Action over inspo to wrap up the year

Firstly, I hope you’ve had a great holiday season.

The year’s wrapping up and everyone’s reflecting or ignoring their inbox. Kudos to you for opening this.

I knew it was long, but last week, my newsletter was so long that the last part got cut off (by Gmail and others).

If you missed it, it was all about looking back at the top thoughts and insights shared in 2024, plus a reflection for you to do heading into the new year, which you can see here.

I've included the cut-off videos and ending (oops) again today.

First, here are some thoughts on the plethora of 2024/2025 content that we’ve all been seeing circulating.

Consuming content isn’t enough

There's no recap, report, or wrapped content that can be as valuable as you taking strategic action to move forward.

As a strategist and educator, I'm all about consuming content, sourcing data, and looking for inspiration for my work (personally and for clients).

But at a time when there is so much being put out into the world from everyone (from organizations, publications, institutions, brands, and influencers) summarizing their year or proposing what's coming next, it's important not to get caught up in consuming content without intentionally thinking about how you're going to take action.

Create content, execute on your goals

There are so many helpful planning and goal-setting templates, but I’ve found it tempting to just go through many of these or complete too many without putting enough time into making a plan of action — or holding yourself accountable to executing them throughout the year.

There’s magic in reflection and inspiration, but not at the expense of going deep and creating in a way that only you can — not being overly influenced by external elements at all times.

This follows my recent newsletter about all the various sources of inspiration and information I use regularly — from newsletters to podcasts, social media, and events.

It may seem conflicting, but it’s all about finding the balance between inspiration and action.

Paralysis by analysis is real

You’ve likely heard the phrase "paralysis by analysis."

It happens across all sectors — government, nonprofits, and businesses alike.

Too often, we spend too much time in the research and theory phase and not enough time testing, committing, and building solutions to execute.

The world needs your ideas

Your ideas, your solutions, your unique perspective — they’re needed to tackle the most pressing problems in our communities, countries, and world.

So here’s your reminder:

Take action.
Listen to your intuition.
Act on your own information.

Don’t spend all your time consuming and filling your brain with what everyone else is thinking and doing.

The world needs you to create and innovate.

Let this be the year you strike the balance between reflecting and executing — and move your ideas forward.

Now for those videos and wrap-up

Some of these got caught off from last week’s edition, as mentioned, and there’s a final message below.

As a founder, should you brand your business or yourself? Here’s what I shared during a panel discussion:

And just a couple of entrepreneurs named Daniel talking about collaboration — from small businesses to nonprofit organizations:

Why invest in founder-led marketing and personal branding when building a startup? Here’s a clip from when I took the stage at the Startup Canada Tour for the final keynote to share the latest stats and best practices:

Then a clip addressing the common question: When should you outsource your marketing vs. hiring a team in-house?

Last but not least — every opportunity is a content opportunity. This clip is from The Good Growth Company workshop on Personal Branding & Thought Leadership:

There’s more where these came from on my YouTube channel.

Thank you for your time and attention.

This past year, I invested in my content to increase frequency, quality and improve my storytelling. You’re clearly subscribed to my newsletter, and you may have engaged with some of my videos shared here or on LinkedIn — either way, I’m very grateful.

Every comment, like, share, plus every subscriber and piece of feedback, helps to support the work I do, and my goal of making more positive impact.

Not every piece of content gets the reach it deserves, and sometimes only a handful of people engage. That’s the journey with anyone posting online.

There’s many variables you can’t control, like your video hook, posting frequency or timing, but ultimately the algorithms and platforms are evolving so much that there’s a lot out of your hands.

That doesn’t mean you stop creating or posting. And I won’t stop sharing either.

Even if you just skimmed this super long email, I hope you’ve found something valuable within it that you can take in or reference later.

Thank you so much for reading and being a subscriber of The Intersection.

PS — I’m planning to publish my first book in 2025. More on that next time.

Want to collaborate in 2025?

Alongside teaching again in January, I’m here to help you tell your story and build your brand to make more impact. You can find out more about how I can support at danieldoes.co.

If you made it this far and are looking to connect, feel free to book a quick call with me here (there’s no cost).

Thank you again.

Wishing you a restful holiday!

Daniel