Cole reflects on the challenges and lessons of 2024, marking it as the most intense year of his life. He shares the emotional journey of being present during his father's final days, emphasizing the growth and resilience he has gained from the experience. Looking ahead to 2025, Cole outlines his mission to face fears with zero hesitation, build a Bitcoin lightning node, expand his creative reach, and focus on holistic health. He emphasizes the importance of self-love and the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, including more beach workouts and a shift towards natural materials.
The episode concludes with a musical feature from Wave Lake artist Longy, showcasing the collaborative spirit of the value for value model.
[00:00:01]
Unknown:
Another year lived. What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Colm McCormick. It's another week. Another episode. What's going on, everybody? Happy to be here. It's Sunday, December December 22nd, 10:36 to PM. What's up, folks? Thank you for tuning in to another wonderful episode of America Plus, folks. 2 weeks has passed, and now we are back. This is the last show of the year, dude. Last show, man. Is anyone like, this is sort of sad. Right? Sort of sad. Like, we love America Plus. This new schedule has been nice. I don't think I'll stick with it for the whole year of 2025.
This has just been like a 2024 situation. But, every 14 days has been good. I will let you know when I'm going back to 7 days. But for the time being, maybe just we're sticking with it for January. Okay? What I wanna do this week, guys, is, just I wanna just talk about the year and the next year, dude. We need to discuss how we are innovating ourselves and how we're bettering ourselves. This whole theme of America Plus is to be positive and to be forward facing, forward looking. Okay? It's like self improvement, but we're also like looking for things that are helping us. Right? Like in the world, narratives, products, ideas.
Okay. And what I wanna share is just a little bit of my 2024 and what I seek for 2025. And, so what do I have here? Let me look at my notes. So just the the review. Okay? The 2024 review. It fucking sucked. It was the shittiest fucking year of my life. Like, there's no other way to get around it. This has been the hardest year of my life, the most intense year of my life. I went through the wildest and most intense situation ever. Nothing will ever come close to it. Okay? Being present for the final week of my father's life is quite literally the most insane thing that I could fucking do.
And I have no regrets about it. Like, there's sadness still, and there's, like, emotion still, but this this thing that I'm living through, it's, it's to think back on it, to think back on this last week of July, July 2024 and leading up to August 1st, it's just madness. Okay? And that's really the the big definer of 2024, the death of my dad. And I take that in with as much gratitude as I fucking can because, you know, he was a good dad. And I move forward with gratitude because there has to be some perspective of this is all that was necessary.
Does that make sense? Like, I have to I as a man, I'm 27. I turned 28 in March. Okay? I have to move forward as if there was, like like like, all the lessons I had to learn from him are complete. And now the lessons I need to learn by myself are beginning. And maybe that's a lesson in itself. And so that's the best thing that I can come up with right now in terms of being positive about that. And that's just, you know, that's just where I'm at right now, man. I wanted to share this video of of, Rick Rubin. Do do you know the producer, Rick Rubin? He has he's like this, he's a music producer.
He has this book about creativity. And, the reason why I'm, like, I'm sharing my emotions about my dad, and I'm sharing these things about how I want my life to be, on this podcast is sort of wrapped up in this clip, and I will continue following. Like, this clip is, like, my life right now. Check this out. Rick Rubin.
[00:04:12] Unknown:
Everything I make is a diary entry. The beauty of a diary entry is I can write my diary entry, and you can't tell me my diary entry wasn't good enough, or that's not what I that's not what I experienced. Of course, it's what I experienced. It's I'm writing a personal diary for myself. No one else can judge it. It is my experience of of my life. Everything we make can be that, can be a personal reflection of who we are in that moment of time. It doesn't have to be the greatest you could ever do. It doesn't have to have any expectation that it's gonna change the world. It doesn't have to be this has to sell a certain number of copies for any reason. It doesn't have any of those things. All it is is, I'm making this thing. I'm making this thing for me, and I I wanna do it to the best of my ability to where I feel good about it and where it's honest. It's honest of where I'm at.
And if you're living in this world of just being honest to where you're at, there's nothing blocking that.
[00:05:32] Unknown:
Do do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Okay. I I love that clip. That was Rick Rubin on the Andrew Huberman podcast. I wanted to share that because, like, that's what this podcast has sort of been as long as it's been around. This has been a pure expression of what I'm going through week by week, biweekly, along with me trying to find, like, the best ideas and the and, like, just looking for the positiveness within America and within the world. And moving through my dad's death and choosing to discuss it on the show, you know, this is just some real shit. Like, I I don't have, like, a real, like, fucking soliloquy for you here. Like, I'm just I am thankful that I'm able to discuss this real life moment that I went through with you because I don't know who else talks about this this way.
When I experienced my dad's death, I knew for a fact that it was, like, the greatest catalyst that will be in my life. There is immense sadness, but there is immense growth happening. I believe this for myself, and I believe this for you if you're going through something like this. If you're going through a hard time, if you're going through hardship, you must believe that there is a lesson. You must believe that there is a path forward. You must believe in yourself. You must. You must. You must. I am. I am. And there's days when I feel like shit. There's days when I feel sad. There's days when I'm crying. There's days when I'm happy. There's days when I feel lazy. There's days where I feel motivated, and this has been this year.
I'm currently working in a kitchen. I'm working at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Pasadena. I fucking hate it. And but it's been a job that's been a huge blessing for me. It's the job that I have it's the job that I've had since the day of my dad's cancer diagnosis. This job has seen me through the worst of it, and I have been my best, and I have been my worst within it. And, so I'm thinking about the year, and I'm thinking about how I've worked, you know, just like these little fights at work, you know. You get into these spats in the kitchen, and, like, you there's egos and there's emotions, and I'm coming through it from a perspective of, like, this is just this is necessary for right now, and thank God for the kitchen. Thank God I can fucking smash some potatoes and just spin a salad.
Thank God I just need to focus on making some food. Because if I was working at the dispensary when my dad was dying, I don't think I would be any healthier. I'm like the healthiest that I can be right now, considering the circumstances. If I was working anywhere else, if I was working out at if if I was a tour guide at Warner Brothers, like I was before the pandemic, I I I don't know what kind of a person I would be. Like, it it's as if I'm just thankful for this present moment. That's what I'm trying to express. Even though I hate it, even though I don't don't wanna be in it anymore, like, this is like 2024 has been like a rock bottom. That's the review.
Rock bottom, dude. And there's lessons with that. There's lessons within this year. And and the biggest lesson is, I have them written down is I'm resilient. That's a big lesson that I've learned about myself. I can go through the worst situation in my life, and I can move forward. You know, I make that choice every single day. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to do that? Let me be an example of that happening in the physical realm. I have faced and I'm, like, I'm tired right now. I'm fucking I just got done. So if I could just talk about how much I've been working. Oh, the next lesson. I can work long hours. That's another fucking lesson I learned. And I'm sorry for cursing so much. It's 10:46, and I'm I just pulled off 4 53 hours at work this week, dude. I've been working mega overtime because it's it's Christmas, and I'm just I'm just tired. Okay?
