My 2025 in Review

There were butterflies in my belly. Fanning a fervent seed within, as it receives its first morning sun. Dawn of an inner Summer Solstice. A gathering of feelings swelled. Of adventure and responsibility. Waves of momentum propelled me toward a decision. Then my mind was resolved. ‘Ok, I’m in . . . where do I start?’ Harley answered plainly, ‘Pull a card from the deck, and see what happens.’ ~ From my book, Ace Egos.

End of the year. Start of a new year. Across the universe, there are swells of struggle, and there are swells of triumph. In lieu of the sadness and in the swill of the glass raised to majesty, we have once again lived it all. I have surrendered to the currents of 2025. Drawn my heart to creativity, my spirit to the strongest of bonds. And so, here is a review of the year that was, through my eyes.

To keep the article enticing, I’ve based my reflection on four layers of Maslow’s Pyramid, an organised framework that represents a person’s needs in life. Each section I affix a chronotype – four animals that represent a person’s energy. Read on, dear friends.

Physiological Needs – ‘A fervent seed.’
Chronotype: The Wolf

2025 began in Australia, my place of birth, my true home. The vision of this year had already been put into place . . . to continue writing my book Ace Egos. If I ensured my base needs were met, I could allow for gathering knowledge, inspiration and creativity. Unperturbed. The way to do this: location. The places I have based myself this year: Bangkok, Hanoi, Rio de Janiero, Bogotá. Traveling is great. But staying in one place, absorbing the life of the local – that, to me, gives the richest growth. By seeing how others live. How they identify with their environment, their culture, their establishing of roots.

My book spent much of this year in tumult. What was its key message? This brought me sleepless nights. Stalking ideas, tearing at the meat and bones. Tenacious. Watchful. Like the wolf. But by year’s end, finding resolve. No longer a hungry hunter, instead a beam of light. What did all my geographical ‘homes’ teach me, that I distilled into my writing? Thailand taught me that kindness and humility manifest abundance. Vietnam – bustle and superstition are a diligent balance. Brazil, you are only as brilliant as you are playful. And Colombia: find blessings in common roots. We are all so very different in passing. But in staying, we are the same breath. Our stories, we live to the best of our ability. And we pass on our wisdom.

Safety Needs – ‘Adventure and responsibility.’
Chronotype: The Bear

Wise advice will say that ‘true abundance’ is cultivated in your state of being. This year, I have lived that wisdom, through participating in an Emotional Intelligence Coaching course. Going into 2025, I aspired to become skilled at being a strong support for others, ‘coaching’ them through a process of discovering and activating their Emotional Intelligence. I really had no idea how helpful it would be for me, as a person ‘coaching’ myself.

Just as the bear stays in harmony with the night and day, yet they start slowly in the morning, it was a harmonious but slow start to the year. Learning a new routine. Of ‘checking in’ with how my emotions dictated my thoughts, words, and actions. The slow but powerful bear approach transformed me into a very resourceful person. To be a resource for others. All people need is a friendly ear, and a gentle nudge, and they are off and away: like playful bear cubs; or as maturing individuals building their own lives. It has been incredibly joyful to see people unravel the mystery of themselves, and become their own support; more resilient, more open, more alive.

I am looking forward in 2026 to helping many people build their own abundance, because it truly does start with how adaptable, surrendering, and protecting we are with our own emotional worlds. This is noble work. And surprisingly simple work. If there is one takeaway I have learned about security and prosperity this year, it is to ‘follow your inner warmth.’

Love & Belonging – ‘Butterflies in my belly.’
Chronotype: The Lion

Strength and sharpness. The lion. The lion is who I am when I share love. In 2025 I have learned that to be truly loving toward family, friends and relationships, I have to claim it. I have had to declare my sense of sovereignty. Then I can love. If I am an identity drowned by expectations of others, I am not capable of loving. Because, simply, there is no love. It is merely projected desires to and from others, based in fear and insecurity. And that serves nobody's best interests. However, as a self with healthy pride, I activate the divinity in intimacy.

Healthy pride is trial-and-error. Gathering what I like, want, and need, and revelling in it shaping my heart. And the love of others becomes a reinforcing mirror. The love of being purely alive. From Thailand to Colombia, I have seen how essential belonging is. Not everyone is blessed with happy relationships. But forming one’s own bonds, their own culture, creates one’s own story. I have observed and honoured how ancient cultures are the roots of who I am today, and are indispensable in becoming more comfortable in my sense of self. What I am building upon. I strengthen the container that I am; that holds love, and shares love with others.

I emerge from a year of love and belonging with two gems: ‘Timing’ and ‘Space.’ When ‘timing’ and ‘space’ is given – before, during and after communicating with someone, a hundred-thousand understandings arise. Almost all of these understandings are felt. They have no words. This is the language of love. Making sure people are seen, heard, and enough – just as they are. Just as I am. Inspiring in them and me more of who we want to be, for tomorrow. With this daily trajectory of identity, we all uplift community, as a sum of the work we put into ourselves today.

Esteem Needs – ‘Waves of momentum.’
Chronotype: The Dolphin

Restless, like the dolphin, is generally not who I am. Yet, I feel I have to conjure the dolphin if I want to taste the delights of life. Harnessing energy; to be outdoors, to be social, to occasionally live life like it is a movie. I have embraced life this year, by diving into film, art, culture, and literature. This has been especially wondrous for me in Brazil and Colombia. The life of Brazilian samba, and the path of El Dorado, the Muisca people of Bogotá’s past (and its surrounding locations), have electrified my spirit. And as always, I have danced, restoring positive vibes in my being. And volunteered to help communities in need, to give back to the inequalities of who we are as a global entity. Motivated by the idea that ‘We are one’ and ‘We are all dancing together.’

In 2026, I dream of newer, greater adventures. Informing how I do my work, and how I appreciate being alive. And being unceasing in following rhythm, the drum that calls us to commune. The beat of the heart that without it, Spirit could not be Human, and Human could not be Spirit.

. . . The fifth and final point at the top of Maslow’s Pyramid is ‘Self-Actualization.’ I can say with spirited joy, that self-actualisation is not an end-point, it is a place I visit for a while. This year, like in years past, I have sat beneath the Andes. And thanked those mountains. Reminding me of being a loving presence for the world. This year I have welcomed in the splashes of colour, along the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. Teaching me to always be moving my feet. Happiness naturally alchemises in this. As the wind blows in from the ocean, it carries my happiness out into the world.

And so I encourage this mantra: Do what matters most to you. Which of course, fleetingly remains. And that’s ok. Nothing lasts forever. But loving it with all your heart, right in this moment, is what forever really is. I’ve enjoyed those forever moments many times this year. Writing my book has demanded that I open to it, and let it come to me. Absorb it and release it into the pages of my story. I am one story. As are you. 

So, did I find out the key message for my book? Absolutely. What is it? That’s for the book to tell you when it is finished :)

Here’s to a beautiful 2026 for everyone. Be in the process that is the building of you. Life is only ever as good as you see it. See you all in the new year!

Big luv,
Clinton

Header Image: Commissioned pencil drawing by Darthoxe. Reworked into a design by me. Visit the artist 👉 click here