0:03

Welcome to the Win Today podcast , a

0:05

weekly tool intentionally crafted

0:07

to help people enhance performance

0:10

, feel inspired and conquer

0:12

life . Our commitment is that

0:14

you will learn from some of the most disciplined

0:16

, heartwarming and inspiring

0:18

people on the globe , in

0:20

addition to receiving a piece of a winning

0:22

playbook from myself or

0:25

a renowned expert in their field . My

0:27

name is Ryan Cass and I am your host , and

0:29

it is my purpose in this world to inspire

0:32

people to establish a foundation for

0:34

sustained success by developing

0:36

systems that will enable you to

0:38

accomplish your goals , break systemic

0:40

trends of adversity and chart a desirable

0:43

course for life . Thank you

0:45

so much for tuning in . Please help us achieve

0:47

our vision of becoming one of the top

0:49

podcasts in the world by subscribing

0:51

to the show , sharing it with somebody who you believe will

0:54

benefit from it and leaving a review

0:56

, and let's connect with our

0:58

guest . What's

1:01

up everyone ? Welcome to the final

1:03

day of 2023

1:05

. I'm wishing that you all

1:07

have been able to enjoy

1:09

somewhat of a break and been

1:12

able to spend time with important

1:14

people in your life and start

1:17

thinking about what this next year

1:19

, 2024 , is going

1:22

to look like for you . I believe that

1:24

2023 was similar to

1:26

2022 in that it

1:28

felt like it was multiple

1:30

years packed into one , and

1:32

I say that because of the amount

1:35

of growth and experiences

1:37

that this year in itself

1:39

delivered . I was having lunch

1:42

with one of my friends earlier and

1:44

he reminded me of

1:46

the August challenge of running

1:49

a half marathon every day with my girlfriend

1:51

, and it's something that I

1:53

had completely forgotten about , and

1:55

I actually heard about a pretty

1:58

neat exercise recently

2:00

to reflect on the year is

2:02

to go through your phone , go

2:05

to the beginning of the year and then

2:07

scroll through all of the different

2:09

photos and videos

2:12

that you have through the course of the year and

2:14

that will remind you of

2:16

a lot of the experiences that

2:19

you've had just in this year itself

2:21

, because for those things that are

2:24

often really important to us , there's generally

2:26

some sort of photo or video

2:29

to capture the experience , and sometimes

2:32

, myself included , we can forget to

2:34

go back into the camera roll and

2:36

really find that evidence of everything

2:39

that this year brought . So that

2:41

is something I'm also doing today

2:43

, but the purpose of this episode

2:46

is to provide a

2:49

bonus opportunity

2:51

to help you all in

2:53

setting up your 2024 and

2:55

ensuring that it's

2:57

another amazing year and

3:00

that it's one of the best years

3:03

of your life . Last week , I released

3:05

an episode that highlighted

3:07

the year end process

3:09

that I go through and the questions

3:12

that are important to ask yourself

3:14

on an annual basis

3:16

at minimum , so that you can

3:18

really understand what's

3:21

going well and why , where you have

3:23

opportunities to grow and why and

3:26

what type of person must

3:28

you become in order to achieve

3:30

the things that you want to in the coming

3:33

year . Asking these types of introspective

3:35

questions , at minimum

3:37

on an annual basis , really

3:40

helps you understand why you're able to

3:42

do the things that you're doing , where

3:45

you need to make some adjustments

3:47

, and gives

3:49

you a plan , or rather , gives you

3:51

the clues , gives you the

3:54

tips on what

3:56

to focus on for the coming year . And

3:59

I do this by asking , or rather

4:01

, I do this by writing myself

4:04

a letter every year , and if you go back

4:06

to episode number 81 , that

4:09

is where I released my 2023

4:11

letter to myself , and

4:14

it's fun to go back to these letters at

4:16

the end of the year and then

4:18

see all the things that

4:20

did or did not come to fruition

4:23

, and it's surprisingly enough

4:25

. What I've found is that by

4:27

doing these , by writing these letters to yourself

4:29

, you actually accomplish

4:31

a whole lot more than

