Welcome, Builders
It's the last newsletter of 2025, and instead of the usual format, I'm doing something different this week.
I'm sharing what shaped me this year: the books, podcasts, voices, and lessons that kept me moving forward through a messy, foundational year.
Consider this my "Best Of 2025" -- the content that fueled the work, clarified the vision, and reminded me why I'm building in the first place.
🔥 FUEL: A Messy Year
2025 was a tad messy.
I left a job in April. Launched my LLC. Spent the year working with different people on different projects. Most of the time, I felt like I was building the plane while flying it.
But here's what all that chaos has taught me:
Clarity beats hustle.
I've always been someone who muscled through problems. "I'll figure it out, I'll outwork it." But this year, I learned that energy without clarity is just noise. I experimented with many tools, chased many ideas, and kept bumping into the same wall: focus.
Don't wait for permission.
The best moments of 2025 happened when I stopped asking if I was "ready" and just shipped. Bold moves. Brave moves. Messy moves. But moves. Because waiting for the perfect moment means you never start.
2025 was the foundation year. 2026 will be the liftoff.
Here's what kept me grounded, energized, and moving forward:
🎯 FOCUS: What Shaped 2025
🙋♂️ People & Voices Worth Following
Highest-Frequency Influences (The ones I kept coming back to):
Greg Isenberg – Community building, startup ideas, pattern recognition
Riley Brown – Claude Code experiments, MCP workflows, vibe coding in practice
Justin Welsh – One-person business systems, content operating systems
Sahil Bloom – Time billionaire concept, life design frameworks
The Boring Marketer – Vibe marketing pioneer, AI workflow automation
Shane Parrish – Mental models, clear thinking, decision-making frameworks
Thinkers I'm Studying:
Brian Tracy – Goal-setting and discipline systems
Bill Gurley – Investing lens for AI-era career strategy
Seth Godin – Marketing as craft, being remarkable
Paul Graham – Essays on building, clarity, and focus
Sam Altman – Leadership in the AI age
David Ogilvy – Timeless advertising principles
Creator Economy Frameworks:
Chris Donnelly – LinkedIn content systems
Dickie Bush – Writing reps and ghostwriting models
Nicolas Cole – Content creation at scale
Josh Spector – Conversion-focused content strategy
✨ A Few Tweets That Struck Me
Sometimes the best insights come in 280 characters or less. Here are five that stopped my scroll in 2025:
Sahil Bloom on the compound effect of ordinary habits:
"Underrated life hack: Being boring in the right ways. Go to bed early. Wake up early. Eat simple foods. Save money. Exercise. Read old books. Avoid drama. These aren't flashy, but the ordinary will compound into a life that feels extraordinary. Boring is seriously underrated."
Amanda Goetz on cutting through the noise:
"Stop trying to do it all. Go do two. Most people wake up and tackle: The inbox. The Slack pings. The endless tabs. And then wonder why nothing is actually getting done... Being busy isn't being productive. And being productive isn't always being impactful. At the end of the day: write 2 tasks. These 2 tasks need to be aligned with your bigger goals. Tomorrow morning....do those 2 tasks first. Don't touch Slack or email until they're done. That's it. 2 things a day = 10 meaningful things a week. It forces clarity. It eliminates decision fatigue. It creates daily wins."
Alex Hormozi on the long game:
"Something people don't tell entrepreneurs: You make so much more later in your career that the mistakes you lose sleep over in the beginning become rounding errors. Just keep going."
Dickie Bush sparking reflection:
"What is the best sub-$250 purchase you made this year?"
Justin Welsh on platform strategy:
"X hates LinkedIn. But I just passed 805K followers and have generated $8.57M from the platform in the last 6+ years. Here's how I use LinkedIn unlike anyone else:" [Thread continues with his 6-point system for LinkedIn success]
📚 Books That Shaped My Year
The Book That Hit Different:
Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins – Mental reset for not waiting on permission or worrying about opinions
The Book I Keep Recommending:
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara – Giving people more than they expect (the soul behind "resonance over reach")
The Books I Keep Coming Back To:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Principles by Ray Dalio
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard
🎙️ Podcasts That Kept Me Going
Top Discovery (0.01% listener club):
Acquired – I binged 10 years of content. 4-5 hour deep dives on Costco, Hermès, NFL, LVMH, Porsche, Meta, Walmart, Rolex, and the Howard Schultz Starbucks interview. Pattern recognition fuel.
New Voice I'm Obsessed With:
Founders (David Senra) – Storytelling on how great companies came to be. Biography meets framework. I’m new to this, just in the past month.
For Laughs:
The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast – Behind-the-scenes of SNL digital shorts. Creativity + process.
Longtime Favorite:
Smartless (Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Sean Hayes) – Still a go-to for entertainment and thoughtful conversation. Great for road trips.
Pardon My Take - The sports podcast that gets it. America's most popular sports podcast because Big Cat and PFT Commenter cracked the code: be funny, be consistent, and actually know your stuff. Three episodes a week since 2016. Interviews with everyone from Tom Brady to Jon Hamm.
🧠 Unexpected Lessons from 2025
Clarity beats hustle – My mental muscle can't overpower lack of focus
Not waiting for permission – Just ship. Don't wait to build.
Energy is a strategic asset – I'm treating it like one in 2026
Building the long game – 2025 was messy. 2026 will be the liftoff.
🛠️ BUILDER'S NOTES: How I'm Using AI to Build in 2026
Here's what I want you to realize:
The way we marketed yesterday (and today) is not how we'll market tomorrow.
For the last 20 years, marketing has been about getting found on Google. SEO. Keywords. Backlinks. Ranking.
But that's changing.
AI is rewriting the discovery layer. People aren't just Googling anymore. They're asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity. They're searching inside LLMs.
This is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
It's not about ranking #1 on a search results page. It's about being the answer the AI recommends.
I've been spending the last couple months in 2025 (and will do in 2026) figuring this out. — in the practical sense.
How do companies get discovered when the search bar disappears?
How do you build brand when AI is the middleman?
What does "vibe marketing" actually mean in this new world?
I don't have all the answers yet. But I'm running experiments, building systems, and positioning myself as an AI-era strategic marketer.
Big shoutout to the Vibe Marketing community for leveling me up here.
If you're a builder, consultant, or marketer, this shift is happening now. Not in 5 years. Now.
2026 is about leaning into it.
📣 SIGNAL BOOST
A few things worth your attention as we head into the new year:
Chevy's AI-Generated Christmas Ad – Funny how a simple Suburban can hold an entire family history. This Chevy ‘Memory Lane’ short is a beautiful reminder that the real destination has always been each other.
Sahil Bloom on Dopamine from Information Gathering – This hit me hard. We chase information like it's productivity. It's not. Clarity > consumption.
Happy Holidays from the Wagner Family – Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thank you for being here. Here's to a bold, clear, energized 2026.
Make 2026 matter.
Brian
P.S. – Next week, I'm sharing the full goal-setting framework I use to plan my year.
Plus, I'm pulling back the curtain on my actual goals for 2026. No fluff, no vague resolutions. Just the systems and the targets. See you Tuesday.