In this episode, Cole reflects on his goals for the year and discusses his achievements and areas where he fell short. He also talks about his creative projects, including his short film Magic Mushroom Fun Time. The episode ends with an awesome song from JUSTLOUD.
Podhome Hosting
Magic Mushroom Fun Time!
Podhome Hosting
Magic Mushroom Fun Time!
[00:00:02]
Unknown:
They use force to make you do what the deciders have decided you must do. They use force to make you do what the deciders
[00:00:16] Unknown:
have decided you must do. I just posted my new little Short film magic mushroom fun time. Did you see that, Adam?
[00:00:22] Unknown:
Yes. I did. Oh, yes. I did. That, Alex sent it to me. That was crazy, and I love that it just popped open in Podverse.
[00:00:36] Unknown:
What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week another episode. What's going on? It's Sunday, December 31st, New Year's Eve. Happy New Year's, everybody. Happy to see you. Well, you know, this is this is the last time I'm gonna see you this year. So last time I'm gonna be talking this year. Next time you hear from me, it'll be next year, be 2024. What's going on, everybody? Welcome to another beautiful week Here at America Plus. This week's been insane. Did anyone see my movie, Magic Mushroom Fun Time? Anyone catch my movie? My short film?
Wow. I literally made a movie this year. I literally made a movie this year, and I combined some San some insane insanity, dude. I combined insane insanity, value for value music, AI, Filmmaking techniques, magic mushrooms. Like, this is I did something extremely unique, and I am still riding my wave. Just let me ride my own dick here for a minute, guys. I'm proud of myself. I am very proud of myself. What I'm doing this week Is, I just wanna read off so okay. Rewind. Back up. Last week was titled making a magic mushroom fun time part 1. This week is not part 2. Sometime in January, part 2 will be coming. Okay? What I'm doing this week as the year comes to an end, I I I wanna celebrate what I did this year, and I wanna talk about what like like, how I, How I measure up. How I measure up to myself, to my own goals this year. What what goals that I have for the year, and how did they come about? How did they not come about?
And I have here, some notes. I I got a little pink index card that I wrote. So I wrote all of these, I believe, early January of of 2023. And these were, like, my goals, like, Things that I wanted to work on or things that I wanted to do, things that were just passionate to me at the time. And I was really like, I was wanting this year to be on me. I wrote down the title of it is 2023 on me. And, I I I have a few bullet points. And so today, I'm just gonna go go through go go through these goals. Let's do it. So the first one I wrote down is Release magic mushroom fun time. Oh, that happened.
Like, that's awesome. That's a good thing. You're supposed to achieve the goals. So that that's something I give myself a pat on the back. The second one I wrote down was Build Bitcoin node. That didn't happen. That totally blows. I wanted to build a Bitcoin node because I was like I went down a Bitcoin rabbit hole. Right? Like, the the there's, like, seasons of Bitcoin rabbit holes for me, And, I was going down this node rabbit hole. I'm like, yeah. You know, I gotta get self sufficient. I gotta get sovereign. I need a node. I need a node.
And I I even talked about it on the show back then, and it just never came about. Mainly because of, like, money and mainly because of lack of interest in wanting To do any type of coding. I know you don't need to do any coding, but the physical handling and situations that come with This different type of computer that I I I I don't have any experience really using open source software or any type of other computer than a Mac Or a Windows. So I'm just used to laptops. I'm used to my phone and laptops, and I I I'm not really used to, any other type of computing.
And I thought I could do it, and it was just fairly intimidating. And it's something that's gonna be going on to my list next year. I'm not gonna put myself under any pressure to get a note in 2024, but I do feel as though it's a smart move. You know? So that's just something to something to think about. You know? I gotta get my own node. What's your opinion on Bitcoin And nodes and and and the self sovereignty thing, like, if you're listening to this on a modern broadcasting app, clearly, you already like Bitcoin, but What is there a next level? Is there a deeper layer to to going about this? Like, what does that look like? Because it's if Bitcoin's not a company Or government, and it's not controlled by any of those, then that means that it will not be a company or government to expand the use cases Or expand the network. Expand the strength of it.
So that has to come from a decentralized area. So I understand that I need to do something, but I I I'm not confident in what that thing really is. So I like, there has to be Something else has to form with that if if that's if that's the future. You know? The next one I wrote down was self host my podcast. That didn't happen either. I wanted to self host. Like, I went down this whole thing of, like, node self hosting, Being sovereign, being free, having control. And, again, it just didn't like, I just didn't care about The coding, I didn't care about the software. I didn't care about any of that stuff, and that's something that I've identified. You know? That goes into me not really, like, I'm really enjoying editing videos.
You know, I feel like it's the same thing. Like, I don't like, I have no interest in Learning a software or learning how to build a software or I don't know. Just not like, not having the software be easy. Like, that's a very hard curve to go through. You know? It's a very hard learning curve. And, that that's what self hosting is. So maybe I'll get into that in the future. When it comes to hosting stuff online, like, I just want it to be simple. Everyone just wants it to be simple, and it seems like if you're a person who Who's already technical? You know, self hosting is simple, and I don't know. I I guess just 2 different simples. You know, 2 different simples coexisting.
The next one I wrote down, number 3, was more YouTube videos. More YouTube videos and more documentaries. I did post more on YouTube. I started putting out the video for America Plus In mult on multiple platforms, YouTube, Twitter. I tried doing Facebook for a minute, but that just they'd I just wasn't able to upload my video for some reason. It's too long of a video, but YouTube's, the most consistent when it comes to performance of uploading videos, of course, and I definitely wasn't I I I I I I went through waves of going hard on YouTube and getting away from YouTube, and, it's still something that's a utility, and it's something that I'll continue to post to in the future.
