My top 12 LinkedIn newsletters of 2025 revealed one clear truth: the people who succeed online are the ones who lead with clarity, consistency, and character. Whether it’s navigating AI tools, building authority on LinkedIn, or creating trust at scale, human connection is still the ultimate differentiator. This recap brings together the most powerful insights from a year of content focused on trust, branding, thought leadership, and showing up fully in the age of automation.
I’m sharing this recap to give you one simple, clear place to revisit the insights that mattered most and to carry that momentum into 2026 with intention. This year also marked a major milestone: Rachel B. Lee and I launched the YOUmanize™ Your Brand Podcast, a project rooted in everything I believe about showing up fully as yourself online. That podcast, like this newsletter, exists to help you lead with your story, your values, and your voice.
It’s been a year of growth, alignment, and doubling down on what works: real connection over vanity metrics. It’s also about acknowledging and opening up about the challenges of being a father of 3, a business owner, a leader and a husband.
Whether you read every edition or just a few, my hope is that something here helped you feel more confident, clear, and human in how you show up online. Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of this journey. Wishing you a grounded, joyful end to the year and continued success in building your leadership that feels as good as it performs. Here’s to doing even more of what matters in 2026.
Are You Invisible on LinkedIn Without Even Realizing It?
What happens when you stop playing small and finally own your space online? This issue explores how to go from being overlooked to unforgettable by leaning into authenticity and confidence. It’s about using LinkedIn with purpose, not just presence.
Is Your LinkedIn Profile Saying the Right Thing to the Right People
Your profile should do more than talk, it should CONNECT. This newsletter shows how to craft a profile that starts conversations, not confusion. From headline to About section, every word is a signal of who you are and what you stand for.
How Do You Build LinkedIn Authority in an AI-Driven World?
AI isn’t going anywhere, but your human voice still leads. This issue breaks down how to use tools like ChatGPT strategically without sounding robotic. If you want to position yourself as a trusted authority, start here.
How Do You Go from Burnout to Breakthrough as a Leader?
Burnout doesn’t announce itself; it creeps in slowly. I opened up about the personal cost of high performance and how I’ve learned to recognize the signs and take aligned action. This one hit home for a lot of high achieving founders who rarely stop to breathe.
Can You Use AI in Marketing Without Losing Your Voice?
You can embrace AI without compromising your brand. This newsletter shares how I use it to enhance content and streamline creativity, all while keeping my voice human. For leaders worried about becoming generic, this is a guide worth bookmarking.
Why Is Mental Health the Missing Link in Modern Leadership?
We can’t lead powerfully if we’re silently struggling. This edition explores how integrating mental wellness into leadership is no longer optional, it’s essential. Vulnerability isn’t weakness, it’s leadership currency.
How Do LinkedIn Algorithms Really Work? And Why Should You Care?
Your content doesn’t need to go viral, it needs to earn trust. This edition demystifies the algorithm and reveals why engagement and authenticity matter more than ever. If you’re posting but not being seen, this is your missing link. This one was really popular with 133 comments and 11 reposts.
Tired of Spamming? How Do You Build a Brand People Actually Trust?
It’s time to ditch the slimy cold DMs and lead with real value. This newsletter covers 3 simple but powerful ways to show up as someone worth following. If you’re building a brand, this is how you make people care and convert. Another spicy one with 291 reactions and 141 comments.
Will Great Leaders Outlast AI? What Happens to the Lazy Ones?
AI can automate tasks, but it can’t replace trust, adaptability, or vision. This newsletter explores why the future belongs to leaders who stay human while embracing change. Your leadership edge isn’t tech, it’s how you think and serve. Big conversation happening on this one with 312 reactions and 183 comments.
How Do You Lead Without Losing Yourself?
Entrepreneurship can be all consuming, unless you design it differently. In this issue, I offer personal mental health strategies for staying grounded while leading at scale. You can build the business and take care of the human building it.
What Really Sets Successful Entrepreneurs Apart?
Stop glamorizing the hustle, focus on gratitude. In this newsletter, I unpack how a daily mindset of appreciation leads to better relationships, better business, and a better you.
What Does It Mean to YOUmanize™ Your Brand?
People buy from people, not pitch decks. This one’s all about showing up with heart, telling real stories, and making your brand feel like a person, not a logo. It’s one of the most personal and powerful pieces I’ve shared all year. And the response was really incredible from (you) my audience – 254 reactions, 138 comments and 3 reposts.
How Do You Succeed on LinkedIn Going Into 2026 Without Losing Your Humanity?
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that real success on LinkedIn has nothing to do with chasing hacks or trying to outsmart the algorithm. The people who grew, connected, and converted were the ones who showed up with clarity in their message, consistency in their presence, and character in how they served.
Every newsletter you just revisited points back to the same truth: the human algorithm always wins. So as we step into 2026, the goal isn’t more noise or more clicks. It’s more connection, more trust, and more you.
Because no algorithm can replicate your story, your values, or your voice. That’s exactly why the biggest highlight of my year was launching the YOUmanize™ Your Brand Podcast. It’s a space built to remind founders, creators, and leaders that human-to-human connection will always outperform hacks, trends, or templates.
AI can support your process, but it can’t replace your presence. If you want to build a brand that attracts 6-figure opportunities and loyal advocates, lead with the one thing only you have: your humanness.
So here’s your challenge to close out the year: Block out 1hr this week and look back on the year 2025, then plan for 2026 and how you can build on the human foundations you’ve already set up. Do it and pay attention to who shows up.
And if you’re ready to turn your story into a standout LinkedIn brand, apply to join the LinkedIn Brand LaunchPad. (All December spots are filled. Only 2 left for January.)
In this powerful episode of YOUmanize™ Your Brand, we sit down with Aleric Heck , founder of AdOutreach and one of the OGs of YouTube. Starting at just 13, Aleric’s been in the video game longer than most and now he’s helping entrepreneurs harness the world’s #2 search engine to grow authority, build connection, and scale like crazy.
We unpack what it really takes to turn cold video views into warm relationships and high-ticket buyers (it’s not just about ads, it’s about authenticity). Aleric breaks down how video marketing, AI, and the Human Algorithm intersect to create real impact in a noisy digital world.
👉 Subscribe to our YouTube series “Youmanize™ Your Brand” for raw, real insights on how to show up authentically and lead with your voice. Subscribe on YouTube
🎙️ NEW PODCAST DROP: Merry Chrismukkah 🎄🕎🎤
It’s not just Christmas. It’s not just Hanukkah. It’s a YOUman holiday. In this special episode of the YOUmanize™ Your Brand Podcast, Rachel and I unwrap what the season really means when you’re leading, parenting, building a business and trying to stay human through it all.
We talk traditions, blended famiLEE magic, and how to create space for joy without losing your mind or your brand voice in the process.
👉 Tune in for real talk, laughter, and a few holiday truths every entrepreneur needs to hear.