Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

Episode: 8 Lessons I Learned in 2025 (Building BuildWitt #38) – DT 413

Host: Aaron Witt
Date: February 2, 2026

Episode Overview

In this special solo episode, Aaron Witt, founder of BuildWitt, reflects on his most meaningful personal and professional lessons from 2025. Drawing on challenges, business decisions, and travels, Aaron candidly analyzes the impact of hardship, faith, leadership changes, and the universality of people in the Dirt World. The episode offers a raw and honest account of wrestling with uncertainty, accepting hard truths, and embracing the winding paths of entrepreneurship and self-development.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Reflection and Year-End Downtime

• Aaron cherishes the two weeks at the end of the year not for the holidays themselves, but for the chance to pause, organize, and reflect deeply (00:40).
• He references the idea of "separation season," seeing it as the best time to ramp up while others slow down.
• Quote:

  "The more I want, the more you want, the more you've got to give. And it's the best time of the year to give maximum effort while everybody else is starting to ease off the gas." (01:05)

2. Lesson One: Daily Bible Reading—A Foundation of Peace

• In 2025, Aaron read the Bible every day for the first time, re-engaging with faith after years of distance (03:10).
• Despite understanding only a fraction, he felt a newly found peace, clarity, and responsibility—a foundation he felt lacking in his twenties.
• Quote:

  "I found something through this process that I did not expect, and that was peace. I feel a new, profound sense of calmness, of clarity, and responsibility. I can't explain it, but I feel it in a very tangible way." (04:50)

3. Lesson Two: Accepting What You Cannot Control—Family and Individual Responsibility

• Shares a personal story: his father has not spoken with him for four years (06:50).
• Realized after much pain that he cannot control anyone else's actions but his own.
• This realization shifted his public speaking theme from teamwork to individual responsibility.
• Quote:

  "All I have is me, my actions and my reactions... If we want the world to be better, we need to be better. The only person I can control is me." (08:00)

4. Lesson Three: Submission Over Explanation

• Aaron describes himself as logical, always seeking to analyze and rationalize problems (09:45).
• Learned in 2025 that some things simply have no explanation, and that’s okay—sometimes submission and acceptance of the process are more important.
• Quote:

  "Not everything needs an explanation. Submission and acceptance of the process are what matters." (10:22)

5. Lesson Four: Respecting the Role of Time and Reality in Building a Business

• After selling the creative side of BuildWitt, they declared themselves a software company—only to realize a name doesn’t instantly make it so (11:10).
• Recounts an "all-out ass whooping" in 2025, learning that overworking does not speed up meaningful progress; time is an essential ingredient.
• Quote:

  "Sheer effort does not defeat Father Time. It doesn’t... In 2025, I built a much healthier respect for time because it’s a significant component in doing anything significant." (13:05)

• Highlights the classic Lincoln allegory:

  "Just because we called ourselves a software company doesn’t make it so." (11:33)

6. Lesson Five: Passing the CEO Torch—The Value of the Right Leadership

• Early in 2025, Aaron realized following a call from Randy Blunt that it was right to ask Randy to become CEO (14:44).
• Contrary to past beliefs about needing to personally lead, Aaron now sees strength in recognizing the best person for the job, even if that’s not himself.
• This allowed him to focus on his real strengths: branding, storytelling, and industry engagement.
• Quote:

  "Everybody's like, 'Man, that must have been such a hard decision.' I'm like, 'No, not at all. Because it's so clearly right. It's so clearly right.'" (16:39)

7. Lesson Six: The Universality of People in the Dirt World

• Aaron traveled internationally more than ever: Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Europe, Canada, UAE, etc. (17:20)
• Was continually struck by the core similarities among people in construction/mining—pride, purpose, and family aspirations—across cultures.
• Quote:

  "No matter their differences... they share these profound fundamentals: pride, purpose, and the desire for their family to do better. And I don't even need a common language with these people." (18:51)

8. Lesson Seven: Brutal Honesty and Accepting Ugly Realities

• Reflects on how the sale of the business triggered a tumultuous year.
• The turning point: engaging in "brutal conversations" and being willing to "call our baby ugly"—accepting difficult truths.
• Only by facing reality candidly did progress become possible.
• Quote:

  "Reality is. It's reality. It doesn't care how you feel about it, what you say it is. So the faster you get on board with it, no matter how ugly, and work with it rather than against it, the faster you'll be in a better place." (21:36)

9. Lesson Eight: You Can’t Motivate People Who Aren’t Self-Motivated

• After a decade of growing as a leader and a person—“touching every damn stove imaginable”—Aaron recognizes he can’t create motivation in others (23:20).
• Accepting this brought initial frustration, but ultimately clarity and focus: pour into those already hungry to learn and grow.
• Quote:

  "I can't motivate people that are not self-motivated. I can't do it. And it sucks. It is so frustrating... But that's because it's on their timeline, not mine." (24:21)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Faith and Peace:

  "I feel like this was the foundation that I lacked as a man in my 20s. And I'm really grateful I have it going into my 30s." (05:33)

• On Control:

  "All I can do is my best. The outcome is out of my control, is honestly irrelevant. All that I can do is my best effort." (07:49)

• On Facing Hard Truths in Business:

  "Until we accepted reality for what it was, nothing was going to change. Reality is... it's reality." (21:30)

• On Motivation:

  "That was a really important lesson for me. And that was the final lesson of 2025." (25:25)

Important Timestamps

• 00:40 – Aaron explains why he loves year-end downtime ("separation season")
• 03:10 – Starts lesson one: daily Bible reading and its impact
• 06:50 – Discusses estrangement from his father and lesson on personal control
• 09:45 – Lesson on the limits of logic and need for acceptance
• 11:10 – Sale of BuildWitt Creative and harsh lessons about time
• 14:44 – Transition of CEO role to Randy Blunt
• 17:20 – Insights from global travels and discovering common threads in the Dirt World
• 21:36 – The necessity of brutal honesty in business realities
• 23:20 – The limits of motivating others and focusing on leadership by example

Tone and Style

Aaron Witt’s voice throughout is candid, slightly self-deprecating, and relentlessly honest—balancing humor with vulnerability. He speaks directly, uses memorable analogies, and doesn’t shy away from sharing pain, making the episode both compelling and relatable for industry professionals and entrepreneurs alike.

Final Thoughts

Aaron ends the episode energized about 2026, ready for its inevitable challenges, and proud of the team that survived a "kick in the nuts" of a year. He extends gratitude to listeners—those building critical infrastructure—and reaffirms his commitment to supporting the Dirt World.

Closing Quote:

"It's going to be one kick in the nuts after another like every other year. But I'm settling in now. I'm like, alright, cool. Yeah. What next? Let's go. Good. Let me have it. I'm ready, man." (26:10)