Growth Report — 2025
Issue #136: Big lessons from life and business, growth trips, what worked and what didn’t, and the books, podcasts, and videos I loved this year.
Welcome to Learn + Grow, where you will learn tips and tools that will help you be 3% more peaceful + productive in just 3 minutes a week.
Every December, I spend a few days reflecting on my year:
What did I learn?
How did I grow?
What were the big highlights?
In this issue, I’ll share a few highlights of the year.
2025 was both special and challenging.
I started the year with a few big intentions. I told myself I’d travel less (I still ended up on a plane almost every month). I planned to follow a workout and diet routine to improve a few health metrics (that worked for about half the year).
I also wasn’t as productive as in some of my earlier years. I learned fewer new skills and put a long pause on several growth habits. A big reason was adjusting to a new phase of life as a parent. Another reason was that I deliberately chose to put most of my energy into moving my business from a “winter” season into a “spring” season. That took more out of me than I expected.
You can keep reading to see how the year unfolded, but if I had to sum it up in a few sentences, I feel deeply grateful to be alive at the end of 2025 and to experience the full range of life—unstoppable and stuck, love and conflict, parenting and entrepreneurship, days of momentum and days of feeling completely lost.
Note: If this cuts off in your email, here’s the online version.
Learnings
Here are a few of my top learnings on life, productivity, and business.
Big Lessons
1. AI + Voice + Walking Is a Productivity Cheat Code
One of my favorite hacks this year was AI voice notes.
On walks, I speak my thoughts out loud my thoughts, and AI cleans up and organizes them for me, unlocking a new level of clarity and productivity.
I captured new ideas
Worked through personal and business problems,
And created so much content for my newsletters and books.
2. How to answer the question: “What Do You Do for a Living?”
For years, I answered that question with a title.
“I’m a CEO of Multidots”. Accurate. Also boring.
I learned from Matthew Dicks to answer it by describing my day.
I wake up around 4:45 a.m. I write about personal growth, agency growth, technology, and two new books I’m working on. Later in the morning, I take my son and dog for a walk. That’s usually when I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. From 9 a.m. to noon, I talk to my team spread across three different continents. Around 1 p.m., I take a nap. I usually close my workday around 4 p.m. After that, I do yoga or take another walk with my family.
Giving a visual tour of your day is much more fun, interesting, and memorable.
3. Solo Trips Recharge Me in a Way Nothing Else Does
This year reminded me how powerful solo trips are—how essential they actually are.
One solo trip was to Atlanta, where I had several business reflections and planning. Second, I went to a cabin in Texas, where I read and worked on my upcoming book.
Both trips ended up being the highlights of my year. I always come back from solo trips clearer, calmer, and more grounded. I think better. I write better. I feel more like myself.
4. Instinct vs Mind
This year, I finally got a clearer understanding of why instinct—or gut feeling—matters so much.
Instinct isn’t random. Instinct is aggregated wisdom. It’s built from billions of years of life and evolution. Every survival pattern, every repeated outcome, every signal that mattered long before language or logic existed—that’s the dataset instinct runs on. Instinct is designed for quick decision-making. It operates without conscious thought. There’s no debate, no spreadsheet, no pro/con list. Just a quiet knowing.
On the other side is the mind. The mind is newer. Slower. Analytical. Its job is to solve new problems. To rationalize instinctive responses. To add structure, logic, and perspective.
Both are essential. Problems arise when we ask one to do another’s job. When we overthink situations that require instinct, we freeze. When we rely only on instinct for entirely new problems, we miss nuance.
5. Stress is Mental Multitasking
Lately, I’ve been paying close attention to strong emotions—especially the uncomfortable ones.
Stress. Anxiety. Jealousy.
Not through dictionary definitions or medical explanations, but from a practical, lived perspective. What I’ve come to understand is this:
Stress usually comes from holding two opposing thoughts at the same time.
For example, I wanted to spend an hour at a cafe writing my book. At the same time, I also wanted (and needed) to be present with my family. Both are good. Both matter. But trying to do both at once creates tension. That tension is stress.
What helps is simple, but not easy: choose one option and fully accept losing the other. Once the decision is made—once you stop negotiating with yourself—stress often dissolves. Not because the situation changed, but because the internal conflict did.
6. Life Happens in Seasons—And That’s Not a Failure
I let go of several “identity habits” this year.