4:33

you would have ever envisioned

4:36

, and it's . It's

4:38

this fun process

4:41

. It's a blast , and

4:43

I'm putting it out here because

4:45

I want this to serve as a

4:48

tool for you all . So go

4:50

back to last week's episode , go back to

4:52

episode number 81 , and

4:55

that will just give you some more context as

4:57

to what this letter is and

5:00

why and how I use it

5:02

. So , starting

5:04

with my letter to myself evaluating

5:07

2023 and setting

5:10

the course for 2024

5:12

. And I write this as if I'm

5:15

in third person , so , in case you're

5:17

wondering why the heck is everything in third

5:19

person , it's a letter to

5:21

myself and not just talking

5:23

about I this , I that , but

5:25

, hey , looking at it , removing myself

5:28

from the equation . Ryan

5:30

, another year of laying bricks on

5:33

top of a steady foundation and plenty

5:35

more of touching your dreams . Like

5:38

last year , 2023 also

5:40

felt like several years packed into one year

5:42

, due to all of the growth , abundance

5:45

of experiences , entering new

5:47

territory in many areas of life and

5:49

continuing to optimize your way of being

5:51

. Lessons learned from 2022

5:54

served you very well in 2023

5:56

, and lessons learned this year will

5:58

serve you very well in 2024 . It's

6:01

amazing to see what came to fruition , as you

6:03

wrote to yourself in 2022 that

6:05

2023 would deliver

6:08

, deliver being my keyword

6:10

for the year , or deliver being your keyword

6:13

for the year . Feeling like a completely

6:15

different , upgraded being for

6:17

one , interacting with some

6:19

of the most renowned thought leaders in the world

6:22

in the domain of personal development , in

6:24

addition to being introduced to a few

6:26

new tribes at home , filled with amazing

6:28

people , continuing to be

6:30

a strong influence for your family and shifting

6:32

the narrative of the past , bringing everyone

6:35

closer and closer together , embracing

6:37

today to create a tomorrow that we can

6:39

cherish , perhaps

6:41

under 2023 . Prediction of being introduced

6:44

to a new echelon of elite performers

6:46

that you wouldn't have guessed

6:48

a girlfriend would be included in that mix . You

6:51

met the best of the best in the running world and

6:54

someone who possesses the mindset that you appreciate

6:56

the most in this world . You're fortunate

6:58

to have met this incredible woman who pushes you

7:00

and truly means it and backs it up

7:03

. For the last seven years , you've

7:05

had very high walls up and they've been knocked

7:07

down , and you wouldn't have it any other

7:09

way . You view this relationship

7:12

as a privilege and responsibility

7:14

and will continue giving it and

7:16

Christina your absolute best

7:18

effort , all across the board . The

7:21

path that you're on in this life is not to be questioned

7:23

any longer . You're doing exactly

7:26

what you're meant to be doing . More

7:28

people than ever before are reaching out

7:30

to

7:32

let you know of the positive impact

7:35

that you've made and or are making in their

7:37

lives . It's remarkable and

7:39

will be amplified 10 fold in

7:41

2024 as the podcast

7:43

, speaking , coaching and

7:46

something else that you may not have expected to absolutely

7:48

blow up . The seeds that

7:50

you've planted over the last few years are starting

7:52

to sprout and all of the deposits made

7:55

over time are going to compound to

7:57

a whole new level in 2024 . As

7:59

always , it's time to take inventory of

8:02

opportunities for growth and then recognize

8:04

the highlights and chart the future

8:06

course opportunities that you've noted

8:09

, opportunities being defined

8:11

as areas of growth

8:13

, not weaknesses , but

8:15

opportunities to get better . Continue

8:18

to dial back on your goals list . Less

8:21

still equals more and as you've scaled

8:23

back , the goals have become bigger and more

8:25

challenging . The

8:28

goals list is staying too big

8:30

as challenges and

8:33

responsibilities have increased . Dial

8:35

the list back , as there was too

8:38

much on your plate in 2023

8:40

. Sharpen systems

8:42

after work . After many days

8:45

coming home from your corporate job this year , it

8:47

