Tomorrow marks one year since Issue #0001 landed in your inbox.

Tuesday, I told you about the Fear Lines I crossed.
Yesterday, I gave you 56 lines from 52 weeks.

Today, I want to flip the mirror.

Because this newsletter was never a monologue.

It was always a conversation.

And over the past year, you taught me more than I taught you.

When I hit send on that first issue, I braced for crickets.

What I got was something else entirely.

Replies started coming in. Not just "nice newsletter" pleasantries. Real responses. Raw reflections. Stories people had been carrying alone.

One person asked me a question I'll never forget: "Why would you take the time to respond to me?"

That question broke something open.

Because the answer wasn't strategy.
It wasn't customer service.
It was connection.

And the more I responded, the more you responded. And the more you responded, the more I realized:

I wasn't just writing to you. I was learning from you.

1. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Keston replies "thank you" almost every week. Not because every issue changed his life. But because showing up matters. He taught me that the act of appearing in someone's inbox, week after week, creates a quiet kind of trust that compounds over time.

2. People don't want advice. They want to be seen.

Winston, Mark, Samuel, Cuyler. So many of you reached out not asking me to fix anything. Just to share what you were carrying. And in that sharing, something shifted. Not because I had the answer. But because someone was finally listening.

3. The words that hit you are often the ones I didn't plan.

I'd labor over a concept for days. Then a throwaway line in the P.S. would be the thing you quoted back to me. It taught me to trust the process. The insights that land aren't always the ones you're trying to land.

4. Sometimes a single issue saves a life.

I learned in March that one issue reached someone at exactly the right moment. The weight of that has never left me. It taught me that this isn't content. It's connection. And connection carries responsibility.

5. "I don't want to change my story. I want to figure out what it's about."

C.M. wrote that in response to one of my Story Shift invitations. It stopped me cold. Because he was right. We don't really change our stories. We reveal them. We name them. We integrate them. He taught me to be more precise with my language.

6. Energy travels faster than we think.

The night Devin sent his "Full Stop" email and blew up his business, I woke at 3am with a heavy feeling I couldn't explain. I started reciting Ho'oponopono without knowing why. Later, I learned that was his darkest moment. And he felt it. Something traveled between us that night. You've taught me that we're more connected than the rational mind can explain.

7. Vulnerability invites vulnerability.

The week I wrote about shooting a 107 and spiraling on the golf course, more people replied than in the previous thirty weeks combined. Not with golf tips. With their own spirals. Their own mirrors. You taught me that when I tell the truth about my mess, you feel permission to tell the truth about yours.

8. The mirror works both ways.

I thought I was holding up a mirror for you. But every reply, every story, every "this hit me" became a mirror for me. Your questions revealed my blind spots. Your breakthroughs confirmed my instincts. Your struggles reminded me I'm not alone in mine.

There are too many to list. But here are some of the people whose words have shaped me this year:

The subscriber who forwarded an issue to their therapist.
The founder who said my newsletter was the only one he actually reads.
The coach who told me I write the way she wishes she could speak.
The reader who said "This gave me language for what I've been doing for years."
The client who called a single session "one of the most joyous days of my life."
The stranger who became a friend because they kept hitting reply.

You know who you are.

And I carry you with me.

A year ago, I thought I needed to be further along before I had something worth saying.

I was wrong.

You taught me that the words don't need to be polished. They need to be real.

You taught me that showing up scared is still showing up.

You taught me that a newsletter isn't a broadcast. It's a relationship.

And relationships require both sides to show up.

Thank you for reading.
Thank you for replying.
Thank you for sharing your stories, your struggles, your breakthroughs.
Thank you for trusting me with your Time, Energy, Attention, and sometimes your Money.

Thank you for telling me when something landed.
Thank you for telling me when it didn't.
Thank you for referring friends.
Thank you for being patient when I was finding my voice.

Thank you for reminding me why I started.
This newsletter exists because of you.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

Tomorrow is December 12, 2025. Exactly one year since Issue #0001.

This anniversary series was my way of honoring the journey. But the journey isn't over.

If anything, it's just beginning.

I have more Fear Lines to cross. More SPARKs to share. More mirrors to hold.

And I'm grateful you're walking alongside me.

If this year of SPARK Insights™ meant something to you, I'd love to know.

Not as flattery. As fuel.

Just reply and tell me one thing this newsletter gave you this year.

A phrase that stayed with you.
A moment of clarity.
A permission slip you didn't know you needed.
A reminder that you're not alone.

Whatever it was. I'd be honored to read it.

Because you taught me that this isn't about me writing to you.

It's about us finding each other in the middle.

Until next Wednesday,

— Coach Reg

P.S. One year ago, I almost didn't hit send. I told myself no one would care. That I wasn't ready. That the timing wasn't right.

If you're holding something back right now, waiting for the perfect moment, let this be your sign:

The worst version is the one that never gets sent.

Hit send.

I'll be here when you do.

As a celebration and a gift to you all, I’m hosting something special called the SPARK 360/5™ Experience.

This will be a 90-minute guided reflection where you’ll look at your year through four simple lenses: the Mountain, the SPARK Wheel, the Four Currencies, and your own lived experience.

Here’s the flow:

This is quiet, honest, introspective work. You’ll journal more than you listen.
Bring a notebook and 90 minutes without interruption.

Two live sessions on Monday, December 22. Registration is Required. Choose the one time that fits.

SPARK Insights™ Published weekly at sparkinsights.beehiiv.com
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