Vunerable Post… This is what’s going on with me.
Every year around this time, I stop asking, "What do I want to do next year?" and start asking, "Who do I need to be?"
That question comes from a practice called My Three Words.
This is an invite to My Three Words session this December or January. In one sitting, you’ll choose the three words that will guide your decisions all year, and leave knowing how to use them when opportunities, distractions, and doubt show up.
What is My Three Words?
The idea is simple. Instead of writing a list of resolutions, you choose three words to guide your year. They aren't goals or tasks. They're filters. When an opportunity shows up, you hold it up to your three words and ask, Does this fit? When you're stuck, they tell you which way to lean.
Resolutions are specific and easy to break by February. Words are flexible, and they travel with you into rooms, into hard conversations, and into the 5 a.m. alarm.
How I learned about it
I learned about My Three Words from Chris Brogan, who shared it as an alternative to the New Year's resolution ritual. I've been doing it for more than ten years now, and it's one of the few planning habits that has actually stuck.
All my major success, especially in the last 10 years is directly attributed to this practice.
What keeps me coming back is that the exercise has changed as I've changed. I've also guided hundreds of people through it, live and virtual, and I've watched the same thing happen for them. Choosing three words makes you get honest about where you are and where you're headed.
First, an honest look back
Before I share new words, I owe you a review of the old ones. That’s what Accountability asks of me.
My three words for 2026 were
Accountability, Balance, and Continuity.
Here’s how they held up.
Complete transparency… I am just gonna give you the grade, because I cannot clearly tell you the why without over sharing.
Accountability: B
I promised to tell the truth about where my energy were going. I did this really good in my professional life but not so good in my personal life. The three words really helped me elevate into some major projects and deliver some stellar results. Meanwhile… personal relationships suffered as a result of some serious things I overlooked during this year.
I need to learn how to listen again…
Balance: C
I wanted a pace that matched what I say I believe, without needing constant recovery afterward. I think I have done better with this but I have neglected aspects of my health (both Physical and Mental) in the process. I need to confront scary things in order to overcome them. I feel like I have lost so much due to this neglect.
Continuity: B
I committed to building things that carry forward instead of starting over every time. I think this work will continue for another year under my new three words even if it doesn’t have its own specific word.
The honest takeaway: The big lesson for me here, is that I didnt take the same care with my personal life than I did with the business… so it feels like a step back as in some ways, I will be starting all over again… when I did not have to, or at least not the way that it will actually happen. I had a whole different plan in mind. This is clearly remnants of the hustle culture seeping back into my life.
That said, I will continue to work thru my new words, a change in the pace of my life and lots of therapy. I believe that 2027 will be a year that everything changes.
Those three words gave me a foundation.
For 2027, I wanted words that ask for more. I have leaned deep into my intuition to find a new direction.
My three words for 2027
I know I am super early but my three words are Pursue. Protect. Push.
On Sept. 28th, I had a rude awakening, and I realized that many of the things I said I would be doing in the last two years, did not materialize… from where I was going to live and how I would continue my legacy. This was an intense realization…but I took immediate ownership but in less than 48 hours, I had a plan, documents signed and I decided to rethink my direction and my three words reflect this.
There are so many reasons for this, part of the reason is something I have been saying for years… you do not need the new year to make changes when life is actually changing right now.
For me… that is the case.
Here they are…
Pursue
Dreams don’t deliver themselves. At some point, you have to stop waiting and start walking toward them.
For years, I let opportunities find me. Some did. But I've also spent a lot of time saying yes to work that was available instead of work that was aligned. In 2027, I'm done with that.
To me, pursue means moving toward what matters on purpose. It means:
Saying "this is the one" more often than "sure, I can do that."
Walking into the rooms I've been waiting to be invited into.
Moving before I feel completely ready. A jíbaro doesn't wait for perfect soil. You plant, then you tend. Cultivating what I want with intention is the goal.
Pursuit is about direction. It answers the question: What am I actually going after?
Protect
Here's what thirty years in digital media has taught me: ambition without boundaries is just a slower way to burn out.
If I'm going to chase bigger things, I have to guard what makes the chase possible. Protect is the word that keeps me honest about that. It means protecting:
My energy and my time. That means selective retainers, calendar boundaries, and a "no" that doesn't need a three-paragraph apology.
My health and peace, especially while I'm balancing the sky, my clients, and building Siembra Connect.
My culture and my people. The stories, the community, and the values are the root system of everything I build. Nothing grows without them.
My vision. Not every good opportunity deserves a place in the plan.
Protection is about sustainability. It answers the question: What must I guard so I can keep going?
Push
Now here's the tension. Protect, left alone, can quietly turn into playing it safe. And I didn't build a career on safe.
That's why push comes last. It's the word that keeps me from getting comfortable. It means:
Raising the ceiling with higher-value offers, bigger stages, and bolder asks.
Finishing what I start and launching before it feels perfect.
Stepping into new formats, new audiences, and new levels of visibility.
Pushing through resistance, especially my own.
Pushing is about growth. It answers the question: Where am I settling that I shouldn't be?
How they work together
Word | What it gives me | Without it... |
|---|---|---|
Pursue | Direction | I drift |
Protect | Sustainability | I burn out |
Push | Growth | I plateau |
Pursue the vision. Protect the vessel. Push past the fear.
None of these words works alone. Pursuit with no protection exhausts you. Protection with no push keeps you small. Push with no direction is just noise. Together, they make a rhythm I can actually live in.
Your turn
I also want to note, that if you took this class in the past, it will be different based on all that I learned in 2026.
I don't believe three words are magic. I believe choosing is magic. When you name what you're pursuing, protecting, and pushing, you stop letting the year happen to you.
So here's my question for you: If you had to name three verbs for your 2027, what would they be, and what would each one ask of you?
Drop them in the comments or reply to this email. I read every one.