was a struggle to get in the zone to focus on

8:49

champion tribe in one day . Part of

8:52

this due to being over committed , the

8:54

other part due to being distracted by admin

8:56

work and or being lower

8:59

on energy . Recognize

9:01

the fact that your corporate role itself is

9:03

demanding . Therefore , it's crucial

9:05

to be even more specific about

9:08

post-work activity . Avoid

9:10

doing long runs after work , as

9:12

this kills your productivity . Set

9:14

aside certain days and times for admin

9:16

and continue passing it off to

9:18

others via hiring and outsourcing

9:21

for help . Increase

9:24

velocity . This is your word

9:26

for 2024 velocity

9:28

. Velocity is defined as

9:30

closing the gap between a thought and

9:32

an action , or , in this case , the

9:34

time between a priority and an action

9:36

as well . If there's something that you

9:38

want to know in the moment , take

9:41

action on it . If there's a priority you

9:43

set , allow nothing else to

9:45

get in the way until it's done . Sometimes

9:48

you get into analysis paralysis

9:50

, which crushes taking action on

9:52

the important things . Stop doing that

9:54

. Opportunities excite

9:56

you the most because they provide the opportunity

9:58

to improve and create the space . To

10:01

be brutally honest , while the highlights

10:03

are great , it's focusing on the opportunities

10:05

that creates the space to generate

10:08

the future . Highlights Never shy

10:10

away from what may be done

10:12

more , better or less . Life

10:14

isn't defined or the year isn't defined

10:16

by simply highs . It's

10:19

about recognizing both highs and opportunities

10:21

, not lows , that allow

10:23

you to continue reaching

10:26

new levels in life . Now for

10:28

the highlights . Another year to look back

10:30

on and smile about , just as 2024

10:33

soon will be as well . Some

10:36

of your highlights Strengthening

10:38

the bond with your sister and being

10:40

more intentional about time and connection with her

10:42

. Building

10:44

off feedback a couple years ago

10:47

that she provided to you , which has

10:49

been invaluable . Continuing

10:52

to give back unconditionally , first

10:54

with time and connection and then monetarily

10:57

. Beating your goal of generating

10:59

over $20,000 to nonprofits

11:01

through your giving mastermind dinner

11:03

donations be the first one . Scholarship

11:06

and break in Ribbon's 100-mile

11:08

fundraiser . So many people

11:10

have been served and it's going to be even

11:12

bigger in 2024 as

11:14

the word gets out . Completing

11:17

a 100-mile fundraiser run on the Ravenel

11:19

Bridge and delivering to three families in need

11:21

, fighting various forms

11:24

of cancer . Having an amazing support

11:26

crew out with you for an entire day making

11:28

sure it got done . Putting

11:31

the cap on a six-year journey to qualify

11:34

for and finally compete in

11:36

the Boston Marathon and breaking your marathon

11:38

PR by over four minutes later in the year

11:40

. Running more miles than

11:42

you ever have in a year and becoming

11:44

extremely strong at cardio

11:46

. Entering a committed

11:49

relationship and letting your guard down for an incredible

11:51

woman who is extremely caring , sweet

11:53

and sees eye to eye to you in

11:56

terms of seeking challenges and

11:59

juggling multiple hats . Someone

12:01

who truly pushes you to level

12:03

up , not missing

12:05

a single Monday podcast released Doubling

12:08

and More

12:12

than doubling downloads

12:15

from 2022 and

12:17

interviewing over 28

12:19

major guests . Balancing

12:22

everything here on top of growing a brand

12:24

new organization in your corporate role by

12:27

seven times in one year , earning

12:30

multiple paid speaking opportunities and continuing

12:33

to sharpen the craft on skills that align

12:35

closest to your dreams in life . Tons

12:38

of people reaching out , some of who you know

12:40

and plenty out of the blue and who you don't

12:42

know . Letting you know the positive

12:44

impact that has been made in their life

12:47

because of your efforts . Never

12:49

lose sight of that . No

12:51

more talk about quote barely

12:54

scratching the surface . That phrase

12:56

has been allowed for too long . Level

