Sovereign: Your Goal for 2026

We don’t have time to wait for rescue or for things to sort out; we need to take action to adapt as we always have.

As we look forward to 2026, we’ll soon see that familiar annual obsession with one topic — change.

Resolutions or not, the beginning of a new year provides a bright-line opportunity for self-reflection and intentional growth. The keywords being, of course, reflection and intentional. Because those two words separate meaningful transformation from aimless drift.

The most important takeaway from the recently-completed Midlife Identity Remix series is that change and growth are definitely possible at midlife. In fact, change is going to happen anyway — might as well steer it.

Another key lesson from the series is that change starts with proactively adopting a new identity. That is the crucial shift that turns mere resolutions into reinvention, whether large or small.

By starting first with who you want to become, you’re able to form new habits, break damaging routines, and more naturally achieve goals as part of a focus on process, not short-term benefits. As the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus said:

First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do. For in nearly every pursuit we see this to be the case.

Here at Further, we talk about pursuing big changes. Not in terms of dreams and aspirations, but practical steps toward economic and personal liberty that a quickly evolving world demands.

Starting an expertise-based business that can be run from anywhere, creating geographic optionality that allows for perpetual travel or strategic relocation, living the best life possible now instead of waiting for some “golden years” retirement that likely won’t materialize… all of these are just pragmatic risk management at this point.

Twenty-five years ago it would have sounded like some sort of libertarian fever dream. But for people currently at midlife, it can be the difference between a dignified third act and economic desperation.

Coincidentally, back in 1999 that “fever dream” was articulated by authors James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg. The Sovereign Individual outlined a radically different emerging world, and while the predictions seemed outlandish at the time, they have largely come true.

Here’s what the book correctly predicted:

• Cryptocurrency and Digital Money

• The Gig Economy and Remote Work

• Device Convergence (aka the Smartphone)

• E-commerce and the Cybereconomy

• Personalized Media and Filter Bubbles

• Non-Institutional Online Education

• Investment-Based Citizenship

• Rising Income Inequality

The one major thing Davidson and Rees-Mogg got wrong was their bet on the complete collapse of the nation-state. In many cases, nationalism has intensified as some people look to national identity for stability amongst rapid and intensifying technological and political change.

But then there’s the group of people that the book correctly identified. The growing class of digitally-powered nomads, expats, and cosmopolitan people who view themselves as citizens of the world, whether by design or necessity.

It’s essentially what author Nassim Nicholas Taleb would call “antifragility” at the individual level. When one jurisdiction becomes hostile to your interests (escalating cost of living, crushing healthcare system, gun violence, age discrimination, and political instability), you have the ability to shift to somewhere that’s a better fit.

We’re not engaging in libertarian cosplay. This is fundamentally a pragmatic survival strategy for middle-aged people caught in a transitional period known as the Longevity Squeeze.

We don’t have time to wait for rescue or for things to sort out; we need to take action to adapt as we always have. And the important thing to internalize is that our generation is perfectly suited to not only survive, but thrive… if we take action.

So, let’s take a moment to catch our breath. Celebrate the ones we love. Reflect on what we got right this year, but also soberly acknowledge the very real threats we’re facing.

And then, let’s hit the ground running in January. Vow to commit just one hour a day toward launching your expertise-based business, which is the ignition sequence that gets everything else off the ground.

By the summer of 2026, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve accomplished. All you have to do is start and take small steps in the right direction.

Happy Holidays, and I’ll talk to you again soon.

Keep going-

Brian

P.S. Ready to transform your expertise into location-independent income and upgrade your life at midlife? Further Premium gives you the complete roadmap, with business building instruction, financial planning advice, expat guidance, and more.

further: flashback

🎶 Run-DMC – Christmas In Hollis, A Very Special Christmas, 1987 🎶

Christmas In Hollis is featured in that heartwarming holiday classic, Die Hard.

John McClane: “Don’t you have any Christmas music?”

Argyle: “This *is* Christmas music!” (YouTube)

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