This is the diary entry. I'm resilient, and I can work long hours, and I can actually do it. I can make the conscious choice to do it. And there's gotta be some some gratitude in that as well. Like, I I can take a lot. I can hold a lot on my shoulders, and I can trudge through a lot of pressure, a lot of bullshit, you know. I'm able to do that. That's a real lesson. That's not a lie. Like, I'm doing that. I'm doing something that I don't like doing in a moment that I don't like living. And I am choosing to move forward with love. I'm doing my damn best to move forward with love in my heart. So I don't get bogged down by the day to day. With love in my heart, hopefully, that creates clarity for my future and and and and peace in my present. That's what holding love in your heart means.
That's what I'm trying to lean into. You know, I'm doing these heart centered meditations in hopes of it brings clarity for the future and peace in my present. That's what I'm doing right now, guys. This is the the this is a spiritual journey I'm living through. The next lesson is I am creative to my core. That's a great thing. I'm a I am creative to my core. Last year, I made a short film. This year, I like, like, right when I came back to LA after after going through my dad's death, I reached out to Barry, CEO of Pod Home, and I asked him if I could make videos for his company. I I needed the extra cash. I wanted to be creative.
I connected with a person that I knew who's who's also been incredibly nice to me. For some reason, Barry from Pod Home has been stupendously, like, outrageously nice to me. Like and he's there's no reason to be nice to me. There's no re he's in the freaking Netherlands. Like, why would a person in the Netherlands be so kind to me to give me this opportunity to be creative for his company? And then, like, a side thing, what Barry did, he's let me use his freaking SquadCast video recording. Like, if I ever do a a remote interview, I'm using his SquadCast account. Why did you let me do that, Barry? Thank you. So shout out to Barry, dude.
Shout out to Barry. Like, Barry has given me immense opportunity to be creative. And I'm just thankful for that, and I and I am not squandering it. I'm just moving through a lot. And this year has shown me that I have, I I can move forward with creativity.
[00:13:19] Unknown:
And it's not a question that, am I creative or am I not creative?
[00:13:24] Unknown:
Am I caught am I cut out to do this creative thing? Like, yes, Cole. Like, you don't even have to question that anymore. Stop questioning yourself, Cole. You're creative. Be creative. You can make money being creative. You you're doing it right now. You've been doing it, Cole. You've been doing it. You've been having fun. You've been making money, and you are growing with it. Like, for some reason, I just keep questioning myself in my head. And this is the last year that I question. The last year I question Cole. Stop questioning yourself.
I'm I'm very thankful for that. And, the last sort of, like, little lesson is, I force myself like, I I can force myself to do things I didn't wanna do. Last year, in in the beginning of 2024, I talked about how I didn't wanna do like, I didn't wanna edit videos. Like, you can go back to episode 103 and just listen to how I'm, like, complaining about learning and editing software. Cut to, I'm literally editing videos. Like, I I'm literally doing the thing that I didn't wanna do. So I forced myself to do something that I knew I needed to do. I didn't wanna do it, but it's actually helping me. It's actually a utility.
And so, I know how to edit videos. Like, I and I've always sort of known, but you know what I mean. Like, I'm actually, like, digging into the the software. You know, I'm actually, like, learning I'm actually, like, paying attention to what I'm doing, and I'm, like, getting better. Like, I'm I'm thinking about how to do better with these things. And so, I'm I'm thankful for that, and and that's a big lesson. I can actually force myself to do something new. So that's a big deal. That's a big deal. And these lessons take me into what I want for the new year, 2025. You won't see me until the new year. You won't hear from me until the new year. On this on this RSS feed, of course.
I'll be everywhere. I'll I'll I'll be on social media. I'll be on x. I'll be on Nostr. I'll be on primal. I'll be, you know, I'll be posting. So follow me on these things. But in terms of the feed, next year, whenever next year happens. What I want for next year, I sort of have, like, a 2025 mission, a rough mission. And what I wanna do on this 2025 mission is, number 1, I wanna continue with what I've been doing. I wanna face all fears, but this time, with 0 fucks. I wanna face all fears with 0 fucks. Like, I've already gone through it. Now it's time to actually just, like, not be afraid of it. You know, I was afraid of my dad dying.
I was afraid of, like, what this might be like. I was never in denial of it probably happening, but I was afraid. And that fear led me to think certain ways. And now, I just don't wanna be afraid. And so whatever I'm afraid of, whether it be big life stuff or little little stuff, You know, just don't give a fuck about the fear. Like, fear is what does this what do they say in Dune? Fear is the mind killer. Just let it pass through. You know? That's been, like, a big thing that stuck with me. Fear is the mind killer. You know, fear what does fear produce? Nothing.
Fear produces nothing good. The next, the the next, bullet point on the mission, on the on the 2025 agenda mission is, and I've been talking to people about this on Noster. I'm I'm finally gonna build my Bitcoin node, my Bitcoin lightning node. I talked about it last year, talked about 2 years ago, you know, going down these Bitcoin rabbit holes. The the I've already been been through the worst. Now there's zero excuses. I need to build my lightning node. I need to be sovereign with my money, and I need to be connected to the wider network. This is necessary.
This is something I've never done before. You know, I talked about this in, you know, episode 103. Like, I I I said that I was scared to do it. I've never I've never handled open source software before. What am I doing? Like, what the like, stop, Cole. Stop being afraid. Why are you afraid of something that's open? It's open for you. Why are you afraid of something that's open for you? It's literally the the software is literally reaching out with an open code, with an open source code waiting for you to hold on to it, waiting for you to wield it. And so I'm not gonna be afraid of that anymore, and I wanna transact with with the wider value for value space, man. Like, how dope is that to think about the value for value people, the value for value community transacting with each other with their nodes. Like, that's really cool.
And I don't wanna miss out. Like, I've been a I've been, boosting and zapping in during the Satsby Southwest event, and that was really fun. I'm, like, man, you know what? But, like, people are, like, doing this on their nodes. Like, they're transact like, they are helping these transactions move forward with their nodes. Like, I wanna be a part of that. That's just cool to me. So I'm learning that, and 2025 is when I build my node. So if you wanna open up some channels with me, if you wanna give me some liquidity, let's go for it, bro.
And the next next item on the mission is to expand my creative reach. Okay? And so I'm continuing with the Pod Home videos in the New Year. That's on the Podcast Normie YouTube channel. I'm posting those videos to Noster as well. It's all for promotion for for Pod Home. I love Pod Home. And then short films, I'm doing more short films next year, mainly so I can have some content, to put up on Indie Hub to help out Zach Mahoney with his, like, Bitcoin streaming website. Like, it's freaking dope. I wanna get some short films on that. And, what what else did I write? What else do I wanna do creatively? Like, those are like the 2 biggest things, videos and short films, you know, of course, more podcasts. Oh, I, more conversations on America Plus.
I don't know the schedule. I don't know the people yet, but I know for certain that I want to have more conversations, Whether that be in person or remote. I'm gonna make sure both of those things are to the highest quality that I can produce. And I wanna make sure that they are conversations that I think are enlightening, and they're people that I think bring truth and bring light. And I I I'm not trying to game an algorithm. I'm not trying to, you know, I'm not I'm not trying to ride that bandwagon at all. I just I believe that conversations on podcasts are really important.
You know? People are interested in a conversation. That's been the biggest truth about this podcasting situation and podcasting year. You know? The 2024 was sort of the the media has defined it as the the podcast election. But the biggest takeaway from that is like, from that headline is people were interested in listening to Trump having a conversation. People were interested in Kamala having a conversation. So it's not so much about I mean, of of course, it's about who you get, but it's more about the conversation. Is the conversation enlightening? Is the conversation in-depth?
Does it bring truth? Does it bring a new truth? You know, does it reveal something? These are things that I wanna tap into, and I believe I can do that. I believe I can tap into new truths, and reveal new things with with with talking to people. So I wanna talk to more people on the podcast. And then, the next things is to love myself. I I my the the mission for next year is to continue to love myself. If you question yourself, are you really loving yourself? If you're second guessing your thoughts and your actions, are you really loving yourself? You know?
Flip it outward. You know? If you're always questioning your dad's actions, if you're always, like, sort of trying to critique what they're doing, what that other person in your life is doing, are you really loving them? You know? This question of love, this idea of love, like, what does it mean to love a person romantically, relationally? You know, does it mean to just let them do live their life laissez faire? You know, and to not speak life in any way? Doesn't mean to fully control them, you know. This is a balance every individual needs to make, needs to explore. And loving yourself is is like the numero uno. Like, you gotta begin there.
Begin by understanding loving yourself, and then you can begin by loving others. So just loving myself and not questioning my actions, not questioning my instincts, you know, that's a big one. Just moving into that more. And then, I think this is the last one that I have. I wanna, just be more healthy. You know? Holistic health. I I I I wanna do more within the holistic health space. I wanna wear more cotton. I wanna wear less polyester. I wanna drink more raw milk. I wanna eat more meat. I wanna work out at the beach more. More beach workouts, dude. That's the thing that I need to do. More beach workouts. I have this privilege of being in SoCal, and I live freaking I live, like, 20 some miles away from Santa Monica. Like, I gotta get my ass over there. And I have friends who live over there, and so I I gotta do this. I gotta work out with Case more.
You know? Case, what's his name? Bradford? He has, like, the most, like like, a trad name ever. Case Bradford. He's this fucking jacked guy in his mid thirties. Anyway, I he's just cool. He's nice. I'm I'm I'm having him on the podcast for sure. We've already discussed it. But, just more holistic health, more more movements. 2024 has been a year of struggling to find reason to move, you know, just for the obvious things. Like, who the fuck is gonna work out the month of their dad dying, you know? Like, I was, I August of, of this year, I was, like, pretty heavy drinking.
I was smoking a lot of weed, drinking a lot of drinks, and this back half of the year has been, I've just made a conscious choice to just not consume alcohol and weed. You know? I I I'm not sure for how long. It might be permanent. It might not be. It probably won't be. But I just know that I I need to be sober right now, and a part of that wanting to be sober is also not wanting to drag myself down with a substance that makes me, immobile or unwilling to be mobile. You know? And I've sort of conquered those things. This last thing that I like, this this the last boss that's making me not wanna work out is my job.
So I need to, like because I'm just fucking tired. I'm working 10 hours. I just need to, you know, that's the that is the final hurdle. Just, like, find a way to work out. Find a way to be more healthy even when you're tired. Find a way to be healthy even when you're tired. And that's a big thing.
[00:25:56] Unknown:
Excuse me. I was hurt.
[00:26:02] Unknown:
Yeah. Holistic health stuff. What else can I do for that? What do do what's your opinion on the holistic health thing? Like, do you think it's interesting? Do you do you even know what I'm talking about? Holistic health is like it's like spirituality meets health. It's like it it's like the the polyester is ruining your frequencies. Like, that's what I'm talking about. Like, I'm, like, I'm getting more into that. I'm I don't like wearing underwear. I don't like wearing this, like, the the polyester boxer shorts. I don't like wearing them. I haven't worn them in a long time. And I feel like and now it's gotten to a point where, like, I don't even like these, like, these polyester shorts.
So I'm either gonna go fucking bare nude, or I gotta change to all cotton shorts. And I'm leaning towards cotton. Cotton. That's a lot of balls, cotton. Does anyone get that reference? Anyway, what do you think about those things? Is that a good mission? That's pretty much all I have to share, about the mission, man. 2025. What are you looking for in 2025? Do you have missions? Do you have goals? Do you have resolutions? This is important to talk about, not only for America, but for yourself. Believe in yourself this year, man. You need to. You need to. You need to. You need to. Oh, okay. So the the last thing I wanna talk about about this year and, like, a blessing of this year has been, Nostr.
And I've just been really enjoying Nostr, and I'm gonna be posting more on there more, more long form content, more video content, just more general stuff. You know, that's where I'm like hanging out right now. And and that's been a really fun time. So follow me on Noster. I'm mainly on Primal, [email protected], or follow me on fountain, get the fountain app. And I'm just gonna be and I'm grateful for value for value this year as well. And the mission for next year is to continue to dig my heels in. I'm gonna be, like, I'm digging in my heels so deep in value for value. I'm gonna be knee deep in value for value. That's how deep my heels are in this thing, dude.
Value for value is real. It's happening, and it's, like, the main thing that's guiding America Plus. Okay? So, let's hit it let's head into the boost it room, shall we? The value for value section. America Plus is a value for value show. That means that I bring forward an idea, concept, conversation that I think is valuable for the community, and you can reciprocate that value in a number of ways, time, talent, and treasure. Sending this, episode to your friends, sharing the show with people, talking about these ideas, that's valuable.
You can support me monetarily
[00:28:54] Unknown:
mainly in the fountain dot f m app. 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. So fountain does multiple things multiple things.
[00:29:07] Unknown:
A, you can send me a boostagram, which is a message with a payment with little bits of Satoshis. The that's like a a a Satoshi is a little bit of a Bitcoin, which is really cool. 1,000 satoshis is equal to $1 right now with the current Bitcoin price. What you can also do on Fountain is you can have a Nostra account. And if you were to send me a boostagram, and you had a Nostra account in Fountain, then I'd be able to retweet you. I'd be able to repost you, and that's sort of, like, the like, the value reciprocating on top of itself.
Okay? I make a podcast. You send me a Boostagram. I retweet you. We have a conversation. Hopefully, it's valuable. Hopefully, the community at large gets it, and we just live our life wonderfully without any scams. That's value for value. And what I'm gonna be doing now, I'm reading the boostograms from, the last episode number 141. I talked about my experience with Nostr and why I think more podcast apps, should be integrating it. I think it's a good idea. Nostr is just it's a decentralized social network where anybody can build what's called a client. You know, you you can build your own personal app on top of Nostr, and you can have it specify for whatever type of content that you want it to. So there's like Twitter type apps. There's like substack type apps, and Fountain is a podcast app on top of Nostr, which is pretty cool. And I'm reading the boostograms right now.
The, this first one. So we got this guy, my guy at piaz. He sends in a total of 1100 Satoshis. He has to say, yo. Let's fucking go. Boosting is loving. V four v. Hell, yeah, p s. Thank you, p s. Thank you very much, sir. This next one comes in from atchadf. What up, Chadf? He sends in a beautiful 333 Satoshis, baby. This is what he has to say about my Nostra thoughts. My thought on Nostra and podcasting 2 point o. I see all the benefits that it brings connecting a social layer to a podcasting app, but some of us just don't want that in our main podcast app, parenthesis, me.
Dude, totally understandable. The other apps you mentioned are done mostly by people in their spare time. So whatever features they decided to add, I'm good with, and that's why I use all apps because they are each unique like you mentioned, but, like you mentioned about Podcast Guru having video. The main issue right now is the change to Albie because it breaks a lot of stuff since not everyone is going to set up AlbieHub. The die hards like myself will, but we do need an alternative. And until that gets fixed, these other features like Nostra are on the back burner.
Fountain is testing it out, so anyone that wants to see what it's all about can use an app they are familiar with. Just some quick thoughts, and I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.
[00:32:25] Unknown:
And now, as the French say, it is time for the boost.
[00:32:30] Unknown:
Chad f, thank you for that in-depth in-depth boostagram. Yeah. You know, Nostra is unique. The fact that the other modern podcasting apps that allow you to send Boostagrams, they have bigger problems with lesser budgets, so I understand that point completely. I just think, you know, the if there is a modern podcast app, if there is a suite of modern podcast apps, how come they like, shouldn't they all sort of give similar features? You know? That's just, like, how my mind works. Like, if there's a number of things that are super cool, like it's, like, does Sam's Club have, like, a little food court, or does is Costco the only, like, a warehouse company that has a food court? You know what I mean? It's like it's like one of those things.
Maybe I'm I'm done with that, but, you know, regardless. Thank you, Chad f. Thank you, Chad f. The next 2, boostograms coming from my friend, Kyran Down at the Mere Mortals podcast. What up, Kyran? Both of these are satchel of Richards, 1,111 sats. These are big ones. The first one comes in, to, okay. He says Oh, Kyron is commenting on Nostra. He says, we'll try and get into it next year when I have more free time. Definitely missed the boostogram only home screen on fountain as compared to the mix there is now. I just find, I just find when there is no money attached to the message itself is also of lower value.
And then his next one comes in, he says, let's go Abel James. That's the song I played last week. Let's go Abel James. Great song. Got to meet him in Nashville this year. Very cool guy. He's also got a long running health podcast for those interested. Yes, sir. Boost. Kyren, I'll do I'll do another one for you. It's basically you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. Shout out to Kyren. I forgot to mention him during the 2024 review. I hung out with him a week after my dad died, and his mom passed away this year. And so him and I, like, we collided. We connected, and that's like a real podcast connection that that I'm never gonna forget, and I think we're, I think we're, we're world cross friends. There's star crossed lovers, and then there's world cross friends. That's what we are, Kyren.
Thank you very much, Kyren. And then the last one of the week. The last one, the biggest one comes in from my new friend, my new, fellow Nostridge friend, and fellow Valley for Value connoisseur, q w, from the pleb what is it called? The, I've told the PCR, the Pleb Chain Radio podcast. This is my new favorite podcast, Pleb Chain Radio. I'm not sure if you've heard of it. They it's a podcast about, talking about combining Nostra and Bitcoin protocols and the intersection of these things, and, talking to they talk to different people. Q w and Avi talk to different people who are doing different things in the Bitcoin world and the Nostra world, and I've become obsessed with it. And I wanna be on it one day, so that's just that's just me. But qw sent in a big boost to Graham. He sends in 5 1,000 satoshis. Thank you so much, q dubs.
He says, great episode. Being on Nostra for the past 2 years has been a blessing. The Valley for Valley community is enriched with the likes of Primal, Nostra, Amethyst, Nostr Nest, Fountain, Wave Lake, Toonster, and other Nostr Protocol integrated clients. Becoming your own algorithm and having the interoperability and discoverability within your web of trust brings pure signal and truly makes podcasting a social experience. Much more to come. Keep trailblazing FreedomTech. For any Nostr curious, here is a list of Nostr apps that can showcase the vast ecosystem that continues to develop. How you, Nostr, will be different than how others, Nostr, and that's a feature, not a bug. And then he links to nostrapps.com.
What up, qw? Bustar.
[00:36:53] Unknown:
Bustar. It's basically you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. Thank you very much, everyone who wanna send in a boostagram.
[00:37:01] Unknown:
That's value for value, dawg. That's value for value. If you wanna be a part of that, download the fountain app, send in a boostagram, follow me on Noster, comment, zap me, boost me. We're just gonna support each other. I will retweet you if you send in a boostagram and you have an Nostr account. That's my promise to you. And, these people have real thoughts. Share your real thoughts with me, and maybe we can make the world a better place, folks. That's America Plus, dude. What I wanna do now, guys, we're gonna wrap things up, with the song. I like ending with the song here.
Before I play the song, tell me I this is what I want. If you wanna send in a boost to gram, if you wanna send in any of your thoughts, tell me what tell me what your goals are next year, Tell me what you loved and hated of this year. And along with that, just just give me some love, or just send out some loving vibes. Okay? Do those three things, and the community is gonna be thriving. Okay? The song that I wanna end on this week is a song that I heard on Wave Lake. It's from a newer artist who's on Wave Lake. This guy's name is Longy, l o n g y, Longy, and the the song is called Buy 1 Get 1. It's got it's got, like, a rock and roll vibe, to it, and we're just gonna vibe with the year. We're we're gonna vibe the year out with a long e with a long e song, guys.
So, thank you to all those who sent in a boost to gram. Oh, a a part of Value for Value, the musician. When I play this guy's song right now, he's getting 90% of your satoshi donation. That's the that's, like, the magic with Value for Value. I play a musician's song that's, like, releasing music via Value for Value, and I can give them a split if I if I play their song on my show. So they're getting 90%, Send in a big boostagram when this song plays, and they're gonna get 90% of it. So go for it dude. Buy 1, get 1. Buy Longy. Enjoy. That's America Plus, bitch. Stay free.
