Courage, Truth, Belonging — My Reflection on 2025

A Year of Growth, Courage, and Redefining What Connection Really Means

2025 will be remembered as a year that forced many of us to stretch, personally, professionally, and emotionally. It was a year of economic uncertainty, shifting priorities, and life moments that made us dig deeper than we planned to. However, amid it all, it became one of the most transformative years of my life.

This was the year I finally did something I had never quite found the courage to do before: I told my story, fully, honestly, and unapologetically to the world.

Publishing LIBERIAN BOY: TRIUMPH OVER WAR’S SHADOW wasn’t just about sharing a memoir. It was about confronting vulnerability. It was about lifting the curtain on pain, resilience, identity, survival, and growth. And truth be told, I was terrified. Sharing trauma is never easy. Sharing it publicly is even harder.

But then something unexpected happened. People from across the globe began reaching out. People I had never met. People from different cultures, industries, and walks of life. They told me my story helped them feel seen. They told me it gave language to experiences they had carried silently. They told me it reminded them of their own strength. It inspired them to tell their story.

That changed me. It reminded me of something foundational that we often forget in business and in marketing:

Connection is human.
Belonging is emotional.
Truth builds trust.

And suddenly, everything I do in my professional world came into clearer focus.

Throughout 2025, I had the privilege of speaking and engaging in conversations across the world, from Cannes Lions at Inkwell Beach to Salon Culture Conversations, to ANA AIMM, AAF, and many more stages and rooms. Different countries, different rooms, different audiences… but the conversation was strikingly the same:

People want to feel seen.
They want to feel respected, represented, and understood.
And as marketers, we are not doing enough.

Too many say they care about inclusive marketing, but they don't.
Too many talk about it passionately.
But too few are truly operationalizing it.

That gap between intention and execution became my fuel.

Inclusive marketing cannot remain theoretical, inspirational, or performative. It needs to be scientific, actionable, measurable, and scalable. That realization pushed me to begin developing what I call the Behavioral Influence System™, rooted in Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), powered by my TIME™ Framework for inclusive leadership, and anchored in Measurement as Meaning™. Together, these are designed to move us beyond good intentions into real, accountable action.

It’s about shifting from:
Transactional to Relational
Surface-level inclusion to Deep cultural fluency
Campaign thinking to Human-centered connection
Metrics alone to Meaning + metrics

This is not about “being politically correct.”
It’s about building brands people trust.
It’s about growth.
It’s about dignity.
And it’s about proof.

Because inclusive marketing works.
And there are no more excuses.

I’m excited to release this work publicly in 2026. It will provide not just theory, but a practical playbook—how to develop, execute, measure, optimize, and prove the business and human impact of truly inclusive marketing.

So yes, 2025 was a year of courage. A year where I faced myself, trusted my voice, and leaned into purpose. And as we step into 2026, I am grateful to still be standing, stronger and more committed than ever.

If this year reminded me of anything, it’s this:

We don’t connect through perfection.
We connect through truth.

And when we lead with truth, people don’t just hear us. They feel us.

Here’s to courage.
Here’s to inclusion with meaning.
Here’s to accountability.
Here’s to 2026.

— Dr. Alvin Glay