Celebrating the End of an Era (That You Didn’t Even Notice) - Help Wanted

Podcast Summary: Help Wanted

Episode: Celebrating the End of an Era (That You Didn’t Even Notice)
Hosts: Jason Feifer (Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Magazine), Nicole Lapin (Money Expert)
Date: January 1, 2026

Episode Overview

In this New Year’s episode, Jason Feifer shares a personal reflection on crossing unnoticed milestones and the importance of recognizing subtle, radical changes in our lives and work. Rather than giving specific actionable career advice, Jason sets the tone for 2026 by encouraging listeners to appreciate growth—even when progress is invisible or unceremonious. The episode delivers a motivational message about appreciating one's journey and accomplishments, even the ones we only recognize in hindsight.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unnoticed End of an Era

Jason details a humorous but heartfelt story about realizing he had wiped a child’s butt for the last time—a duty he’d performed for a decade as a parent.
The moment of transition—when his youngest child no longer needed help—went by completely unnoticed at the time.
This inconspicuous event triggered Jason’s reflection on the nature of many important milestones in life and work.

“I wiped my last butt in 2025...but I have no idea when it happened. And this is important and I want to share this with you truly, because it is a valuable insight that we should start this year with. Not really the butt thing, but where the butt thing is leading.”
(Jason, 02:16)

2. Most Transformative Moments Don’t Announce Themselves

Many meaningful transitions or achievements appear ordinary or even go entirely unnoticed as they happen. Major growth is often invisible until much later.
Only in retrospect do we realize the impact of routinely small choices or moments.
Examples: the last time you see someone, a small win that sets off a chain of changes, or the gradual acquisition of a skill.

“Most appear ordinary at the time. They're only significant in retrospect. You know, it is the small decision that we make, unaware of its larger consequences.”
(Jason, 03:45)

3. The Reality of Self-Awareness vs. Cliché Positivity

The popular wisdom says to “appreciate every moment.” Jason counters that realistically, we can’t—and sometimes wouldn’t want to—fully savor every mundane or unpleasant task.
Illustrates with his own scenario: “I was not going to pause and appreciate every time I wiped my kid’s butts.”

“Sure, it would have been nice if we marked that final wipe. But realistically, how?...That is not how life works, nice as it would be. And this is not even necessarily a problem to be solved. Instead, I just think that it's a reality to be recognized.”
(Jason, 04:35)

4. Progress is Subtle—but Real

We spend a great deal of energy wanting, striving, and yearning for change, but sometimes we’ve already achieved what we wanted long ago—without noticing.
The turn of the year offers an opportunity to pause and reflect on unnoticed progress over the past 12 months and to appreciate growth that happened incrementally.

“A year is an arbitrary marker in time. But it is nice also as an opportunity to step back and remember where we were 12 months ago and appreciate the growth that followed.”
(Jason, 05:20)

5. Reassurance and Motivation for the Year Ahead

Jason encourages listeners to recognize their victories, even if they didn’t celebrate them at the time.
He offers reassurance: even if growth feels slow or invisible, it is happening.
The message: keep building, keep working—progress is “ever growing.”

“This should feel like a kind of proof when you worry that you aren't progressing fast enough, you can look back in time and see that yes, you did grow. Yes, you did change. Yes, your efforts did lead to something.”
(Jason, 05:40)

6. Looking Forward

Jason wraps up with gratitude for the community, excitement for 2026, and a humorous resolution: no more butt-wiping—at least not until grandkids come along.

“No more buts.”
(Jason, 06:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Unrecognized Change:
“Life's most important moments do not always announce themselves.”
(Jason, 03:31)
On Wanting and Having:
“We spend a lot of time wanting things, chasing things, desiring things, imagining how much life will be better if we finally, finally, finally, finally have those things. But also sometimes we already have them.”
(Jason, 05:07)
On Realistic Reflection:
“The victory may have even happened in some way, but there is still more to do. That victory is ever growing.”
(Jason, 06:13)

Important Timestamps

01:49 — Jason welcomes listeners to 2026 and introduces the main story.
02:16 — Shares the “last butt wipe” anecdote.
03:31-05:07 — Reflects on imperceptible milestones and what they mean.
05:20 — Discusses the significance of looking back over a year.
06:13 — Call to appreciate ongoing growth; setting intentions for the new year.
06:30 — Humorous closing of the main message: “No more buts.”