No rigid 5 a.m. wake-ups. No rigid routines.
Followed energy instead of rules.
Some of this was intentional—I don’t want to be controlled by habits. Some of it was necessary—growth seasons in my business and being a parent demand different rhythms, and fighting that only creates friction.
7. What is “Waste of Time”?
It’s not rest. It’s not slowness.
Wasted time is:
Being somewhere you don’t want to be
Doing things against your will
Being mentally elsewhere while physically present
Life Lessons
8. Don’t Give People Everything—Give Them What They Actually Want
For a long time, I over-gave. More effort, more explanation, more sacrifice—believing that doing more would automatically make people happier. Most of the time, it didn’t. People usually want something accurate: clarity, reassurance, presence, or respect. Once I stopped projecting my own stories onto others and paid attention to what they actually wanted, relationships became simpler and lighter.
9. Two People Angry at Once Turn Conflict into Chaos
This one showed up repeatedly—in marriage, friendships, and partnerships. When both people are upset, nothing productive happens. When someone is upset and shares their concerns with you, it’s natural to have your own feelings and reasons to be upset too. Just don’t bring them out at the same time. Take turns. Anger doesn’t need more anger—it needs calm, patience, and a little love.
10. “Be Tolerant With Others and Strict With Yourself”— Marcus Aurelius
We’re all fighting our own demons and carrying our own pain. I’ve realized that I often judged others too quickly for their imperfections—or more accurately, for not being perfect by my standards. At the same time, I was far more forgiving and understanding of my own flaws. I’m learning to flip that. To be more tolerant with others, and to hold myself to higher standards.
11. We Overestimate Risk and Underestimate Opportunity
Almost every meaningful decision this year felt scarier in my head than it turned out to be in reality. The downside was usually survivable. The upside, often life-changing. I’m learning to lean into that imbalance instead of letting fear make decisions for me.
12. If You’re Going to Procrastinate, Procrastinate on Something You Enjoy
Procrastination isn’t always the enemy. Fighting it aggressively often creates more resistance. If I noticed myself avoiding something, I chose to redirect that energy into something nourishing—walking, writing, or having a yoga. That alone reduced guilt and made it easier to come back focused.
13. The Only Time You Look Into Someone Else’s Bowl Is to See If They Have Enough
Comparison drains energy. Compassion restores it. This reminder helped me stay grounded—especially during moments when it felt like everyone else was moving faster or doing better. The goal isn’t to win; it’s to make sure no one’s left behind.
14. Kids Should Be Quick to Learn and Hard to Kill
I heard Naval Ravikant say this on a podcast, and it stuck with me.
As a first-time parent, I find myself questioning almost every decision and parenting style. I want my son to be safe—but I also want him to be resilient. I want him to survive and thrive in all kinds of situations, not just comfortable ones. I want him to be kind and generous, but also strong and independent.
There’s another line I read in Sahil Bloom’s book that captures this well: “It’s better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”
That’s the balance I’m aiming for. Create a safe, loving environment—but raise someone who can handle the real world when it gets tough.
Business Lessons
15. Challenging My Default “Play Safe” Mode
I’ve always leaned frugal. Careful. Risk-averse.
In 2025, I challenged that instinct. Instead of focusing on small optimizations, I chose to take bigger swings. I hired more people in sales and paid them more than I felt fully comfortable with at the time. I made bold changes in the business that stretched us financially and emotionally.
It wasn’t easy. It was uncomfortable. But it was necessary. Growth doesn’t come from playing it safe. It asks for courage first—and confidence follows later.
16. Who Pays the Price Gets the Vote
I’ve always tried to be democratic in decision-making, inviting everyone’s input. The problem is everyone has an opinion, and in the past, I often leaned toward the loudest or most confident voice.
This year, I realized that confidence doesn’t equal consequence. What matters most is who has to live with the consequences of the decision.
When choosing a CRM, it’s the sales and marketing teams that will use it regularly. If we’re changing payment terms, it’s the finance team that deals with the fallout.
So now, instead of prioritizing the strongest opinion, I prioritize the people who will feel the consequences. Decisions have become clearer, calmer, and more effective because of it.
17. An Empty Seat Is Less Damaging Than the Wrong Person
This was an important lesson for me in 2025. As entrepreneurs, we hate empty seats. When a role is open, there’s a constant urge to fill it—any progress feels better than no progress. An empty seat feels uncomfortable, like something is broken.