You know, there's just this balance that I keep thinking about when it comes to putting out my work on RSS feeds via, Like, what I'm doing now or my movie versus YouTube, you know, versus mister Beast, versus Casey Neistat versus, you know, all these people who are, like, super big and they make really good videos. You know? Or if you don't wanna talk about those types of videos, you know, there's even, like, the common like, the super niche, like, documentary. Like, I follow documentary channels on YouTube. And It's like when there's, like, a niche like that, like, I want that niche to grow, and I want there to be something that like, I I want there to be wind that is able to be Pushed into this niche's sales. And and that's why I like YouTube because I can watch something random, and it can blow up. And I can share it with my friend, And the algorithm is gonna see that more people are sharing it and watching it longer, and it's gonna start promoting it a bit more. Like, there is a utility in that. Even though Adam Curry says that YouTube is evil and Google is evil.
That's something that I agree with. But is the algorithm evil? That's something I'm not willing to, to really really put a lot of emotion on just because it's an algorithm. Why am I putting any emotion towards an algorithm? What, like, why do I care about it? It's just another thing to be used. And so more YouTube in 2024 for sure. Just being more intentional with the YouTube video. Just my experience on YouTube. Like, I'm looking for series. I'm looking for documentaries. I'm looking for continued, continued and consistent, stories around whatever niche that you have.
And, that's why I I go to like, there's this 1 channel I follow, Defunctland. Defunctland is an amazing YouTube channel. This guy Kevin Perjurer, he does documentaries on Mainly focusing on Disney rides and, amusement parks and the history of of those areas and and the businesses. One of his most recent ones, well, he did a whole, like, 2 hour special on the history of the Disney Channel. And it's just these really random things that, like, I like, and this is something that I grew up with. You know? I was watching the Disney Channel. It's like so here's this thing I like, and I'm happy that it's on YouTube because billions of people can see it. You know? And I think that that's a thing.
And there's a really interesting balance between that and RSS feeds. So I feel like I wanna convince these YouTube people. Like, I wanna show All the YouTube people, the power of RSS. And I don't want it to be, like, degrading to YouTube because People, I was just most of most of the criticism I hear is all from Adam Curry. Right? Adam Curry hates YouTube. Adam Curry hates Google. They're evil. Right? They are they they help Satan is what he says. And I'm like, okay, dude. I guess, can we just, like, not put that kind of energy out there? Excuse me. Excuse me.
My coughs are coming out of nowhere. Maybe I am getting sick, but, I mean, I just took a few rips off my bong. Long story short, I just don't think YouTube's bad. I don't think YouTube is inherently bad. I don't think the algorithm's bad. I support RSS feeds, and I like YouTube. So I'll do both. And the next 1. The next 1. Connect with people more and find honest friends. That one, I you know, I think I really found that one. That, magic motion fun time and the friends thing, finding honest friends. This is this really happened to me. So I got over here one second. I got so a while ago a few weeks ago, No. A few months ago, I mean, I got a T shirt from my buddy, Kyron, and his mere mortals podcast.
I, sent in the right amount of Satoshis, and I got myself a little, custom not custom, but exclusive T shirt for the pod, and I was super hyped super excited. And I the normal white T shirt, like, sort of, like, Purposefully not the best, I think. Like, there's like, the words were not centered. Like, purposefully not centered. I I'm pretty sure Pretty sure it was it was on purpose. And, I got a little note. I got a handwritten note from Kyron, and this might be I've been saving this note. I've been saving this note for the end of the year, I I guess. Like, just I I didn't wanna share it right away, but I really like this note.
And, so Kyron wrote a handwritten thing for me, and he goes, yo, goal. And he says, it's been a pleasure watching you grow as a podcaster and as a human being. Your unbridled energy and enthusiasm always puts a smile on my face. I really hope we get to meet in Nashville so I can give you a hug, and we can become in real life friends. Go Bitcoin. Go America Plus. Go v for v, Kyron. And then he has, like, a little v for v, then he has, like, a heart with an arrow, then he has Bitcoin, like the Bitcoin symbol. It's like, Kyron, dude, like Like, my heart opened up. I almost teared up reading that note when I first got the T shirt.
It's just really powerful, man. Just thank you for that. I really believe that we're friends. I believe that we're like, let's get more friendly. Let's be better friends, Kyron. I'm so down for that. Never had a a you know, there's only one other example in my life where I had an international relationship. That was in the 2nd grade. I had a pen pal to some person. I think it was another boy in The Caribbean or something? I don't know. Some other school in, like, on an island or something. It was some weird program that we were doing. I didn't really I I didn't know what was going on. I sort of had a friend in the 2nd grade in the Bahamas. Oh, yeah. The school was in the Bahamas. That's what it was. And I was trying to I I don't I don't know. Just listening to the teacher. Write to your pen pal. We have pen pals now. Like, okay.
No. Kyron, you are my real pen pal. You're my pod pal. Is that a word, pod pal? Does that not is that cool or lame? We don't have to use it ever again. Next 1 I wrote down. This is a little little ironic for what's going on In my lungs right now, get certified for Wim Hof and on it. Didn't happen either. Didn't happen either, dude. What am I doing here? A lot of these things, like I'm so sorry, guys. I did 2 rounds earlier, and now I probably need to do another 2 rounds later. For when it comes to health stuff, a lot of people in my life always say things like, Cole, you should be like a personal trainer. Cole, you should get certified in something. Cole, you should, like, help people out with stuff, and I'm interested in that. You know?
If my career is multimodal and it's not just about Movies, and it's not just about podcasting. You know? What other skills do I have? What other skills can I share with people? How can I help people with my with my knowledge and with my techniques? Or the techniques that I'd know at least. And, Wim Hof is definitely a a technique that I want more people to know. It's something that I wanna go deeper into. I've had my own journey with it of Doing it religiously for 2 years during COVID and completely stopping stopped doing it for, like, a year.
And now I'm just slowly getting back into a rhythm with it. Just being comfortable with my body. You know? I wanted to get certified this year, and I didn't. I wanted to get certified to be like a trainer for for the Wim Hof breathing method Along with getting certified and I actually bought these courses. I've this company on it. It's the company that, Joe Rogan helped helped found. It's they sell kettlebells and steel maces. They got a bunch of home, home workout stuff. It's really, really high quality And really affordable too.
