Ted Lasso Inspired Three Words for 2025

2025 will be my fourth year of restarting a practice introduced by Chris Brogan over a decade ago. Brogan, Chief of Staff to the CEO of Appfire, began a practice in 2006 that I’ve always admired. It’s called My Three Words. Chris describes it this way: “The My Three Words idea is simple. Choose three words (not 1, not 4) that will help guide your choices and actions day-to-day. Think of them as lighthouses. ‘Should I say yes to this project?’ ‘Well, does this align with my three words?’” The three words should be specific to you and your upcoming year aspirations.

When I renewed this practice in 2022, I chose Purpose, Clarity, and Intentionality. The following year, I took a different approach, selecting three words that form the sentence: I – love – you. “I” spoke to the importance of self-care, recognizing that I can be more valuable to others by taking care of myself first. “Love” referred to having a passion for my family, friends, clients, and craft and being more intentional about demonstrating that love in words and deeds. “You” involved my doing a better job of understanding the goals and aspirations of others as precisely as possible.

The three words that guided me through 2024 were Reflection, Intention, and Invention. It was time to recognize how far I had come instead of lamenting how far I still had to go. It was a process of tapping into how much I appreciate everyone and everything in life and continuing to serve others to the best of my ability. I did so with intention and invention, as I created a new 2×2 to illustrate the four phases of psychological safety for CEO/Business Leader forums and wrote a second edition of my 2020 book Peernovation that’s near completion.

My Three Words for 2025 

I plan to stand on the shoulders of my past selections by choosing Curiosity, Love, and Believe. Scenes from the hit Apple TV series Ted Lasso inform each of these words. I encourage you to watch these amazing moments highlighted below, salty language notwithstanding.

The Darts Scene – For those familiar with the show, you know that Rebecca owns the AFC Richmond English football team. Rupert is her dastardly ex-husband who threatens to make life miserable for Rebecca during the upcoming season by promising to publicly challenge her every move as she leads this struggling franchise.

In a crowded bar, they find themselves together, and Ted cleverly lures Rupert into challenging him to a game of darts, with Rupert proposing a 10,000-pound wager. Ted said that was a little rich for his blood, but he had something else in mind. Ted suggested that Rupert could pick the starting lineup for the last two games if he won the dart game. If Ted won, Rupert couldn’t go anywhere near the owner’s box for the entire season. When you watch the scene, you’ll see both of them hustling each other. During the game, Ted talks about living a life of being underestimated, and then, one day, he notices a billboard with a quote from Walt Whitman that read, “Be curious, not judgmental. When you watch the clip, you’ll understand the context of my choice of curiosity.

Roy Kent’s First Press Conference – Roy steps in for Ted to lead a post-game press conference – a prospect that frightened the team’s leadership given Roy’s track record for being, let’s say, direct. He was asked to respond to the actions of a player who was given a red card during the game. Roy reminds us that none of us knows what’s happening in each other’s lives and offers a take on love that’s quite emotional. Earlier this year, I wrote a CEOWORLD piece titled Our Untold Stories, which describes Roy’ sentiment and connects the concepts of curiosity and love. While I invite you to read the article, don’t pass up the touching reward you will receive by watching Roy in action.

Believe Speech and Believe Halftime Speech – These scenes fit hand and glove. It’s hard to watch one without the other. I see 2025 as a pivotal year for Peernovation, as we set the stage for what’s next. There’s never been a more critical time to believe in ourselves and this work’s efficacy. Having witnessed such outstanding results so many times, and knowing what it can mean for so many leaders, we owe it to the world to be at our very best. If we believe in each other, anything is possible.

Summary 

The primary driver for bringing these Ted Lasso scenes forward to describe my three words for 2025 is that they touch the heart in a way I can only imagine achieving with mere words. Ted Lasso brings these stories to life – triumph by the underestimated, understanding by those who choose love, and belief in the face of what many see as unsurmountable. I hope they inspire you as well.

*Believe sign shot straight for my refrigerator

** This will be my last CEOWORLD Magazine piece for 2024 as I put the finishing touches on the manuscript for the Second Edition of Peernovation: Forged by CEO Forums. Perfected for Teams. See you in January!

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Written by Leo Bottary.
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