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My 2025 Word for the Year Recap

Me (in the circle) at the Charlottetown harbor of Prince Edward Island, June 2025

SIGNIFY was more than my word for 2025; it was both a business name and a compass, reminding me to “make known” what matters most and to live like my life and work are truly important.

Why “Signify” Mattered

Signify has always meant “to make known,” “to be important,” and “to be a symbol of,” which is exactly why I chose it for my business in the first place.

This year, it also became a filter, asking me: Does this choice signify what I value, and is it pointing me toward the life I really want to build?

Work That Signified

My biggest goal for 2025 was returning to full-time self-employment, while shifting my role with Vector Global Logistics to a non-salaried relationship that lent itself to more boundaries.

That change freed up energy to focus on growing Signify again, especially supporting the people and causes that have always been at the heart of my work. I brought on several new clients—including a long-time friend—and it felt incredibly fulfilling to help them succeed in fresh, meaningful ways.

Stepping Into Impact

For the past 18 months or so, I have worked closely with a business coach who helped me prepare mentally and practically for this transition. That preparation made it possible to pivot my services from marketing (a skill I’m grateful for, but not my deepest passion) into Fractional Chief Impact Officer work.

“Fractional” is essentially the newest term for a dedicated contractor who is part of the team but outside the company, bringing specialized expertise to multiple clients. A Chief Impact Officer focuses on the social and environmental impact of an organization, paying attention to both internal and external stakeholders, which is a role I explain more on my company site and now fully inhabit with Vector as well.

Stepping out of Chief Marketing Officer into Fractional Chief Impact Officer at Vector has allowed me to concentrate on the things that light me up—our B Corp Certification, Logistics With Purpose®, charitable giving, emergency response, and other impact-driven projects.

Travel That Meant Something

Travel looked different under the banner of SIGNIFY. After two years of criss-crossing the country, I knew my body—and my chronic health—needed a gentler pace, so I prioritized pet sits of at least three weeks, ideally four or more. That slower rhythm worked beautifully.

I spent over three months in Eastern Canada, where my best friend Heather joined me on Prince Edward Island so we could live out our Anne of Green Gables dreams, and Newfoundland quickly became a new favorite, especially seeing the icebergs up close.

Another large chunk of the year was spent in New England, which continues to charm me with its quaint towns, colonial names, and chilly weather that I truly don’t mind.

There is already exciting travel on the books for 2026, but that story will have to wait. (Follow me on Instagram to see where I go!)

Learning, Community, and Faith

Learning-wise, 2025 was a year of money, finance, and investing—three words that once felt far outside my comfort zone. Near the end of 2024, I read Rich Dad Poor Dad at my coach’s suggestion, and one idea hit hard: I needed to learn how to steward money myself rather than depending entirely on others for financial security.

That insight nudged me into a Dow Janes course, drawn in by their emphasis on values-driven investing, and from there I kept following a trail of resources that helped me feel more informed and empowered. I still have a long road ahead, especially when it comes to long-term planning, but it was a significant step forward.

On the community side, my girlfriends in the Nashville area started a book club. Even though I couldn’t be there in person, I read along from afar and joined the conversation by text. I didn’t always love their picks, but the shared experience helped us stay connected across the miles.

And, spiritually, SIGNIFY called me to my faith in small but meaningful ways. One was that I was able to visit The Ark Encounter on my travels north. That helped me set a great tone for the year. It is an incredible place, and super helpful to visualize things I’ve read in the Bible. Another simple shift was investing in the Abide app, listening to scripture and stories as I fell asleep.

Over time, I’ve learned that simple, consistent practices often carry the most weight, and I tried to let that truth signify my priorities across different parts of my life.

Five Resources to Find Your Word

Read for your own Word of the Year? Here are five resources to help you find it:


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My 2024 Word for the Year Recap

ENGAGE was the word that steadily followed me through 2024—showing up not just as a theme, but as an invitation to lean all the way into my life, work, spirituality, and travels.

