Did you know that by January 15, 95% of people have already abandoned their New Year’s resolutions

But imagine being part of the 5% who actually stick with and achieve their goals.

The renowned entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn once said, “Finish your year before you start it.” 

And that is exactly what the most successful business owners do. 

Rather than leaving next year to chance and relying on your New Year’s Resolution to do things better next year, we have created a resource designed to help you do just that—set clear goals for 2025 and map out the steps to achieve them. If you would like a copy, you can download it here.

Planning ahead not only keeps you accountable; it helps you stay focused, and motivated and is the secret to achieving your goals faster and getting what you want in your life and business.

If you aren’t working toward your own plan, then chances are you are spending most of your time helping someone else achieve theirs.

By setting specific targets and tracking progress, you can hold yourself and others responsible for following through.

Change can be hard, even when we know it’s beneficial.

Our brains are wired to form habits, and breaking old patterns takes effort.

But with intention and practice, we can create new habits and train our minds to adapt to change.

The key is to start small and stay consistent.

Think about why this change matters to you—whether it’s for financial, physical, or emotional reasons—and take manageable steps toward your goals.

Here are 9 TIPS TO MAKE NEXT YEAR YOUR BEST YEAR YET! 

1. Change your environment – Albert Einstein said that you will never solve a problem in the state it was created. Get off farm to somewhere that helps you have a higher perspective. Getting into nature, going to a place that is higher up, or finding a quiet place at the beach are great tips to shift your perspective and energy before planning for next year.
   
   
2. Lock in your holidays for next year, this year - locking in your holidays for the year gives you something to look forward to and helps you plan when you will re-energise and recharge. Just like building muscles at the gym your growth as a business owner happens through periods of rest. Structure these into your year first.
   
   
3. Celebrate your WINS from this year - business is a challenging and rewarding game. It’s easy to focus on what isn’t going well for you right now, particularly when energy levels are depleted at the end of a busy year. When you reflect on the year that was, what are the things that went well for you or that you are grateful for? These are wins. Of the things that didn’t go so well, what did you learn? These learnings are also wins! Business success comes from building and expanding on what is working well.
   
   
4. Audit your life as a whole – not just business - It is easy to focus on your business at the expense of other things that matter in life. If you were to write down your list of priorities, you would most likely have your health and your family at the top of the list. Your business success would be somewhere below those two things. When you reflect on this year, did you devote energy to the areas of your life in the right proportions? Or are you neglecting some areas and over-investing in others?
   
   
5. Write a statement for each area of your life that explains all the things you want to achieve this year as though you have achieved them – Imagine you meet yourself on the street on the 31st of December 2026. What have you achieved in each area of your life? Describe how you feel having achieved those things.
   
   
6. Identify obstacles and strategies to obtain the goal - setting a goal takes seconds. Most people are capable of this. Where it generally breaks down is that we don’t break down the steps to achieve the goals into small enough pieces and we don’t identify and remove the obstacles that we may face as we work towards the goal. For example, if you are aiming to lose weight and know that you struggle to not eat the piece of cake that is in the fridge, you might be wiser to not buy or make the cake in the first place. This is removing an obstacle.
   
   
7. Write a desire statement - A desire statement gives you a concise story about who you are planning to become. It connects you with the emotion you want to feel and is best written and then read daily. Many of us walk around telling ourselves a self-sabotaging story that takes us away from our goals. Reading your desire statement helps you keep your focus on telling yourself a positive story that will take you towards your goals.
   
   
8. Make your goals SMART - what you measure improves. Making sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-Bound helps you to get clear on what you are aiming for and increases your chances of success.
   
   
9. Schedule the time into your calendar to work on your goals next year - this is where the rubber really hits the road. The reality is most of you won’t do this and it is the reason why so many people don’t make progress towards their goals. It’s also the secret to why so many of our Platinum Mastermind members achieve their 10-year goals in only a few years. They have learnt a system for getting results in their life and business and are held accountable for achieving them. To reiterate, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP.
    

If you would like help getting your plan together feel free to download the Ultimate 2025 Planning Guide and make 2025 your best year yet. The guide is loaded with tools and templates that will help you nail this over the next few weeks. If you would like a copy, click here to download it.

Thanks for reading the Freedom Farmer Blog this year. 

We are passionate about helping farm business owners run a high-performing, profitable farm business that works, whether the owners are there or not (AKA, a “Freedom Farm”).

We hope that you have found value in the insights and tools shared to help you improve your farm business.

If you want an edge in your farm business for next year and are thinking that Farm Owners Academy might be able to help, reply to the email with the words ‘NAIL 2025’ and we will be happy to discuss your current situation to assess if or how we can help you.

Have a great Christmas break and Happy New Year. We hope it is filled with fun and joy and spent with those that matter most to you.

See you next year.

Regards,

Sam Johnsson

CEO - Farm Owners Academy 
 

P.S. Feeling stuck in the grind? Our FREE Ultimate 2025 Planning Guide is here to help you refocus, set meaningful goals, and build a clear plan for a more profitable, sustainable farm business. Start the year with clarity and purpose. Download your free guide now and turn your hard work into real progress! Click here.