Yesterday I wrote about the importance of seizing this moment to create your own personal Project 2025, your own private Idaho where you can make things better one small step at a time.
Speaking of one’s own private Idaho, I just realized that the 1991 Gus Van Sant movie by a similar title contains the perfect advice for us right now.
In the movie, River Phoenix (RIP) plays Mike, a young man searching to find his way through life while experiencing narcolepsy on the regular. He falls into something - a friendship? an unrequited love affair? - with Scott Favor, the character played by Keanu Reeves, supposedly a throwback to Prince Hal in his Henry IV days.
There is an incredible scene in which Mike has collapsed in a narcoleptic episode, and his so-called friend Scott Favor just leaves him there in the grass. Keanu says, “When you wake up, wipe the slugs off your face. Be ready for a new day.”
That’s just about where I’m at today. Yesterday was yesterday, today is today, and we gotta wipe the slugs off our faces and get to work.
What that work looks like is completely up to you. What kind of Idaho do you want to create for yourself, your family, your community, your company, or your country this year?
Let me give you an example.
This time last year, my family agreed to learn to rollerskate together. We all exchanged skates and safety gear as our holiday gifts. We obsessively watched skating wizard Dasia Sade on YouTube to get us going.
For me, starting to skate meant taking a personal risk. I faced poor health in 2023 and was just re-assembling my basic well-being in early 2024. But Dasia convinced me that I could start low and slow (with baby duck steps) and just stop if it proved to be too much for me.
And, a year later, I can tell you that my family achieved our goal.
We averaged 1-2 skating outings per month for the whole year, with a hiatus around mid-September when I fell and hurt my wrist. Doh. (I’m fine.)
I’d say we are all still pretty bad skaters skillwise. But:
we have a new family form of exercise & fun and a new routine around it
we feel the wind through our hair often - more often than in the previous year
we have connected with an inspiring community of regular skaters at a nearby park.
That is, we are one year better thanks to our own personal Project 2024.
A year is long enough to make something good happen for yourself and your community.
Inspiration: Want to show your work at the Met?
I am in a ongoing love-hate relationship with the New York Times.
One reason I love them is that sometimes an excellent journalist gets to go deep into the story of someone’s career journey. I especially love that when it describes an unconventional path. Reflecting on these articles often gives me ideas for goals we can set and actions we can take. Here’s an article like that from earlier this month:
“He’s a Security Guard at the Met. Now His Work Is Showing There,” by Dodai Stewart. Enjoy the story of Egyptian sculptor Armia Khalil and his winding path to displaying his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I love a story of a guy who goes to the Big Apple and makes his dream come true.
Other Possible Projects 2025
Let me make some suggestions based on frequent questions from my coaching clients.
Is this the year to face your fear of public speaking? One of the best and most natural communicators I know, the great Ashley Williams, is kicking off an 8-week course called “Public Speaking for Organizers” in February 2025. It’s relevant for anyone who wants to develop their voice, not just organizers and folks in politics. You can check it out and register here: https://www.publicspeakingfororganizers.com
Is this the year to cultivate your energy and improve the connection between your mind and body? My favorite martial arts school, Luminous Ground, kicked off a beginning tai chi course on January 11, 2025. The course consists of 40 online classes, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 to 11 AM Pacific Time, through June 29, 2025. You can join at any point during the 20-week program. You can learn more and register here: https://luminousground.com/2006-2/registration/
Is this the year to dig your teeth into that creative project you’ve been dreaming about? My colleague Tomás Pueyo makes a persuasive case that it is time to start that project right now, immediately, today.
Or is this the year to try a new form of exercise and fun? Maybe it’s time to join me and my family and learn to rollerskate. Dasia’s got you right here: you only need 7 minutes to learn to rollerskate.
Let’s be ready for a new day
I want to thank all of the subscribers to this newsletter - yes, that means you.
I am so proud to be part of a community of folks fighting for fulfillment and easing into enjoyment even in the face of great difficulty.
Let’s wipe the slugs off each other’s faces for as long as we need to.
Don’t go it alone,
Genevieve