Why I Chose “Engage”

I tend to pick verbs for my words of the year, and ENGAGE felt like the natural next step after a 2023 focused on “Go and Grow.”

In fact, during a Logistics With Purpose® podcast interview that I co-hosted featuring author and speaker Sam Horn (listen here), she used the word “engage,” and it immediately sparked for me—because so much of her story around solo travel and purposeful living mirrored my own.

I realized I didn’t just want to keep moving through life; I wanted to participate in it more fully.​

Engaging With Travel

2024 was my second year of full-time travel, and ENGAGE meant being present in new places, not just passing through them.

Like 2023, I went coast to coast again in the US, but also finally made it to Canada for the first time, and—after a lifetime of dreaming—checked a huge bucket list item off by going to the Paris Olympics with my friend Julie. I’d originally applied to volunteer, but when that didn’t work, I had the ability to attend in person, and it was everything I’d ever hoped.

Seeing the Games in person felt like stepping inside a story I’ve watched unfold on TV my whole life. Not to mention seeing them in Paris. It was just magic all-around.

Engaging With Work and Impact

On the work front, ENGAGE looked like re-immersing myself in my own business at www.signify.solutions, taking on more client projects and reconnecting with the heart behind their causes. Client work picked up, and it felt good to roll up my sleeves and be in the trenches again with mission-driven organizations.

At the same time, I continued my part-time role with Vector Global Logistics as Chief Marketing Officer as well as head of giving and impact, and the biggest highlight of my career with them was helping Vector earn our B Corp Certification—no small feat I assure you, and one that now places us among a very small number of certified freight forwarders worldwide.​

Engaging Spiritually and Personally

ENGAGE also showed up in quieter ways: in my spiritual life, relationships, and the way I approached everyday decisions. I admit, sometimes ENGAGE felt exhausting. But remembering the reason why helped me to reframe experiences and choose those that felt most fulfilling in my life.

Finally, unlike most years, I never landed on a single song or scripture to anchor this theme, and that’s okay; it felt like a year to live the word more than label it. Maybe 2025 will bring a new soundtrack and verse to match whatever comes next.

Five Resources to Find Your Word

If you’re interested in finding your own word for the year, here are a few great resources:

  • One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page – A simple, faith-informed framework to help you narrow your focus to one guiding word for the year.​
  • Mountain Modern Life’s “Tips for Choosing Your Word of the Year” – A practical, reflective blog post full of prompts and examples if you feel stuck.​
  • Your favorite Bible app’s verse-of-the-day feature – A gentle daily rhythm that can surface themes or phrases that keep resonating with you.​
  • Dayspring Word of the Year Quiz – A short, reflective quiz that suggests a word based on your hopes, prayers, and priorities for the year ahead.​
  • A trusted friend or therapist – Sometimes the people who know you best can reflect back the word you’ve been circling around but haven’t yet named.
  • Thesaurus.com or AI – If you have a concept but haven’t yet narrowed it down, Thesaurus.com or an AI tool like ChatGPT or Perplexity can help you get to the heart of what you’re trying to express.


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2019 In Review

Kristi Porter's 2019 in ReviewIs anyone else still finding it hard to believe that we’re halfway through February of 2020? A new year, a new decade. Here we are.

Yet, I’m still writing 2019 on everything. Still settling in. Anyone else?

And, I don’t know about you, but I’m still reflecting on last year. It’s super easy to plunge head-long into moving forward, but to properly steward what’s ahead, I need a good grasp on what is behind. I need learn its lessons, so I can avoid the same mistakes.

Well, who am I kidding? There’s probably some of that in my future anyway, as hard-headed as I am, but I’m gonna try.

Here are some of last year’s highlights and lessons:

HEALTH

If you’re new around here, I’ve had chronic health issues since April 2012. Most of them stem from severe adrenal fatigue, but that same year I also got mono and had my gallbladder removed. Dealing with all of these things within a few months of each other devastated my immune system, and I’ve been trying to rebuild it ever since. Additionally, since I’ve had health problems for so long, it’s caused other issues now and again, such as with my thyroid.

