Read Time: 6 minutes

Happy Sunday 👋🏾,

Wow, what a first week back.

I was meant to be in a school for one day. I ended up there for three.

They’d had an IT migration to the cloud over the summer, and migrations never quite go to plan.

I went in to check that teachers could get to what they needed.

At one point, I was under a desk ripping out monitors and cables, and someone asked, “Should you be doing that?” Look, I have no ego with this stuff. I help where I can.

The pain has been there all week. It’s always there after a flight, and commuting into London on a packed tube didn’t help. All that standing up, I guess.

But I’m feeling a lot better as I write this, and I’m proud of my body.

It held up.

I can’t always trust it now. So when it does what I ask, I’m grateful.

The goals I promised you

I said I’d share my goals for the rest of the year. So here they are.

But before I jump in, why September and not January? Old teacher habits, I think. My year has always started in September.

There are also four months left, and if you’ve been on LinkedIn lately, you’ll have seen people calling this the locked-in season.

I get why. It gets colder and darker, it rains, and whatever you set in January is easy to quietly drop.

So I’m putting mine in writing, where you can all see them.

1 .Launch Happy2Host Africa in October.

I fly out on 15 October and I haven’t finished the itinerary yet. I haven’t booked the venue either.

My Nigerian passport has expired, so I’m trying to renew it in time. I’m not sure it’s going to come back before I fly.

And Sheriden is coming with me. Her first time in Nigeria, seeing the place I call home. She needs her visa sorted too, and she’s just gone back to work this week.

I won’t lie, there’s a bit of stress. You were with me in July when I told you I was scared this might be a mistake. That feeling hasn’t gone anywhere.

2. Get from 81 kg to 77 kg by the end of December.

This is the one I’m nervous to put out there, because a bit of it isn’t in my control. Let me explain.

I’ve put on weight this year. Specifically since May, when I had the epileptic attack. I was on crutches and more or less sedentary, so I wasn’t my active self. Plus, I was enjoying myself.

I hadn’t noticed how much until Sheriden took a photo of me by the pool in Bermuda.

I didn’t realise I looked that round.

Not being able to train didn’t stop me eating like a freak, though. Chocolate, takeaways, and big portions.

I suppose I was getting comfort from the food. I’ve said this to my wife, I think I’m an emotional eater. When I’m stressed, I eat.

I told you in the summer I’d got back into training. In Bermuda I managed one workout. One.

So the reset starts now.

• Training five days a week
• 10,000 steps a day
• Eating in a calorie deficit (I know it sounds like I’m torturing myself, but I’ve done it before)

This isn’t just about how I look. When I’m active, the pain is more manageable and I feel like I can take on the world.

But my body lets me down every now and again, and then I can’t be active. It’s a catch-22, right?

I can commit to showing up. I can’t promise my body will let me.

That’s the bit I can’t control. So I’m reminding myself now that it will happen, and not to kick myself when it does.

3. Write for 30 minutes a week, every week, until the end of the year.

Most of you won’t know this, but about three years ago I started writing a book.

I made a good start, then it got hard. Emotionally hard, with everything I was putting into it.

Then the usual thing happened. Life got busy, and it slid down the list.

The goal this time is discipline. Thirty minutes a week, every week, between now and Christmas. If I do that, finishing it by next August takes care of itself.

4. Put myself back out there as a keynote speaker.

Day to day, I speak on digital strategy and how schools and businesses can get the most out of AI.

While I love that work, I really want to step back onto the stage to speak more on resilience. It’s a topic close to my heart because it’s not theoretical for me. It’s something I live every single day.

(And no, I’m not trying to be a “motivational speaker”. You know how I feel about that label. It’s about sharing my story.)

The people goals

Zeek started preschool this week. It’s insane how much he’s growing, and how quickly.

I now really understand it when parents say treasure the time.

So these don’t fit on a scale or a calendar, but they might be the ones that matter most.

5. One no-work day every weekend. Not even emails, unless something is on fire.

6. A hard stop at 6pm when the family comes in.

7. Date night with Sheriden at least twice a month.

8. More time with my siblings. My baby sister Rebecca is off to Hong Kong for a semester, so that means scheduled video calls. (Really proud of her.)

9.Phone my friends more often rather than instead of messaging them.

That last one matters more than it looks. A WhatsApp is far too easy.

I say that, but I know there are people reading this thinking, “I WhatsApped Lawrence ages ago and I’m still waiting.” If I’m being honest, I’m on my computer and phone all day from the moment I get back from the gym, and I find messages quite overwhelming. (I apologise to those still waiting for a reply. I will try and do better.)

You see someone post online, or they send you a meme on Instagram, and you assume they’re fine.

I want to go old school and actually speak to people on the phone. I think that’s been lost. Even if it’s a five-minute call.

How I’ll keep myself honest

So those are my goals for the next four months. I’m going to try my best to hit each one by doing a little action each week.

The gym one is in my body’s hands, but let’s see how we go.

I’m no expert on setting goals but If this year taught me anything, it’s that the small things you do day to day are what get you there.

At the end of every month I’ll give you a few lines on where these are at. The good and the bad.

Thank you to everyone who replied last week with your goals for the rest of the year. There were a lot of you. It was actually the most responses I’ve ever had to a newsletter.

The common themes were:

• Being more present
• Getting back in shape after enjoying the summer (I’m here for it)
• Growing your personal brand
• Scaling the business, or getting a promotion or a new job

One reply came from a friend who travels a lot for work, a bit like me. His list was detailed, but the one he called most important was simple. Spend more than half his nights in his own bed and be present with his family.

For me, being more present with my family is one of the most important things across all of my goals.

If you haven’t replied yet, it’s not too late. I’ll do my best to keep you honest with the goals you set. Sometimes just typing them up and sending them to someone makes you more accountable.

Reply and let me know.

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Have a great week!

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