The first day of 2026 hit different.
After six family funerals in three and a half months, unexpected losses, and enough plot twists to fill a season finale, I sat down to write what I originally thought would be just another vision board session.
Instead, what emerged was something deeper—a manifesto. Ten principles that kept me standing when the ground kept shifting. Not theories. Not motivational fluff. Just hard-won lessons from a year that tested everything I thought I knew about building a sustainable business and life.
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If you followed me through 2025, you know it was chaotic, beautiful, devastating, and transformative all at once. And if there’s one thing I learned, it’s this: goals without principles are just wishes.
You can have the perfect plan and still lose your way if you don’t know what you stand for when things get hard.
So here are the 10 principles I’m carrying into 2026—the ones that actually hold up when everything else falls apart.
1. Accept That You Cannot Control Everything (And Plan Accordingly)
Bad things happen to good people. Planning doesn’t prevent death, loss, or failure—these aren’t punishments, they’re part of living.
The healthiest thing you can do? Prepare for reality instead of pretending it won’t touch you.
Action step: What’s one thing in your business or personal life you’ve been avoiding because it feels too heavy? Your succession plan? Your SOPs? That difficult conversation? Schedule it this month. Not because something bad will happen, but because the people who depend on you deserve better than chaos.
2. Stop Assuming Resources Will Always Appear On Your Timeline
I used to preach that “once you set a goal, the resources will show up.” And they will—just not always when you expect them.
The funding doesn’t come through. The collaborator backs out. The store runs out of collard greens on New Year’s Day, so you make green beans instead.
Adaptation isn’t failure. It’s maturity.
Action step: Where are you waiting for the perfect resource before you move forward? The perfect coach, platform, or budget? What if you just started with what you have—including that expensive phone in your pocket that can do everything a DSLR can?
3. Stop Confusing Independence With Isolation
For my fellow introverts: being self-reliant doesn’t mean doing everything alone.
I learned this early in my career when I forced myself into traditional networking events where I didn’t fit. I’d collect business cards that gathered dust while trying to become someone I wasn’t.
The shift? I chose one women-owned business organization and inserted myself deeply. I became an expert listener with 10 questions in my pocket. I prioritized depth over breadth.
Now I’m even on the leadership team for 2026—not because I forced myself to be everywhere, but because I showed up authentically in the right place.
Action step: What’s one area where you’ve been white-knuckling it alone? Who could you bring into your space? How could you choose community that suits who you are right now?
4. Release The Pressure To Maintain Every Connection
Not every person you meet is meant to stay in your life forever. Some are meant for a season, a lesson, a single conversation that changes everything.
You don’t owe anyone lifelong maintenance just because they mattered once.
This applies to business partners who are no longer aligned, clients whose chapter has ended, and yes—even those digital tools and subscriptions you’re paying for out of obligation.
Action step: Who are you still trying to keep up with out of obligation instead of genuine connection? What if you gave yourself permission to let those relationships rest without guilt or drama—just completion?
5. Redefine Visibility As Accessibility, Not Ubiquity
You don’t have to be everywhere to matter.
Visibility isn’t about posting 500 times a day on every platform. It’s about being available to the people who actually need your voice, your work, your presence.
Reach without relevance is just noise.
Stop chasing omnipresence. Start building strategic presence—the kind where the right people can find you, trust you, and work with you without you screaming into the void 24/7.
And here’s what most people miss: showing up isn’t just about posting content. It’s about engaging with the people who comment. It’s about the follow-up. If you’re in 500 spaces but only engaging in two, those other 498 don’t matter.
Action step: What’s one platform you keep showing up on out of obligation but not strategy? What would happen if you let it go and doubled down where your people actually are?
6. Prioritize Real Relationships Over Abstract Growth
Vanity metrics will destroy your soul if you let them.
I’ve sat in rooms with people who had 30,000-member Facebook groups and weren’t making a dime. Meanwhile, I’ve built a thriving business with intimate communities and smaller numbers—but with real connections and real conversations.