So, yep, I get to deal with the general peskiness of getting older along with this kind of junk. Not fun.

Anyway, I try and treat everything naturally. It’s more time-consuming and certainly expensive, but for things like adrenal fatigue, there is no pill. And, when using medication, you’re also primarily treating symptoms anyway, not root issues.

But that’s how I got here. It’s involved a lot of natural treatments, and a whole lot of supplements.

One thing that went well for my health last year was my supplements. We’re always fiddling with them and trying new ones. And I feel like we hit a good (but expensive) mix last year. I certainly still have a lot of ups and downs, but overall, I noticed an improvement—and that’s very good news. I’ll take any improvements I can get.

Also, I started using the Noom app last year. Due to my health issues, it’s harder for me to lose weight, so it’s been a real struggle, both internally and externally. And, of course, I have very little energy on a lot of days, which means exercise is almost nonexistent. But after I got my supplements in good order, I felt like it was time to try again.

I’ve given Noom a try and lost about 12 pounds in the last four months. It’s a slow process, but I have to admit, it’s good to see some movement on the scale and in my clothes. I’m going to keep at it. (My link saves you 20% if you want to try it.)

All in all, it’s progress for my health, and that’s a very good thing.

PERSONAL

Honestly, this is the part of my life that gets the least attention. For better or worse, that’s how it is for me, at least for now.

Since I’m self-employed and work from home, my job takes up a lot of my time and energy, and most days, there’s not a lot left over. I have incredible friends, but I don’t get to see them all that often. Weekends are usually about rest because of working long hours and needing to recover for the sake of my health before the next work week starts.

To some people, that may sound sad. To others, highly relatable. To me, it is what it is.

Anytime I get together with friends, they tend to reiterate a lot of what I’m saying, even though many of them have spouses and kids. People, in general, seem disconnected. It’s become a little cliche to say that we even though we live in a highly-connected world, many people feel disconnected—but I still find it to be mostly true from the conversations I have.

I’m grateful for every time I get to see family and friends, but those are small moments throughout the year.

TRAVEL

Travel is a part of both my personal and work life, so I’m sandwiching it in-between. Travel is one of my absolute favorite things, but I didn’t get to do much of it last year.

2018 was a BIG travel year for me (England/Ireland/Scotland and cross-country by Amtrak, to name a few), so I needed to reign it in last year. Plus, pretty much all of my travel points were gone, ha!

So, last year, I took quick trips to Blue Ridge, Birmingham, and Chattanooga for my quarterly work retreats, and of course, I went to Texas for the holidays as usual, but that’s about it.

I’m not quite sure what 2020 has in store for travel just yet, but I certainly hope I can squeeze in a few more trips this year.

WORK

As someone who is self-employed, this is where I focus a lot of my time. I often work long hours, and it’s certainly not filled with long lunches, trips to the beach, and doing whatever I want—no matter what many people advertise. Again, maybe one day. 🙂

I talk to a lot of entrepreneurs, and my journey seems to be fairly typical. Last year marked three years in business for me, and it’s been quite a ride! According to myself and friends in similar situations, the first two-ish years is all about holding on for dear life and saying yes to everything possible.

The third-ish year is about getting your business model solidified, learning what you like to work on, making sure you have good systems and process in place to keep you moving forward. That’s certainly true for me.

In 2019, I took three online classes for my business. I’m a bit of a compulsive course-buyer, so this was me showing some restraint. 😉

The first class, The Blueprint Model, was about becoming a better business owner. I freely admit that I’m someone who turned a marketable skill (writing) into a business, not someone who had a good head for business and tried to figure out what I should do. The Blueprint Model really helped me with the financial side, which is what I really needed, but also just helped me understand the business-side of my business better. That meant I became a more confident business owner.

The second class was called Partnership Accelerator, and only lasted a month. But it was an extremely packed month! Because my word for 2019 was Synergy, I wanted to work on my understand of partnerships and really use those to my business advantage. The class was really good, but different than I thought it would be. So, it required a change in expectations. Overall, though, I learned a lot and was able to apply that knowledge going forward. And I’m still learning a lot from that company.

The third class was totally unplanned, to be honest, but ended up being awesome. One of the things I decided that I wanted to work on in the latter half of the year was Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That’s because it is a total grind to constantly go out and find new clients. I wanted more clients to come to me, and SEO is a good way to do that.

I heard Meg Casebolt on a podcast, and she was the first person who actually made SEO easy to understand for me. So, I took her free SEOctober challenge, and low and behold, ended up getting a new client via Google that same month! As you can imagine, I was hooked. I poured myself into the challenge, and ending up winning a spot into her Attract & Activate course. I’ve learned a ton over the past couple of months from her, and am excited to now implement this strategy into my business.

Outside of those classes, yes, I did actually manage to get work done. In fact, it was my most profitable year yet! Only, by about $1,100, but I’ll take it, ha!

These three classes, sustaining relationships, and lots of networking were the key to my success last year. And I think they laid a really solid foundation for 2020. I’m still reaping their benefits for sure, and hope to improve on them. (More on this soon!)

Last year was a pivotable year for my company, Signify, and I hope that I can keep up the momentum going. I’m certainly trying hard.

CONCLUSION

So, that’s some insight into last year. As always, it was busy and went quickly. But I’m grateful for the lessons learned, new experiences, and certainly, the improvements along the way.

How was 2019 for you?


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My Word for 2019

My Word for 2019So, we are almost a quarter of the way through 2019, and I’m just getting to tell you about my word of the year! Well, it’s par for the course if you’ve seen my last couple of blog posts. I’ve been playing catchup here on the blog, and this has definitely been on my list to share.

Like many times before, I had my concept figured out before last year finished, but it took a little mulling over. I had an idea, a notion, a feeling—but coming up with the right word took me a little while.

Funny enough, I had to wander all the way back to my very first blog post for my company, Signify, to find the right word. But there it was, just waiting for me to reuse.

The concept was about partnering with others for success. Because, if you read my 2018 recap, you know that last year was a hard business year. It was definitely a series of growing pains.

Here’s one of the reasons why…

This may not surprise you, but I have a tendency to do things on my own. I describe myself as “fiercely independent.” Often, I think this can be a good thing. But, in business, it takes a community to get you to where you need to be, even if you’re a solopreneur like me.

And because my business is so intertwined with my life, the words needed to make sense on both levels. Additionally, if you’ve read my word for the year posts before, I also like my words to be verbs. I like the action-oriented feeling behind it.

The other interesting thing about this year’s word is that it was already a concept I’d been talking a lot about in my business. It was sort of this ongoing conversation I was having with my clients and tribe, and then I looked around, and it worked for me, too.

So, what does this all add up to?

SYNERGY.

It’s a beautiful, little word that illustrates the power of people working together.

In business, it’ll be about partnerships of all kinds, such as working with more people on projects in creative ways or seeking more referrals. I’ll also be doing more guest posts, podcasting interviews, and online interviews like I did last year.

Personally, it’s about building relationships as well as reconnecting with people. I was so busy last year that a lot of the people I love fell by the wayside. Some good friends I only saw once or twice during the entire year. Sad! So, I’m going to work on that.

Welp—there you go! That’s my word!

I’m excited about it, and hopeful for 2019.

What’s your word for the year and why?

 

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Interested in picking your own word for the year, but need some help? Here are some resources that might help:

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My previous words for the year:


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2018 In Review

2018 in Review, by Kristi PorterFriends,

Let me start with an apology. I can’t believe it’s been four months since my last update. Well, actually, yes I can.

I’ve thought about updating you so many times, especially as the end of the year came. But, then it went. And so did the New Year. Work has been crazy, my health has been crazy (per usual), and I frankly didn’t have the energy to be on a keyboard unless it was for my job. Not fun, but there it is.

So many thoughts have been piling up in my head, and today, I finally got a burst of energy where I wanted to sit down and tell you about them. Since last year was a blur, and I was pretty infrequent on updates, I figured I’d just start with a year in review post. So, this should at least get you caught up on what’s been happening here. Hopefully, many more posts to come in 2019!

 

TRAVEL

Okay, let’s start with one of my favorite topics. Last year was an incredible year for travel. That was definitely the thing I had going for me, and very probably, one of the reasons I was so tired. 😉

January: To start the year, I once again kicked things off with a business retreat. I love my quarterly business retreats. They keep me grounded, and allow me to regularly set and review goals with fresh perspective. And I always manage to have some fun as well. For this one, I went to a “resort” (I consider that a loose interpretation) in Northeast Georgia, and stopped by the always entertaining Helen, Georgia, on my way home. (<– Please take a look!)

February/March: Early last year, my friend Raechel and I went to England, Scotland, and Ireland! It was a bucket list trip, and it didn’t disappoint. We obviously covered a lot of ground in two weeks, and I can honestly tell you that I’m ready to go back! Three beautiful countries, wonderful people, and yummy food. We had an absolute blast, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity with a good friend and excellent travel buddy.

March: About 10 days after returning from that trip, I was off to San Diego! This was for a work conference, but I I found a petsitting gig through TrustedHousesitters.com that allowed me to spend about nine days there, without paying for a hotel. (My link gets you 20% off!) The 90 Day Year Live event was pretty amazing, and I hope to go back again this fall. But, if you’ve been around here for a while, you already know how much I love attending conferences!

May: In May, I went to hang out with some of my best friends in their hometown of Clarkston, Tennessee. Several of our other friends all met there for a women’s retreat at their church, and while the retreat was nice, I cherished this weekend for the quality time I got to spend with people I don’t see near enough.

June: For the first time, I took a friend on one of my retreats. She’s also a solopreneur, so we worked and played. It was a different experience to bring someone along, but also a good change for me. We went to the picturesque Dahlonega, Georgia, and had a great time.

July: I went with my best friend and her family to Charleston for a couple of days. I hadn’t been to Charleston in a number of years, so it was fun to go again, and even more fun to be with close friends. If you’re in that area in the future, be sure to stop by the only tea plantation in the US, which is quite different than the tea plantation I visited in India, but still a unique experience. And free tea tastings!

October: Having been gone so much during the first half of the year, I stayed put for a couple of months. But, boy, did I get out of town with a bang! I took another bucket list trip with my aforementioned best friend—a cross-country Amtrak adventure! Heather and I started our journey in San Francisco, and made stops in Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago (where she went home), and New York City. It was another trip I’d wanted to do for a long time, and now I am addicted to train travel! I will definitely be getting back on Amtrak in the coming months. (I also did some retreat tasks on the train.)

October: For the second time, I attended Tribe Conference, an event primarily for writers and creative types. My client and friend was there as well, so that made it extra special. I loved my first year, but thought this one was even better. Hope I can make that happen again this fall as well.

December: The end of the year always means my annual trek to Texas. And I was all over the place this year. I connected in Austin, went on to my mom’s house in West Texas, traveled to Lubbock to see my friends from college, drove with mom to my aunt’s house in the Dallas area, and then mom and I took a day trip to Waco to see all things Magnolia. Whew! That all happened in just over a week, and it was extra tiring due to the head cold I picked up on the front end. But it was good to see everyone and celebrate the holidays.

(For more info on how I make a lot of these trips cheap, check out my post on travel hacking.)

 

HEALTH

Let me follow up my favorite section with my least favorite section. As much as I love to travel, and it fills me up in a way almost nothing else does, it’s also very hard on my body. If you’re new to me, I’ve had chronic health issues for almost seven years. It has taken a toll on me in so many ways, and I’m sure others I’m not even aware of.

