Wealth

“If you want to die the richest man, then just stay sharp. Keep investing. Don’t spend anything. Don’t eat any capital. Don’t have a good time. Don’t get to know yourself. Don’t give anything away. Keep it all. Die as rich as you can. But you know what? I heard an expression that puts it well: There’s no pocket on that last shirt.” - Susie Tompkins Buell

Relationships

It's easy to sit in quiet and think about being kind, and generous and tell yourself the next time the opportunity presents you won't engage in gossip. 
 
Being in a group of people gossiping and refraining when you have something juicy you could drop is another thing. 
 
We use the 'Advice for future you' section of our journals to reflect on how we're doing in this department. With each journal entry, we get closer to what my parents always used to say, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.' 

Freedom

Have you heard of Toyota's 'Five Whys'? 
 
It was originally developed for manufacturing efficiency but we find it equally effective for personal growth.
 
It involves asking “Why?” repeatedly—typically five times. In asking the right questions it forces, like a persistent and curious child, us uncover the deeper cause behind an issue, breaking past surface-level bullshit to reveal hidden motivations or limiting beliefs.
 
Much like with Socratic questioning, we can use the Five Why's to encourage self-awareness and critical thinking.
 
For example, if you struggle with procrastination, asking “Why?” multiple times might uncover fears of failure, perfectionism or simply that something isn't congruent with our values.
 
By getting to the root cause we can take the action that will serve us the best and skip past the surface level mental masturbation that can be so alluring.  
 
Try it now about a problem you're stuck on or a direction you're unsure of taking.
 
Scribble out the results in the weekly reflection page of your journal. 🖊️...

Health

During a very dark period, what was the best thing you ever did for your mental health?
 
Does it make sense to do more of that now? 

Wealth

'Discipline is boring, had work is boring, studying is boring, delaying gratification is boring. BUT boredom is the birthplace of success as long as you can consistently put in the work' - Leila Hormozi

Relationships

A lonely tree is something I have always found beautiful. I am not sure why.
 
I saw one the other day on a coastal walk and it sent me down a rabbit hole pondering the pros and cons of the lonely tree. 

A solitary tree in an open field can indeed grow more quickly at first because it has little competition for sunlight, water, and nutrients—enjoying immediate access to all it needs. However, its rapid, unchecked growth can make the trunk and branches more vulnerable over time.
 
Without the shelter of nearby trees, a lone tree faces harsher winds, storms, and fluctuations in temperature, and it lacks the communal support and natural buffer that a cluster of trees provides.
 
In many ways, our human relationships are very similar: standing alone may seem simpler or even advantageous early on, but without the positive influence of trusted pals, we risk becoming more fragile in the face of life’s storms.
 
We grow stronger, healthier, and happier when we surround ourselves with people who complement our strengths, share our burdens, and benefit from our contributions in return.
 
What can you do to be the “friendly tree” that thrives through connection rather than isolation?

Freedom

A journaling prompt for you:
 
If you were sure you were going to fail what would you do anyway? 🖊️

Last week we showed you our template for end of year reflections, this week we thought we'd show you our answers.

In doing so we hope it inspires you to take the time to do your own (if you haven't already). We found this blog particularly cathartic to write so we can assure you, end of year reflections should be seen as an enjoyable exercise not a chore.

As you can see, we have focussed our answers mainly on our business, Evolve Journey. But that doesn't need to be the same for you. Having the four pillars of happiness (health, wealth, relationships & freedom) at the back of your mind when answering each question will help you get a holistic reflection.

If you missed the template for our end of year reflections in last weeks newsletter click here.

Past Year in Review

What standout moments—both positive and challenging—shaped this year. What are the lessons?

1. We held our first in person event early in 2024 where we hosted a panel on habits, mindset and routines and hung out with a bunch of Evolve Journalers in person.

2. After years of work we launched new design and version updates of the Evolve Journal, improving its look and feel while packing more value into the Discovery Course. Without a doubt, this couldn’t have been achieved without the invaluable customer feedback we received and the interviews we conducted—we are eternally grateful for your help. We also made great strides in making our product more sustainable by changing manufacturers, reducing weight and the amount of paper used, and upgrading the overall quality.

3. We haven't been without our struggles. In April our biggest ever order of stock worth over £20k went missing for three weeks en route to us, a true test of our Stoicism. The summer months for us as a business are particularly trying as people are out having fun - not shopping online - but on reflection, this is where we grew the most. As things slowed we searched for growth, it forced us to improve our messaging, redesign the website to optimise the customer experience and explore new ways to provide value.

4. On the topic of exploration... some personal highlights included traveling to Thailand, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Egypt while exploring some closer to home spots in the Scottish Highlands, Cornwall and Devon. 2024 has highlighted the importance of the Freedom pillar of happiness and reminded us how essential it is to optimise for location freedom giving us the flexibility to explore and to present to experience life milestones with loved ones.

5. Continued our quest outside of journaling while sticking to our philosophy: 'Everything we create must be something we’d proudly use ourselves and that, in the hands of others, contributes to making the world a better place.' On our quest we redesigned of our Stoic Coin and created our first ever necklace in tandem with the brilliant designer Chris Brown. We are insanely excited about our latest product, a digital course and online community, which is set for release in early 2025. Its mission is to connect all those who are looking to make positive changes to their life whilst providing them with the tools to do so.

Looking Ahead

Imagining your future self at 85, if they could see your 2024 what would they say? How can you use that wisdom to shape the next chapter of your life story?

1. As the year closes out we are absolutely full of gratitude. We’re entering our busiest season, a time when we have the privilege of sharing the power of journaling with more people than ever before making positive changes that we hope will create a butterfly effect as we all get a little bit better each day.
If our 85 year old selves could see us now they would probably remind us to zoom out and remind us to trust in the overarching trend that's moving in the right direction. As we expand into new territory and welcome community members to our new offering, we’ll certainly need this wisdom to try and maximise the value we can bring to each and everyone of our new community members, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.