Hit #5 - One word. No jetpacks required

Welcome to REALity Bites—your go-to source for real, unfiltered insights on brand and marketing (plus other stuff) for good humans in the financial advice industry...delivered at delightfully random intervals.

Author

Lisa Greensill
January 15, 2025

REALisation - My word for 2025

It's become a tradition - On New Year's morning, we meet a group of friends on the beach - kids and dogs in tow - and watch the sunrise, each sharing 'our word for the year'.

True to form as a word over-thinker, I couldn't stick to just one word. I rocked up with three contenders - slow, sustainable, simplicity. But after a bit of lively debate, I landed on one word that captures all three: CADENCE.

Not the musical kind (though I do love a good beat). The life kind. Finding my rhythm without burning out.

No more go-hard-crash-repeat for me. 2025 is about sustainable energy in every area of my life in and out of office hours.

Words powering 2025 for some of my friends:

  • 'Magic' (enjoy pockets of magic as her family deals with her dad's early onset dementia)

  • 'Challenge' (say yes to things that are out of his comfort zone)

  • 'Shred' (fighting back against those sneaky mid-life kilos that crept up on him)

  • 'Thrive' (career pivot + get stronger after working through mental health challenges last year)

What's your word this year?

REAlity Check - AI in 2025

Tom Fishburne the Martketoonist has nailed it with this cartoon.

Most of us have barely scratched the surface of AI's real potential. I'll put my hand up here too.

We should use AI to free up precious mental energy for the stuff where we truly add value.

How I plan on using AI in 2025:

  • I've onboarded "Claude" as my AI bestie

  • I'm training 'AI interns' for specific tasks

  • I'm creating ideal client avatars to pressure-test ideas for business planning, marketing and content

But remember - rubbish in, rubbish out. The quality of what pumps out of ChatGPT or Claude or any AI tool depends entirely on what you put in.

The magic happens when you feed it the stuff that makes you uniquely you - those quirky analogies that pop into your head during your morning walk, the stories that only you can tell, the perspectives that come from your years in the trenches.

How is AI going to transform your business this year?

A REALly Good Read

I devoured "Buy Back Your Time" by Dan Martell over the break.

Brilliant...Dan provides simple, actionable steps for getting more time in your day to focus on high-value work that brings you energy and fulfilment.

It’s definitely worth a read if you're stuck in the weeds of your business, watching another day zoom by without making progress on those big ideas that are bubbling in your brain.

Here's to a 2025 full of fun, flow and doing more of what fills your cup in and out of office hours.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and questions to help make REALity Bites something you’re excited to see in your inbox.

Stay curious

Lisa

P.S. If you know someone who’d find this newsletter useful, feel free to pass it along! They can subscribe here to stay in the loop for future editions.