The super frustrating thing is that I thought 2018 was going to be a real turning point. In late 2017, I started taking this brand new series of supplements that were helping me in a major way. So, 2018 started off awesome from a health perspective. I saw a leap in progress!

Then, after returning from the UK, I was out of these miracle supplements, so I frantically called my naturopath for a refill. Well, turns out that they’d had a terrific effect on people all over the world. Good news, yes, but it kinda caught the manufacturer off-guard, and they ran out. Like, completely ran out of the main supplement!

So, me and these poor other folks not-so-patiently waited for over six months while they had to regrow the herbs and plants that were in this thing. Ugh. So, progress was made, then stalled, and then after the effects of 20+ days of travel in March, I went back to feeling terrible. Like, I had forgotten what it felt like to feel that bad. It was bad. We tried a few other supplements, but nothing worked as well. And it wasn’t until a day or two before I boarded the Amtrak train that I got a refill.

It also takes a couple of cycles (14 days) to work its way into your system. So, basically, I was in holiday mode before I could tell the difference. It was rough, to say the least. And then I huge work project that occupied most of my days and nights at the end of the year, taking up a lot of extra energy. So, all the high hopes I had for 2018’s health report card were dashed.

Prayers said and fingers crossed that 2019 will be a completely different story. That remains to be seen as I picked up that never-ending head cold over the holidays and followed it up with the flu. Sheesh.

Me and Paula Abdul are always two steps forward, two steps back.

 

WORK

Hmmm, where to begin. Last year was a whopper. As Charles Dickens would say, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

We’ll get the bad stuff out of the way first. It was a rough income year. I was past the 18-month mark in my business, but still learning daily. Things I got right, and definitely things I got wrong.

If you recall, MOMENTUM was my word for the year. And it’s always so interesting how things can turn out very differently than you think. I expected (and worked toward) one thing, and ended up with something different.

The biggest issue was that, unlike 2016 and 2017, I didn’t have enough really big contract clients. I love working with my little guys, and they are who I started my business for, but sometimes it takes the big ones to keep things flush. I did a ton of networking last year, which I’m seeing pay off this year, but it can often be a long-term strategy. (Solopreneurs, small business owners, and freelancers, it’s important to nurture those leads on a ongoing basis—even when things are crazy busy. I neglected that aspect for too long, and it came back to bite me.)

Most of my clients are people I know and referrals, but it still takes time for these things to happen. So, lesson learned. (I hope.)

On to the good stuff! I do really love what I do and who I get to do it with. I work with lots of ideal clients on ideal projects, and am so incredibly grateful for that. No dreading weekdays. Plus, it makes those days when I don’t feel like working much easier.

If you need the crash course on my company: Signify provides copywriting and consulting services to cause-focused organizations, like nonprofits and social enterprises. My goal is for them to get noticed and grow through effective marketing and communications. Additionally, I teach solopreneurs and small businesses how to be more generous through easy philanthropy strategies. It’s fun stuff! And work I deeply believe in.

So, a few of the great things that happened with work last year were:

So, as you can see, it was a big year in a lot of ways.

 

PERSONAL

Well, if you’ve read this far, you may be wondering where I had time for anything personal. And, you’d pretty much be right!

Between travel, work, and health, there wasn’t much left. That’s why this is the smallest segment of this update.

I missed events, hanging out with friends, and many other things due to those trade-offs. Honestly, with the health stuff, I spend most evenings and weekends crashed on my couch. It’s just exhausting, and my body has to gear up for another five days of work.

“Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.” – George Washington, Hamilton 

I’m trying to reach out and be better about maintaining relationships this year. Baby steps.

Isn’t being an entrepreneur glamorous? Sigh. It’s a self-imposed cage at times for sure, but I’m not giving up on a better work-life rhythm. It takes practice.

 

Okay, I think that’s about it! That’s my 2018 in review!

Again, apologies for my delay in updating you. I hope it won’t happen again, but if it does, I just ask for some grace. I’ll be sure to extend it to you as well. 🙂