the first twelve years, the journal was a handy notebook I would buy at a local dollar store. Eventually, I upgraded from my black hard covers to Moleskine journals. You can see them in the picture. This next year’s is dark blue, and I can’t wait to get going.
Quotes for the New Year 2026
Every year, on the inside cover of my journal, I write out around 20 of my favourite quotes. No doubt, if you have been in one of our leadership workshops, you will remember them scrolling along before the workshop and during breaks.
As a jump-start to 2026, I went ahead and chose some for the inside cover and wanted to share them with you.
As a jump-start to 2026, I went ahead and chose some for the inside cover and wanted to share them with you.
- “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” — Brad Paisley.
- “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” — T.S. Eliot
- “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — J.P. Morgan.
- “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity, and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” — Edith Lovejoy Pierce.
- “Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach.
- “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “Although no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.” — Carl Bard.
- I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.” — Neil Gaiman.
- “The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” — Melody Beattie.
- “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Peter F. Drucker.
Inspiration is a Personal Experience
Not every quote will resonate with you. We bring our life experiences to the words and get inspired in different ways. Not every quote will resonate with you. We bring our life experiences to the words and get inspired in different ways. I am confident you will find one or more you can use as touchpoints throughout the year.
It is the same with books, TED talks, podcasts, and blogs.
Not every post will be life-changing.
It is the same with books, TED talks, podcasts, and blogs.
Not every post will be life-changing.
That said, I believe the world conspires to have you hear the right message at the right time, when you need it most.
So, I will continue to write, record, and publish – so that when you need that little bit of encouragement, I will be right here by your side.
Living Leadership and Workplace YOU 2.0
I am grateful to everyone (that includes you!) who opens and reads our Living Leadership blog – because it is for you that I continue to do this work.
In 2025, we renamed our podcast Workplace YOU 2.0 and have had over 10,000 total downloads since we started recording. There have been over 140 episodes since 2018.
The Workplace YOU 2.0 newsletter on my LinkedIn page has over 2,000 subscribers, and here in our Living Leadership community, there are over 2,200 of you. I am so grateful to all of you for that.
In 2025, we renamed our podcast Workplace YOU 2.0 and have had over 10,000 total downloads since we started recording. There have been over 140 episodes since 2018.
The Workplace YOU 2.0 newsletter on my LinkedIn page has over 2,000 subscribers, and here in our Living Leadership community, there are over 2,200 of you. I am so grateful to all of you for that.
Our Work Gets Personal
Human Resources leaders often lose sleep at night, tossing and turning over complaints about employee behavior. Many of the complaints concern supervisors and managers within their organisation. That’s when I get the call requesting coaching services to help those individuals return to a healthier place in the organisation.
I love this work; helping those who need a hand. And so in May of this year, I got certified as a Myers-Briggs facilitator and began my own professional coaching practice, Phil Eastwood Coaching.
I now have access to some excellent professional coaching tools and resources, all designed to help me support clients who need encouragement to return to their teams healthier and ready to contribute constructively.
My clients are not always a result of a human resources referral. Often, people are intrinsically motivated to pursue personal and professional growth. I thoroughly enjoy those conversations.
I love this work; helping those who need a hand. And so in May of this year, I got certified as a Myers-Briggs facilitator and began my own professional coaching practice, Phil Eastwood Coaching.
I now have access to some excellent professional coaching tools and resources, all designed to help me support clients who need encouragement to return to their teams healthier and ready to contribute constructively.
My clients are not always a result of a human resources referral. Often, people are intrinsically motivated to pursue personal and professional growth. I thoroughly enjoy those conversations.
What’s Coming Up in 2026?
I’m still setting my goals for 2026 and will share them with you in January, but they will definitely involve cranking up my writing, recording, and publishing.
I encourage you to consider your ongoing or newly formed goals for the new year. Keep listening inwardly over the next couple of weeks to discover for yourself what matters most to you and what you want to create in your own life.Whatever goals you choose, remember to use the SMART tools. Please ensure they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Here are some helpful articles on goal setting:
I encourage you to consider your ongoing or newly formed goals for the new year. Keep listening inwardly over the next couple of weeks to discover for yourself what matters most to you and what you want to create in your own life.Whatever goals you choose, remember to use the SMART tools. Please ensure they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Here are some helpful articles on goal setting:
- The Transformative Power of Setting Goals
- HARD Goals May Be Difficult, and That is Half the Fun
- Animate Your Goals & Bring Your Dreams to Life
- Goals are the Red Markers Along the Way
Our desire to simply do more or be better is not good enough. Goals need to be SMART.
In January, we will discuss this in more detail. In the meantime, thank you again for being here, and please have a safe and happy holiday season. See you next year!
