Podcast Summary

Podcast: Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod
Episode: 616 – How to Prepare NOW for Your Best Year Ever
Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Hal Elrod

Overview

In this motivational solo episode, Hal Elrod makes a compelling case for taking action before the new year starts to create momentum for your best year ever. He shares personal stories, key mindset shifts, and actionable strategies to help listeners reflect on the past year, maintain positive habits through the holidays, and enter 2026 strong—mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Hal emphasizes that it’s not about perfection or “all or nothing,” but about intentional, daily alignment with your goals, even (especially) during the holiday season.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Starting Before the New Year

• Timing Is Everything: Hal encourages listeners to start preparing for the new year in December rather than waiting until January 1st, arguing that finishing the year with strong habits and intentionality builds vital momentum.
• Creating December Momentum:
  • “If you want the next year to be the best year of your life… you don’t want to wait until January 1st, 2nd, 3rd to actually start preparing yourself mentally, physically, emotionally and logistically for your best year ever.” (04:38)
  • He recounts how his best sales months at Cutco were always in December, underlining the compounding effect of finishing strong.

2. Finding Balance During the Holidays

• Avoid All-or-Nothing: Hal stresses the importance of enjoying the holidays while still maintaining core habits:
  • “I’m all about cruising and taking it easy during the holidays, but I don’t think it’s an all or nothing pursuit, right? It’s not about being lazy and just getting into the holiday mindset... it’s about balance.” (03:00)
• Practical Example: Hal plans to stay up later to spend time with his family but will continue to wake up early and practice his Miracle Morning routine throughout the holidays. (21:00)

3. Keystone Habits: The Miracle Morning

• Miracle Morning as a Cornerstone:
  • Hal highlights the Miracle Morning as a “keystone habit” that stacks six impactful practices (silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing).
  • “The beauty of the Miracle Morning is that you’re doing all six of them or upwards of all six of them… and that alone is a keystone habit that stacks six really impactful habits.” (13:15)
• Encouragement: Listeners are invited to focus their Miracle Morning practices specifically on preparing for 2026. (53:30)

4. Reflection and Goal Setting for the New Year

• How Hal Reflects: He reads through his own journal entries from the past year, celebrating successes and learning from mistakes.
• Quotes:
  • “Reflection is the first one: I always reflect on my year.” (23:53)
  • “What are some of the things that I really did good, that I feel really good about, that I want to celebrate and I want to acknowledge myself for? What are some of the things… I can learn from?” (25:10)
• Evolving Approach to Goals:
  • Hal suggests focusing on who you want to be and the daily habits you want to maintain instead of outcome-based goals.
  • “It’s really just setting a goal as a commitment to an ongoing activity... my goals are often more about who do I want to be, how do I want to show up, what habits do I want to maintain every day?” (29:06)

5. Deepening Spiritual Practice & Listening to Inner Wisdom

• 30-for-30 Practice: Hal shares how he’s doing “30 minutes in silence for 30 consecutive days” as a combination of meditation and prayer.
• Listening to the “Soul’s Whisper”:
  • He tells a story about making space in his schedule for meaningful activities (like playing pickleball with a close friend) after consulting his inner voice through journaling and meditation.
  • “I only hear it [my soul’s whisper] when I’m in periods of peaceful, purposeful silence. And so for me, right now, I’m spending more time in silence. 30 minutes a day, minimum.” (41:37)
• Balancing the Practical and the Spiritual:
  • Hal unveils that his next book, The Miracle Life, will focus on practical steps for living in alignment with what matters most, informed by his spiritual journey.
  • “I want to make sure I do that in this next book, The Miracle Life. The subtitle…is how to live each day in alignment with what matters most to you.” (46:50)

6. Concrete Action Steps for Listeners

• Daily Practice for Alignment:
  • Key Question: “What can you do each day to be in alignment with who you need to be to make this next year the best year of your life?” (50:10)
  • Hal invites the audience to focus their Miracle Morning S.A.V.E.R.S. specifically on preparing for 2026 by reflecting on 2025, clarifying aspirations, and listening to their own inner guidance.
• Let Go of Others' Expectations:
  • Referencing Mel Robbins’ Let Them Theory: “Don’t let other people’s expectations dictate how you live your life. Let them be upset, let them be disappointed. Let them judge you, but live true to who you are.” (55:00)
• Final Reminder:
  • “Do not choose this all or nothing mentality where you’re like, ‘I’m just gonna let everything go…’ Enjoy all the things, stay up late, do it all and dedicate time each day… to preparing yourself mentally, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually to make this new year the best year of your life while you enjoy every moment with your loved ones during the holidays.” (57:02)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On preparing early:

  • “If you want next year to be the best year of your life… you’ve got to start acting that way in December so that you create momentum, you create confidence, you create the right mindset, you create the right habits going into the new year so that you go into the new year with momentum.” (06:05)

• On journaling and listening to intuition:

  • “It wakes me up very often. It’s a very subtle soft whisper, but it’s usually pretty clear… I call these divine downloads because it’s like I don’t think about this, it comes to me.” (37:45)

• On not waiting for the perfect time:

  • “You cannot wait until after the holidays… Just dedicate time each day to preparing yourself mentally, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually to make this new year the best year of your life.” (57:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening and Why Start Now: 00:02 – 07:00
• Holiday Balance and Avoiding All-or-Nothing: 03:00 – 13:30
• Keystone Habits/The Miracle Morning: 13:15 – 21:00
• Reflecting on the Past Year: 21:00 – 29:00
• Goal Setting vs. Habit Commitment: 29:00 – 34:00
• Spiritual Practice and Listening to Inner Wisdom: 34:00 – 46:00
• The Miracle Life – Upcoming Book Insight: 46:30 – 50:00
• Action Steps & Mel Robbins “Let Them Theory”: 50:00 – 57:00
• Final Motivation and Sign Off: 57:00 – End

Conclusion & Takeaways

Hal Elrod’s central message is clear and actionable: Don’t wait for January to start crafting your best year. Maintain a balance between enjoying the holidays and being intentional with core habits, especially the Miracle Morning. Use reflection, journaling, and time in silence to clearly establish what you want for 2026 and who you want to be. Act daily—however small—to align with your truest self, and remember: it’s not about being perfect; it’s about being intentional and consistent.

Key Question for Listeners:
“How do I prepare to make 2026 the best year of my life, and what daily actions can I take to become the person I need to be to achieve that?”

For more: Visit halelrod.com/podcast for additional resources, show notes, and transcripts.