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By Duane Rollins —

2024 The Recap & Hi, How You Doing 2025

I feel like 2024 should be a swear word.

Like, what the 2024 has happened this past year? We're in some deep 2024 moving forward. This past year has been a pain in the 2024.

You get my point.

Onwards to 2025, but first, a look back...

Personal

  • New Business, Who Dis? Starting a business as a financial advisor has been an amazing experience. I love what I do, who I get to help (you), and who I get to do it with. It’s been a ton of work, but it’s absolutely worth it. I’m excited to continue serving others. Send people my way—or come meet with me to see how I can support you on your financial journey. The core of what I do is help people establish the structures to create true generational wealth and ensure they never outlive their money. My mission is to shift mindsets from mere accumulation to value creation, empowering people to take control of their finances, live impactful lives, and achieve their dreams—all with the support of a dedicated team.
  • Gym results. I connected with an excellent trainer, and it’s been a game changer for me (shoutout to Travis Arthur at Equinox if you’re looking to level up your fitness). This investment has given me much-needed structure in my workouts and pushed me farther than I’ve gone in years. The results? I’m down 20 pounds! Three main things motivated me to take action and stick with it this time: 1) Lil Rel’s glow-up – My opp got in shape, and seeing his results motivated me because I will never let an enemy do better than me. Honestly, I hate him just enough to get fit . Who knew? 2) Longevity through fitness – My work often involves helping people plan for long, fulfilling lives—living to 100 and beyond. Looking at the key factors for those who enjoy long lives, fitness is a no-brainer. 3) The science of muscle mass – Research shows that muscle mass plays a huge role in living a long and healthy life. Plus, it gets harder to build muscle after 40, so I’m focused on growing it now and holding on for dear life later.
  • T(errffic) Two's. My daughter has a lot of sass for someone who can’t fight. She’s also the biggest joy and the most fun kid I’ve ever met. I’m incredibly proud to be her father. Here’s hoping she still wants to hang out with me when she makes it big someday.
  • On writing. Building an empire has taken priority lately, so my writing took a backseat. But I’m committing to being more consistent and setting a goal to finish my book by March 2025. Keep me encouraged on the journey—it means a lot!

Other accomplishments:

  • Broadway. Investing in Broadway has been an amazing journey—one that’s deepened my understanding of this vital art form while fostering an incredible community around it. Some of the shows we’ve had the privilege to co-produce that you can catch right now include Gypsy, Our Town, Hell's Kitchen, and Othello (opening this spring). Here’s hoping we finally bring home a Tony Award this year! 🤞🏾
  • What's Free Men's Retreat. For the fourth year in a row, we welcomed men to our annual retreat to reflect more deeply on how they can be positive force multipliers in the world. While I handle much of the organizing, I always gain even more from the conversations and relationships forged over the weekend. This year, alongside discussions about the election, masculinity, and living a fulfilled life, we added tactical arms training—because you never know when the zombie apocalypse might strike! It was an incredible experience all around, and I’m excited to implement some new tweaks and expand the model in 2025.
  • Hosting a night of an art exhibit. This Fall, my best friend Xavier and the incredibly talented Taylor Smalls brought their traveling exhibit, THROUGHLINE: Vol. II, to DC. This experience showcased the work of these generational, emerging artists as they collaborated across disciplines to honor women changemakers in the local community. In DC, sixteen women were celebrated for their remarkable contributions as pillars of the community through photography, painting, poetry, a curated tasting menu, and musical performances. A special shoutout to the incredible artists who came together to make this happen:

    Taylor Smalls
    Michael Wayne Turner III
    Adedayo Kosoko
    Gabrielle Hights
    Jon Echols
    Chef Keem Hughley of Bronze DC