Most of their workouts are like, I don't know, $50, but it's like a whole 6 week course and you just buy it. You buy it, and it's $50. So I I thought there was a deal there. So I've, during COVID, I leaned into the it I leaned into it, And I like their philosophy. They have this whole, unconventional fitness philosophy. They have this movement philosophy, just focusing more on blood flow and fluid motions and, just a different thing. Let's not bodybuilding or classic gym stuff, and and, I I I'm aligned with that. Like like, my soul, my spirit, like, I like that stuff. And so I wanna like, that's something I'm gonna put on the list again next year.
These are things that I still wanna do, and I just didn't Get to do them. I had to focus on other things this year. I had to be present. You know? It's not really a lesson this year to be present, but it was, Like, it was definitely a challenge. I today, this year, I was challenging myself to be present. And, you know, we just continue on that journey. It's always a practice to be present. So maybe I can be present enough to actually get certified in stuff that I wanna that I wanna do. I think it's important to know. I I just think Breathing exercises and knowing how to comfort comfortably move your body gets you healthy. And it's as simple as that. It doesn't have to be hard. Next one is, learn 2 songs on the piano.
Folks, this this is me being humble right now. I'm trying to humble myself in front of you. Like, I'm not The go to person for productivity, I am not the guy to listen to to, like, how to, like, how to do everything you ever want. Do I wanna learn piano? Yes and no. I really don't care about instruments. That's another thing. How many how many things do I not like? How many things do I now have the energy for? I wrote down the the the the one song I wrote down here was It's a beautiful day by Queen. I love that song. That that song is, like Freddie Mercury's last album, And it's just a really pretty song, and it I wanted to learn the piano of that. So will it be on 2024 list? Possibly, But I don't know. That's something I'm willing to let go of.
And then, the the last one I wrote down here, I wrote down more content, substack, combine more topics, more info. Wow. What amazing, dude. Like, how broad? Very wide ranging, Cole. More content. I guess I I kept posting the podcast. Substack, That's in reference to 1 or to, like, a few substack posts that I did. I thought substack was the move, but not really. But I was experimenting with it in January of this year, and I made this, short Story called a new day. What is it called? A new day. How the people got their power back. And this is, I don't wanna play the whole thing, but here's the here's a little bit. I actually wrote a whole short story using ChatchePT To just tell, like, a short story of people, a group of friends defeating their government.
A New Day, How the people got their power back, written by Cole McCormack and AI, performed by Cole McCormack. Katherine, Jasmine, and Thomas were friends who live in the Freedom Economic Alliance, FEA, a country that prided itself on prosperity and stability. But beneath the surface, there was something rotten. The government was corrupt and used the innate power within the people to power its systems of freedom. If one were to speak against the purpose of these freedom systems, one would be inclined to pay a fee. Yeah. So I really went into this Just like this idea of this, like, dark the the dark side of financial narratives and laws and the dark side of Freedom narratives, the dark side of, like, trying to create a world, try to create a dystopian future.
It was really fun to write that. If you wanna, I I I'll link it down below if you wanna listen to the whole thing. It's like a 7 minute thing. I had a good time writing it. I think it's a good story. I think it's a it's not the best story, but it definitely has a beginning, middle, and end. I wanna do more things like that. This was like a precursor to me doing voice acting for, excuse me, Kyron, Kyron Down's Book reviews podcast, the mere mortals book reviews. When Kyron approached me to do voice acting for that, I was like, yes. Whenever I I I have this tendency to just say yes to anything or to say yes to any creative endeavor.
The story with my friend Ben a few years ago before like, in, like, 2017 or 2018. He was like, hey. You wanna do, like, a, an Instagram talk show? And I was like, yeah. Sure. Let's do it. And then we did that for a year. And so I'm happy to have a from across the world approached me and say, hey. Do you wanna do some voice acting for my show? And I'm and I'm like, yeah. Let's let's see how long this goes. Let's see let's see how much How much we can build this, man? So I I I feel really blessed for that. That's something that came up out of the blue.
I didn't write write down any any performance goals. I didn't write down, like, I wanna act more or I wanna Do anything more. You know? The the the first goal I had was the real focus. That's really magic mushroom fun time was the thing that I was Just putting my heart and soul in, putting all of my thoughts and energy into it. And it's been the one consistent thing Throughout this chaos of a year, man, like, it's December 31st, and I'm moving through this summer where my dad was diagnosed with cancer. And going through that crisis with the family and going through those prayers and tears and continuing to do the show, and At the same time, seeing the revolution with, podcasting 2 point o and music and, interviewing Ainsley And seeing that path forward to to interview more more artists and to see the path forward to to connect with more people And to go through struggles, just just general financial struggles. You know? Like, It's just one of those things. You know? Like, we're just moving through those times.
And I have faith for the future, and I'm not afraid of like, I feel content, and I feel ready to move forward. Like 2024, I want to win. 2024, I want to win. When I was moving into 2023, I I had quit my job because it was a bad environment, And I was a little fair with my responsibilities, and I was trying to, like, reorient Reorient my like, what I wanted to do and how I thought about work and how I was approaching my life. And this year has been a lot of experiments and a lot of failures, but I'm not sad of it. I'm not sad about it, dude. I'm not embarrassed by it. Because it's not about what you don't do. It's about what you put your heart and soul into.
And I don't know, man. Like, the and and this is just a contract to myself. You know? So I didn't really let anyone down by not meeting these goals. It's really just like in my own head. I I put myself up against my own head. Does anyone else do that? Is it does anyone else, I don't know, have, like, some weird standard in their head that they should be meeting and they're not? But I work through that. I work through it with therapy. No. I don't. I work through it with mushrooms. Do you have any goals, dude? Do you have any goals? When I was moving into 2023, I was, Like, just not stable.
I wasn't stable. I feel like I wasn't healthy. I feel like I'm trying to get healthier. I feel like, like, healthy in my head. You know? Like, healthy With what I believe in, healthy with, what I put my energy into. It's a it's a it's a very long, long, long, long, long, long Journey to figure out, what your life what you want your life to be. Because even though I have goals for my life and I have I know What type of work I want to do in my life, it's still life. And I still like, there's still a lot of things that I don't No. Or there there there's a lot of information that I don't have, and I guess I'm just talking on on this Sunday. I gotta go to work soon, by the way. I got I gotta wrap this up pretty quick.
And the they scheduled me 12 to 4 today. So, and then we're partying, and then it's a party. Oh, real quick. The this past week, So a a little a little funny kitchen story. Whenever there's, like, a holiday, there's a lot more a bit more, sneaky sneaky going on in the in the kitchen. So some people taking shots, some people eating stuff, some people doing whatever. Things are getting passed around. Luckily, your boy is very responsible, and I don't partake Very often, just sometimes. And I was given 2 this week, I was given 2 shot block bottles. Just 2 little shots of whiskey, from a buddy of mine, and I got these on top of my fridge.
And I think I'm gonna, take them both, tonight, for the new year. I I think that'll be my my little My little celebration, just because, I probably shouldn't be smoking weed with the with the nose. So how about we drink? How about we have some alcohol? That's healthier. Goals going into 2024, I wanna create more. You know? I I don't have a big creative goal right now. It it was the end of 2022 when I had the seed of the idea for Magic Mushroom Fun Time. And right now, the most recent seed that's come into my view is, what about the feature movie? The feature presentation.
You know, in terms of creativity in movies, my next goal like, I don't wanna do another short. You know? Like, I feel like the next thing needs to be a movie. Needs to be, like, hopefully, a theater experience. So we'll see how that goes. I don't know How or when or you know, that's just a seed. I'm looking I'm trying to, align myself with what the right path is going forward because, you know, it new year, new me, yada yada yada, new moon. You gotta figure it out, man. I'm not gonna put myself under any pressure to to know it January 1st. You know? I'm just.
But I am being intentional. I know that 2024, I'm being intentional with my words and my work and My love and, oh, that's funny. I just saw as soon as I said my love, Shannon started pulling into the driveway. That's hilarious. Or the parking lot, whatever. Yeah. I just know that 2024 is gonna be Very interesting. It's gonna be a balance of chaos, more chaos, and but also incredible blessings. That's what I believe. That's what I believe to the deepest part of my heart. Folks, what that, what what we're doing now, folks, we're gonna head on into the boost, The boostograms, folks, America Plus is a value for value show.
What that means is, I'm doing my thing. I bring stories. I bring movies. I bring, topics of conversation to you, And you're able to put the value on what you're experiencing and and what the vibe is here. Pretty much if you're using a modern podcast app, like fountain or podcast guru. Go to value for value dot info for more info, then download the fountain dot f m app. It's the best way to support the show. There's a whole slew of modern podcast apps. Fountain is one of my favorite ones. You're able to send Bitcoin to people. So and and I'm I'm gonna be reading the, the boosts on fountain right now, or at least I get them on fountain.
This is from last week. I got 1 boost in from last week. This is coming in from I I actually, I got a few I mean, people boosted in. Right? I should actually read the comments other things. Let me pull up let me pull up no agenda too real quick. Bingo. Bingo. Okay. So From last week, the making of Magic Mushroom Fun Time part 1, we got, the only one, Joel w. He boosts in A whopping 3,333 sets. He says, be checking the movie tomorrow. Happy New Year. She sends in 3 mushrooms, firework, confetti, champagne. 3 champagnes, dude. Thank you so much. And then he says, oh, Loving the young Cole reenactments too. Thank you, sir.
Boosting is loving. As the French say, it is time for The boost. Boost. Thank you so much, Joel. Thank you so much for those sats. Dude, I hope you like the movie. The movie is definitely I I think it's for people like you, Joel. Things for people like you. I'm on the no agenda tube right now on the video On the short film, I see a comment here from mister Kyran Down. He said, So first of all, Kyrie now, sent in a giant boost. He sent in, like I don't know how much he sent in. He sent in, like, 8,000 sats or something or more than 8,000 sats. It was a pretty big one. Here's the issue with NogenerTube. I actually don't know how to see, like, the main boost, Or I don't know how to see like, where to see what the complete amount was because I was able to see my cut, but I wasn't able to see the full thing. So maybe someone can direct me to that. But Kyron Down commented, I'm going to be chatting with Cole about this film in a couple of days. Yeah, dude. So, Check it out. Because, basically, you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. I was able to be interviewed by Kyran Down.
I'm gonna be on his conversations, episode of, next week. I forget if it's gonna be, he told me Thursday maybe, but I forget the exact day. It might be later. It might be earlier. I don't know. But I'm definitely I've I've written there's a 2 hour podcast with me and Kyron on the Internet, And it's coming out next week for the new year. Very blessed about that. So if you wanna listen to that, please do. I was super nervous doing during the interview. I literally, like during the first question, I was like, dude, I don't know what I'm talking about, man. I just gotta take a breath Real quick. And, like, I literally, like, stopped the conversation, and he was like, it's okay, Cole. It's okay. Just take a breath. Just take a breath. Thank you, Kyron. So thank you, Kyron, for giving me that experience. Thank you for the comment. Thank you for the support, dude.
Yeah, man. Value for value is where it's at. I I really believe in this. We're we're end we're wrapping up the new year. We're wrapping up this year, the old year, with A stronger base for value for value and having having a real understanding of what the next step might be Or having a real vision for what the future is with value for value in the podcast and all this stuff. Check out that interview. Come by next year, dude. I'm interviewing more more artists. We got these lined up. I got these I I I I I'm I'm talking to these people now, and, this America Plus is evolving.
We're moving into phase 2 soon. With that comes a new image. I'm working on that, so don't worry about that. But there will be a new America plus flag soon. I'm very excited for it. And, are there any other updates, dude? I don't I don't think there are. Oh, I need a song. Dude, I don't have a song. Okay. I'll find the song. I might just post this later today. So I'm recording this at 11 AM. I think I might post this later this afternoon. We'll see. How about we post it a lot later, around, like, 10 PM or 11 PM? Or how about we post at New Year's Day, folks? What I got for you right now, the singer we got is, the very famous. He just performed with Ainsley Costello.