What I learned this year is that filling a seat just to fill it is often more damaging than leaving it empty. The wrong person in the wrong role creates friction, slows others down, and quietly drains energy. I’ve learned to wait longer, hire more deliberately, and only fill a seat when the right person is ready to sit in it.
18. It’s Not Always About Information—Presentation Often Wins
Two people can have the same facts. The one who frames them clearly and confidently usually wins. Clarity, storytelling, and structure matter more than we like to admit—especially in leadership and sales.
19. Costs Are Like Fingernails—They Need Regular Trimming
Both in life and in business, it helps to review every expense—especially recurring ones—at least once a year. Many expenses feel justified in the moment, but over time, they don’t add real value.
I have a simple ritual for this. My finance team reviews every subscription twice a year, and my wife and I do the same with our personal expenses.
Success breeds complacency. Complacency lets costs creep in quietly. If you don’t review expenses regularly, they grow without you noticing.
20. Virtual Whiteboarding Changed How I Think
This year, I started using virtual whiteboarding tools—especially Boardmix—for planning, note-taking, and thinking during calls.
Seeing ideas instead of just talking about them changed the quality of my conversations. Credit to Jay Moore for nudging me in this direction. Some tools don’t just improve productivity—they change how your brain works.
Growth
Growth Trips
I did two solo trips this year—what I call growth trips.
Not just trips to relax or run away. No. These were on-purpose retreats to get clear, fill up my energy again, and tune back into the real work—the important stuff under all the daily rush. The kind that don’t just feel good for a week... they shift you for months, even years.
My first one: Atlanta in January
I went to Atlanta when it was cold and quiet. Took some great books and over 50 thinking prompts about my business—questions to shake up old ideas and show me what really matters next.
Each day, I had a simple routine:
90 minutes of deep focus in different coffee shops.
Long walks to activate scatterfocus.
Tons
of notes and ideas.
Lots of silence to think and write.
When you step away from the noise, magic happens. Patterns show up clearly. Choices get easy. Your true direction shines through the fog. That trip helped me see my business fresh—like zooming out on a map. Renewed fire, sharper focus. Pure gold.
The second one: A quiet cabin in Texas Hill Country
This was slower, more personal. Just me, my dog Lucy, and a peaceful glamping cabin in the beautiful Texas hills.
The plan? Work on my first book—build a strong outline in all that calm.
But doubt showed up too. In the quiet, those voices whispered: “Who are you to write a book? There are millions out there—why would yours matter?”
Then I read The Karma of Success by Liz Tran. She’s not super famous, no big crowd cheering. But her words? Deep, real, full of quiet strength.
And it hit me hard: It’s not about the name on the cover. It’s about the truth inside.
If what I write helps even one person take a better step... then every minute is worth it.
By the end, I had the outline done, pages of notes, and something bigger—a fresh belief in the book and in my bigger purpose.
Clarity in my writing. Clarity in life. Clarity in where I’m headed.
Events + Conferences
I picked just a handful of events this year—each one like a new chapter of learning.
ClickFunnels in Vegas: I went with my buddy Jeremy and saw Tony Robbins live. Wow—that energy, that presence. It wasn’t just sales tricks; it reminded me how positioning, messaging, and real human fire change everything.
Newsletter Conference in Austin: Close to home, super practical. Learned tons about building audiences with honest writing. Proof that steady, heart-filled words still win big.
DealCon: Small group, deep talks on buying and building businesses. As I’m stepping more into investing, it felt like the perfect room at the perfect time.
WordCamps in Portland and Basel: I hadn’t been to Europe in a long time, and meeting my founder friends from India in Basel felt refreshing and energizing. I also had the chance to meet my team in person—sharing meals, conversations, and a lot of laughter. It was a simple but powerful reminder: behind every tool, system, and plan, it’s people who matter most.
Travels
With a new baby at home, I was telling myself and everyone that I’m going to travel less this year.
But somehow, I flew about 57,000 miles—on a plane every month, touching 7 countries. That’s like circling the Earth 2.2x. It’s crazy.
