‘I was edging toward a discovery. Yet the shimmering fruition was still a thousand miles away. I’d need every bit of my developing navigational skills to reach it. A ramp got me above the fear. A bridge would get me over it. To the sunny side of my pride ... I’d first need to confront the beast perniciously hiding me from my diamond mine. Then it was pulled. As if reading my mind, there was the next card in my hand: A 6 of Diamonds.’ ~ From my book, Ace Egos.

This year has had its moments. Globally, there are countless struggles – yet always, glimmers of brilliance and abundance. I am writing to share how my world has rotated. A 2024 that I could never have predicted in a bazillion years. Have you ever woken up and thought, this is exactly where I want to, and need to, be? That has been the main thread of my mornings this year. So, how did this ‘ever-elusive everyone wishes would one day land upon them’ thing come to be?

Death.

February. I woke up one morning after close to two hours of mediocre sleep, writhing in pain. Tears. Despair. Dread. My body was not happy. Gathering momentum throughout the night. I almost foresaw it as I laid down to sleep the night before. It had been about five weeks without a job. I’d finished my 8 years with Tara Mandala in January, a job that had fulfilled me in every sense of the word. But when it’s time for a change, one must heed its call. Now, weeks of looking for a job, countless rejections, I thought maybe I was going to die. I mean, why not? What is more of a killer than a job? Looking for one.

By the afternoon I was in hospital. Having my appendix out. Fortunately, no complications. But a forced reset. I listened to podcasts about making money, investing, real estate. My 2024 ‘life vision’ just needed more accumulation of knowledge, right? Ha! Through a few small detours, podcast to podcast (which I’ve never done by the way – listen to them) I ended up at ‘audio podcasts.’ Storytelling supported by music and sounds. What a world for a guy who can’t move, laying about for his next tray of sandwiches and orange juice. And then, some truly awesome, high-quality, masterful podcasts. Beautiful music. Atmosphere. Textured voices. Genius pacing of stories. A new world opened. And my 2024, and life, was changed forever.

‍It’s a big fat book.

So, the primary driver behind this year has been writing a book. Other fates decided what, how, and why I would write, which I will go into in future blog posts. One-third of the book, called Ace Egos: The Golden Hands of Life, was completed in November. I was asked by a dear friend how it felt to get this far. I said, ‘relief.’ And he told me pretty much what that feeling has meant for me. So much ‘raw material’ has come through me to inform the writing of this book, that it feels like a thousand books. So incredibly dense. The ‘relief’ has been in how one might sculpt a huge block of material. Taking away. Shaping. To the point where it’s just enough done. It has taught me to see life like that. Everything is available. Totality. It’s the stuff we focus on that shapes the life we live. It can be our work of art. Every day is another brush stroke. Another dance step. Another embrace. Another smile. Brimming with vitality.

‍Living on nothing.

During my stint of being jobless and feeling worthless (why does our job dictate who we think we are? It’s more about what we do our job for – that is more accurately us), I spoke to a couple of people who I admired greatly, for sage advice. One of them said, ‘you’ve lived your whole life living with next to nothing, but pursuing your passion. That’s your superpower.’ Puff. Just like that. A complete awakening. And I was already living it. Obviously it’s not a place that most people can find themselves to be, for a variety of reasons. But if the opportunity is possible, I also share this advice with others: Do as little as you need to get the money and things you need. The shit you fight soullessly for never makes you happy.

‍Leveraging AI and Tech.

There’s many on this band-wagon, and it’s kinda tiring to read everyone’s opinions on. But writing a book has been an absolute joy, because of the tools at my disposal. They have made the process from spontaneous idea formulation (I call it ‘catching ghosts’) to finished, polished words, seamless. A few mentions:

1. Google Docs has meant I carry my book with me everywhere I go. Writing and editing happens at any time. Capturing the process means I can release ideas from my brain, and get back to living.
2. At my fingertips are infinitely valuable amounts of research topics, opinions, and other writers and content creators to inform and inspire my work. Grammar tools have been huge also! Through all this, I have been truly able to let go and write in confidence.
3. Google Maps has helped me meander down memories, to describe scenes in vivid detail, fully fleshing out the bones of my book, which is partially based on some crazy rides across the world that I have been on in the last twenty years.
4. Midjourney has helped me create some astounding artwork, to create a ‘deck of cards’ that accompany the book. I’ve also invented a card game. These small pieces all fit together into my grand project (to be revealed in early 2025). So, if you’re in two minds about AI, it can be your rocketship to take you to the moon and back. It can reflect back to you a vision. We can be conductors of huge creative forces coming together. So actually being creative, and having the means to share it (if one desires), can be all that matters.

‍Giving and Gifting.

Despite being pretty strapped for cash, this year I made a concerted effort to live the idea that richness is in giving. That, abundance is energy first, material second. Or something like that. The most inspiring moments I have had this year, are through:

1. Spending time with family and friends. When I feel pushed for time, I think today is the day that I am always putting off as the “one day I’ll do that”
2. Volunteering time to share the message of Compassion Kitchens, a small non-profit who make universes of difference in the lives of starving kids. It’s not just the food, it’s the hope and love that these children feel. Their smiles and love they give back is worth more than any career promotion, bonus, or raise.
   
   

Salsa. Not much needs to be said here. I dance. Connect. Express joy through rhythm and song. It fuels me and gives me radiance.

The ghosts of Love.

I’ve felt the movement of the invisible forces (at least I think I have). The dance of the cosmos. The gods and the monsters. The spirits of nature. They are sharing this space with us. They respond to us. It makes me think, more than ever, one’s intention is supreme. The external happenings are a tip of the iceberg. Now, that’s not to say I’d ever abandon the external world. It is a miracle. A bursting forth of golden glory in every way. I say this with complete understanding that we face horrors, injustices, ignorance. I choose to stay aware of the imbalance in the world. To keep my heart open and my hands busy, to uproot solutions. But I also choose to remain happy. Because happiness is available. I am fortunate. And receive it with gratitude. Wherever possible, I hold the aspiration for positive change, I make movements to help those changes in the best way I can, and to keep the ghosts of love alive.

In light of this,

I conclude with a fun and funny collaboration (click here) I made with that same dear friend, just recently. I hope you can get a laugh out of it. Or perhaps it doesn’t sit with you well, and that is a catalyst for something amazing in your life. Or none of the above. In any case, may there be love. May there always be Love.

I hope that 2024 for you has also had its moments of great joy, and great learnings from anything that has been challenging. We take each step toward something that defines us. Just a little more each time. May each step be full of the richness of love and life.

Big luv 2 u all.
Clinton
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