Lessons Learned in 2024

  • Got a good idea? You now have 90 days to execute. Stop sitting on that good idea. Make it real now. You need to show forward motion toward that idea within 90 days or it'll just get lost (usually) forever. It's rare that you can come back to a good idea later and 1) it hasn't already been done and 2) you even remember it.
  • Setting boundaries. "A boundary is something you tell someone else you will do, and it requires them to do nothing." – Dr. Becky Kennedy. I love this reframing of boundaries. She's talking in the context of parenting, but this is very true in life. Boundaries are what you do when someone steps across them. They are something you can totally control enforcing. If you can't, then it's not a boundary—you're just entering into a negotiation.
  • Your life does not change until you take action. Too many people overanalyze the situation by overthinking. They believe that having more information, data, or time will lead to better results. This isn't true for three reasons: 1) 99.99% of people are just looking for more data, information, or time to confirm their own preconceived ideas. 2) There is usually not a statistically significant amount of information or data available to prove that what you see in old data is actually true. 3) Taking action gets you true information and data much faster. If you want to change your life, do something, measure/reflect, and then do more somethings.
  • Results matter. You have to hold yourself to the results, not the effort, when doing anything over an extended period of time. What I mean is that the things you can't control can only set you back temporarily. If you're truly doing the things you can control, it will show in the results. If you aren't getting results and you are doing the actions, then your strategy is wrong. Change that.
  • Let them figure it out. Stop jumping in to solve problems for people when they’re only asking you to listen. They’ll resent your efforts, and you’ll resent their lack of appreciation. Instead, listen, acknowledge, and validate their feelings. Let them handle the rest (or like the new Clipse album, let God sort 'em out).
  • Do what works (and borrow belief in the interim). The best way to get success in any field is to do what successful people do. Don’t just look at what they do and make it your own. Do exactly what they do—the actions, the preparation, the words they use, the body language, and the follow-up. Don't try to reinvent the wheel to success—just put that wheel on your car and drive. Figure out why it works when you get there. Until you understand, borrow some belief from the successful person until you have enough of your own.

News That Mattered (to me at least)

  • Israel and Palestine. Duane doesn't like genocide, apartheid, or terrorism. I'm also not sure a two-state solution is the way forward (feels very jim crowe-esque). It's also hard to see the common ground they will find to find a way forward. It's made me sad to think about because I care but genuinely don't know what to do.
  • 2024 Presidential Election. The best framing I've heard from this is to always look at the candidate, the policies, and the tactics. When it came to who won, those mattered a lot and trying to understand those reasons could be a helpful way to think about how we shape the future we want.
  • Kendrick's masterful takedown of Drake. Kendrick was the better rapper with better strategy. At some point in hip-hop, you gotta understand the core tenets of it and I (still) don't think Drake does. Knowledge of self is the last pillar and most important one. That's where he lost.
  • The Chiefs' quest for immortality. I, personally, am rooting for the 3-peat. I love to see people putting their mark on history.
  • Milei's chainsaw approach to government in Argentina. Agree or disagree, it's worth following what's happening in Argentina as they try to combat inflation and reignite an economy. What I like about Milei is his very well-researched and nuanced understanding of economics. He isn't just running on hope, he has a plan. Whether his plan will "work" and work for those who need it most is yet to be seen. But, it's impacting the rest of the world and how American politics are shaping up so it's good to understand his approach as a leading indicator of what to expect over the next few years.
  • The rise of Shannon Sharpe from Club Shay Shay to Nightcap to First Take to Instagram Live lol. Katt Williams started of the year and it's been a wild ride ever since.
  • Paris Olympics. LeMVP. Steph night night. Biles' return to glory. ShaCarri and Noah Lyles both highs and slight disappointments. Gabby Thomas did that. The utter and masterful dominance of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Breakdancing,.. eh. Oh, and Snoop Dogg.
  • Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Sad day and we still don't have many answers. Baltimore is resislent and one of the great American cities so they will rebuild
  • United Healthcare CEO killed. Wild event and an even wilder trial is about to occur.
  • Diddy arrested. One word - baby oil.
  • Total solar eclipse. One of the coolest natural phenonom I've been aware of in my life time. Take advantage of these moments as a reminder that there's much bigger things out there in this world than yourself.
  • Lots of RIPs.. but a couple of the ones that hurt me the most were Quincy Jones, James Earl Jones, Bill Cobbs and John Amos.