Episode Tone

Warm, personal, humorous, and sincere. Jason uses parental humor to lead into a broader, motivational message, keeping things relatable and down-to-earth, while never straying into saccharine cliché.

Closing Thoughts

This episode is less a traditional advice segment and more an earnest reminder to reflect, appreciate, and trust the invisible pace of change in career and life alike. Listeners are left feeling reassured that, even when their efforts don’t seem to yield immediate change, they are building something meaningful—often in ways they’ll only see in hindsight.

Transcript

A (0:00)

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B (1:25)

This is Help Wanted, the show that makes your work work for you. I'm Jason Pfeiffer, Editor in Chief of.

A (1:31)

Entrepreneur Magazine and I'm money expert Nicole Lapin. On Tuesdays, Jason, answer the helpline and help callers solve their work problems.

B (1:39)

And on Thursdays I give you one way to improve your work and build a career or company you love.

A (1:44)

And it starts now.

B (1:49)

Well, hey, it's January 1, 2026. Maybe this is the first podcast you are listening to in 2026. If so, let me be the first podcaster to say welcome to 2026. I hope it's a great year. It's going to be a great year. I'm so excited for this year. I'm so excited that you are here with me now. I want to tell you about something momentous and strange that happened to me last year and it is this. I wiped my last butt in 2025. I mean my last, but that isn't my own. I wiped my last butt in 2025, but I have no idea when it happened. And this is important and I want to share this with you truly, because it is a valuable insight that we should start this year with not really the butt thing, but where the butt thing is leading. So just stay with me for a moment. I have two kids. They are ages 10 and 6 and this means that for the past decade, I have been wiping at least one of their butts every day. All while waiting and longing for the time when they can do it themselves. And then in 2025, it happened. The final butt wipe. But I didn't know it at the time of the wipe. Instead, I just wiped my younger son's butt like usual one day. And then he didn't ask me again. Days, weeks, perhaps even months passed before I realized, hey, wait a second. I have graduated into a new phase of life. And this got me thinking. Life's most important moments do not always announce themselves. Sure, some of them do. There is an event, an award, a moment to remember. But most appear ordinary at the time. They're only significant in retrospect. You know, it is the small decision that we make, unaware of its larger consequences. It is the last time that we see someone unaware. It will be the last time. It is the victory that seems so small that we don't even pause to celebrate it, unaware of the new path it has set us down. I am sure that 2025 was full of those for you and for me. Moments we haven't even recognized yet. Moments we may never remember. And yet they mattered. What are we to do about this? The cliche answer would be you pause to appreciate every moment. But let's be realistic. I was not going to pause and appreciate every time I wiped my kids butts. Sure, it would have been nice if we marked that final wipe. But realistically, how? My 6 year old was not going to look up at me from the toilet and say, dad, I appreciate all you've done to manage my personal hygiene. I will take it from here. I mean, that is not how life works, nice as it would be. And this is not even necessarily a problem to be solved. Instead, I just think that it's a reality to be recognized. We spend a lot of time wanting things, chasing things, desiring things, imagining how much life will be better if we finally, finally, finally, finally have those things. But also sometimes we already have them. We got them a while ago and we didn't even notice because there was no clear transition between then and now. A year is an arbitrary marker in time. But it is nice also as an opportunity to step back and remember where we were 12 months ago and appreciate the growth that followed. It came in all those little moments, the ones too small to even recognize at the time, but that have added up to something big and notable and worth appreciating today. This should feel like a kind of proof when you worry that you aren't progressing fast enough, you can look back in time and see that yes, you did grow. Yes, you did change. Yes, your efforts did lead to something. And yes, there is still so much left to accomplish and appreciate, even if it's hard to recognize in the moment. So that is our task for the year ahead, the year that starts right now. Because the victory is there. The victory is ongoing. The victory may have even happened in some way, but there is still more to do. That victory is ever growing. So thanks for spending some of 2025 with Nicole and I on Help Wanted and we are so excited for everything that and we are going to do in 2026. And it starts by me not wiping one more but in my life, I guess until I have grandkids. But that's a long time away. No more buts. Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason.