AoE #35 - New Year’s Revolutions

Episode 35 — New Year’s Revolutions

It’s January 1st, 2026, and this episode exists thanks to a beautifully accidental malapropism.

One of my daughter’s friends declared at a New Year’s party: “My New Year’s revolution is…” - when he meant “resolution.” He was promptly mocked for this by his friends. But I loved it! Because, unlike a resolution, a revolution isn’t a vow to try. A revolution is an actual turning. A change of orientation. A shift in trajectory.

So this episode isn’t really about resolutions at all. It’s about revolution and renewal.

I never used to align with the whole New Year's resolution thisg simply because, you can always make a change at any point. “Now” is always the doorway. However, I've come to change my vibe on this somewhat. There’s something distinctive about this time of year - a collective, archetypal current that people can ride, should they choose to. Not as grindstone self-improvement. Not as forced discipline masquerading as virtue. More as a seasonal invitation: to release what’s stale, reclaim what matters, and let something new come through.

In this episode I explore:

Why “renewal” is a more useful frame than “resolution” (and why revolutions are… unpredictable)

The difference between deliberate change and deeper pattern-level shifts

What it means to “profit by investing in loss” — and why letting go is often the real beginning

Some personal renewals I’m making as we move from 2025 into 2026:

stepping back from my monthly London work with Rock to Recovery to reclaim space for family and creative life

closing the Agents of Everything Nexus archive (and why that kind of pruning matters)

bringing more energy back to Agents of Everything

and leaning into a wider portfolio header I’m calling Alchemy and Agency

Along the way we wander into Jung, archetypal forces, the limits of constructivist metaphors, why I prefer “agency” over “free will,” and why the most powerful performance art is not fake at all — it’s curated authenticity that can genuinely transform people.

There’s also an unexpected thread here about returning to what lit you up when you were younger — not nostalgically, but with everything you’ve learned since. For me that includes a 100-day drawing challenge, and a renewed relationship with creativity, performance, and the kind of inner life that you could call “soul” if you’re using that word poetically rather than scientifically.

If you’re feeling the “new year energy,” consider this an invitation: not to clamp down harder, but to renew intelligently. To let go cleanly. To choose what’s next.

Happy New Year. Here’s to whatever we’re about to create.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Introduction and New Year's Revolutions

02:17 The Concept of Renewal

06:24 Personal and Professional Renewals

10:21 Rock to Recovery and Its Impact

17:01 Future Plans and Alchemy & Agency

23:07 Personal Alchemy and Influence

23:39 Substack and Neurolinguistics

27:05 Reconnecting with Drawing

29:34 The Concept of Soul and Resonance

34:22 The Power of Performance

44:10 Upcoming Changes and Final Thoughts

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