TWENTY TWENTY SIX.
Audacity. Execution. Iteration. Evolution.
Fortis fortuna adiuvat - Fortune favours the bold.
When I introspect about the years I have spent in corporate life, leading teams and being led, when I am asked what my favourite lesson is, I’d say:
”Execution >>>>>> Strategy”.
Until you start, until you do, until you plunge headlong - you will never know what works. Does this excuse working without a plan? No. It only shines the light on analysis paralysis.
To know if you can or you cannot, you need to do.
To know if it works or not, you need to do it.
It is important to fail; it is more important to fail fast. This has been my driving force for a couple of years now, and it is the message I preach to you:
BE AUDACIOUS. FAIL. FAIL FAST. EXECUTE. JUST DO.
As usual, you are already stacking fancy plans, new year resolutions, vision boards - what you normally do not account for are the mental blocks to instant execution.
We overestimate the value of readiness and underestimate the cost of hesitation. We tell ourselves we are “preparing” when in reality we are postponing discomfort. What you are genuinely afraid of, is “failing”.
You think that “if/when you fail”, it validates that inner voice that points out your insufficiency, it would feed into your deprecating self-esteem, and that is sad.
You don’t know if you will fail, when you will fail - this is a defining concept. It also reveals that you have the wrong relationship with failure.
Failure isn’t glamorous but it is important. It is data. I wrote more about it here.
One approach that has helped me is: “the concept of failing ahead”. If my plan dictates the commencement of execution in January, I start working the ropes from December. I begin to move as many needles as possible conveniently ahead, testing assumptions, breaking small things, and discovering friction points before the official clock starts.
What it does for me is mentally prepare me for what is ahead, and it gives me an early pass to start failing without being conscious of the timeline. By the time others are still announcing intentions, I am already iterating.
Momentum, once built, is easier to steer than to start.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” James Clear.
In 2026, execution will belong to those who:
Ship before they feel ready
Finish before they expand
Choose progress over polish
The metric is simple: Did something tangible exist today that did not exist yesterday?
Execution compounds quietly. Missed days compound, too.
I can keep this going, another page or two, but I want to nip it here while leaving you a single message:
Be determined to always do hard stuff. Be comfortable with doing it scared.
BE AUDACIOUS. FAIL. FAIL FAST. EXECUTE. JUST DO.
2026 does not need another plan.
It needs action.
Fortis fortuna adiuvat - Fortune favours the bold.
Unkle Ayo again. Always speaking to me. For 2 years now I've been selling men's shoes on my whatsapp status and facebook. This year around November I gave it a thought to expand to X. However, X seems a complex space. Often times you make a post, zero engagement, no visibility. I wondered how I will make it on that platform X. But I decided to edit my page and prepare to introduce my business in there. The plan was to fully commence January. But I said why January when I can start now to taste the waters. Ladies and gentlemen, I've started posting on X and hoping I stay consistent, trusting that Elon's app will favour me as I keep showing up and putting the work. Thank you for sharing Unkle Ayo, my son's mentor.
2026 does not need another plan.
It needs action.