I was cleaning up my past when I stumbled across a piece of my future.

And holy sh!t, I wasn’t ready for it.

Earlier this month, I was cleaning up Dropbox and canceling my subscription. Nothing exciting. Just getting rid of stuff I didn’t need anymore.

Then I found a folder.

Inside were 12 videos.

TWELVE.

Videos I’d recorded on October 23, 2025. Exactly one year ago.

They were the foundation of something I’d been building. A program designed to help people get better results in life, at work, and at home. And somehow, for an ENTIRE YEAR, I’d completely forgotten about them.

Not delayed or put on hold. FORGOTTEN.

I just sat there staring at my screen. And then, for a few minutes, I cried.

Then I shouted: “What the actual f*ck were you doing, Mike?!”

I ran the range of emotions. I was embarrassed, angry, disappointed, and more than a little confused.

How the hell do you record 12 videos, build the foundation of an offering, and then completely forget about it? ¯\(ツ)/¯

Especially when you spend your days helping other people get clear, stay focused, take action, and get results?

You can’t make this sh!t up. 🤪🥊

Life happens. All day. Every day.

Look, I could give you a dozen reasons why this happened. Some might even be good ones, but the truth is, I don’t know exactly how it happened, and that’s part of what bothered me.

One day, you’re working on something that matters.

Then something pops up. You know, a problem needs solving, or someone needs your attention. Hell, it could have been a conversation that went sideways, resulting in a fire that needs putting out.

You deal with it and then another thing happens. And another. Before you know it, days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. And somehow, an entire year goes by.

You’re busy. You’re working. You’re getting things done.

But that one thing?

The thing that mattered enough for you to start?

It’s sitting in a folder somewhere, waiting for you to come back.

Except you forgot it was there.

My second mistake was worse than the first.

Finding those videos hurt, but what I did next almost made it worse.

I started beating myself up. Not for long, but enough to see the stinkin’ thinkin’ talk track that went like this:

How could you forget?
What were you thinking?
How much time did you waste?
What could you have accomplished by now?

Sound familiar?

I wasn’t just disappointed about the videos.

I was judging myself. And here’s what I know about that: you can’t change what happened yesterday by beating yourself up today. All you’re doing is stealing more time and energy from yourself. Which is pretty ironic when you think about it.

I was upset about losing a year, and my first response was to waste even more energy being upset about it.

Brilliant move, Mike. 😂

Then I realized the gift in front of me.

Something shifted.

I stopped staring at the year I’d lost, and started looking at what I’d found.

12 videos.

The work was already done. The ideas were still solid. The offering was still alive.

In fact, much of what I’d built had continued to grow and evolve over the past year.

The original program was called ResultsOS. Today, it’s become Everyday Edge. A simpler, clearer way to help people win more in life, at work, and at home.

And suddenly, I realized something. I didn’t need to start over. I needed to pick up where I’d left off.

The work wasn’t wasted. The ideas weren’t dead. The opportunity hadn’t disappeared. The only thing that had changed was how I saw it. And just like that, something that felt like a failure started looking like a gift.

Not everything you start needs to be finished.

I recently came across a quote from Sahil Bloom:
“Anyone can start, but few have the courage to finish.”

There’s a lot of truth in that. The world is full of unfinished books, half-built businesses, and promises we haven’t kept.

But I’d add something.

Not everything you start deserves to be finished.

Some ideas stop making sense.
Some goals no longer matter.
Some plans need to change.
And some things simply deserve to be let go.

That’s not failure. That’s growth.

The real question isn’t whether you finished what you started. It’s whether what you started still matters. If it does? Maybe it’s worth another look.

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Your Everyday Edge: with the SPOT Method

This experience was a pretty good reminder that I need to practice what I share with others, especially when things don’t go as planned.

Here’s how I’d work through it today.

1. Spot the pattern.

Notice what’s happening. Not just the event, but how you’re responding to it.

The fact? I found 12 videos I’d forgotten about.

The story I started telling myself? I’m an idiot. I wasted a year. I should have known better.

Those are judgments. Not facts. And there’s a big difference.

2. Shift the focus.

Instead of judgment, try a little kindness and curiosity.

What else could be true?

Maybe the work wasn’t wasted.
Maybe the timing is better now.
Maybe the ideas have gotten stronger.
Maybe I’ve grown since I started, which I have.

You don’t have to pretend you’re happy about what happened.

Just stop making it worse.

3. Change the action.

Decide what matters now, then take the next right action.

Not 12 actions.

Not a giant plan to make up for an entire year.

One.

For me, that means reviewing the videos, seeing what still fits, and getting the work back into motion.

You don’t need to recover the year.
You need to decide what to do with today.

The bigger lesson

I’ve been thinking a lot about this. Not just the videos. But all the unfinished things we carry around.

The book we never wrote.
The business we never launched.
The conversation we never had.
The promise we made to ourselves.

Some of those things are worth finishing. Some aren’t.

And some are just waiting for us to see them differently.

Here’s what I invite you to consider.

What if the thing you’ve been beating yourself up about is actually an opportunity waiting to be rediscovered?

What if the work you’ve already done is enough to get you moving again?

What if you don’t need a fresh start?

What if you just need to start again?

How do you start again after losing momentum?

You don’t need to start over. You need to decide what still matters.

Start with three simple steps:

Spot the pattern. Notice what happened without beating yourself up.
Shift the focus. Focus on what you can learn and what’s still possible.
Change the action. Choose one small action and get moving again.

The goal isn’t to recover lost time.
It’s to make better use of today.

One last thought

A year ago, I recorded 12 videos. Then I forgot about them. Earlier this month, I found them. And for a few minutes, all I could see was what I’d lost.

Now?

I see what I still have.

The work.
The ideas.
The opportunity.

And something I didn’t have a year ago.

A much better understanding of what I want to build and why it matters.

I can’t get that year back, but I can choose what I do next. And so can you.

You don’t always need to start over. Sometimes you just need to start again.

So here’s my question for you:

What’s something you started, set aside, and still wish you’d finished?
And does it still matter?

If it does, maybe today is a good day to pick it back up.

That’s what we mean when we say Win Today.

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