👋 Welcome - Your Weekly Spark
Hey there,
This is the last Retirepreneur Weekly of 2025. No resolutions. No massive action plans. Just one question: What's the ONE thing that changes everything else?
Last week we cleared the deck. This week, we're choosing what deserves to sit there. Most of us enter a new year with 47 goals and finish with none, not because we lack ambition, but because we lack focus.
One big rock. One committed action. That's how second acts get built.
—Curt
🌟 Words to Inspire
"There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing." — Brian Tracy
Your decades of experience taught you strategic allocation. You know how to prioritize capital, resources, and talent. Now apply that same discipline to your attention. One big rock beats ten scattered pebbles. Every time.
📖 Featured Story: Two Browser Windows: Why 2026 Needs One Focus, Not Ten Goals
I have 47 browser tabs open right now. Twelve are about YouTube strategies. Eight are AI tools I "need to learn." Six are productivity systems. Four are courses I bought but haven't started. And honestly? I have no clue what the other 17 are even about anymore.
Ok, I didn't actually count the windows :) I think you get the point!
But, no matter how many are open, zero of them are helping me hit "record" on my first Coffee with Curt episode.
If last week was about clearing the baggage, this week is about claiming the prize.
Here's my confession: I'm a professional learner. I'd rather research than execute. Read than create. Plan than publish. And if I'm honest? It's been my biggest barrier to building what I actually want. Now, I have accomplished a lot, even in building the foundation of Retirepreneur, but where would I be today if I had more focused ACTION?
The Sophisticated Procrastination Trap
After four decades in business, I've discovered something uncomfortable: knowledge without execution isn't power, it's expensive entertainment.
I chase shiny objects. New tools. Better frameworks. One more course. It feels productive to be researching, optimizing, preparing. But it's not progress. It's preparation for progress. There's a difference.
Here's the pattern many of us fall into:
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Read the book → Find another book mentioned → Buy that book → Repeat
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Watch the tutorial → Discover a better tutorial → Find a different method → Start over
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Research the strategy → Find conflicting advice → Research more → Analysis paralysis
Why do experienced professionals get stuck here? In finance, due diligence is a virtue. In entrepreneurship, excessive due diligence is a liability. We have decades of credibility to protect. We fear looking foolish, so we over-prepare. Perfectionism masquerades as excellence. And there's safety in "I'm still getting ready" versus "I tried and it didn't work."
But here's what I'm learning: the right window is rarely the learning window.
The Two-Window Reality
Picture my desktop right now.
Guess which window gets 80% of my time? The left one.
Guess which window will actually build Retirepreneur? The right one.
Gary Keller wrote: "What's the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?" For me, that ONE thing is building a YouTube presence. Not learning about it. Building it.
Stephen Covey taught the Big Rocks principle with a simple jar metaphor: big rocks first, then pebbles, then sand. If you fill the jar with sand first—small tasks, endless learning, minor optimizations—the big rocks never fit.
YouTube execution is my big rock. Everything else is sand.
My 2026 Commitment (Public and Imperfect)
Here's my Big Rock: Build and grow a YouTube channel with Coffee with Curt plus focused expertise videos.
Why this Big Rock matters:
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Direct impact: Video reaches the 55+ audience where they actually are
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Overcomes my biggest fear: Showing up authentically, imperfectly, publicly
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Transferable skills: Even if Retirepreneur fails, I'll have conquered video creation, storytelling, and personal branding
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Compounds over time: Every video is permanent, searchable, shareable content
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Forces focused action: Can't research my way into a YouTube channel—must create
My two-window strategy for 2026:
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Left window (Learning): 20% - Specific tutorials when stuck, not endless browsing
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Right window (Doing): 80% - Recording, editing, posting, analyzing real feedback
The commitment: I'm not promising perfection. I'm promising publication. One Coffee with Curt per week minimum. One longer expertise video per month minimum. Real feedback trumps more research. Imperfect and posted beats perfect and hidden.