12:58

up a notch in 2024 . Take

13:01

note of your opportunities . You've

13:03

been slowing yourself up in some areas . You

13:05

and nothing else . Double

13:08

down on this dream of yours and get out of the

13:10

way . Don't be scared . Not

13:12

everything that you put out is going to be a best hit

13:14

. Remember that consistency

13:17

is key and that's one thing

13:19

that people are always watching for . Continue

13:22

being the captain of the ship for your family and

13:24

setting a strong example . Keep

13:27

focused on the important things and don't

13:29

allow the little things to become big things

13:31

. If the worst thing that

13:33

usually happens in a day is that your

13:35

dog tips something over , you're doing

13:37

pretty damn well . Continue

13:39

giving your time and heart to people and

13:42

causes that light up your soul

13:44

. Never stop doing this . This

13:46

is inscribed in your DNA . Now Continue

13:50

learning what it means to be in a relationship and becoming

13:52

the best man possible to serve your girlfriend

13:54

in the best way . Stay patient . When

13:57

you look back on this as 2025

13:59

is nearing , it'll again feel like

14:02

a completely different person is sitting down to write the letter . You're

14:05

going to excel and staying even

14:07

more laser , focused on less but the

14:09

right things . You're again going

14:11

to be introduced to an entire new level

14:13

of elite performers and earn your

14:15

way into some exclusive networks filled

14:17

with people who help you grow more

14:19

than ever . The podcast is

14:21

going to be booming , with more focus on in-person

14:24

experiences , and the consistency

14:26

won't stop . Your email

14:28

list and growth is going to be key

14:30

to the long-awaited courses and

14:32

masterminds that you've been slowly putting

14:35

together , and your reach and impact

14:37

is going to expand well over two-fold

14:39

this year . You'll be at a difficult

14:41

crossroads , as these hustles will

14:43

ultimately bear a ton of weight that's

14:45

going to make corporate tempt

14:47

you even more . Keep

14:50

touching your dreams . You're

14:52

going to continue running even more , hitting new

14:54

PRs and putting your body and mind through

14:56

more grueling tests . This is

14:58

the life that you've dreamed of , and you'll

15:00

have what you desire and

15:03

abundance . Stay true and

15:05

never forget where you came from . Continue

15:07

being a light for one person

15:09

and kick ass . Love

15:12

you . So

15:15

that's my letter to myself

15:17

, reflecting on 2023

15:20

and looking at

15:22

what I intend to create

15:25

for 2024

15:27

. And that was

15:29

done by sitting down with my 2023

15:32

goals list and looking at

15:34

what was able to accomplish , why

15:37

, what didn't go well or

15:39

what are my opportunities and why

15:41

, and then setting

15:44

the tone for the new year , and

15:46

I'm going to focus more on the opportunities

15:49

again . What you saw

15:51

there is that I've still

15:54

put a little bit too

15:56

much on my plate , not recognizing

15:58

that my corporate

16:00

role in itself is demanding

16:03

and takes a lot of

16:06

my mental and emotional

16:08

capacity , and

16:10

then expecting to always

16:13

have the on switch when I

16:15

get home . That's been a

16:18

little more difficult than I thought , and

16:20

that's that . That's

16:23

the opportunity that I get to focus on . I

16:25

get to dial in my systems a little bit more post

16:27

work , look at how to

16:29

stay in elevated states

16:32

for longer periods of time to

16:34

ensure that my

16:36

productivity levels once I get

16:38

here after a

16:41

long day at work are still

16:43

high , so that there's

16:45

more focus on the things that I'm

16:47

dreaming of , which is putting out

16:49

those courses , creating the masterminds

16:51

and and having more products

16:53

available that are intended

16:56

to help people reach the next

16:58

level , and being that resource

17:00

becoming one of the top resources

17:03

in the personal development space for

17:05

people to utilize

17:07

. So that's going

17:10

to happen . That's my window

17:12

, that's my window of opportunity , it's

17:14

my window of growth , and I also decided

