What I learned:
I learned an incredible amount listening to industry leaders in 2025.
Lessons I wouldn’t trade for anything.
All taken from the conversations and interviews held over the past 12 months.
As we wind down 2025, here’s my personal Top 10.
1. Don’t give your pain a voice.
From Dr. Ben Gregg: Have a 'This is so easy' mentality. Most things we stress over do not deserve the bandwidth we give them. Don't give your stress a voice. Say you're a long-distance runner, and you're on mile 75, and still have 25 more miles to run, you can't physically say “I’m exhausted”, because once you speak the words, you've given your pain a voice. Don't give your challenges a voice. Because as soon as you voice it, it becomes true.
2. Culture doesn’t teach you to appreciate what you already have.
From Dr. Kyle Fagala: Success—publishing a book, winning an award, whatever it might be—can be fulfilling for a moment, but it won’t create lasting joy or contentment. The truth is, our culture doesn’t really prepare us for that. We’re conditioned to chase the next goal instead of learning how to rest in what we already have. That’s the real challenge of life: to find meaning, and to decide what it truly means for you.
3. Ultimate success is found in service.
From Scott Hansen: We aren’t here just to make money—wealth is not the ultimate metric. True success is about serving God and others. Ultimate Goodness—Goodness with a capital G—is found in that service. If our work reflects that purpose, then no matter what the financial outcome, we are successful. For Christians, victory has already been won in Jesus.
4. Do it because they won't.
From Clayton Russell: Once you've put all you have into something you love and outworked everyone else in every way you can think of, your mind will be at ease with the outcome. When you've done the work, that outcome tends to be in your favor more often than not.
5. Let others know about your ideas.
From Dr. Zach Casagrande: Have an idea? State it. Let everyone know about it. It’ll make you have to follow through with it.
6. Put your own oxygen mask on first.
From Dr. Liz Johnson: My father gave me this lesson—Put yourself in a position to support and take care of yourself, so you can go on to support and enhance the lives of others. He would stress that you never know what challenges you will face and championed the dual concepts of self-sufficiency and camaraderie to us.
7. You have plenty of time to pivot. But little time to be miserable.
From Dr. Chris Bonebreak Jackson: Life is long enough to do many different things, but too short to do something you don’t like. Remember this when facing a career or life decision.
8. Glean from every resource and possible way to become the best you.
From Michelle Shimmin: You will run into people who don't want you to succeed. You're going to run up against people who, out of their own insecurity, want you to fail and don't want you to feel successful or don't want you to feel secure. So don't be afraid; don't let fear paralyze you from getting outside your comfort level and reaching out to people. Surround yourself with people doing what you want to do and learn from them.
9. Mediocrity becomes the standard when lousy behavior gets a pass.
From Dino Watt: I know everyone is doing their best; I’m not condemning anyone. And I know we are at a time when it’s hard to let people go. But if you only knew the damage you cause to your great employees by allowing bad behavior to go unchecked, by letting that person stay who’s always calling off on Monday morning? Especially if that person has good technical skills. I quote Jim Collins: “Even if you have all A+ players, and you bring in one C+ player, it drops everyone to C+ players.”
10. Remember, no one is against you. They’re just for themselves.
From Chris Bentson: I think the world today is too thin-skinned. We need to stop taking actions and comments so personally. Your boss is not against you. Your patients are not against you. Your referring providers are not against you. The AAO is not against you. In a broader sense, your spouse is not against you. People act for self-preservation. They act on what they believe is best for them – it’s the story of the human enterprise. We will have a healthier place if we understand this concept as employees, leaders, moms, dads, and fathers.
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