<description>&lt;p&gt;It’s that time of year again — when everyone online suddenly becomes a color-coded-notion-board-wielding planning expert. But before you map out your entire 2026 vision board, we need to do something &lt;em&gt;way&lt;/em&gt; more important: figure out what you actually want.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In today’s episode, I’m walking you through the exact reflection + annual planning exercise I do every single year — the one that helps me make decisions based on how I &lt;em&gt;want&lt;/em&gt; to feel, not what the latest marketing trend says I “should” be doing. This episode pairs with last week’s 2025 reflection episode, so if you haven’t listened to that one yet, go queue it up next.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;PLUS — I’m trying something new today. I pulled a random question from the “More, Tell Me More” connection cards I won at a mastermind retreat (yes, I was voted Best Strategy at my table &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; the whole room — no biggie). I answered it… and I want you to answer it too. If you love this segment, email me or DM me and tell me to keep it!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And before you dive in, don’t forget: I created a free 2026 Annual Planning Guide that includes every question I ask in this episode and space for you to jot down your reflections and goals. Grab it in the show notes!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode, you’ll hear…&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The connection-card question I pulled — and the unforgettable story about the stranger who changed how I think about human connection&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why planning for 2026 means starting with how you &lt;em&gt;want to feel&lt;/em&gt; (not arbitrary goals like “50K followers”)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How to imagine your ideal day next year so you can reverse-engineer what needs to change&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why so many entrepreneurs felt unstable in 2025 — and how to honor what &lt;em&gt;actually&lt;/em&gt; happened before planning ahead&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The questions I use every year to figure out what I truly need in my business and personal life&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;A guided reflection to set aligned, realistic, energizing goals for 2026&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;Click &lt;a href="https://www.samvanderwielen.com/how-to-create-your-ideal-business-year/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;RESOURCES:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.samvanderwielen.com/sidebar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Get&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.samvanderwielen.com/sidebar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Sam’s free weekly newsletter,&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Sam’s Sidebar&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Get Sam's book "&lt;a href="https://www.samvanderwielen.com/book" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;When I Start My Business, I'll Be Happy"&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0jAZTPJaMr4ny4mdJYkicU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Listen to the How to Grow Your Email List Series Playlist&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://substack.com/@samvanderwielen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Subscribe to Sam's Substack &lt;em&gt;Beyond Business&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.samvanderwielen.com/yearly-planning-guide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Download Sam's Annual Planning Guide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://samvanderwielen.kit.com/c733b8ed78" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Click here to be notified when new episodes of On Your Terms® come out&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.samvanderwielen.com/oyt-workshop" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Click here to watch the free workshop so you can get legally protected right now!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;CONNECT:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://instagram.com/samvanderwielen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Sam on Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://facebook.com/samvanderwielenllc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Sam on Facebook&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/onyourtermspodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;On Your Terms&lt;/a&gt;®&lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/onyourtermspodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; on Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a...</description>

On Your Terms®

Sam Vander Wielen

268. How to Create Your Ideal Business Year (Without Burnout-y Goals)

DEC 8, 202528 MIN
On Your Terms®

268. How to Create Your Ideal Business Year (Without Burnout-y Goals)

DEC 8, 202528 MIN

Description

It’s that time of year again — when everyone online suddenly becomes a color-coded-notion-board-wielding planning expert. But before you map out your entire 2026 vision board, we need to do something way more important: figure out what you actually want.

In today’s episode, I’m walking you through the exact reflection + annual planning exercise I do every single year — the one that helps me make decisions based on how I want to feel, not what the latest marketing trend says I “should” be doing. This episode pairs with last week’s 2025 reflection episode, so if you haven’t listened to that one yet, go queue it up next.

PLUS — I’m trying something new today. I pulled a random question from the “More, Tell Me More” connection cards I won at a mastermind retreat (yes, I was voted Best Strategy at my table and the whole room — no biggie). I answered it… and I want you to answer it too. If you love this segment, email me or DM me and tell me to keep it!

And before you dive in, don’t forget: I created a free 2026 Annual Planning Guide that includes every question I ask in this episode and space for you to jot down your reflections and goals. Grab it in the show notes!

In this episode, you’ll hear…

  • The connection-card question I pulled — and the unforgettable story about the stranger who changed how I think about human connection
  • Why planning for 2026 means starting with how you want to feel (not arbitrary goals like “50K followers”)
  • How to imagine your ideal day next year so you can reverse-engineer what needs to change
  • Why so many entrepreneurs felt unstable in 2025 — and how to honor what actually happened before planning ahead
  • The questions I use every year to figure out what I truly need in my business and personal life
  • A guided reflection to set aligned, realistic, energizing goals for 2026

Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.

RESOURCES:


CONNECT:


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