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Build January Now
Published 4 days ago • 6 min read
We Don't Start in January
Happy November!
I started writing this week’s newsletter thinking it would be about resolutions. New year, new start, all that. But I stopped pretty fast, because the truth is, I do not believe in resolutions anymore.
Resolutions sound inspiring. Systems create results.
There is a moment in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Ollivander looks at Harry, hands him the wand, and says, “We can expect great things from you.” I love that line. It is a beautiful idea. And I believe that about a lot of people reading this right now.
But great things do not appear because the calendar flips. They show up because, long before anyone sees the outcome, you build the routines, the environment, and the discipline that make success almost unavoidable.
This is not about resolutions. It is about systems. And the people who win next year are already building them right now.
Let's go!
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Every December, I hear the same line from entrepreneurs and marketers: “I cannot wait for the new year. That is when I really get serious.”
You know who never says that? People who actually get serious.
Winners do not wait for a calendar to change. They build momentum before the year starts. They enter January already moving, already aligned, already clear. If you have to “start fresh” on January 1, you are already behind someone who never stopped.
I have learned something over the years. Goals do not create success. Systems do. Everyone can dream big. As James Clear says, winners and losers have the same goals. Everyone can talk about what they want. But the people who build the routines, the calendar, and the structure are the ones who get there. You write and edit before anyone ever sees the book.
The Half Marathon System
Last week I ran the Cocoa Beach Half Marathon and hit a personal best. My goal was to break 1:50. I ran 1:48:53. I was proud of the finish, but the real accomplishment happened months before that race.
PR in Cocoa Beach!
I did not just wake up and decide to run fast. I gathered the right people, specifically my friend Dave Heath, who believed I could do it and helped me map out the plan. When you have someone in your corner who sees your potential clearly, it eliminates doubt and excuses. We talked strategy, pacing, nutrition, and the psychological side of staying consistent. I then built a 10-week training system and followed it. Day after day. Week after week.
My 10-Week Running Schedule
I did not “fit training in.” I designed a life that made training unavoidable. I scheduled runs. I monitored mileage. I checked recovery. I adjusted when things needed adjusting.
The race was not won on race day. It was won in the four months when I was just doing the work, quietly, when no one was watching.
The CMI System
People often ask about the sale of Content Marketing Institute. They see the exit in 2016 and the celebration, and those are great moments. But if you zoom out, that outcome was simply the result of a long, steady system running underneath everything.
In 2010, we knew what we wanted to build. But the goal was nothing without the habits and infrastructure beneath it. We created a consistent publishing schedule. We showed up every week. We built processes for the blog, the newsletter, the podcast, and the events. We set up editorial systems, community systems, sponsorship systems, and operational rhythms that made the business more predictable.
We surrounded ourselves with smart people, advisors, and peers who had already built and exited companies. We took notes. We listened. We adjusted our decisions based on long-term vision, not short-term convenience. When opportunities came, we were prepared because the structure was already there. There was nothing accidental or lucky about it. The engine was running long before someone knocked on the door.
And…we even predicted who would come knocking on the door because we set up meetings with those we thought would be interested in buying us years in advance.
When the right deal came, we weren’t scrambling. We didn’t need to get our house in order. It was already in order because we’d been living in the system for years. The exit was not magic.
Most People Do Not Lack Time. They Lack Structure.
I talk to so many people who say they do not have time to build a business or train for a race or write a book or build an audience. The truth is usually different. They do not lack time. They lack a system that protects their time.
The world rewards consistency and punishes disorganization. If your time is unstructured, your results will be too.
The difference between a stalled dream and a predictable win rarely comes down to talent or even resources. It comes down to whether you build the habits and environment that quietly, inevitably move you toward the thing you say you want.
Which means this: January is not a starting line. It is a report card. It shows who built the system early and who waited for a date on a calendar to dictate discipline.
Build January Now: The System Checklist
Before January 1 arrives, put these in place:
Time Audit Track three days and see where your time actually goes. You will be surprised how much you can reclaim by simply seeing it clearly.
Calendar Lock Block your creative time, training time, learning time, and recovery time. These are appointments, not options.
Content Rhythm Choose your cadence and prep the structure now. Templates. Themes. Recording blocks. Newsletter format. You do not rise to your content goals. You fall to your content systems. Quote adapted from James Clear.
Accountability Partner Find your Dave Heath. The right person can be the difference between trying and finishing.
Health Non-Negotiables Pick the baseline: sleep routine, nutrition foundation, and movement. A burned-out creator is not building anything.
People and Input Audit Ask who helps you operate at the level you claim you want. Ask who quietly drains your drive. Adjust. Find your people.
Tool Stack Setup Decide your core tools and automate the basics now. Email service, CRM, podcast or video setup. Make the tech invisible so your effort goes into creation, not configuration.
No-List Write down what you will not do this year. Say no to distraction before it arrives. This protects energy and time.
One Quarterly Commit Pick one strategic outcome by March 31. Not ten. One. Focus compounds.
The Real Test
The turn of the calendar is not the beginning. It’s the checkpoint. If you want a remarkable year, you do not wait for January for permission to start. You build the foundation now so that when the year starts, you are already in stride.
Do not hope into the new year. Build into it.
Let everybody else coast into January. You’re different. You build the system first. The results always arrive second.
Gen Z Creator Making It Happen. Scott Galloway had a great conversation with Kyla Scanlon about the US economy...but my biggest takeaway was how she built her business on the back of content creation. Worth the listen. Here it is exactly at the 49 minute mark.
What Jobs Is AI Taking? Interesting study analyzing 180 million jobs. Where's the decline? What industries are most affected? Check it out here.
Until next Friday, keep building something that matters.
JP (Joe Pulizzi)
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