It's THAT time again
Ringing in the New Year with a self-help newsletter
The other day, while playing the famously egalitarian game of "golf" with one of my CEO buddies, we had a completely normal conversation, as humans often do. This being That Time Of Year, the topic of New Year's resolutions came up. I was all ready with an almost titularly cynical spiel about how everyone thinks NY resolutions never work when my friend said something jaw-dropping (doctors hate him.)
The previous year, he'd made a resolution to learn conversational Chinese... and he'd actually done it.
To be fair, I did not immediately fact-check him on this, as my level of conversational Chinese is zero. He could have said 我不会说中文 and I'd have believed him. I did quiz him a little more about his method, though, as keeping a New Year's resolution is something I've long resolved to eventually do.
It was pretty simple, he said: he had a group chat with some mates. They told each other their (achievable) resolution at the start of the year and checked in on each other throughout.
And they pretty much all achieved it.
That is probably all the information you need to replicate his success for yourself but feel free to keep reading! I suppose I was meant to leave the big secret until the end of the article but I'm just not very good at that kind of bait-posting. Or perhaps there's more to it. Surely, success can't be that simple? To find out, I decided to interview him, Diary of a CEO-style, to extract his secrets and sell them to the world like a human Juicero machine.
Interview with a "CEO"
You're Jamie Moore, world-famous CEO of enigmatic golf company Q. I doubt there's anything about you that anyone doesn't know, but just in case something's slipped through the cracks, tell us a little about yourself.
Sure. For 15ish years I ran website design companies but then in the Covid times I switched career to start a golf product company with my father.
We make an all-in-one adjustable golf club that can be used for every shot - putting, drives, chipping, bunkers etc. It's fairly early days, but we've had some good traction selling them in 55 countries around the world (mainly the US)
Right. Obviously, we are both old, and my memory is failing. Refresh it by reminding me how we know each other?
We attempted law school together and each wisely decided to bail out. Definitely no ragrats here.
While at uni, we bonded over a range of things including the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution, playing pool and hosting a radio show.
Fascinating! Now, Tell me about that New Year's Resolution accountability scheme you talked about when we played such extraordinary golf on that luxury course the other day.
What a place. Tahuna Golf Course. Home of the legendary 4th hole that is nowhere near the 3rd hole.
Yes, I'm part of a group of friends that for the past 3 years have set New Years resolutions each year… and actually check in on their progress throughout the year!
What did you, personally, achieve (or aim to achieve)?
A couple of my favourites:
- Learned to swim (200m of good freestyle, complete with tumble-turns)
- Learn to like Marmite and Vegemite (one of next year's goals - backstory: these were my swearing punishment foods growing up so this will take some undoing!)
What were your resolutions for 2024, which is somehow almost over, and how did it go?
- Complete a triathlon (was progressing well, but had some back issues that meant the running was no bueno and had to abort).
- Speak Mandarin Chinese (hard to quantify - which in hindsight was a weakness - but I'd give myself a pass. I'd say I'm now OK at basic conversations on select topics)
- Make a pasta, preserve and pastry from scratch (achieved the first two but not the third)
While not the most stellar success rate this year, the thing that makes it feel like it was a success was the regular discussion and reflection throughout the year.
What are some of the cool things other people have done?
- Eat at 5 ethnic restaurants you've never tried before.
- Run a marathon
- Host a murder mystery night
- Create an original 3-track EP
- Shoot a movie with your family as actors
- Stay a night in a DOC hut
- Create a family photo album
Why do you think doing resolutions this way works?
It's a good question actually - since I had set goals like this in the past but never lasted beyond Jan.
I think it's the combination of a few things:
- A ringleader to initiate it
- A group chat where the ringleader asks for updates every month
- The group already knows each other well
- The defined structure: 2x self-imposed goals, 1x goal
But on reflection, the most important factor of all is setting goals that are specific and things you genuinely wish you could achieve.
Do I have your irrevocable, legally-binding, un-indemnifying permission to ahem utilise this NYE resolution accountability scheme of yours for the betterment of Cynic's Guide subscribers?
You do.
What's your secret?
I quite like the song Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez.
(To success, obviously.)
Oh, disregard last answer.
I guess it would be embracing the slow power of compounding returns - when it comes to learning, growing a business, self improvement etc.
In the unlikely event that there is someone among my subscriber base that does not know about your world-beating, adjustable (and now ultra-portable) Q golf club, please outline the details and any purchasable special offers in the following blank space.
begin pitch
We've just started preorders for a second generation of the Q club.
This has an 8-in-1 adjustable club head - and a two-part shaft that means it can fit in a small suitcase.
It's all about giving golfers a simple and lightweight experience on the course - but also when travelling for golf.
If subscribers are interested, they can learn more at https://q.golf
end pitch
Josh again. So yeah, I think that's pretty cool! (The New Year's Resolution thing, although the golf club is also neat.)
In fact, I thought it so cool that Cynic's Guide readers might like to join in. I'd been wanting to set up a subscriber chat on an app like Discord for a while, and this is the perfect excuse. Plus, I'm interested to see what resolutions people come up with, especially in the bit where they get to pick ideas for other people. I've embedded a sign-up form below, but if you can't see it for some reason, here's a direct link: New Year's Resolution Tracking 2025.
The form asks for your email so I can prevent spammers and invite you to the group chat, but seeing as you're probably reading this newsletter in your email that probably won't be a problem. As for the resolutions, I'll start: Mine for this year are:
- To do a muscle-up (Rating: very hard, and you may recognise this as a previous goal from this newsletter, which I obviously did not achieve. But this year will be my year!)
- To play the drum part in Toxicity by System of a Down to a reasonable degree of proficiency (Rating: possibly harder. I don't actually know – drummers, feel free to laugh at me. It's a fantastic song though, and great for hangovers.)
You don't, of course, have to do the NY resolution thing! It is completely optional, and if it all seems a bit too non-cynical for you, that's fine. This might help on that front: if you want to give it a crack but worry that you might find it all a bit much and drop out, no-one else will actually care.
But I'll venture that people will care if you do achieve your resolution, and that might make it worth trying after all.
