Welcome to the first issue of 2026!

We started last year with a conversation about intention. I urged you to define your purpose before chasing profit.

A lot happens in twelve months.

You launched products. Solved problems. Likely put out more than a few fires. Which is why it’s time to check in. 

The daily grind has a way of burying the original mission. Momentum takes over. We keep moving because stopping feels dangerous.

But we need to check the map.

Today, we’re calibrating. Taking a beat to verify that you’re still climbing the right mountain.

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Almost exactly a year ago, I sent a newsletter out centered on Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin & Hobbes. It was about how he prioritized the integrity of his work over the scale of his bank account, walking away from millions in licensing deals.

(You can read the original analysis here)

We often treat decisions like Watterson’s as finish lines. We assume values lock into place the moment we select them.

Though I wish this were true, experience proves otherwise.

Intentionality decays without maintenance. The drift is subtle. It happens when a small compromise on quality slides by on a Tuesday. Or when a distraction eats up your calendar on a Thursday.

But before you know it, the business looks much different than its blueprint.

Revisiting your core intent is the work of the mature entrepreneur. It’s the only way to ensure the business you built in 2025 remains the one you want to run in 2026. 

Watterson’s discipline was a daily practice. Your business needs that same regular attention; for you to verify that your daily actions still serve your original purpose.

Ambition is tricky. It helps us get to where we want to go by instilling us with confidence that we can do things currently outside our skill set. 

But ambition is a fickle thing to rely on. It causes us to naturally measure our progress against an ideal.

This creates a gap.

It breeds frustration because “ideal” is a moving target. As we get more accomplished, our ideals mature in comparison. Thus, as our business grows, our ideal business does too. Like a carrot on a stick.

If we want to remain ambitious but not become self-tormenting, we need to measure against where we started.

Look at your calendar from last year. Identify the top 20% of activities that actually moved the needle on your original mission. These are your Gains. They prove the foundation is working.

Now look for the activities you added because you felt you “should.” This is the ideal-progress gap talking. It pushes you to chase competitors or vanity metrics. This gap is actively drifting you from your course, and diluting your focus.

Strategy is the art of sacrifice. Kill one “drift” activity from Step 2. Take that specific time block and reallocate it to a “Gain” activity from Step 1.

Last year, keeping things simple was the key to success. And guess what? It is this year, too. Don’t lose sight of what matters.