We got Just Loud coming in with Moon child. Enjoy. Sue. I sue. Do. Do. Sue. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Sue. Sue. Do. Sue.
They use force to make you do what the deciders have decided you must do. They use force to make you do what the deciders
[00:00:16] Unknown:
have decided you must do. I just posted my new little Short film magic mushroom fun time. Did you see that, Adam?
[00:00:22] Unknown:
Yes. I did. Oh, yes. I did. That, Alex sent it to me. That was crazy, and I love that it just popped open in Podverse.
[00:00:36] Unknown:
What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week another episode. What's going on? It's Sunday, December 31st, New Year's Eve. Happy New Year's, everybody. Happy to see you. Well, you know, this is this is the last time I'm gonna see you this year. So last time I'm gonna be talking this year. Next time you hear from me, it'll be next year, be 2024. What's going on, everybody? Welcome to another beautiful week Here at America Plus. This week's been insane. Did anyone see my movie, Magic Mushroom Fun Time? Anyone catch my movie? My short film?
Wow. I literally made a movie this year. I literally made a movie this year, and I combined some San some insane insanity, dude. I combined insane insanity, value for value music, AI, Filmmaking techniques, magic mushrooms. Like, this is I did something extremely unique, and I am still riding my wave. Just let me ride my own dick here for a minute, guys. I'm proud of myself. I am very proud of myself. What I'm doing this week Is, I just wanna read off so okay. Rewind. Back up. Last week was titled making a magic mushroom fun time part 1. This week is not part 2. Sometime in January, part 2 will be coming. Okay? What I'm doing this week as the year comes to an end, I I I wanna celebrate what I did this year, and I wanna talk about what like like, how I, How I measure up. How I measure up to myself, to my own goals this year. What what goals that I have for the year, and how did they come about? How did they not come about?
And I have here, some notes. I I got a little pink index card that I wrote. So I wrote all of these, I believe, early January of of 2023. And these were, like, my goals, like, Things that I wanted to work on or things that I wanted to do, things that were just passionate to me at the time. And I was really like, I was wanting this year to be on me. I wrote down the title of it is 2023 on me. And, I I I have a few bullet points. And so today, I'm just gonna go go through go go through these goals. Let's do it. So the first one I wrote down is Release magic mushroom fun time. Oh, that happened.
Like, that's awesome. That's a good thing. You're supposed to achieve the goals. So that that's something I give myself a pat on the back. The second one I wrote down was Build Bitcoin node. That didn't happen. That totally blows. I wanted to build a Bitcoin node because I was like I went down a Bitcoin rabbit hole. Right? Like, the the there's, like, seasons of Bitcoin rabbit holes for me, And, I was going down this node rabbit hole. I'm like, yeah. You know, I gotta get self sufficient. I gotta get sovereign. I need a node. I need a node.
And I I even talked about it on the show back then, and it just never came about. Mainly because of, like, money and mainly because of lack of interest in wanting To do any type of coding. I know you don't need to do any coding, but the physical handling and situations that come with This different type of computer that I I I I don't have any experience really using open source software or any type of other computer than a Mac Or a Windows. So I'm just used to laptops. I'm used to my phone and laptops, and I I I'm not really used to, any other type of computing.
And I thought I could do it, and it was just fairly intimidating. And it's something that's gonna be going on to my list next year. I'm not gonna put myself under any pressure to get a note in 2024, but I do feel as though it's a smart move. You know? So that's just something to something to think about. You know? I gotta get my own node. What's your opinion on Bitcoin And nodes and and and the self sovereignty thing, like, if you're listening to this on a modern broadcasting app, clearly, you already like Bitcoin, but What is there a next level? Is there a deeper layer to to going about this? Like, what does that look like? Because it's if Bitcoin's not a company Or government, and it's not controlled by any of those, then that means that it will not be a company or government to expand the use cases Or expand the network. Expand the strength of it.
So that has to come from a decentralized area. So I understand that I need to do something, but I I I'm not confident in what that thing really is. So I like, there has to be Something else has to form with that if if that's if that's the future. You know? The next one I wrote down was self host my podcast. That didn't happen either. I wanted to self host. Like, I went down this whole thing of, like, node self hosting, Being sovereign, being free, having control. And, again, it just didn't like, I just didn't care about The coding, I didn't care about the software. I didn't care about any of that stuff, and that's something that I've identified. You know? That goes into me not really, like, I'm really enjoying editing videos.
You know, I feel like it's the same thing. Like, I don't like, I have no interest in Learning a software or learning how to build a software or I don't know. Just not like, not having the software be easy. Like, that's a very hard curve to go through. You know? It's a very hard learning curve. And, that that's what self hosting is. So maybe I'll get into that in the future. When it comes to hosting stuff online, like, I just want it to be simple. Everyone just wants it to be simple, and it seems like if you're a person who Who's already technical? You know, self hosting is simple, and I don't know. I I guess just 2 different simples. You know, 2 different simples coexisting.
The next one I wrote down, number 3, was more YouTube videos. More YouTube videos and more documentaries. I did post more on YouTube. I started putting out the video for America Plus In mult on multiple platforms, YouTube, Twitter. I tried doing Facebook for a minute, but that just they'd I just wasn't able to upload my video for some reason. It's too long of a video, but YouTube's, the most consistent when it comes to performance of uploading videos, of course, and I definitely wasn't I I I I I I went through waves of going hard on YouTube and getting away from YouTube, and, it's still something that's a utility, and it's something that I'll continue to post to in the future.
You know, there's just this balance that I keep thinking about when it comes to putting out my work on RSS feeds via, Like, what I'm doing now or my movie versus YouTube, you know, versus mister Beast, versus Casey Neistat versus, you know, all these people who are, like, super big and they make really good videos. You know? Or if you don't wanna talk about those types of videos, you know, there's even, like, the common like, the super niche, like, documentary. Like, I follow documentary channels on YouTube. And It's like when there's, like, a niche like that, like, I want that niche to grow, and I want there to be something that like, I I want there to be wind that is able to be Pushed into this niche's sales. And and that's why I like YouTube because I can watch something random, and it can blow up. And I can share it with my friend, And the algorithm is gonna see that more people are sharing it and watching it longer, and it's gonna start promoting it a bit more. Like, there is a utility in that. Even though Adam Curry says that YouTube is evil and Google is evil.
That's something that I agree with. But is the algorithm evil? That's something I'm not willing to, to really really put a lot of emotion on just because it's an algorithm. Why am I putting any emotion towards an algorithm? What, like, why do I care about it? It's just another thing to be used. And so more YouTube in 2024 for sure. Just being more intentional with the YouTube video. Just my experience on YouTube. Like, I'm looking for series. I'm looking for documentaries. I'm looking for continued, continued and consistent, stories around whatever niche that you have.
And, that's why I I go to like, there's this 1 channel I follow, Defunctland. Defunctland is an amazing YouTube channel. This guy Kevin Perjurer, he does documentaries on Mainly focusing on Disney rides and, amusement parks and the history of of those areas and and the businesses. One of his most recent ones, well, he did a whole, like, 2 hour special on the history of the Disney Channel. And it's just these really random things that, like, I like, and this is something that I grew up with. You know? I was watching the Disney Channel. It's like so here's this thing I like, and I'm happy that it's on YouTube because billions of people can see it. You know? And I think that that's a thing.
And there's a really interesting balance between that and RSS feeds. So I feel like I wanna convince these YouTube people. Like, I wanna show All the YouTube people, the power of RSS. And I don't want it to be, like, degrading to YouTube because People, I was just most of most of the criticism I hear is all from Adam Curry. Right? Adam Curry hates YouTube. Adam Curry hates Google. They're evil. Right? They are they they help Satan is what he says. And I'm like, okay, dude. I guess, can we just, like, not put that kind of energy out there? Excuse me. Excuse me.
My coughs are coming out of nowhere. Maybe I am getting sick, but, I mean, I just took a few rips off my bong. Long story short, I just don't think YouTube's bad. I don't think YouTube is inherently bad. I don't think the algorithm's bad. I support RSS feeds, and I like YouTube. So I'll do both. And the next 1. The next 1. Connect with people more and find honest friends. That one, I you know, I think I really found that one. That, magic motion fun time and the friends thing, finding honest friends. This is this really happened to me. So I got over here one second. I got so a while ago a few weeks ago, No. A few months ago, I mean, I got a T shirt from my buddy, Kyron, and his mere mortals podcast.
I, sent in the right amount of Satoshis, and I got myself a little, custom not custom, but exclusive T shirt for the pod, and I was super hyped super excited. And I the normal white T shirt, like, sort of, like, Purposefully not the best, I think. Like, there's like, the words were not centered. Like, purposefully not centered. I I'm pretty sure Pretty sure it was it was on purpose. And, I got a little note. I got a handwritten note from Kyron, and this might be I've been saving this note. I've been saving this note for the end of the year, I I guess. Like, just I I didn't wanna share it right away, but I really like this note.
And, so Kyron wrote a handwritten thing for me, and he goes, yo, goal. And he says, it's been a pleasure watching you grow as a podcaster and as a human being. Your unbridled energy and enthusiasm always puts a smile on my face. I really hope we get to meet in Nashville so I can give you a hug, and we can become in real life friends. Go Bitcoin. Go America Plus. Go v for v, Kyron. And then he has, like, a little v for v, then he has, like, a heart with an arrow, then he has Bitcoin, like the Bitcoin symbol. It's like, Kyron, dude, like Like, my heart opened up. I almost teared up reading that note when I first got the T shirt.
It's just really powerful, man. Just thank you for that. I really believe that we're friends. I believe that we're like, let's get more friendly. Let's be better friends, Kyron. I'm so down for that. Never had a a you know, there's only one other example in my life where I had an international relationship. That was in the 2nd grade. I had a pen pal to some person. I think it was another boy in The Caribbean or something? I don't know. Some other school in, like, on an island or something. It was some weird program that we were doing. I didn't really I I didn't know what was going on. I sort of had a friend in the 2nd grade in the Bahamas. Oh, yeah. The school was in the Bahamas. That's what it was. And I was trying to I I don't I don't know. Just listening to the teacher. Write to your pen pal. We have pen pals now. Like, okay.
No. Kyron, you are my real pen pal. You're my pod pal. Is that a word, pod pal? Does that not is that cool or lame? We don't have to use it ever again. Next 1 I wrote down. This is a little little ironic for what's going on In my lungs right now, get certified for Wim Hof and on it. Didn't happen either. Didn't happen either, dude. What am I doing here? A lot of these things, like I'm so sorry, guys. I did 2 rounds earlier, and now I probably need to do another 2 rounds later. For when it comes to health stuff, a lot of people in my life always say things like, Cole, you should be like a personal trainer. Cole, you should get certified in something. Cole, you should, like, help people out with stuff, and I'm interested in that. You know?
If my career is multimodal and it's not just about Movies, and it's not just about podcasting. You know? What other skills do I have? What other skills can I share with people? How can I help people with my with my knowledge and with my techniques? Or the techniques that I'd know at least. And, Wim Hof is definitely a a technique that I want more people to know. It's something that I wanna go deeper into. I've had my own journey with it of Doing it religiously for 2 years during COVID and completely stopping stopped doing it for, like, a year.
And now I'm just slowly getting back into a rhythm with it. Just being comfortable with my body. You know? I wanted to get certified this year, and I didn't. I wanted to get certified to be like a trainer for for the Wim Hof breathing method Along with getting certified and I actually bought these courses. I've this company on it. It's the company that, Joe Rogan helped helped found. It's they sell kettlebells and steel maces. They got a bunch of home, home workout stuff. It's really, really high quality And really affordable too.