Another year lived. What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Colm McCormick. It's another week. Another episode. What's going on, everybody? Happy to be here. It's Sunday, December December 22nd, 10:36 to PM. What's up, folks? Thank you for tuning in to another wonderful episode of America Plus, folks. 2 weeks has passed, and now we are back. This is the last show of the year, dude. Last show, man. Is anyone like, this is sort of sad. Right? Sort of sad. Like, we love America Plus. This new schedule has been nice. I don't think I'll stick with it for the whole year of 2025.
This has just been like a 2024 situation. But, every 14 days has been good. I will let you know when I'm going back to 7 days. But for the time being, maybe just we're sticking with it for January. Okay? What I wanna do this week, guys, is, just I wanna just talk about the year and the next year, dude. We need to discuss how we are innovating ourselves and how we're bettering ourselves. This whole theme of America Plus is to be positive and to be forward facing, forward looking. Okay? It's like self improvement, but we're also like looking for things that are helping us. Right? Like in the world, narratives, products, ideas.
Okay. And what I wanna share is just a little bit of my 2024 and what I seek for 2025. And, so what do I have here? Let me look at my notes. So just the the review. Okay? The 2024 review. It fucking sucked. It was the shittiest fucking year of my life. Like, there's no other way to get around it. This has been the hardest year of my life, the most intense year of my life. I went through the wildest and most intense situation ever. Nothing will ever come close to it. Okay? Being present for the final week of my father's life is quite literally the most insane thing that I could fucking do.
And I have no regrets about it. Like, there's sadness still, and there's, like, emotion still, but this this thing that I'm living through, it's, it's to think back on it, to think back on this last week of July, July 2024 and leading up to August 1st, it's just madness. Okay? And that's really the the big definer of 2024, the death of my dad. And I take that in with as much gratitude as I fucking can because, you know, he was a good dad. And I move forward with gratitude because there has to be some perspective of this is all that was necessary.
Does that make sense? Like, I have to I as a man, I'm 27. I turned 28 in March. Okay? I have to move forward as if there was, like like like, all the lessons I had to learn from him are complete. And now the lessons I need to learn by myself are beginning. And maybe that's a lesson in itself. And so that's the best thing that I can come up with right now in terms of being positive about that. And that's just, you know, that's just where I'm at right now, man. I wanted to share this video of of, Rick Rubin. Do do you know the producer, Rick Rubin? He has he's like this, he's a music producer.
He has this book about creativity. And, the reason why I'm, like, I'm sharing my emotions about my dad, and I'm sharing these things about how I want my life to be, on this podcast is sort of wrapped up in this clip, and I will continue following. Like, this clip is, like, my life right now. Check this out. Rick Rubin.
[00:04:12] Unknown:
Everything I make is a diary entry. The beauty of a diary entry is I can write my diary entry, and you can't tell me my diary entry wasn't good enough, or that's not what I that's not what I experienced. Of course, it's what I experienced. It's I'm writing a personal diary for myself. No one else can judge it. It is my experience of of my life. Everything we make can be that, can be a personal reflection of who we are in that moment of time. It doesn't have to be the greatest you could ever do. It doesn't have to have any expectation that it's gonna change the world. It doesn't have to be this has to sell a certain number of copies for any reason. It doesn't have any of those things. All it is is, I'm making this thing. I'm making this thing for me, and I I wanna do it to the best of my ability to where I feel good about it and where it's honest. It's honest of where I'm at.
And if you're living in this world of just being honest to where you're at, there's nothing blocking that.
[00:05:32] Unknown:
Do do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Okay. I I love that clip. That was Rick Rubin on the Andrew Huberman podcast. I wanted to share that because, like, that's what this podcast has sort of been as long as it's been around. This has been a pure expression of what I'm going through week by week, biweekly, along with me trying to find, like, the best ideas and the and, like, just looking for the positiveness within America and within the world. And moving through my dad's death and choosing to discuss it on the show, you know, this is just some real shit. Like, I I don't have, like, a real, like, fucking soliloquy for you here. Like, I'm just I am thankful that I'm able to discuss this real life moment that I went through with you because I don't know who else talks about this this way.
When I experienced my dad's death, I knew for a fact that it was, like, the greatest catalyst that will be in my life. There is immense sadness, but there is immense growth happening. I believe this for myself, and I believe this for you if you're going through something like this. If you're going through a hard time, if you're going through hardship, you must believe that there is a lesson. You must believe that there is a path forward. You must believe in yourself. You must. You must. You must. I am. I am. And there's days when I feel like shit. There's days when I feel sad. There's days when I'm crying. There's days when I'm happy. There's days when I feel lazy. There's days where I feel motivated, and this has been this year.
I'm currently working in a kitchen. I'm working at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Pasadena. I fucking hate it. And but it's been a job that's been a huge blessing for me. It's the job that I have it's the job that I've had since the day of my dad's cancer diagnosis. This job has seen me through the worst of it, and I have been my best, and I have been my worst within it. And, so I'm thinking about the year, and I'm thinking about how I've worked, you know, just like these little fights at work, you know. You get into these spats in the kitchen, and, like, you there's egos and there's emotions, and I'm coming through it from a perspective of, like, this is just this is necessary for right now, and thank God for the kitchen. Thank God I can fucking smash some potatoes and just spin a salad.
Thank God I just need to focus on making some food. Because if I was working at the dispensary when my dad was dying, I don't think I would be any healthier. I'm like the healthiest that I can be right now, considering the circumstances. If I was working anywhere else, if I was working out at if if I was a tour guide at Warner Brothers, like I was before the pandemic, I I I don't know what kind of a person I would be. Like, it it's as if I'm just thankful for this present moment. That's what I'm trying to express. Even though I hate it, even though I don't don't wanna be in it anymore, like, this is like 2024 has been like a rock bottom. That's the review.
Rock bottom, dude. And there's lessons with that. There's lessons within this year. And and the biggest lesson is, I have them written down is I'm resilient. That's a big lesson that I've learned about myself. I can go through the worst situation in my life, and I can move forward. You know, I make that choice every single day. Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to do that? Let me be an example of that happening in the physical realm. I have faced and I'm, like, I'm tired right now. I'm fucking I just got done. So if I could just talk about how much I've been working. Oh, the next lesson. I can work long hours. That's another fucking lesson I learned. And I'm sorry for cursing so much. It's 10:46, and I'm I just pulled off 4 53 hours at work this week, dude. I've been working mega overtime because it's it's Christmas, and I'm just I'm just tired. Okay?
This is the diary entry. I'm resilient, and I can work long hours, and I can actually do it. I can make the conscious choice to do it. And there's gotta be some some gratitude in that as well. Like, I I can take a lot. I can hold a lot on my shoulders, and I can trudge through a lot of pressure, a lot of bullshit, you know. I'm able to do that. That's a real lesson. That's not a lie. Like, I'm doing that. I'm doing something that I don't like doing in a moment that I don't like living. And I am choosing to move forward with love. I'm doing my damn best to move forward with love in my heart. So I don't get bogged down by the day to day. With love in my heart, hopefully, that creates clarity for my future and and and and peace in my present. That's what holding love in your heart means.
That's what I'm trying to lean into. You know, I'm doing these heart centered meditations in hopes of it brings clarity for the future and peace in my present. That's what I'm doing right now, guys. This is the the this is a spiritual journey I'm living through. The next lesson is I am creative to my core. That's a great thing. I'm a I am creative to my core. Last year, I made a short film. This year, I like, like, right when I came back to LA after after going through my dad's death, I reached out to Barry, CEO of Pod Home, and I asked him if I could make videos for his company. I I needed the extra cash. I wanted to be creative.
I connected with a person that I knew who's who's also been incredibly nice to me. For some reason, Barry from Pod Home has been stupendously, like, outrageously nice to me. Like and he's there's no reason to be nice to me. There's no re he's in the freaking Netherlands. Like, why would a person in the Netherlands be so kind to me to give me this opportunity to be creative for his company? And then, like, a side thing, what Barry did, he's let me use his freaking SquadCast video recording. Like, if I ever do a a remote interview, I'm using his SquadCast account. Why did you let me do that, Barry? Thank you. So shout out to Barry, dude.
Shout out to Barry. Like, Barry has given me immense opportunity to be creative. And I'm just thankful for that, and I and I am not squandering it. I'm just moving through a lot. And this year has shown me that I have, I I can move forward with creativity.
[00:13:19] Unknown:
And it's not a question that, am I creative or am I not creative?
[00:13:24] Unknown:
Am I caught am I cut out to do this creative thing? Like, yes, Cole. Like, you don't even have to question that anymore. Stop questioning yourself, Cole. You're creative. Be creative. You can make money being creative. You you're doing it right now. You've been doing it, Cole. You've been doing it. You've been having fun. You've been making money, and you are growing with it. Like, for some reason, I just keep questioning myself in my head. And this is the last year that I question. The last year I question Cole. Stop questioning yourself.
I'm I'm very thankful for that. And, the last sort of, like, little lesson is, I force myself like, I I can force myself to do things I didn't wanna do. Last year, in in the beginning of 2024, I talked about how I didn't wanna do like, I didn't wanna edit videos. Like, you can go back to episode 103 and just listen to how I'm, like, complaining about learning and editing software. Cut to, I'm literally editing videos. Like, I I'm literally doing the thing that I didn't wanna do. So I forced myself to do something that I knew I needed to do. I didn't wanna do it, but it's actually helping me. It's actually a utility.
And so, I know how to edit videos. Like, I and I've always sort of known, but you know what I mean. Like, I'm actually, like, digging into the the software. You know, I'm actually, like, learning I'm actually, like, paying attention to what I'm doing, and I'm, like, getting better. Like, I'm I'm thinking about how to do better with these things. And so, I'm I'm thankful for that, and and that's a big lesson. I can actually force myself to do something new. So that's a big deal. That's a big deal. And these lessons take me into what I want for the new year, 2025. You won't see me until the new year. You won't hear from me until the new year. On this on this RSS feed, of course.
I'll be everywhere. I'll I'll I'll be on social media. I'll be on x. I'll be on Nostr. I'll be on primal. I'll be, you know, I'll be posting. So follow me on these things. But in terms of the feed, next year, whenever next year happens. What I want for next year, I sort of have, like, a 2025 mission, a rough mission. And what I wanna do on this 2025 mission is, number 1, I wanna continue with what I've been doing. I wanna face all fears, but this time, with 0 fucks. I wanna face all fears with 0 fucks. Like, I've already gone through it. Now it's time to actually just, like, not be afraid of it. You know, I was afraid of my dad dying.
I was afraid of, like, what this might be like. I was never in denial of it probably happening, but I was afraid. And that fear led me to think certain ways. And now, I just don't wanna be afraid. And so whatever I'm afraid of, whether it be big life stuff or little little stuff, You know, just don't give a fuck about the fear. Like, fear is what does this what do they say in Dune? Fear is the mind killer. Just let it pass through. You know? That's been, like, a big thing that stuck with me. Fear is the mind killer. You know, fear what does fear produce? Nothing.
Fear produces nothing good. The next, the the next, bullet point on the mission, on the on the 2025 agenda mission is, and I've been talking to people about this on Noster. I'm I'm finally gonna build my Bitcoin node, my Bitcoin lightning node. I talked about it last year, talked about 2 years ago, you know, going down these Bitcoin rabbit holes. The the I've already been been through the worst. Now there's zero excuses. I need to build my lightning node. I need to be sovereign with my money, and I need to be connected to the wider network. This is necessary.
This is something I've never done before. You know, I talked about this in, you know, episode 103. Like, I I I said that I was scared to do it. I've never I've never handled open source software before. What am I doing? Like, what the like, stop, Cole. Stop being afraid. Why are you afraid of something that's open? It's open for you. Why are you afraid of something that's open for you? It's literally the the software is literally reaching out with an open code, with an open source code waiting for you to hold on to it, waiting for you to wield it. And so I'm not gonna be afraid of that anymore, and I wanna transact with with the wider value for value space, man. Like, how dope is that to think about the value for value people, the value for value community transacting with each other with their nodes. Like, that's really cool.
And I don't wanna miss out. Like, I've been a I've been, boosting and zapping in during the Satsby Southwest event, and that was really fun. I'm, like, man, you know what? But, like, people are, like, doing this on their nodes. Like, they're transact like, they are helping these transactions move forward with their nodes. Like, I wanna be a part of that. That's just cool to me. So I'm learning that, and 2025 is when I build my node. So if you wanna open up some channels with me, if you wanna give me some liquidity, let's go for it, bro.
And the next next item on the mission is to expand my creative reach. Okay? And so I'm continuing with the Pod Home videos in the New Year. That's on the Podcast Normie YouTube channel. I'm posting those videos to Noster as well. It's all for promotion for for Pod Home. I love Pod Home. And then short films, I'm doing more short films next year, mainly so I can have some content, to put up on Indie Hub to help out Zach Mahoney with his, like, Bitcoin streaming website. Like, it's freaking dope. I wanna get some short films on that. And, what what else did I write? What else do I wanna do creatively? Like, those are like the 2 biggest things, videos and short films, you know, of course, more podcasts. Oh, I, more conversations on America Plus.
I don't know the schedule. I don't know the people yet, but I know for certain that I want to have more conversations, Whether that be in person or remote. I'm gonna make sure both of those things are to the highest quality that I can produce. And I wanna make sure that they are conversations that I think are enlightening, and they're people that I think bring truth and bring light. And I I I'm not trying to game an algorithm. I'm not trying to, you know, I'm not I'm not trying to ride that bandwagon at all. I just I believe that conversations on podcasts are really important.
You know? People are interested in a conversation. That's been the biggest truth about this podcasting situation and podcasting year. You know? The 2024 was sort of the the media has defined it as the the podcast election. But the biggest takeaway from that is like, from that headline is people were interested in listening to Trump having a conversation. People were interested in Kamala having a conversation. So it's not so much about I mean, of of course, it's about who you get, but it's more about the conversation. Is the conversation enlightening? Is the conversation in-depth?
Does it bring truth? Does it bring a new truth? You know, does it reveal something? These are things that I wanna tap into, and I believe I can do that. I believe I can tap into new truths, and reveal new things with with with talking to people. So I wanna talk to more people on the podcast. And then, the next things is to love myself. I I my the the mission for next year is to continue to love myself. If you question yourself, are you really loving yourself? If you're second guessing your thoughts and your actions, are you really loving yourself? You know?
Flip it outward. You know? If you're always questioning your dad's actions, if you're always, like, sort of trying to critique what they're doing, what that other person in your life is doing, are you really loving them? You know? This question of love, this idea of love, like, what does it mean to love a person romantically, relationally? You know, does it mean to just let them do live their life laissez faire? You know, and to not speak life in any way? Doesn't mean to fully control them, you know. This is a balance every individual needs to make, needs to explore. And loving yourself is is like the numero uno. Like, you gotta begin there.
Begin by understanding loving yourself, and then you can begin by loving others. So just loving myself and not questioning my actions, not questioning my instincts, you know, that's a big one. Just moving into that more. And then, I think this is the last one that I have. I wanna, just be more healthy. You know? Holistic health. I I I I wanna do more within the holistic health space. I wanna wear more cotton. I wanna wear less polyester. I wanna drink more raw milk. I wanna eat more meat. I wanna work out at the beach more. More beach workouts, dude. That's the thing that I need to do. More beach workouts. I have this privilege of being in SoCal, and I live freaking I live, like, 20 some miles away from Santa Monica. Like, I gotta get my ass over there. And I have friends who live over there, and so I I gotta do this. I gotta work out with Case more.
You know? Case, what's his name? Bradford? He has, like, the most, like like, a trad name ever. Case Bradford. He's this fucking jacked guy in his mid thirties. Anyway, I he's just cool. He's nice. I'm I'm I'm having him on the podcast for sure. We've already discussed it. But, just more holistic health, more more movements. 2024 has been a year of struggling to find reason to move, you know, just for the obvious things. Like, who the fuck is gonna work out the month of their dad dying, you know? Like, I was, I August of, of this year, I was, like, pretty heavy drinking.
I was smoking a lot of weed, drinking a lot of drinks, and this back half of the year has been, I've just made a conscious choice to just not consume alcohol and weed. You know? I I I'm not sure for how long. It might be permanent. It might not be. It probably won't be. But I just know that I I need to be sober right now, and a part of that wanting to be sober is also not wanting to drag myself down with a substance that makes me, immobile or unwilling to be mobile. You know? And I've sort of conquered those things. This last thing that I like, this this the last boss that's making me not wanna work out is my job.
So I need to, like because I'm just fucking tired. I'm working 10 hours. I just need to, you know, that's the that is the final hurdle. Just, like, find a way to work out. Find a way to be more healthy even when you're tired. Find a way to be healthy even when you're tired. And that's a big thing.
[00:25:56] Unknown:
Excuse me. I was hurt.
[00:26:02] Unknown:
Yeah. Holistic health stuff. What else can I do for that? What do do what's your opinion on the holistic health thing? Like, do you think it's interesting? Do you do you even know what I'm talking about? Holistic health is like it's like spirituality meets health. It's like it it's like the the polyester is ruining your frequencies. Like, that's what I'm talking about. Like, I'm, like, I'm getting more into that. I'm I don't like wearing underwear. I don't like wearing this, like, the the polyester boxer shorts. I don't like wearing them. I haven't worn them in a long time. And I feel like and now it's gotten to a point where, like, I don't even like these, like, these polyester shorts.
So I'm either gonna go fucking bare nude, or I gotta change to all cotton shorts. And I'm leaning towards cotton. Cotton. That's a lot of balls, cotton. Does anyone get that reference? Anyway, what do you think about those things? Is that a good mission? That's pretty much all I have to share, about the mission, man. 2025. What are you looking for in 2025? Do you have missions? Do you have goals? Do you have resolutions? This is important to talk about, not only for America, but for yourself. Believe in yourself this year, man. You need to. You need to. You need to. You need to. Oh, okay. So the the last thing I wanna talk about about this year and, like, a blessing of this year has been, Nostr.
And I've just been really enjoying Nostr, and I'm gonna be posting more on there more, more long form content, more video content, just more general stuff. You know, that's where I'm like hanging out right now. And and that's been a really fun time. So follow me on Noster. I'm mainly on Primal, [email protected], or follow me on fountain, get the fountain app. And I'm just gonna be and I'm grateful for value for value this year as well. And the mission for next year is to continue to dig my heels in. I'm gonna be, like, I'm digging in my heels so deep in value for value. I'm gonna be knee deep in value for value. That's how deep my heels are in this thing, dude.
Value for value is real. It's happening, and it's, like, the main thing that's guiding America Plus. Okay? So, let's hit it let's head into the boost it room, shall we? The value for value section. America Plus is a value for value show. That means that I bring forward an idea, concept, conversation that I think is valuable for the community, and you can reciprocate that value in a number of ways, time, talent, and treasure. Sending this, episode to your friends, sharing the show with people, talking about these ideas, that's valuable.
You can support me monetarily
[00:28:54] Unknown:
mainly in the fountain dot f m app. 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. So fountain does multiple things multiple things.
[00:29:07] Unknown:
A, you can send me a boostagram, which is a message with a payment with little bits of Satoshis. The that's like a a a Satoshi is a little bit of a Bitcoin, which is really cool. 1,000 satoshis is equal to $1 right now with the current Bitcoin price. What you can also do on Fountain is you can have a Nostra account. And if you were to send me a boostagram, and you had a Nostra account in Fountain, then I'd be able to retweet you. I'd be able to repost you, and that's sort of, like, the like, the value reciprocating on top of itself.
Okay? I make a podcast. You send me a Boostagram. I retweet you. We have a conversation. Hopefully, it's valuable. Hopefully, the community at large gets it, and we just live our life wonderfully without any scams. That's value for value. And what I'm gonna be doing now, I'm reading the boostograms from, the last episode number 141. I talked about my experience with Nostr and why I think more podcast apps, should be integrating it. I think it's a good idea. Nostr is just it's a decentralized social network where anybody can build what's called a client. You know, you you can build your own personal app on top of Nostr, and you can have it specify for whatever type of content that you want it to. So there's like Twitter type apps. There's like substack type apps, and Fountain is a podcast app on top of Nostr, which is pretty cool. And I'm reading the boostograms right now.
