Track listing:

Ray Charles “Winter Wonderland”
Ryan Adams “Kindness”
Fleet Foxes “White Winter Hymnal”
Bright Eyes “Blue Christmas”
Mumford and Sons “Winter Winds”
Act As If  ”Sleigh Bells and Reindeers”
Jack Johnson “In the Morning”
The Civil Wars “Tracks in the Snow”
The Ray Charles Singers “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
Phantom Planet “Winter Wonderland”
John Lennon “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)”

I hurried to finish up work early on Wednesday evening to head back to my parents house in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Yesterday, Thanksgiving day, we drifted up to our annual Thanksgiving celebration in Santa Barbara. I haven’t felt a sense of relief like I did yesterday in such a long time and I was silent for almost the entire day. (For me, excitement = silence…) This moment of silence has been a year in the making.

I can’t express how thankful I am for the past year – so incredibly different than any others that I’ve experienced, yet so many exhilarating moments. In the past year I’ve been to the east coast twice, went to Chicago for the first time, enjoyed the company of some great friends from Boston, graduated college, spent hundreds of hours with great friends in LA, celebrated one-year of being a home owner and have had the opportunity to spend my life on a business venture that I want to become full time.

Every new order that rolls in makes it seem like a possible reality. And they keep rolling in.

I’m so excited for the holiday season and the upcoming new year. We’re planning to launch a new subscription based service at The Motley, a complete website redesign in January, easier UI, larger collaborations, a continuation of the Men of Distinction campaign, insane grassroots marketing ideas and even more of our own products.

I won’t lie and say that I haven’t been scared, but this hasn’t come easy. I’ve produced my lowest income in five years, yet have been responsible for more than I ever have (a mortgage, homeowners fees, a large inventory of product and employment of several third-party firms). However, it has been so exciting. An easy life doesn’t mean a happy life – nor a life with a lot of money. But I’m excited. I’m happy. I’m motivated. I’m energetic. What more can I ask for? Hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Directed and produced by Matthew Taylor Ruggieri

“No, I don’t like work – no man does – but I like what is in the work – the chance to find yourself. Your own reality – for yourself, not for others – what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means.” from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

It is so exciting when my love for film and The Motley come together like this.  Stay tuned and let the holidays begin.

P.S.  This might sound weird, but I know that I have a few readers out there.  I’m going to start reading the books on the list that my friend hand wrote for me below.  Starting with “In the Absence of the Sacred” by Jerry Mander or Brave New World. If you want to tag along and read them together, comment to let me know.  Let’s do it.

What’s more exciting than having a clear plan is not having a plan at all.  It’s the first time in my life where it’s difficult to state exactly what I’m doing and where I’m going – yet I couldn’t feel more comfortable.  I don’t have a stable job and I don’t have a single focus.  I don’t know what city I’ll be living in three months from now.  But that’s okay.  This is the time to experiment with life.

I’ve stayed employed and part of the music industry over the last two months while working on this project.  It has been one of the most exciting projects that I’ve ever worked on.

I’m also running this company full time. I completely forgot what it was like to start up a company like I did eight years ago with The Media Collective.  We celebrate even our smallest achievements, work through countless battles and make friends all over the world.  It’s exciting.

Who knows what is coming next – but that is okay.  I am happier than I have ever been.  I wake up with the excitement of not knowing who I’m going to meet and where I’ll be a single week from now.  I have no idea where I’ll be next week.  That is exciting.

I’ve made and lost a lot of friends along the way, but most importantly have learned a lot about who I am.  Consequently, I do not communicate with a lot of the people in the photographs anymore, but they’ve all influenced me, shaping me into a better, more aware, knowledgeable person.

These are people and places from the past three years that I see as moments of my greatest learning…  All in an attempt to greater understand who I am.