Everything begins and ends with mindset.

I used to be in a Mastermind group, and the leader would always preach about being “World Class.” He wasn’t just talking because he trained world-class athletes, so he knew exactly what it took to be on a world-class level.

Some people think being world-class is about how much money we spend, how many fancy trinkets we have, or being seen with the right people. This is not what world-class truly is. Being world-class is about our mindset, which dictates how we show up in the world.

I’m currently listening to the audiobook The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma. I’ll talk more about this next month, but the point of the book is that we need to get the day started early to elevate our lives.

While listening to the book, the narrator mentioned the term ‘world-class,’ which I had forgotten. I began to remember the process and discipline required to develop a world-class mindset, which translated into incredible progress and the accomplishment of goals I had never thought were possible.

I’ve been in what I call the wilderness season. It’s been a ten-year cycle of tough lessons, unimaginable loss, and disappointment.

The world-class mindset I developed prior to the wilderness season served me well for the last ten years because, despite all the hardships I’ve faced, I’ve managed to accomplish many of my long-term goals, including hitting my sales goal as a self-employed person, pursuing writing as a hobby, signing up for a writing program with UC Berkeley extension, and transitioning out of training.

Now it’s time to level up. It’s time for more challenging goals and to lock in on my next era, which will require me to step back and develop an even deeper world-class mindset. What I thought was world-class ten years ago will not be world-class for this next phase.

I’ve achieved what I once thought was unattainable, and now I will redefine what world-class means in my life and raise the bar again. My first steps include developing greater discipline around certain lifestyle habits, moving in silence, addressing my negative self-talk, and becoming extremely selective about who I allow into my inner circle.

Fighting Temptation to become a World-Class Stan

Last year, my body woke up thanks to a very attractive and engaging Nigerian podcast guest. After heading to YouTube for further research about who this man was, I told myself I was interested in his workout techniques and his training mindset.

Of course, I was lying.

As I watched his videos, I found him even more fascinating. To be honest, his face and the way he carries himself were what got my attention on the podcast. He’s certainly the kind of different, weird, smart guy I am always attracted to, but all the YouTube stalking was starting to become a distraction, causing me to dissociate into fantasy because my real life was so dry.

During my morning meditation and prayer time, I got the nudge to stop following this man on YouTube, but I ignored it, rationalizing that I never see anyone exciting in my real life, so what did it hurt to get a little excitement online?

The next morning, as I read my devotional, the author wrote, “Maybe God is telling you to stop stalking that man on social media.”

Seriously? He sure did.

And just like that, I stopped watching his content and following him on YouTube. If you’re keeping score at home, then you know I have already given up wine until Valentine’s Day, and now I have had to give up YouTube stalking. The sacrifices, I tell you!

As a creative who spends a lot of time in my imagination, YouTube stalking provided an escape into fantasy for me, but it also fed my insecurities and wasted too much of my time. For all I know, this man could be married, and I am over here wasting my time turning into a Stan.

While I want to be world-class, I do not want to be a world-class Stan.

Change Your Environment and Gather Your People

 Toward the end of 2025, I began to feel an internal shift. My internal energy started feeling more vibrant, and I felt a spark had returned. It was time to move in silence and confide only to my inner circle of trusted sources. It was time for them to come back into my life.

As Shonda Rhimes’ friends so brilliantly put it, “I am gathering my people.”

We are gathering.

Recently, I talked to one of my dearest friends and favorite people on planet earth for two hours, and it felt like two minutes. My soul was singing by the time we got off the phone, because I have missed these authentic connections. We picked up right where we left off. It’s like we hadn’t missed a beat.

Over Christmas break, I attended a Zoom call where one of the people answering questions said we needed to change our environment, and the first thing that came to my mind was, “My environment is missing the people.” I really believe that my first mission this year is to align my relationships. I am focused on reconnecting with my friends, and then the rest will start to flow.

Those relationships will energize, inspire, and help me get my fire back. Great friends inspire you to be better and push you to do more.

I am blessed to have those kinds of friends, and this time I am not letting them go.