17:16

to only

17:18

know three of the biggest opportunities

17:20

. Obviously , there are some some

17:23

more , some little ones here and there , but

17:26

when I really think about it , on

17:28

the things that did not get accomplished

17:30

and why , those are the three biggest

17:33

things that that pop out . So

17:36

I'm very excited to detail

17:38

more of the progress that will be made

17:40

on that in 2024

17:43

. And the next thing

17:45

that I told you

17:47

all I would share is

17:49

really this whole journey with goal

17:52

setting going back to last week's

17:54

episode is a

17:56

process of becoming Accomplishing

17:59

. Your goal is great , but

18:01

the goal is just the pie in the sky

18:03

. In order to achieve what

18:05

you want in this life , it's

18:08

really a question of who must you become

18:10

in order to achieve X

18:12

, y , z . If you want to become

18:14

a strong marathon

18:16

runner , who must you

18:19

actually become ? You

18:21

must become someone who is extremely

18:23

diligent and

18:26

someone who carves out multiple

18:29

hours a week to train

18:31

and put your body through rigorous

18:34

tests . You must be someone

18:37

who is committed to

18:39

rest and recovery . You

18:41

must be somebody who is

18:44

committed to or rather

18:46

, you must be someone who is

18:49

accepting of progress

18:51

coming in minuscule

18:54

bits and pieces , meaning that

18:56

you'll be improving your time

19:01

by seconds at a time , versus

19:03

you don't run once and

19:05

then your next . Run your minutes better

19:08

. You get seconds better in seconds and seconds

19:10

. You're somebody who is accepting

19:13

of the process . So

19:15

, when I look at my 2024

19:18

goals and who must I become , what

19:20

I've written down here are

19:22

four things Someone who is

19:24

extremely diligent about looking ahead and

19:26

staying ahead . The reason why I wrote

19:29

this down is because recognizing

19:32

that in

19:34

my corporate rule itself is

19:36

a lot plus what I've written

19:39

down to accomplish in 2024 . I'm

19:42

going to become somebody who

19:44

is even

19:46

better now at

19:49

looking ahead at everything and

19:51

staying ahead . Staying ahead multiple episodes on

19:54

the podcast , staying ahead on

19:57

the administrative things at

19:59

home . So it's never a matter of oh

20:01

crap . I got to catch up on this and therefore

20:03

I delay what I really

20:05

want to happen . So , although

20:09

I'd say systems are my strong suit

20:11

, I'm being brutally honest

20:13

with myself and recognizing

20:17

that they can be a

20:19

lot better and they must become a lot

20:22

better . Next level type systems

20:24

here . Someone

20:26

who consumes the right content , nutrition

20:28

and support to stay in elevated

20:31

energy states for longer periods of time

20:33

. Again , this goes back to

20:35

where there are days that

20:37

I recognize that I'll

20:39

allow myself to get distracted , or

20:41

the run got

20:43

moved to the afternoon and even though

20:46

it still gets done , that then

20:48

crushes my energy to

20:50

focus on the bigger

20:53

things , or maybe

20:55

I only get the podcast that day and

20:57

then the other items are

21:00

put to the side . So really

21:02

, my focus is going to be more on

21:05

how do we keep that elevated

21:07

energy state for longer

21:09

periods of time during the day and

21:12

make sure that I'm well set

21:14

up to not get distracted and

21:17

keep pushing forward on the

21:19

things that I believe are really important

21:21

. Someone who is truly

21:23

committed to creating independence

21:25

from corporate . Now , as

21:29

I've started to share here more and

21:31

more , my dream is

21:33

doing this

21:35

, this podcast , speaking , coaching

21:38

, personal development type activities

21:40

on a more

21:42

frequent basis , because I do

21:44

believe that this is

21:47

going somewhere , there

21:50

is something here and

21:52

with that it is very

21:55

tempting . In the

21:57

corporate role , with the

22:00

level of comfort there that I've

22:03

got to be , I get to become

22:05

somebody who is more

22:10

and more willing to step away from that comfort

22:12

. It's scary