Followers, views, and likes feel good. But they don’t build businesses. Relationships do. When you deliver on promises, when you serve deeply, that’s what grows revenue.
Family isn’t just blood—it’s the people who show up, who call to check on you, who let you be real about what’s hard.
Action step: Look at your business relationships right now. Who are you actually serving deeply? What would it look like to prioritize them versus chasing new followers this quarter?
7. Trust Your Discernment As Much As Any Tool
AI tools are incredible. Systems are powerful. Automation is a game-changer.
But wisdom isn’t something you download. It’s practiced.
I’ve built three AI brains I constantly reference. But I learned this year to pull back—to sit down and think through answers based on my own experience first, then use AI as an enhancement tool, not a replacement for critical thinking.
You are not a prompt engineer. You’re a strategist, consultant, coach, creator. Lead with what you know. Don’t be led by the tool.
Here’s a perfect example: I asked Claude to help me map out my livestream topics for 2026. It gave me suggestions that, if I’d implemented them blindly, would have been completely off-brand. I knew after looking at them—those aren’t the questions my people ask. Those aren’t the topics I need to address.
So I reversed it. I told the AI what I wanted to talk about based on my expertise, then asked it to enhance my scripts and titles. I started with what I know.
Action step: Where have you been deferring to a tool instead of trusting your own expertise? What decisions have you been avoiding because you’re waiting for data to tell you what to do—when you already know the answer?
8. Teach The Next Generation How To Think, Not Just What To Do
We’re entering an era where people will rely on AI to decide for them, GPS to navigate for them, automation to drive for them.
If we’re not careful, we’ll raise a generation that can execute but cannot discern.
Your job as a parent, mentor, coach, or leader is to pass down more than tactics. Pass down context, reasoning, lived knowledge.
Don’t just give the template—teach why it works. Ask them what questions they would ask.
In my corporate mentorship role, when mentees ask me questions, I don’t just give them the answer. I ask, “What do you think?” Let’s talk about the questions you need to ask to get the answers you need. That’s how you build critical thinking skills that last beyond any platform or tool.
Action step: What’s one framework you’re using in your business that you could teach, not just hand out? Who in your world needs to learn how you think, not just what you do?
9. Remember The World Is Wider Than Your Immediate Surroundings
You are not stuck.
Travel, connection, opportunity—they’re no longer limited by geography. With the right systems, tools, and people, you can participate globally.
Stop limiting yourself by your zip code. But also think broader for another reason: empathy. Your filter can be too narrow. People make decisions based on where they are in life, and your local perspective doesn’t always apply globally.
Action step: What’s an opportunity you’ve been dismissing because it feels too far away or not local enough? What would open up if you stopped thinking regionally and started thinking globally?
10. Protect Your Professional Identity With Clarity
Here’s the one that hit me hardest.
You are not your tools.
You’re not an AI coach just because you teach AI. You’re not a social media expert just because you post content. You are a strategist, consultant, coach, creator—the thing you knew you were before AI came along.
I lost myself in 2025 chasing trends. I have certifications, I’m in AI incubator programs, I’ve learned so much. But that’s not the label at the top of my door.
In 2026, I’m reclaiming my identity as a livestream strategist—because livestreaming creates community, interaction, relationships, and all the things I’ve been talking about today. It builds authority and connection in ways that convert clients while connecting on a deeper level.
Tools support the work. They don’t define it.
Action step: How do you describe what you do when you’re talking to someone—not performing for the algorithm? What are you the expert in, the thing you do like nobody else? Write that down. Protect that identity. Embrace it.
The Choice Is Yours
These aren’t just principles for 2026. They’re foundations for building something that lasts.
Clarity isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about knowing what you stand for when the ground shifts. And trust me, the ground will keep shifting.
The question is: who will you be when it does?
I’d love to know—which principle are you claiming for 2026? What’s the one thing you’re refusing to compromise on this year? Drop a comment and let’s talk about it.
