As promised in last week’s email, here is my 2025 Year in Review!
Last year was a big decision of leaving medicine, and this year was another big year of trying to figure out exactly what to do with my life, moving to NYC, and starting a “real” job. Here are some highlights:
- I moved to NYC at 31 years old
- I tore my ACL playing soccer
- I entered the corporate world as a consultant in life sciences
- I discovered the amazing world of surfing
- I published a book
- I expanded my courses and coaching, which ~doubled my internet income
Here’s my 2024 year in review if you’re curious.
(Picture of NYC from my balcony!)
The Wins
The biggest win for me has been paying more attention to what is interesting and not interesting to me. It is something I’ll fight with forever, but realizing when something is for me or isn’t for me is one of the biggest wins ever (including actually taking action based on those feelings). Other stuff:
- I moved to NYC: NYC is cool! I think the highs are very high: meeting new people, seeing amazing things, going to world-class events, eating some of the best food in my life, wandering the city for hours and hours, running along the west side highway, and this can all be in just one day.
- I started a consulting job: Luckily (thanks to YouTube and my parents paying for my school), I’m mostly financially secure. However, I’ve always wanted to interact with the “big” corporate players and learn more about how the life sciences and healthcare world operates at the top level. It is eye-opening, fast-paced, and exciting. I’m not sure if this will be my life, but, for now, I’m enjoying it.
- I made the most money I’ve ever made in a year from the internet: I spent a lot of time and money on education and improving my internet marketing and business skills, and it paid off (although a large chunk is now going to rent in NYC and taxes). Finally, using things like cross-selling, up-selling, lead magnets, coaching has made this year the most profitable internet year ever for me. It makes me really excited to start my own business, not attached to my name. Not only for the money, but also because I learned I can make an impact at a global scale with skills I can learn and execute myself or with a small team within a couple of months.
- I put on more weight and muscle: I’m the heaviest and strongest I’ve ever been. As of writing this, I’m 173 lbs, now wear size “mediums” instead of “smalls,” and my chest size has gone from 37.5″ to 40″. I think the key has been protein shakes in the morning 5 out of 7 days a week, creatine, no alcohol, sleep, and more frequent lifts.
- I didn’t drink alcohol for 365 days: In 2 days, I’ll have gone the entire year with no alcohol. As a sleep and health freak, I know this was a good move. As someone who struggles to put myself out there socially, it made it slightly more difficult, but it showed me I can put myself out there stone-cold sober. Next year I will drink alcohol, but only drink red wine, and max at 2 glasses of wine 1x a week (if that). When I go “out out” with friends, I will still say “I don’t drink,” and order bitters and soda.
- I discovered surfing: holy moly, I’m in love! I surfed in Hawaii with friends and would have seriously considered leaving everything and just surfing for a year if I hadn’t torn my ACL. This may be something happening in the near future…
Some buys I loved (not sponsored):
- All-clad frying pan: I used to use non-stick everything but they would eventually breakdown and who knows how much of the non-stick coating I was actually eating! These take a little bit of learning, but after I got the hang of it, I learned why most professional chefs use stainless-steel / plain metal pans.
- Fountain pens: my new obsession! I have 100+ of these now with my current favorites being the e95s fine, Franklin Christoph Model 20 + Nagahara Needlepoint, Pilot Metropolitan fine, Sailor 1911, and Diplomat with gold
- Midori notebooks: I use a chronological notebook every day, love it!
- First Lite sweater: a warm sweater, introduced to me by my brother, that has quickly became my favorite sweater ever. Made of 100% wool that maintains warmth even when wet.
- Physical books: I used to load everything onto my Kindle, but now I much prefer to have the real physical books. I load up my bookshelf and I alternate and switch between the physical books.
- Behind the TV lights: makes the viewing experience so much more fun!
- Phillips Hue lights everywhere + Alexa: I have a couple of routines that automatically turns my apartment lights on or off when I enter the apartment, tells me the weather and things like that when I wake up, and more and more automations.
- Holy Lamb Organics Mattress Pad: makes my bed the coziest ever. This goes under my Eight Sleep.
- A big TV and a big couch: for a long time, I rented a tiny couch and watched an old TV. Couches and TVs aren’t that expensive and it really makes a difference when watching a movie Sunday afternoon (just watched Seven Samurai, The Diddy documentary, and my 15th repeat of all 10 seasons of Adventure Time).
- Expensive gym classes and yoga classes: in NYC these classes are expensive but I love them, it gets me out of the house, I exercise, I see pretty people, I meet up with friends, it’s so worth it!