Why This Changes Everything
Here's what matters most: even if my YouTube channel "fails," I will have conquered the fear of being seen imperfectly, learned video production and storytelling, built comfort with public vulnerability, and created a body of work that didn't exist before.
That's not failure. That's growth with documentation.
The Big Rock philosophy creates clarity. Every decision gets filtered through one question: "Does this support my YouTube growth?" Every opportunity: "Does this help me get better on camera?" Every shiny ball: "Is this my Big Rock or just another distraction?"
You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects. Every course you start dilutes the power of the ONE action that matters.
Second-act businesses aren't built by people who know everything—they're built by people who focus on ONE thing long enough to get good at it. One focused quarter beats three scattered years. Every single time.
How to Choose YOUR Big Rock
Not a checklist—a filter. Ask yourself:
"What's the ONE skill or action that would make everything else easier?" Not what should matter but what actually moves your second act forward.
"What am I avoiding because it scares me?" Usually, fear points to leverage. For me, video equals visibility equals vulnerability.
"If I could only work on ONE thing for 90 days, what would create the most momentum?" Not the easiest thing—the multiplier thing.
"What skill would serve me even if my current goal fails?" Transferable value matters. My video skills work for anything.
"What have I been 'learning about' forever without DOING?" That's probably your Big Rock hiding behind research.
The test: If someone asked you three months from now, "What did you work on?" and you said your Big Rock—would you feel proud even if the results were imperfect? If yes, you've found it.
Once you identify your Big Rock, close every browser tab that doesn't support it. Right now. Be ruthless.
One Big Rock. Twelve Months. No Backup Plan.
I'm going public with my commitment: YouTube growth for Retirepreneur. You'll see my awkward early videos. My mistakes. My learning curve in real-time.
Because that's what second acts look like—messy, imperfect, and BUILT.
2026 doesn't need a better you. It needs a focused you.
What's your Big Rock? Not your list. Not your someday. Your ONE focused action that changes everything else.
⚡ Your Quick Action Step
This Week's Challenge: Name Your 2026 Big Rock
Before January 1st arrives, grab a piece of paper or open a note on your phone. Answer these three questions:
1. What is your Big Rock? (Be specific: "Build a consulting practice with 5 clients" not "be successful")
2. Why does it matter? (What changes when you achieve this? How does it serve who you're becoming?)
3. What's your first focused action in Week 1 of January? (Something you can DO, not learn)
Success looks like: One clear answer. One committed focus. One immediate next step. No backup plans. No "and also I'll..." additions. Just your Big Rock.
Optional but powerful: Reply to this email with your Big Rock. I read every response, and knowing someone else knows your commitment? That changes everything.
🎬 That's a Wrap
This is the last Retirepreneur Weekly of 2025. Thank you for showing up, reading, and building alongside me. You've made this year matter.
2026 doesn't need a better you—it needs a focused you. Pick your Big Rock. Protect it fiercely. Close the tabs that don't serve it. Ignore everything else.
One focused action. Twelve months. No backup plan.
See you in the new year. Still building.
—Curt
💡 How We Can Help
Building your second act doesn't have to be complicated. Here are the resources available to you:
🚀 FREE Retirepreneur Hub
Complete resource library with step-by-step guides and frameworks designed specifically for professionals 55+. Access business templates, pricing guides, and startup checklists—no credit card required.
🛠 Business Tools & Resources
Curated tools that actually work—vetted by daily use. Honest assessments of platforms, software, and services with exclusive partnership benefits for Retirepreneur members.
🌐 Retirepreneur.com
Explore weekly blog articles, podcast episodes, comprehensive guides, and more resources for building your expertise-based business.
📮 Know Someone Building Their Second Act?
Know someone who needs permission to let go and make space for what's next? Forward this newsletter their way—it might be exactly what they need to hear this week.
