As this year comes to a close, I originally sat down to write a simple reflection, maybe a couple highlights and few lessons from the year.
But somewhere between the first and the second, I stopped writing a list and became inspired, so find a nice quiet cozy seat and grab a coffee cause this post is meant to be read slowly because this year was not about accomplishments, it’s about what comes next!
2025 was about a quiet battle inside me between desire and doubt. Between the voice of the Dreamer, and the much louder voice of the Ego.
The Ego has many weapons. Mine spoke in a tone that sounded very reasonable:
“You are not a screenwriter, Eric. You are an entrepreneur. Be done with this silliness. Focus on what you are good at.”
And for far too long, I listened. But the Dreamer did not go away. It just waited….for twenty-five years!
Before I start though, my biggest highlight of 2025 was definitely my health transformation. I think you all would agree.
Losing 80 pounds was an achievement, but the real transformation came from the discipline of strength training.
I have lost weight before and heard the usual, “Your face looks thinner.” This time I heard something different: “You look like a completely different person.”
And when I look in the mirror, I agree, not just with what I see, but with how I feel living inside my transformed body.
I don’t bring this up to brag, but to share that my physical change unlocked something much deeper.
It reminded me what it feels like to do something hard, to keep showing up when comfort begs me not to, and to discover that on the other side of resistance is a version of myself that I have never met before, or long since forgotten.
That lesson followed me all the way to France, where I chose to step completely outside my comfort zone once again and enroll in École Ducasse cooking school, a decision that continued this year’s pattern of leaning into resistance instead of away from it. I was not chasing a credential. I was chasing growth.
But, before I departed for France, that same inner work is what allowed the heart of this story to exist at all.
My second highlight of the year was finishing my script.
Not because I am a screenwriter. Not because it was easy. But because I finally stopped arguing with the desire that had been living inside me for decades.
For my entire professional life, I have been building stages so that others could perform and inspire. From the Vans Warped Tour to the Sno Core Tour, from Business Camp to University of Dreams, from the Fox Theater to the Golden State Theater, from Bliss Champions to Bliss Island, and now Hamakua Hotel, I have spent decades creating platforms for artists to perform from, to entertain, inspire, and make a living. And somewhere along that journey, I began to wonder,
What if, through all those ventures, I was not actually getting enough of the one thing I desired most in return, the chance to inspire others myself?
Of course I loved building all these great companies and don’t regret any of them. Of course I was inspired by the process. They were my Dreams manifested!
But maybe what I wanted more than anything was the goosebump moment when someone felt inspired by something I had created, as an Artist.
Writing does that for me. This is why I take our group, The Inspired, as seriously as any company I have ever built. It is my pride and joy.
When I finally found the confidence and energy to finish the script, the very first person I invited to read it was Patrick Combs.
That was not an accident. He is one of the purest storytellers I have ever known, someone whose life is built around the art of inspiration.
So when he called me after reading it and gave me the most generous, glowing, heartfelt feedback I could have imagined, it meant the world to me.
Not because I needed validation, but because the right soul had heard the story and truly felt it. He literally told me “I understand you fully now!”
I then made a conservative decision to put the script in book form to be presented as a gift and only print 200 copies.
100 were given as Christmas gifts to family, friends, people I have inspired, people who have inspired me, mentees, investors, partners, and employees. The remaining 50 were offered for sale at cost to members of thus group only.
The conscious decision not to commercialize it was an important one. I already have more than enough entrepreneurial pursuits. And over the years I have coached many high level entrepreneurs whose bliss was in creating their book, only to suffer when they expected it to perform like their million dollar companies.
Releasing that expectation freed me.
I realized that 90 percent of my joy came from writing it. The remaining 10 percent would come from having the people I love read it.
Turning it into a business simply did not sound joyful. But I did have strong manifestations of people seeing it live on stage.
I have this reoccurring manifestation in my head. I am standing at the exit as the audience leaves the theater so I hear the audience talk about the show on theircway out.
A little boy says to his Mom, “I want to learn about that Ali guy. He inspires me!”
I have an obsession with making my manifestations come true! 
Self publishing the gift edition cost me about ten thousand dollars, and it was worth every penny to place this story into the hands of the people who have walked this journey with me. But it also felt like I was playing small.
Then on December 18th, the very day the books were being mailed and all their invoices had been paid, I attended a wedding Patrick was at.
Casually, in passing, he mentioned that his 2026 calendar was unusually light. At the time, I did not think much of it. But at five o’clock the next morning, I did.
After the gym, I went for a long walk. And somewhere along that path, the Dreamer inside me woke up. I pulled out my phone and sent Patrick this message:
“It was great to see you last night, buddy, but what is really on my heart this morning is something you said about your 2026 calendar being light.
I know what that means to you as an artist. And I also know my rational brain says wait, wait until it is easy, until it is comfortable, until I can effortlessly write the check.
But the Dreamer in me is yelling, what the hell, did I not teach you anything?
So here is where I stand. I accept your offer. I am not waiting for someday.
My gift books are being mailed today and will reach you and others before Christmas. As rewarding as it feels knowing that after 25 years, my work will finally get to inspire others, besides you and I buddy, I still feel that I am playing small due to resistance, fear, or doubt. Well, screw that!
Within three months, I will fully fund the production amount you proposed and place the entire amount in a business account for you to draw from. I will be the Executive Producer. You will be the Director and Producer. The Inspired Way will be performed live on stage, as it was intended to be. Comfort never got me anywhere in life. Let’s do this!
You once told me this would be the ride of my life, so let’s take it together.
We will be Dreamers to the day we die. So instead of saying something corny like “one more time”, I will borrow one of your favorite phrases.
How do we PLUS it?
This is how we plus our lives, together.”
Eric
——————
So yes, The Inspired Way is going to be performed on a stage, as it was always intended to be. And I get to do it without sacrificing any joy.
In fact, I get to plus it, by placing it into the very capable hands of the most powerful inspirational storyteller I have ever known,
and the man I trust most to tell my story.
And here is why:
Two years ago this month Patrick wrote, produced, and performed a one man show in San Diego. It remains the single most inspirational performance I have ever witnessed on any stage.
So I know, without question, that this script is in the right hands. And who knows where this road leads.
If anyone in this group feels called to join the journey as a fellow Executive Producer, I am open to having such conversations!
2026 is going to be one heck of a journey!
Picture of my nephew Will getting his copy!
