I'm writing to you from New York this week, where I live, and I have to start with the trees.

If you've been anywhere in the Northeast lately, you know what I mean. The reds, the golds, the burnt oranges. Whole streets look like they've been set on fire in the most beautiful way. I keep stopping mid-walk just to stare.

And as I've been sitting with all that color, something clicked for me. Something about how I plan my life, and why I've never really done it the way most people do.

So pour yourself something warm. Let's talk about seasons.

Here's what's actually happening when the leaves change.

All summer long, leaves are full of chlorophyll, the green pigment that turns sunlight into food. As the days get shorter and cooler, the tree stops making chlorophyll. The green fades, and the yellows and oranges that were there all along finally show through. Some trees even produce new red pigments in this season. The color isn't the tree dying. It's the tree revealing what was underneath.

Then the tree does something really wise. It grows a thin layer of cells where each leaf meets the branch, slowly sealing that connection off. The leaf falls. Not because the tree is weak, but because it's preparing.

Winter means less sun, less available water, and freezing temperatures. Those leaves that fed the tree all summer would now cost it. It loses water it can't replace and catches snow and ice that could break its branches. So the tree pulls back what nutrients it can, releases what it no longer needs, and conserves its energy for what's coming.

The tree lets go so it can survive. And because it survives, it gets to bloom again.

I don't know about you, but I find that incredibly comforting.

Here's something you might not know about me. I don't set my goals in January.

I know, I know. Everyone else buys new planners in December and writes resolutions at midnight on the 31st. And there's nothing wrong with that. But for me, the real work happens right now. October. The last quarter of the year.

This is when I look back. This is when I take stock. This is when I decide what I'm releasing and what I'm carrying forward.

For the longest time, I didn't think much about why. It was just how I did things. But watching those leaves fall this week, I finally connected the dots.

My first job out of college was at Colson Services, which was later acquired by JPMorgan Chase. I spent more than 20 years in financial services after that, and if there's one rhythm that gets drilled into you in that world, it's the planning cycle.

Every fall, like clockwork, we'd go through it. Look at the current year. Compare the estimates to the actuals. What did we project? What actually happened? Where were we off, and why? Then we'd build the outlook. Usually one to three years out. Some places got ambitious and pushed it to five.

By January, the plan was already built. January wasn't when the thinking started. It was the start of the doing.

And here's what I realized this week. I never stopped. I left that world, but I took the rhythm with me. Subconsciously, I've been running my personal life on the same calendar I used to run budgets on.

I've been doing a Q4 review of my own life for years and didn't even know it.

That's the thing about habits. They don't ask permission. They just quietly shape how we move through the world. And this one, I'm keeping. Because when I lay it next to nature's cycle, it fits perfectly.

Let me walk you through how I see it.

Fall is for review and release. This is your estimates versus actuals moment. What did you plan for this year, and what actually happened? Not to judge yourself, but to learn. And then, like the tree, decide what to let go. The commitment that drained you. The habit that cost more than it gave. The spending that didn't line up with your values. The relationship pattern you've outgrown. Release it now, before winter.

Winter is for rest and planning. The tree looks still, but it isn't dead. It conserves energy and protects its roots. This is your outlook season. Quiet, inward, intentional. Build your one to three-year vision. Get clear on your numbers. What do you want to save? What do you want to earn? What do you want to stop paying for? Let the plan take shape while the world is slow.

Spring is for planting. Now you act. You open the account. You launch the thing. You have the conversation. You start the habit. You put seeds in the ground knowing not all of them will grow, and that's okay. Spring rewards the ones who prepared in winter.

Summer is for growth and harvest. You tend what you planted. You enjoy the fruit. You celebrate the wins, because yes, you are allowed to enjoy what you've built. Living rich isn't only about the future. It's also about tasting the harvest while it's here.

And then, fall comes again. And the cycle continues.

I teach financial freedom, so of course I have to bring it back here.

So many of us treat our money like a New Year's resolution. Big burst of motivation in January, gone by March. But wealth isn't built in bursts. It's built in cycles. Review, release, plan, plant, grow, harvest. Again and again.

When you work with the seasons instead of against them, you stop beating yourself up for not being in full bloom all the time. You understand that some seasons are for letting go. Some are for resting. Some are for building. And every one of them is part of the growth.

The tree doesn't panic when its leaves fall. It knows what it's doing.

You can know what you're doing too.

So this week, I want to invite you to do your own Q4 review. Grab a notebook, find a quiet corner, and maybe sit near a window where you can see some color. Ask yourself:

1. What did I plan for this year, and what actually happened?

2. What surprised me, in a good way and a hard way?

3. What am I ready to let go of before the new year?

4. What do I want my life, and my money, to look like one to three years from now?

5. What is one seed I want to plant this spring?

You don't need all the answers today. Fall is just the beginning of the conversation.

But I promise you this. If you let go of what's weighing you down now, you'll walk into the new year lighter, clearer, and ready to bloom.

The trees are showing us how. All we have to do is look up.

With love and abundance,
Najma Zanelli 🧡
Live Rich Retire Rich
Explore Offerings
Founder, NAZ Global Consultancy
Follow me on IG: @najma_zanelli
Email: [email protected]

P.S. Hit reply and tell me one thing you're letting go of this fall. I read every message, and I'd love to hear what you're releasing.