Tonight, my YouTube feed recommended this video to me in which Conor Neill ☘ preaches, “Life rewards Action, not Intelligence.” It was the exact video I needed to see tonight. I have named 2026 as my “Year of Action”. Since 2024, I’ve taken to naming a theme for each of my years - a kind of north star of what my Prime Directive ought be if my brain hits a race condition; we need a failsafe two break the paralysis. In 2024, my word was “Creation” — if I was ever on the fence on what I should do: eg. read a book or write an essay - I chose creation. In 2025, my word was “Connection” — if I ever wondered if I should go to a new Meetup event or just stay home, I went out. For 2026, my word is “Action”. For years now, I’ve dreamed of writing a longer fiction work. In 2024, I wrote a short story. It was fun! Now in 2026, I want to write something longer: a serialized novel.
I think we all have these kinds of dreams. Ludicrous fantastical yearnings. The purest expression of our inner-child, of —what I would call— our human soul. Penning the next great American novel. Winning a Nobel or two and maybe pick up an Oscar for screenwriting along the way. Beating Federer at the US Open and hoist the trophy above our heads under bright stadium lights half past midnight drenched in sweat after a five-set marathon thriller. Give a few TED talks.
I turn 40 this year. Over half my life is statistically over. Forty is a special year though: it’s when Colonel Sanders, Rodin, and Lee Child all started making something of their lives. This is the year I finally start doing something with my life. To paraphrase the Bard, “All the past was simply prologue.” It’s taken forty years of life to get here, but I’ve finally gotten to the start line. Here’s where my life’s real work finally begins.
What is my life’s work though? After much introspection and reflection, I’ve found it: I exist here on earth to write fiction. Specifically, I exist to entertain people. I’ve tried wearing many hats over the years but the one I’ve finally settled on —the role that feels most natural— is I feel most accomplished and fulfilled when I can make people laugh. Once upon a time, I think I may have had grander ambitions that consisted of sweeping acts of world-building and reshaping the socioeconomic fabric. But as I’ve aged and my hair has greyed, I’ve sobered up. In my natural element, if you strip away all the pretense and ego, I’m a court jester. Under the veneer, it’s who I am and what I do. I’m here to entertain people in whatever small way I can. I look at everything currently going on in the world today and I think it’s a worthy and noble pursuit: to be able to make people smile, if even for just a moment.
So everyone writes fiction differently. The way I write is I already loosely have characters, plot, setting, and some major plot points in head. Now the first step for me is just cranking out the first draft. This first phase of writing is just about laying down the bones. Simply just showing up everyday at the appointed hour and doing the work. The first draft is the foundation on which I build all else. Afterwards, I’ll revisit to carve and chisel. But first we need substrate to actually sculpt. For me, much of fiction writing is very much an act of excavation. The characters, story, dialogue are all already there. It’s really just up to me to tap into the Source and be Its conduit — a messenger to deliver from God’s lips to your ears.
Tomorrow, it begins!! 🥳