The, this first one. So we got this guy, my guy at piaz. He sends in a total of 1100 Satoshis. He has to say, yo. Let's fucking go. Boosting is loving. V four v. Hell, yeah, p s. Thank you, p s. Thank you very much, sir. This next one comes in from atchadf. What up, Chadf? He sends in a beautiful 333 Satoshis, baby. This is what he has to say about my Nostra thoughts. My thought on Nostra and podcasting 2 point o. I see all the benefits that it brings connecting a social layer to a podcasting app, but some of us just don't want that in our main podcast app, parenthesis, me.
Dude, totally understandable. The other apps you mentioned are done mostly by people in their spare time. So whatever features they decided to add, I'm good with, and that's why I use all apps because they are each unique like you mentioned, but, like you mentioned about Podcast Guru having video. The main issue right now is the change to Albie because it breaks a lot of stuff since not everyone is going to set up AlbieHub. The die hards like myself will, but we do need an alternative. And until that gets fixed, these other features like Nostra are on the back burner.
Fountain is testing it out, so anyone that wants to see what it's all about can use an app they are familiar with. Just some quick thoughts, and I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.
[00:32:25] Unknown:
And now, as the French say, it is time for the boost.
[00:32:30] Unknown:
Chad f, thank you for that in-depth in-depth boostagram. Yeah. You know, Nostra is unique. The fact that the other modern podcasting apps that allow you to send Boostagrams, they have bigger problems with lesser budgets, so I understand that point completely. I just think, you know, the if there is a modern podcast app, if there is a suite of modern podcast apps, how come they like, shouldn't they all sort of give similar features? You know? That's just, like, how my mind works. Like, if there's a number of things that are super cool, like it's, like, does Sam's Club have, like, a little food court, or does is Costco the only, like, a warehouse company that has a food court? You know what I mean? It's like it's like one of those things.
Maybe I'm I'm done with that, but, you know, regardless. Thank you, Chad f. Thank you, Chad f. The next 2, boostograms coming from my friend, Kyran Down at the Mere Mortals podcast. What up, Kyran? Both of these are satchel of Richards, 1,111 sats. These are big ones. The first one comes in, to, okay. He says Oh, Kyron is commenting on Nostra. He says, we'll try and get into it next year when I have more free time. Definitely missed the boostogram only home screen on fountain as compared to the mix there is now. I just find, I just find when there is no money attached to the message itself is also of lower value.
And then his next one comes in, he says, let's go Abel James. That's the song I played last week. Let's go Abel James. Great song. Got to meet him in Nashville this year. Very cool guy. He's also got a long running health podcast for those interested. Yes, sir. Boost. Kyren, I'll do I'll do another one for you. It's basically you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. Shout out to Kyren. I forgot to mention him during the 2024 review. I hung out with him a week after my dad died, and his mom passed away this year. And so him and I, like, we collided. We connected, and that's like a real podcast connection that that I'm never gonna forget, and I think we're, I think we're, we're world cross friends. There's star crossed lovers, and then there's world cross friends. That's what we are, Kyren.
Thank you very much, Kyren. And then the last one of the week. The last one, the biggest one comes in from my new friend, my new, fellow Nostridge friend, and fellow Valley for Value connoisseur, q w, from the pleb what is it called? The, I've told the PCR, the Pleb Chain Radio podcast. This is my new favorite podcast, Pleb Chain Radio. I'm not sure if you've heard of it. They it's a podcast about, talking about combining Nostra and Bitcoin protocols and the intersection of these things, and, talking to they talk to different people. Q w and Avi talk to different people who are doing different things in the Bitcoin world and the Nostra world, and I've become obsessed with it. And I wanna be on it one day, so that's just that's just me. But qw sent in a big boost to Graham. He sends in 5 1,000 satoshis. Thank you so much, q dubs.
He says, great episode. Being on Nostra for the past 2 years has been a blessing. The Valley for Valley community is enriched with the likes of Primal, Nostra, Amethyst, Nostr Nest, Fountain, Wave Lake, Toonster, and other Nostr Protocol integrated clients. Becoming your own algorithm and having the interoperability and discoverability within your web of trust brings pure signal and truly makes podcasting a social experience. Much more to come. Keep trailblazing FreedomTech. For any Nostr curious, here is a list of Nostr apps that can showcase the vast ecosystem that continues to develop. How you, Nostr, will be different than how others, Nostr, and that's a feature, not a bug. And then he links to nostrapps.com.
What up, qw? Bustar.
[00:36:53] Unknown:
Bustar. It's basically you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. Thank you very much, everyone who wanna send in a boostagram.
[00:37:01] Unknown:
That's value for value, dawg. That's value for value. If you wanna be a part of that, download the fountain app, send in a boostagram, follow me on Noster, comment, zap me, boost me. We're just gonna support each other. I will retweet you if you send in a boostagram and you have an Nostr account. That's my promise to you. And, these people have real thoughts. Share your real thoughts with me, and maybe we can make the world a better place, folks. That's America Plus, dude. What I wanna do now, guys, we're gonna wrap things up, with the song. I like ending with the song here.
Before I play the song, tell me I this is what I want. If you wanna send in a boost to gram, if you wanna send in any of your thoughts, tell me what tell me what your goals are next year, Tell me what you loved and hated of this year. And along with that, just just give me some love, or just send out some loving vibes. Okay? Do those three things, and the community is gonna be thriving. Okay? The song that I wanna end on this week is a song that I heard on Wave Lake. It's from a newer artist who's on Wave Lake. This guy's name is Longy, l o n g y, Longy, and the the song is called Buy 1 Get 1. It's got it's got, like, a rock and roll vibe, to it, and we're just gonna vibe with the year. We're we're gonna vibe the year out with a long e with a long e song, guys.
So, thank you to all those who sent in a boost to gram. Oh, a a part of Value for Value, the musician. When I play this guy's song right now, he's getting 90% of your satoshi donation. That's the that's, like, the magic with Value for Value. I play a musician's song that's, like, releasing music via Value for Value, and I can give them a split if I if I play their song on my show. So they're getting 90%, Send in a big boostagram when this song plays, and they're gonna get 90% of it. So go for it dude. Buy 1, get 1. Buy Longy. Enjoy. That's America Plus, bitch. Stay free.
Introduction and Year Reflection
Personal Challenges and Growth
Rick Rubin's Influence on Creativity
Coping with Loss and Finding Purpose
Lessons from 2024
Goals and Mission for 2025
Holistic Health and Lifestyle Changes
Value for Value and Community Engagement
Closing Remarks and Song