Podcasts to Explore

Shows

Some new ones made the list this year and some are still timeless. Ones worth subscribing to are:

  • Founders
  • Acquired
  • The Diary of a CEO
  • Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant
  • Retirement Starts Today
  • The Right Time with Bomani Jones
  • Nightcap / Club Shay Shay
  • The Economics of Everyday Things

Individual Episodes

Best of the best (top 4)

Other great ones:

Books to Read

This was a weird book year for me. I’ve shifted most of my knowledge acquisition to podcasts and interviews, but I still enjoy picking up a good book and diving into it. Most of my reading this year was technical and focused on business, so there wasn’t much room for leisure reading. That said, here are a couple I did get around to that were worth exploring.

  • The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. These principles are valuable for all relationships. Reading this made me realize how much growth I can achieve in the area of communication. It’s a never-ending journey.
  • Why Nations Fail. If you read enough news, it’s easy to worry about America being in decline. If that resonates with you, it’s worth learning why other empires have fallen and identifying the early warning signs. The problems are fixable—it just takes work.
  • Unleash the Power Within. The gist of it is that Tony Robbins can sometimes come across like Miss Cleo for self-improvement enthusiasts—but he’s far from that. Everyone would benefit from listening to this book. In my opinion, it’s better than years of therapy (and it’ll also make your therapy more valuable if you choose that route). My biggest takeaways are: if you want real, lasting change, you must first change your physical state (go outside, walk, breathe, stand, or go to a new location), then change your beliefs, and finally take massive action to validate that new belief to yourself. And live happily ever after, I suppose… (okay, maybe not quite, but it’ll set you on the path to greatness).

Articles/Videos To Read/Watch

Music to Listen To

Playlist: [Apple Music | Spotify]

There are two categories I want to highlight this year: those who created amazing art and those who made great music.

Three artists this year should be commended not just for creating great music but for producing incredible visuals, themes, and soundscapes that pushed them to greater creative heights. Another way to put it is that they created an aesthetic to accompany their music.

Other excellent music came out too. My top 3 are:

  • Loosies - Amber Mark
  • GNX - Kendrick Lamar
  • Lungu Boy - Asake

Individual Songs

  • Wait So Yeah - Amber Mark
  • Dope Boy - Young Thug & Nigo
  • Euphoria - Kendrick Lamar
  • Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar
  • TV Off - Kendrick Lamar
  • Like That - Future, Metro Boomin, & Kendrick Lamar
  • Hollon - GloRilla
  • How I Look - GloRilla and Meg the Stallion
  • Sweeter - Masked Wolf
  • Sticky - Tyler, the Creator, GloRilla, Sexxy Redd, & Lil Wayne
  • Witchy - KAYTRANADA & Childish Gambino
  • Love Me JeJe - Tems
  • The River - Maleah Joi Moon & Hell's Kitchen Cast
  • Like You'll Never See Me Again - Maleah Joi Moon & Chris Lee
  • Home - The WIZ Cast Album

Other albums to check out:

  • GLORIOUS - GloRilla (+ Ehhtang Ehhtang)
  • Mutt - Leon Thomas
  • Love Heart Cheat Code - Hiatus Kaiyote
  • Born in the Wild - Tems
  • Hell's Kitchen (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • Might Delete Later - J. Cole
  • Tyla+ - Tyla
  • Fine Ho, Stay - Flo Milli
  • Leon - Leon Bridges
  • Jaguar II: Deluxe - Victoria Monet

That's a wrap on the year of 2024. I leave you with one final question from James Clear:

💡
What if you stopped looking for new ideas and simply focused on the best idea you have right now?

Leave today better than yesterday, welcome to 2025 ✌🏽. ❤️. 📈. 🤲🏾.

...

Bonus - some great visual artists to be inspired by:

Stan Squirewell

MANON

Alex Peter Idoko

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