Most of their workouts are like, I don't know, $50, but it's like a whole 6 week course and you just buy it. You buy it, and it's $50. So I I thought there was a deal there. So I've, during COVID, I leaned into the it I leaned into it, And I like their philosophy. They have this whole, unconventional fitness philosophy. They have this movement philosophy, just focusing more on blood flow and fluid motions and, just a different thing. Let's not bodybuilding or classic gym stuff, and and, I I I'm aligned with that. Like like, my soul, my spirit, like, I like that stuff. And so I wanna like, that's something I'm gonna put on the list again next year.
These are things that I still wanna do, and I just didn't Get to do them. I had to focus on other things this year. I had to be present. You know? It's not really a lesson this year to be present, but it was, Like, it was definitely a challenge. I today, this year, I was challenging myself to be present. And, you know, we just continue on that journey. It's always a practice to be present. So maybe I can be present enough to actually get certified in stuff that I wanna that I wanna do. I think it's important to know. I I just think Breathing exercises and knowing how to comfort comfortably move your body gets you healthy. And it's as simple as that. It doesn't have to be hard. Next one is, learn 2 songs on the piano.
Folks, this this is me being humble right now. I'm trying to humble myself in front of you. Like, I'm not The go to person for productivity, I am not the guy to listen to to, like, how to, like, how to do everything you ever want. Do I wanna learn piano? Yes and no. I really don't care about instruments. That's another thing. How many how many things do I not like? How many things do I now have the energy for? I wrote down the the the the one song I wrote down here was It's a beautiful day by Queen. I love that song. That that song is, like Freddie Mercury's last album, And it's just a really pretty song, and it I wanted to learn the piano of that. So will it be on 2024 list? Possibly, But I don't know. That's something I'm willing to let go of.
And then, the the last one I wrote down here, I wrote down more content, substack, combine more topics, more info. Wow. What amazing, dude. Like, how broad? Very wide ranging, Cole. More content. I guess I I kept posting the podcast. Substack, That's in reference to 1 or to, like, a few substack posts that I did. I thought substack was the move, but not really. But I was experimenting with it in January of this year, and I made this, short Story called a new day. What is it called? A new day. How the people got their power back. And this is, I don't wanna play the whole thing, but here's the here's a little bit. I actually wrote a whole short story using ChatchePT To just tell, like, a short story of people, a group of friends defeating their government.
A New Day, How the people got their power back, written by Cole McCormack and AI, performed by Cole McCormack. Katherine, Jasmine, and Thomas were friends who live in the Freedom Economic Alliance, FEA, a country that prided itself on prosperity and stability. But beneath the surface, there was something rotten. The government was corrupt and used the innate power within the people to power its systems of freedom. If one were to speak against the purpose of these freedom systems, one would be inclined to pay a fee. Yeah. So I really went into this Just like this idea of this, like, dark the the dark side of financial narratives and laws and the dark side of Freedom narratives, the dark side of, like, trying to create a world, try to create a dystopian future.
It was really fun to write that. If you wanna, I I I'll link it down below if you wanna listen to the whole thing. It's like a 7 minute thing. I had a good time writing it. I think it's a good story. I think it's a it's not the best story, but it definitely has a beginning, middle, and end. I wanna do more things like that. This was like a precursor to me doing voice acting for, excuse me, Kyron, Kyron Down's Book reviews podcast, the mere mortals book reviews. When Kyron approached me to do voice acting for that, I was like, yes. Whenever I I I have this tendency to just say yes to anything or to say yes to any creative endeavor.
The story with my friend Ben a few years ago before like, in, like, 2017 or 2018. He was like, hey. You wanna do, like, a, an Instagram talk show? And I was like, yeah. Sure. Let's do it. And then we did that for a year. And so I'm happy to have a from across the world approached me and say, hey. Do you wanna do some voice acting for my show? And I'm and I'm like, yeah. Let's let's see how long this goes. Let's see let's see how much How much we can build this, man? So I I I feel really blessed for that. That's something that came up out of the blue.
I didn't write write down any any performance goals. I didn't write down, like, I wanna act more or I wanna Do anything more. You know? The the the first goal I had was the real focus. That's really magic mushroom fun time was the thing that I was Just putting my heart and soul in, putting all of my thoughts and energy into it. And it's been the one consistent thing Throughout this chaos of a year, man, like, it's December 31st, and I'm moving through this summer where my dad was diagnosed with cancer. And going through that crisis with the family and going through those prayers and tears and continuing to do the show, and At the same time, seeing the revolution with, podcasting 2 point o and music and, interviewing Ainsley And seeing that path forward to to interview more more artists and to see the path forward to to connect with more people And to go through struggles, just just general financial struggles. You know? Like, It's just one of those things. You know? Like, we're just moving through those times.
And I have faith for the future, and I'm not afraid of like, I feel content, and I feel ready to move forward. Like 2024, I want to win. 2024, I want to win. When I was moving into 2023, I I had quit my job because it was a bad environment, And I was a little fair with my responsibilities, and I was trying to, like, reorient Reorient my like, what I wanted to do and how I thought about work and how I was approaching my life. And this year has been a lot of experiments and a lot of failures, but I'm not sad of it. I'm not sad about it, dude. I'm not embarrassed by it. Because it's not about what you don't do. It's about what you put your heart and soul into.
And I don't know, man. Like, the and and this is just a contract to myself. You know? So I didn't really let anyone down by not meeting these goals. It's really just like in my own head. I I put myself up against my own head. Does anyone else do that? Is it does anyone else, I don't know, have, like, some weird standard in their head that they should be meeting and they're not? But I work through that. I work through it with therapy. No. I don't. I work through it with mushrooms. Do you have any goals, dude? Do you have any goals? When I was moving into 2023, I was, Like, just not stable.
I wasn't stable. I feel like I wasn't healthy. I feel like I'm trying to get healthier. I feel like, like, healthy in my head. You know? Like, healthy With what I believe in, healthy with, what I put my energy into. It's a it's a it's a very long, long, long, long, long, long Journey to figure out, what your life what you want your life to be. Because even though I have goals for my life and I have I know What type of work I want to do in my life, it's still life. And I still like, there's still a lot of things that I don't No. Or there there there's a lot of information that I don't have, and I guess I'm just talking on on this Sunday. I gotta go to work soon, by the way. I got I gotta wrap this up pretty quick.
