the story of 2024 in 1,141 words:

It began with silence.

Crushing my chest like a vice at 3 a.m. as I wrestled with the storm raging in my own mind.

This was at the end of 2023.

I’d just walked away from the CEO title I’d clung to for years.

A hard won dream crumbling into ash while my identity collapsed.

And there I was, buried beneath the weight of it all.

My mind had turned against me. Every failure, every regret, every doubt clawed at me like vultures.

Leaving me with a single truth: No one was coming to save me.

• No lifeline would descend from the heavens.

• No cavalry would thunder over the horizon.

• No dramatic Hollywood twist would rewrite my story.

It was just me – raw, broken, and alone.

I had a choice:

• Fall prey to the voice of the Victim.

• Or rise and fight with the voice of the Champion.

I chose the Champion. And so it began…

As I clawed my way out, I realized I wasn’t the only one. I saw others, buried just as deeply, waiting for someone to light the way.

That’s why I created the David to Goliath newsletter. To document my comeback.

Not as a shrine for my victories, but as a torch for those stumbling in the dark.

Yet, I had no idea what kind of giant I’d be facing.

2024 didn’t unfold like a motivational montage. It hit me like a freight train.

No warning. No brakes. Just relentless chaos.

I was broke. Betrayed. Haunted by decisions I couldn’t take back and memories that wouldn’t let go.

The nights were long and filled with apologies – to myself, to the man I used to be, to the future I almost gave up on.

And it was during this time that Dan, my childhood friend, and I made a pact.

We decided that we were going to run every morning at 6am through the heart of the British winter.

Medicine for the mind.

The rain lashed against us like cold knives, and the wind howled through the empty streets as the frost clung to the pavement.

Running for the simple, defiant act of showing up, no matter how heavy the world felt.

By day, we gathered at a hidden podcast studio in the Manchester library. Free, gritty and unassuming, it’s where the magic started.

Dan and I met here to let our minds wander, as a precursor to the 12 hour writing sessions that followed - to turn our thoughts into actionable newsletters.

By night, as the city slipped into silence, the glow of our screens lit the corners of an empty WeWork office like embers in the dark.

The world slept.
But we burned.

From those long nights and that relentless energy came the underdog stories that exploded into inboxes near and far.

“The Mythical Memoir of Sir Richard Branson: An epic adventure of vision, valour and victory”.

Bold.
Unapologetic.
Undeniable.

Momentum started to build.

People noticed.

First, it was small. A DM here, an email there. But then, it grew.

• We spoke at Bulgaria’s largest indoor arena, sharing our story with thousands.

• Leila Hormozi sent a message so heartfelt it felt like a lifeline.

• 40,000 underdogs gathered around our mission: To fan the fragile flame of self-belief into a wildfire that no storm could extinguish.

• We stood ringside with people from the community at one of the year’s biggest sporting events.

Our story, raw and unvarnished, reached into the hearts of strangers and turned them into believers.

But don’t think for a second it was all victory laps.

The demons didn’t just vanish.

Some nights, I couldn’t escape the man in the mirror. I’d look at him and whisper, I’m sorry.

And there were financial hits – massive ones.

There were days when the numbers didn’t add up, and the fear of failure felt suffocating.

Meanwhile, we were digging. digging. digging to find the exact avatar to write these Newsletters for.

To fund David to Goliath I began mentoring agency owners navigating the trenches.

• One of them 10X’d their business.

• Two 7X’d.

• Over half tripled.

I watched people like Tobi Chapman completely rewrite their lives.

Small business owners who had big dreams, and relentless drive but a lack of self belief.

Brick by brick, week by week, this is where the tide began to turn.

In helping them rise, I realized something powerful:

I wasn’t just rebuilding myself. I was building a community.

The David to Goliath mission – once my own journal – became a movement.

A movement to inspire Underdogs to write their own epic stories through the power of self-belief.

We honed our focus, nailed our avatar, and started doing in person meet-ups. 

Now, as 2025 looms, it’s time to build a Brand

We’re launching the David to Goliath Podcast where I’ll share conversations with the Underdogs in business who faced self-doubt head-on and found a way to win.

I’m also reopening mentorship spots for a select few marketing agencies. Beginning in January. If you’re an agency owner learn more on that here.

But here’s the truth: none of this was planned.

I didn’t have the answers. I didn’t have the map. I acted in the dark, trusting that one day, I’d bring greatness into the light.

Because that’s how you win.

That’s how you beat the voice of the victim.

You stumble. You fall. You bleed.
But you keep moving.

Not because the path is clear—
but because the fire inside refuses to die.

You trust - blindly, fiercely - that somewhere down the line,
the chaos will shape itself into clarity. 

I felt like I was buried alive.

Swallowed by the weight of my failures, the noise of my doubts, the silence of a world that had already moved on.

It only took one simple decision.

Now, as 2025 rises like a storm on the horizon, I’m daring you to do the same.

This isn’t just another year.
This isn’t a fleeting chance to scribble resolutions you’ll abandon by spring.

This is a chance for Redemption.

A chance to start scripting your own epic comeback.
A chance to become the hero in YOUR movie.

I’m daring you to bet everything on yourself.
To fight with everything you’ve got.

Dig deeper than you ever thought possible, even when the weight feels unbearable and every bone in your body screams for relief.

The victim's voice will always whisper.

Saying you’re not good enough.
That you should give up.

But that doesn’t matter.

Because everyone has a Champion within.

And with practice, you learn to roar louder.

Loud enough to drown the doubts.
Loud enough to shatter the darkness.
Loud enough that the world has no choice but to hear you.

So Happy New Year, David.

Let 2025 be the one you unleash the Giant within.

Remember: The best gift you can give anyone is the power of belief.

But the best person to believe in is always yourself.

Yours truly,

-Nigel Thomas