Minute With Mallon: Before You Step Into 2026… 🎆✨🎉

Welcome to Minute with Mallon! 

Dear friends, 

As we wrap up another year and head into 2026, I want to pause for a moment and simply say thank you! Your support, your loyalty, and the fact that you take a few minutes each week to read these newsletters — it means more to me than you know. You’re the reason this community continues to grow, and I’m genuinely grateful you’re on this journey with me.

Over the past year, we’ve dug into a lot together — tools, ideas, and strategies designed to help you lead better, live better, and think better. My hope is that you didn’t just read them… but that you began applying them, even in small ways, so that they helped you become a more grounded, effective, and intentional leader. As we walk into 2026, my prayer is that you keep growing, keep stretching, and keep becoming the person God designed you to be. May this next year bring you clarity, momentum, and a whole lot of joy!

Below, I’ve included a couple of the commitments I made to myself at the beginning of the year — things I held myself accountable to, based on Pearson’s Law, which we talked about a few months ago. I share them each year to keep myself accountable to doing what I say I’m going to do!

My 2026 Reading/Learning Goal:

Well, this was one of the big ways I chose to grow in 2025!

I set a goal to read 35 books… and ended up finishing 51! The ones I rated a 4🔥 or 5🔥 are absolutely worth picking up if you’re looking for something great to dive into. The 3's are good too!  I try to vet books before I read them, but as you’ll see, every now and then a “not-so-great one” sneaks onto the list. 📖

Here's what the ratings mean: 

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 = Unforgettable – Moved me, changed me, or I’ll reread

🔥🔥🔥🔥 = Excellent – Very engaging, meaningful, and well-crafted

🔥🔥🔥 = Solid – Worth my time, but not a favorite

🔥🔥 = Mixed – Good moments, but didn’t fully land

🔥 = Didn’t Deliver – I finished it, but it lacked insight, impact, or resonance

1. In the Heart of the Sea. Nathaniel Philbrick. 1.8.25. 🔥

2. One of Them. Eti Dayan. 1.26.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

3. Good Energy.  Casey Means. 1.27.25 🔥🔥

4. Treasure Island. Robert Lewis Stevenson.  2.1.25. 🔥🔥

5. Love Warrior. Glennon Doyle. 2.6.25. 🔥🔥🔥

6. Unafraid.  Eddie Penney.  2-10.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

7. Verity.  Colleen Hoover.  2.18.25. 🔥🔥🔥

8. Between Two Kingdoms. Suleika Jaquad. 2.26.25. 🔥🔥🔥

9. Inner Excellence.  Jim Murphy  3-2-25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

10. For Love of Country. Tulsi Gabbard. 3.7.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

11. The Lion Trackers Guide to Life. Boyd Verty. 3.12.25. 🔥

12. The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. Timothy Keller. 3.19.25. 🔥🔥🔥

13. The Couple Next Door.  Shari Lapena. 3.23.25. 🔥🔥

14. An Innocent Client. Scott Pratt. 4.3.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

15. Quiet Your Mind. Jett Stone PhD. 4.10.25. 🔥🔥🔥

16. One More Thing. BJ Novak. 4.13.25. 🔥🔥

17. Native Son.  Richard Wright. 4.29.25. (A tough, heavy book to read.) 🔥🔥🔥

18. Excellence Wins.  Horst Schulze. 5.2.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

19. The Little Liar.  Mitch Albom. 5.5.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

20. The Tenant.  Freida McFadden.  5.18.25. 🔥🔥🔥

21. In Good Faith.  Scott Pratt. 5.26.25. 🔥🔥🔥

22. The Next Conversation.  Jefferson Fisher. 5.27.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

23. Van Goth Has a Broken Heart. Russ Ramsey. 5.30.29. 🔥🔥🔥

24. Theo of Golden. Allen Levi. 6.4.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

25. Unreasonable Hospitality. Will Guidara. 6.22.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

26. The Treasure Principal.  Randy Alcorn.  7.4.25. 🔥🔥🔥

27. A Walk In The Park. Kevin Fedarko. 7.6.25 🔥🔥🔥🔥

28. The Keeper. Charles Martin. 7.17.25. 🔥🔥

29. Injustice For All. Scott Pratt. 7.28.25.   🔥🔥🔥

30. The Call of the Wild. Jack London.  8.1.25. 🔥🔥🔥

31. The Road. Cormac McCarthy. 8.4.25. 🔥🔥

32. Who Not How. Dan Sullivan. 8.9.25. 🔥🔥🔥

33. The River We Remember. William Kent Krueger. 8.14.25 🔥🔥

34. Out of the Pocket. Kirk Herbstreit. 8.21.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

35. My Next Breath. Jeremy Renner. 8.29.25. 🔥🔥🔥

36. Reasonable Doubt. Scott Pratt. 9.9.25. 🔥🔥🔥

37. The New Testament.  God. 9.18.25 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

38. Buy Back Your Time. Dan Martell. 9.22.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

39. The World Played Chess.  Robert Dugoni.  9.23.25.  🔥🔥🔥

40. The Private Equity Playbook. Adam Coffey. 10.14.25.  🔥🔥🔥

41. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Mitch Albom. 10.23.25. 🔥🔥🔥

42. Under Siege. Eric Trump. 10.27.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

43. Unscripted.  Ernie Johnson.  11.5.25 🔥🔥🔥🔥

44. Barbarian Days. William Finnigan. 11.13.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

45. The Nature Fix.  Florence Williams.  11.18.25.  🔥🔥🔥

46. The Nickel Boys. Colson Whitehead. 11.24.25. 🔥🔥🔥

47. As a Man Thinketh. James Allen. 12.4.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

48. Wild. Cheryl Strayed. 12.6.25. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

49. Dark Matter. Blake Crouch. 12.13.25. 🔥

50. Twice.  Mitch Albom.  12.21.25 🔥🔥🔥🔥

51. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.  Nabeel Qureshi.  12.28.25. 🔥🔥🔥

My 2026 Exercise Goal: 

And since 2006, I’ve tracked every workout. For the last seven years, I’ve hit my goal of 300+ exercise sessions a year — and I reached it again this year on December 27th. 🚀

These consisted mainly of lifting weights, pickleball, disc golf, hiking and other assorted things.  If you'd like a fresh copy of this worksheet, you can download it here: Annual Workout Tracker

2025 Workouts!

Something to Ponder:

“The difference between how I feel before my first set in the gym and how I feel after my first set is enormous.  You don't even need a full workout to feel good again. You are 5 minutes away from putting your day on a completely different trajectory.”

James Clear

Something I Saw:

Now let’s make a decision that 2026 is going to be your best year ever. Pick one or two things you want to get better at — not ten, just one or two — and go all-in on them. Small, consistent improvements always beat big, sporadic efforts. Commit to a habit, build a rhythm, get accountability, and move toward the person you want to become. You’ll be amazed at what can happen in a year when you decide to live it on purpose. 

Happy New Year! 🎉🙏✨

Robert