And the they scheduled me 12 to 4 today. So, and then we're partying, and then it's a party. Oh, real quick. The this past week, So a a little a little funny kitchen story. Whenever there's, like, a holiday, there's a lot more a bit more, sneaky sneaky going on in the in the kitchen. So some people taking shots, some people eating stuff, some people doing whatever. Things are getting passed around. Luckily, your boy is very responsible, and I don't partake Very often, just sometimes. And I was given 2 this week, I was given 2 shot block bottles. Just 2 little shots of whiskey, from a buddy of mine, and I got these on top of my fridge.
And I think I'm gonna, take them both, tonight, for the new year. I I think that'll be my my little My little celebration, just because, I probably shouldn't be smoking weed with the with the nose. So how about we drink? How about we have some alcohol? That's healthier. Goals going into 2024, I wanna create more. You know? I I don't have a big creative goal right now. It it was the end of 2022 when I had the seed of the idea for Magic Mushroom Fun Time. And right now, the most recent seed that's come into my view is, what about the feature movie? The feature presentation.
You know, in terms of creativity in movies, my next goal like, I don't wanna do another short. You know? Like, I feel like the next thing needs to be a movie. Needs to be, like, hopefully, a theater experience. So we'll see how that goes. I don't know How or when or you know, that's just a seed. I'm looking I'm trying to, align myself with what the right path is going forward because, you know, it new year, new me, yada yada yada, new moon. You gotta figure it out, man. I'm not gonna put myself under any pressure to to know it January 1st. You know? I'm just.
But I am being intentional. I know that 2024, I'm being intentional with my words and my work and My love and, oh, that's funny. I just saw as soon as I said my love, Shannon started pulling into the driveway. That's hilarious. Or the parking lot, whatever. Yeah. I just know that 2024 is gonna be Very interesting. It's gonna be a balance of chaos, more chaos, and but also incredible blessings. That's what I believe. That's what I believe to the deepest part of my heart. Folks, what that, what what we're doing now, folks, we're gonna head on into the boost, The boostograms, folks, America Plus is a value for value show.
What that means is, I'm doing my thing. I bring stories. I bring movies. I bring, topics of conversation to you, And you're able to put the value on what you're experiencing and and what the vibe is here. Pretty much if you're using a modern podcast app, like fountain or podcast guru. Go to value for value dot info for more info, then download the fountain dot f m app. It's the best way to support the show. There's a whole slew of modern podcast apps. Fountain is one of my favorite ones. You're able to send Bitcoin to people. So and and I'm I'm gonna be reading the, the boosts on fountain right now, or at least I get them on fountain.
This is from last week. I got 1 boost in from last week. This is coming in from I I actually, I got a few I mean, people boosted in. Right? I should actually read the comments other things. Let me pull up let me pull up no agenda too real quick. Bingo. Bingo. Okay. So From last week, the making of Magic Mushroom Fun Time part 1, we got, the only one, Joel w. He boosts in A whopping 3,333 sets. He says, be checking the movie tomorrow. Happy New Year. She sends in 3 mushrooms, firework, confetti, champagne. 3 champagnes, dude. Thank you so much. And then he says, oh, Loving the young Cole reenactments too. Thank you, sir.
Boosting is loving. As the French say, it is time for The boost. Boost. Thank you so much, Joel. Thank you so much for those sats. Dude, I hope you like the movie. The movie is definitely I I think it's for people like you, Joel. Things for people like you. I'm on the no agenda tube right now on the video On the short film, I see a comment here from mister Kyran Down. He said, So first of all, Kyrie now, sent in a giant boost. He sent in, like I don't know how much he sent in. He sent in, like, 8,000 sats or something or more than 8,000 sats. It was a pretty big one. Here's the issue with NogenerTube. I actually don't know how to see, like, the main boost, Or I don't know how to see like, where to see what the complete amount was because I was able to see my cut, but I wasn't able to see the full thing. So maybe someone can direct me to that. But Kyron Down commented, I'm going to be chatting with Cole about this film in a couple of days. Yeah, dude. So, Check it out. Because, basically, you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. I was able to be interviewed by Kyran Down.
I'm gonna be on his conversations, episode of, next week. I forget if it's gonna be, he told me Thursday maybe, but I forget the exact day. It might be later. It might be earlier. I don't know. But I'm definitely I've I've written there's a 2 hour podcast with me and Kyron on the Internet, And it's coming out next week for the new year. Very blessed about that. So if you wanna listen to that, please do. I was super nervous doing during the interview. I literally, like during the first question, I was like, dude, I don't know what I'm talking about, man. I just gotta take a breath Real quick. And, like, I literally, like, stopped the conversation, and he was like, it's okay, Cole. It's okay. Just take a breath. Just take a breath. Thank you, Kyron. So thank you, Kyron, for giving me that experience. Thank you for the comment. Thank you for the support, dude.
Yeah, man. Value for value is where it's at. I I really believe in this. We're we're end we're wrapping up the new year. We're wrapping up this year, the old year, with A stronger base for value for value and having having a real understanding of what the next step might be Or having a real vision for what the future is with value for value in the podcast and all this stuff. Check out that interview. Come by next year, dude. I'm interviewing more more artists. We got these lined up. I got these I I I I I'm I'm talking to these people now, and, this America Plus is evolving.
We're moving into phase 2 soon. With that comes a new image. I'm working on that, so don't worry about that. But there will be a new America plus flag soon. I'm very excited for it. And, are there any other updates, dude? I don't I don't think there are. Oh, I need a song. Dude, I don't have a song. Okay. I'll find the song. I might just post this later today. So I'm recording this at 11 AM. I think I might post this later this afternoon. We'll see. How about we post it a lot later, around, like, 10 PM or 11 PM? Or how about we post at New Year's Day, folks? What I got for you right now, the singer we got is, the very famous. He just performed with Ainsley Costello.
We got Just Loud coming in with Moon child. Enjoy. Sue. I sue. Do. Do. Sue. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Sue. Sue. Do. Sue.
