At the begining of the year I set a variety of aspirations for this year. Not really goals or resolutions, but aspirations so that I would not obsess over them.
Health & Wellness
This was my primary aspiration to be selfish and focus on my health and wellness activities. I had set a few specific objectives
As of this morning (November 25, 2025), I have completed 350 iFit workouts. My goal was 325 in IFit and 350 in total. I hedged iFit workouts a bit lower since they are harder to do while traveling. I found I can use the app on my phone to use the treadmill or elliptical at the hotel.
I do seem to get around the world at least on my treadmill and elliptical machine via iFit’s Around the World Treadmill challenge, which was nearly 30 miles and took me over 10 hours to complete the 21 workouts.
I hit my weight target and am now just 5 pounds away from my new target. I have been jogging more and have been adding more weight to my weight training. I have a resting heart rate of 55 and a blood pressure of 110/70, which is well within the normal range.
I was able to hit an amazing non-scale goal by buying clothing at Uniqlo in Japan this trip. Not just socks, but actual shirts that fit into their XL Heat and Cool tech line. I got these because our last trip to Japan was colder than expected, and I needed something to wear under my shirts. I was also able to get a nice pair of shorts in St John’s in a size I have not worn in many years!
Share Knowledge and Experiences
I wanted to share my knowledge, thoughts, and opinions. I have been doing more writing. I have added to my multipart series and now have cataloged 38 epiphanies in search, kicking off another 12-part series on digital marketing for Search Engine Journal, and over 100 posts here on my blog and the Bisan Digital blog. If that was not enough, I started a Substack called Signal and Friction. I am also in the process of writing two Books – The KPI Trap and The Ultimate Guide to Web Effectiveness.
Grammarly has reminded me of how much I have written. Last week, specifically, I wrote almost 377k words.
Visited 6 New Countries
I will fall short of this aspiration to reach 10 new countries with just 6. So far, I have added Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Gibraltar, and Morocco. I will be adding Bhutan at the end of the year. We spent time in the Andalusia region of Spain and in Naples/Pompeii, Italy, both countries we have already been to, but in new cities. We also had work trips to Japan, Dublin, and Warsaw. We will also spend the holidays in Japan after our Bhutan and Nepal trip. This is why it is an aspiration, as it is easier to adapt than a goal.
Spend Quality Time with Family and Friends
I am slightly better with this goal. I have spent more time with my kids and friends. I try to find cool, interesting things for us to do on the weekend. We have toured many of the historical homes and museums, hiked trails, and recently took a Connecticut lighthouse cruise.
Intelectual Stimulation
I was not accepted into the Yale Economics PhD program, but I have continued my research and extended Search Theory into the AI realm. This was my master’s thesis and the planned PhD research. I have conducted extensive research on this topic and have narrowed the thesis to focus less on GDP growth, while still exploring Search Theory. I have written over 10,000 words on this topic that I have not shared, but I am keeping it organized in Google Notebook.
I have not given up on this idea, but modified it to better fit my current consulting. I have started a new 10-part blog series, Signal and Friction, on Five Strategic Levers.
Just as Porter’s Five Forces transformed strategic thinking about industry competition, a Five Strategic Levers model—integrating consumer, search, behavioral, information, and AI economics—offers a holistic framework for maximizing web effectiveness in the digital age.