As I’m getting older, flying tires me out. But it also gives a gift: real stillness. Hours with no distractions—to read, think deeply, reflect on life. Those flights weren’t just moving me around. They were quiet spaces where real progress happened, up there above the clouds. I really enjoyed every bit of it and am very grateful to have a wife who supports me on all my adventures. ❤️
Big Highlights
1. A Bucket List Trip That Turned Into a Lifetime Memory
This year, I checked off something that had been on my bucket list for a long time.
My family had never been on an airplane. For years, I had this quiet desire to fly them somewhere and spend a few days together. We finally did that and went to Imagica, Mumbai.
The time and money spent on that trip will continue to pay back in the form of memories. That kind of return doesn’t show up on a spreadsheet, but it stays with you for life.
2. Thank You Notes
A few years ago, I started a small habit: writing thank-you notes to friends and colleagues.
Taking some time out to acknowledge the impact someone had on my life or work.
I didn’t realize this at first, but this might be one of the most fulfilling things I do.
When you slow down and genuinely appreciate people, relationships change. Bonds get stronger. People feel seen. You feel lighter and more positive. It creates goodwill that no meeting or deal ever can.
This year, I upgraded the practice a bit. I designed my own thank-you cards and started adding a small gift along with the note.
Writing these notes still gives me a lot of joy. It’s a reminder that sincere appreciation goes a long way.
3. Writing Two Books
Ever since I got into reading, I have had this long-term goal: one day, I want to write my own book (or books).
What I learned over time is that books don’t come out of motivation. They come out of consistency.
In 2022, I decided that if I ever wanted to write a book, I’d have to do it in public. So I launched Learn + Grow and started writing every week. This blog slowly became a public draft of a future book.
Around that time, a close friend — a successful author and marketer — told me something that stuck:
“Books are your golden business card. They build authority over time.”
That idea stayed with me.
Later, I launched another newsletter, WP for ENTERPRISES, and committed to writing consistently about enterprise CMS. I’ve been doing that for over a year now.
Looking back, I realize I now have enough real content to turn into two books.
Book 1: Behind the Build of Enterprise WordPress
This book focuses on the strategy, design, and technical architecture behind billion-dollar websites. Set to launch in Q1 of 2026. Subscribe here to be notified.
Book 2: Peaceful Growth Life
About building a successful life and career without constant burnout. Written for leaders, managers, and high performers. Set to launch in Q3 of 2026.
4. AI Becoming a Normal Part of Life
I’m still amazed by how fast AI has grown this year.
It went from “interesting” to something I use daily — for writing, thinking, planning, and improving workflows. Personally and professionally.
Seeing AI progress alongside autonomous vehicles felt surreal at times, like watching the future arrive in real time.
I’m especially curious about where humanoid robots are headed. It feels like we’re living through a shift that people will talk about for decades.
Here are two videos I really enjoyed learning from:
Messy Me
In past years, I shared mostly my wins. This year, I want to share the other side of me, which is messy.
Some Habits Expire
In past growth reports, I shared a pretty strong track record with my growth habits. This year, I intentionally stopped tracking them.
Some habits that worked well in earlier seasons no longer fit this phase of life. Others simply didn’t survive the demands of parenting and business growth.
At first, it felt like I was failing—failing at routine, productivity, and discipline. I felt guilty and even a bit ashamed. Over time, I realized something important: a lot of my happiness had become dependent on those routines.
Without meaning to, I had built a system that started to feel like a cage.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m deeply grateful for those habits. They helped create a productive, high-performing version of myself. But this season is teaching me that habits should support life, not restrict it.
Accountability Beats Motivation
In my last year’s growth report, I shared my goal to improve a few core health metrics. At the start of this year, I was fully committed. I built a solid system, hired a fitness coach, and made solid progress in the first half.
Then I decided I didn’t need the coach anymore. I thought discipline alone would be enough.
That was a mistake.
A few months after letting the coach go, the entire system collapsed. Momentum faded, and so did my health goals.
The lesson was simple: no matter how confident or disciplined you think you are, a coach—or some form of accountability—matters more than willpower alone.
The Quiet Thieves of Progress
I turned down many podcast invites and networking opportunities this year. Some of that was due to time constraints and prioritizing family. Some of it, honestly, came from impostor syndrome and social anxiety.
There were also periods where comparison, jealousy, fear, and ego quietly took over. Days—and sometimes weeks—where I felt stuck in those emotions. They drained my focus, productivity, happiness, and even cost me opportunities.