22:14

. There

22:17

was a lot that was done to earn

22:19

the corporate position and

22:22

all the success that's been

22:24

experienced there , and I feel

22:26

on my heart that in

22:28

order to really make this dream

22:30

a reality , then I

22:34

get to become somebody who's truly

22:37

okay and desiring

22:40

to step away from that comfort . I've been

22:42

dabbling little by little , and

22:45

this year is really the year two to

22:48

double down , and the last

22:50

one is someone who remains very grounded and

22:53

embraces every little step . I understand

22:55

that this

22:58

may not be an overnight success and

23:01

I also understand that

23:03

progress

23:06

comes in the tiniest little

23:08

bits and pieces . It's almost a reminder of

23:11

what I just mentioned earlier , that decreasing

23:14

your or improving your marathon

23:16

time . That will come in the

23:18

tiniest increments , in

23:21

seconds sometimes , sometimes even fractions

23:23

of seconds , and it's the same

23:25

thing with this journey that's being embarked

23:27

on . The progress

23:31

a rather yeah

23:33

, the progress is being

23:36

experienced in the tiniest

23:39

bits and pieces , and that's

23:42

okay , and it's

23:45

another thing that I'll get to look back on

23:47

as we're at the end of 2024

23:49

. Like , wow , all

23:51

those little tiny bits really led to

23:53

something amazing and

23:55

I'm just super

23:58

pumped . I'm super pumped about 2024

24:00

and all of the great things that it's

24:03

going to deliver , and

24:05

I wish that you

24:07

guys , as you're listening to this , are

24:10

one thinking about

24:12

what went well

24:14

for you and why , and really the going

24:17

through the introspective process

24:20

that I just walked you guys through , because

24:22

that is ultimately what is going

24:24

to help you create your path for

24:27

24 . And for

24:29

all of the future years to come , it is

24:32

a necessity to really

24:35

look at yourself and understand

24:39

what has been done , what

24:41

hasn't been done , and have

24:43

those tough conversations with yourself first , because

24:45

nobody else is going to do it for you . And

24:48

, to make it fun , go ahead and write

24:50

yourself a letter and something that you're not going to look

24:52

at for an

24:55

extended period of time , and then

24:57

open that letter and

24:59

see all the progress that's been made . It's

25:02

a pretty awesome thing

25:04

. This is one of my favorite days of the year and

25:06

favorite weeks of the year , not just because

25:08

it's a little bit slower , but because

25:10

I get to go and really

25:12

reflect and appreciate

25:15

the journey and see

25:18

a lot of things that maybe I wouldn't have seen

25:20

right there in the moment or appreciated right there in

25:22

the moment . So , guys

25:25

, I appreciate you all so

25:27

much and thank

25:29

you for 2023 . As I mentioned

25:32

, the podcast has doubled

25:34

in the amount of downloads

25:37

and it's going to continue

25:39

. We're going to keep bringing

25:42

amazing guests forward , and

25:44

every time that I hear from you guys

25:46

on an episode and

25:48

whether it made an impact

25:51

on you , or even sometimes I

25:53

do hear from you all and hey

25:56

, this could have been done better , even sounds like

25:58

this edit was messed up that means the

26:00

absolute world to me . So I'm fully

26:02

committed to creating

26:05

the best experience for you

26:07

guys each week that this

26:09

will ultimately serve

26:12

as a tool that is going to

26:14

help you win , and

26:17

winning , being

26:19

defined however you view it , I

26:21

mean it's not always becoming first place in something , but

26:25

ultimately helping you attain whatever

26:27

it is that you want in this life , and

26:29

I can't express

26:31

my appreciation enough . I'm starting

26:34

another resource in 2024

26:36

, the weekly win email club

26:38

. Still haven't settled on the cooler name yet , but

26:41

that is going to start on Tuesdays , january

26:43

2nd , so go ahead

26:46

and sign up for that that's in the

26:48

show notes and

26:50

make 2024 the

26:52

best year of your life and

26:54

win today . Thanks for tuning in . I'll

27:01

see you guys next week .