Welcome to the Saturday Summary.
This week, the post that I want to feature is titled What’s in Your Hope Chest? As we start to reflect on 2025 and shift our attention to possibilities for the year ahead, this post provides some inspiration. Hope chests were historically used for young women to imagine and prepare for marriage. I wonder if that idea could be modernized.
What if we could use the idea of the hope chest to set intentional possibilities for our future at work and at home? What might we put in there? How would we use both physical and digital items? I hope that it inspires you to create your own chest of possibilities.
As you imagine your 2026, consider this:
Plan 2026 Like a Business, not a Resolution
Most people plan their vacations better than their years. Then they wonder why they feel stuck come February. I’ve created a 10-week strategic planning workshop that brings corporate business planning techniques to our individual career and life planning.
Bite sized weekly video lessons, live co-working sessions, Q&A sessions, and a private community to work together and share ideas. Walk away with your complete 2026 strategic plan.
If you’re tired of drifting through your year without intention, it’s time to lead it.
Because your career IS your business.
Kickoff happens on November 10th. Learn more and register here.
My Other Blog Posts This Week
When You’ve Lost a Job: Deal, Dream, Divert. This post covers the emotions and needs as one navigates a job loss. There are ideas to do alone or with others when each need presents itself.
Be the Sun. We all have the choice when it comes to the energy we bring every day. This post provides insight that encourages us to lean into each day with positive energy.
Scripts: The Lines We Don’t Realize We’re Reciting. Our days are filled with automatic approaches and responses. This post focuses on a lesson I learned when I had the opportunity to work at Saturn. The brand, and the approach it took to relationships, changed my perspective throughout my career. I wouldn’t be the marketer and leader I am today without the lessons I learned.
Reimagining Spaces. As we move into the weekend, the last post of the week has us considering the spaces in our homes (or at work). Are we using them in a way that serves our current lifestyle or are there improvements that could make them more useful and enjoyable?
Podcasts That Caught My Attention
This week, I really enjoyed the first podcast on the list. Although it’s a bit longer than the others, I think it’s a great episode for anyone wrapping things up this year and beginning to plan for next.
Lock in 2025. 45 minutes. Jump Podcast. Dev and Michelle talk about the “Great Lock-In of 2025” that I mentioned in this post. I also enjoyed the segment where they challenged companies to treat Q4 of 2025 as Q0 of 2026 – a time to run experiments, close loops, and reset for the new year.
Make Your Schedule More Resilient. 6 minutes. Before Breakfast. If your life feels like a circus, this podcast flips the script and suggests that you manage life like a circus.
Never Not Working. 17 minutes. The Next Big Idea Daily. Malissa Clark shares ideas about why the always-on culture is bad for business. From her book Never Not Working.
The Essential Missing Half of Getting Things Done. 10 minutes. Optimal Work Daily. Steve Pavlina explores how aligning your daily actions with long-term values creates balance, fulfillment, and momentum, rather than just busy work.
What I’ve Been Up To
On the professional front, I’ve been pulling digging into trends on generational differences in shopping patterns and loyalty. In addition, content refinement for the workshop mentioned above has been happening. This will be the 15th year I’ve taken myself through an annual planning process and the 8th year I’ve guided others. What I enjoy most is seeing others with a plan that they are excited about AND have the confidence that they can accomplish goals within the resources (time and energy) available in their day-to-day lives.
Outside of work, I love fall walks. Even on days when it’s unseasonably warm, the air feels different and I’m enjoying watching the season change. I know the season is fleeting, so it’s time to soak it all in. Today, I’m posting early to head to my parent’s house for the day. My sister is in town, and it will be fun to spend the day with the family.
What Do You Think?
How are you wrapping up the loose ends of 2025?
Have you started to consider the possibilities for your career & life in 2026?
What ideas did the posts & podcasts spark that you could implement in the week ahead?