I’m not as strong as people might assume. I’m still working through my own inner struggles—and sometimes, I lose those battles.
The Ups and Downs of Being a New Parent
Becoming a parent is a blessing. It’s magical. Creating a new human—flesh and blood—feels like one of the purest expressions of love and what it means to be human. I feel deeply grateful for that, and I’ve captured some of those moments here.
At the same time, becoming a parent changed more than I expected.
Aiden brought our families closer. I felt more connected to my own family and to Colleen’s family because of him. But in the process, Colleen and I also paid a price. We lost parts of ourselves, and we lost parts of us as a couple—at least for a while.
I don’t know if that’s just the price of becoming a parent or something we could have handled better. Either way, it changed our dynamic.
Favorites of 2025
These are my top 3 favorite content this year that really stayed with me.
Videos
1. Deep Dive into LLMs like ChatGPT
I keep hearing that large language models are a “black box,” and I’ve been genuinely fascinated by how something like this is even possible. How do humans build tools that can augment the human mind at this level?
Andrej Karpathy, who was Director of AI at Tesla and also a founding member at OpenAI, does an excellent job breaking this down. He explained complex ideas in a way that actually makes sense and helped me better understand how AI works under the hood.
2. 2025 Emerging Tech Trend Report
Amy Webb and her team consistently do an incredible job forecasting the technologies that will shape the future of humanity. Watching this feels like getting a preview of the next decade—equal parts exciting and unsettling in a good way.
I loved the honesty in this video. Ali breaks down what it really takes to get rich, and what surprised me most is how much of it comes down to mindset rather than tactics. It challenged some of my assumptions about ambition and made me reflect on my own relationship with money.
One takeaway that stuck with me: you need an unhealthy obsession with making money—at least for a period of time.
Podcasts
1. Grow or Die?
In this episode, Blair and David talk about the science of growth. Since growth is one of my core values and guiding principles, this really resonated with me.
Here are a few favorite lines from the episode:
“The force to grow may be more fundamental than physics itself.”
”Problems are simply the frontier of your growth.”
“In a world where every life and business is constantly striving, the ones that do not evolve get outcompeted and go extinct.”
“Growth is the journey we are all on. Together.”
2. 44 Harsh Truths About Human Nature – Naval Ravikant
Naval shares practical ideas for living a happy, high-performing life. I especially enjoy how he connects ancient spirituality with modern thinking. It helped me simplify decisions and focus more on inner leverage than external success. This episode felt both grounding and challenging.
3. Dharmesh Shah (Founder of HubSpot) Compresses 20 Years of Wisdom Into 75 Minutes
Dharmesh is one of the smartest and most thoughtful entrepreneurs I know of. He speaks from experience and from the heart. This conversation is packed with insights about business, learning, and life.
Pure gold.
Books
This year, I didn’t read as many books as I did in the past. I also re-read a few from earlier years. According to my Goodreads stats, I read around 5,296 pages across 14 books.
Fewer books, but deeper impact.
Here are a few that stood out.
1. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Not surprisingly, my reading list leaned heavily toward parenting this year. This book, in particular, is one I recommended—and gifted—to many parents. Even if you don’t have kids, I think it’s an excellent book on communication and leadership. It teaches how to listen better, respond with empathy, and communicate without escalating conflict.
2. Outlive
This was a long and dense book on health and longevity, but worth the effort. I learned a lot—especially in the context of my own health goals. More than anything, it changed how I think about health metrics, prevention, and long-term decision-making around my body.
It reshaped how I track and think about health, not just how I react to it.
As I work on writing my own books, this one hit at the right time. It’s confrontational in a good way. Almost cult-like in how strongly it encourages you to create and share your work with the world. It also helped me better understand resistance—how it shows up, how it disguises itself, and how easily it can stop creative work. It was exactly what I needed to hear this year.
Wishing you a 2026 filled with endless learning, meaningful growth, and abundant peace. 🌟
If you’re interested, you can also read my past growth reports here: 2022, 2023, 2024.
👋 Until next time, Anil / CEO and Co-Founder of Multidots, Multicollab, and Dotstore.
May the Peaceful Growth be with you! 🪴
More ways to Learn + Grow
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More power to you!
Managing multiple things with family and kids takes lots of efforts, mentally and physically as well. We never know or can not plan what will happen but i think that is the beauty of life that still things some how get fixed and align with path.