- A surfboard (just to look at) and i’m already planning to buy my next board (is this the right one? surf pro’s steer me right! I’m a newb)
- AirPods Pro 3s: I say it a lot, but these are life-changing; auto pause and play on removal, noise reduction, ambient sound silencing, battery life, customizability, hearing testing… love em’.
- Waking Up App Sam Harris: my favorite meditation app I’ve used, I do the daily meditation and then have been listening to James Low, Joseph Goldstein, and anything by Sam Harris as supplementary podcasts.
- Roots App: the best phone-blocking app I’ve ever used.
- Viberg boots: I introduced these to my dad in the past year, and he’s already in love with them. Quality boots will last you a lifetime. These service boots will never go out of style.
- Norse projects everything: if you have the dosh, Norse Projects has been the most consistent brand I’ve ever bought clothes from. Sweaters, beanies, and jackets are a few of my favorite things.
- Mac whisper: introduced to me by my friend Thomas Frank, this is the best voice-to-text software I’ve ever used.
(Me couch-bound after surgery, getting my knee through the ranges of motion!)
The Losses
The biggest loss this year is of my poor anterior cruciate ligament. Have you ever thought about yours? No?! Be grateful! It could disappear in an instant…
- I tore my ACL: I was wearing firm-ground cleats on a turf field (NEVER DO THIS), and my left foot planted and got stuck as I was turning left. I heard two “pops,” which were my ACL shearing at the femoral head. It wasn’t that painful, but the recovery is still going on! I received a quad autograft (they took part of my quad tendon and used it as a new ACL), and I’m very close to being 100% again. But the injury forced me to cancel my summer of surfing. Also, I’m not sure if psychologically I’ll be ready to play soccer ever again, which is sad because I absolutely love a good bit o’ footy.
- YouTube viewership is down: my YouTube viewership has gone from around ~500k views a month to ~200k views a month. Nothing awful, but this if from the quality of my videos maintaining, only posting once every two weeks, and I think a little disconnect about what “Zach Highley’s” videos are about. More to come!
- The city is overwhelming me / I feel like I’m running out of time: The city of New York is something unique. The highs are very high (as above), but the lows feel quite low. I sometimes feel like I am spending insane amounts of money to wake up, go to the gym, go to work, and come home, just to repeat it again. I’ve lived in cities for the past 11 years of my life and feel like I might just be done with them. That in combination of wanting to surf and explore the world, and a completely new career/job has made me overall feel overwhelmed. I will give NYC more time (maybe a year) but after that I’m not sure.
(Me eating pizza on the west-side highway with some of my best friends!)
Some things I wasted money on (not sponsored):
- Our Place Pans: the non-stick coating simply didn’t work after ~100 uses. Tim Ferriss recommended this and I bought them and am now dissapointed and back to stainless steel pans.
- Cotton socks: buy wool socks, so much better.
- Lulu underwear: they make great shoes, shorts, and shirts, I thought the underwear would be good but NOPE, super uncomfortable. Smartwool are much better.
- Bad blueberries: how does anyone know when they are good or bad blueberries?? I usually aim for the Jumbo ones, and even then sometimes they are bad.
- Blackout curtains: they never work, I ended up nailing the curtains into the wall to make it truly blackout.
- Origin Finance App: I spent ~$200 on this and find myself NEVER using it. Much better for me to track my own finances and use QuickBooks for my accountant.
2026 Goals
As I said last year, I’m not a big fan of “output goals.” I’m more of a fan of “input goals.” Outputs are very hard to control and can distract from what actually moves the needle, the work you put in.
Professional Goals
- Excel at my current job, learn as much as I can by being on a variety of projects, and meet as many people as I can
- Launch 3 startups (not attached to my name), with one being a physical product
- Figure out my life plan for the next year, with where, when, and how long I’m going to be in certain places
Personal Goals
- Get more involved in NYC by at least once a month going to a museum, event, show, or “NYC thing”
- Max out at 1 hour of scrolling a day (as tracked by my phone), meditate 15 minutes a day, read 30 minutes a day
- Continue to exercise (this is going well) as I am
- Put myself out there more socially.
Bottom Line
Overall, I’m feeling mixed about the last year, compared to the year before, when I felt stellar. Am I moving in the right direction? Where is YouTube going? Will I have to do a normal path? Or can I really commit to doing the not-normal thing? I’m not sure.
Thank you, everyone, for your support and for following me for the past 5 years.
Wishing you all a fantastic 2026!
Love,
Zach
