Year In Clarity

The last Sunday of the year doesn’t need fireworks—it needs honesty. This episode is what happens when the noise dies down and the truth finally gets a mic. No highlight reels. No fake reflections. Just a clear-eyed breakdown of what actually mattered this year: the real cost of saying how you feel, the underrated power of restraint, and why your circle says more about you than any caption ever could. Consider this a year-end reset for people who grew up, not just leveled up.

We kick things off with a Sip Sermon about expression—because yes, speaking your truth can come with a bill, but staying silent long enough will overcharge you too. From there, we step into a mirror moment: reaching out to someone from the past who’s doing well now, watching the conversation take an unexpected turn, and choosing not to turn tension into content. No subtweets. No think pieces. Just a trusted phone call, a private resolution, and a lesson that didn’t need an audience. Turns out, consistency and clean work attract opportunities louder than clout-chasing ever could.

Then we talk about “representatives”—those polished first impressions that clock out once the real person shows up. Misalignment isn’t messy; it’s information. This episode breaks down why curating your tribe is strategy, not ego, and how being selective with your energy keeps your peace intact and your momentum real. We also tease what’s coming next: Afterpool vibes—mixing drinks, breaking down life, and letting the ice set the pace. The takeaway is simple but grown: move smarter, not louder. Stay grounded. Stay grateful. And be intentional about where you stand—and who’s standing next to you.

If this hit, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to someone who needs a clear-headed year-end reset without the motivational yelling. Grab the Free Pour Pack at siphappens.info (type “free pour” in the message), and pull back up ready for the full experience.

Chapters

• 0:00 Slow Year-End Reset
• 0:30 Setting The Vibe And Intent
• 0:43 Sip Sermon On Honesty
• 1:45 Petty vs. Intentional Energy
• 2:43 Pulling Back With Purpose
• 4:17 Consistency Opens Doors
• 5:26 The Proximity Lesson

Transcript

Styles: 0:01

Last Sunday of the year. It always has a way of slowing things down. Not on purpose. It just happens. Like the city after a snowstorm. Everything eases up and you finally get to see where actually stuck. The irony is there was a mini blizzard last night. No highlight reel, no fake resolutions. Just me, the year, and the lessons that showed up, whether I was ready or not. Welcome to Brunch Behavior, The Poor Report. I'm Styles. Today's vibe is simple. Year in clarity. No confetti and no cap. Let me break this down for you. The Sip Sermon. I learned this year that telling people how I feel will always cost me something. Yeah, apparently my feelings are expensive. But not telling them, that'll cost me more. And you guessed it, my feelings are a tax write-off too. Being honest puts you at a disadvantage when you're dealing with spiteful people who smile, observe, and wait. And I'm not petty, I'm just extremely fluent in it. Not to hurt anybody. Just enough to make sure some energy never finds its momentum. Okay, that's not me pulling back. That's just me choosing how to engage. Brunch behavior breakdown. This is what it looks like in real life. I pulled back this year. Not because I disappeared, but because I got more intentional with how I move. Along the way, I reached out to some podcasters, some familiar faces, some new ones, but they were all family. Which still surprises me because my faith in people is limited these days. Compulsive Leo behavior. It's not you, it's me. I'm lying. It's you. It's definitely you. One of the lessons that I learned this year is you never know who's really watching you. People don't just hear what you say, they pay attention to how you show up, how you move, and how you handle things when things don't go your way. And personally, those that's that's really one of the things that I pay attention to. And because I stayed consistent, because I kept putting out quality with this project, I ended up picking up two opportunities along the way. Opportunities that I didn't have to chase. That alone reminded me to stay grateful. Because most times the work speaks for you while you're busy trying to stay honest with it. Keep in mind, being solid isn't about volume, it's about how you move when nothing's on the line. I also had a mirror moment this year where I had to check myself. And it went a little something like this story time. I reached out to a podcaster that I had history with. Somebody that's doing phenomenally well right now in this moment. And the conversation took an unexpected turn because I was a victim of proximity. Let me talk about it. I was speaking to them from a place that we used to be, when we used to talk, when we were cordial, when we did have communication or lines of communication were open. I wasn't fully accounting for where we are now. I'm gonna keep it tall with y'all. My first instinct was to weaponize my my platform, turn it into content, have an open discussion about it without them, but with y'all. Not even for clout or clicks. I just needed a moment, but that wouldn't have made sense. Because that's not what the platform is for, it's not what the platform is. So instead of reacting, I sat with it, got on the horn with H, ran it by her, because that's my crisis management person, everybody needs one. Whenever I feel like crashing out, she makes sure Legal approves it first, and then I go do my thing. And if I'm really dumbing out, she'll let me know, of course, I'm dumbing out, there's no yes people around me. But back to the story. So, needless to say, I didn't handle it publicly, I handled it privately, internally, literally, slide of lease, but you get where I'm going with this. Because knowing your worth doesn't always mean pushing your point, sometimes it means recognizing when somebody else is simply standing on theirs, and that's what that person was doing, and realizing that, using my words, and realizing that you're one of those who needs to absorb that and not challenge it. So I didn't talk about it, I learned from it, and a lesson was received. Thank you to them, and them knows who they are. I also learned a lot about representatives. I even met a few this year, and once those reps use their PTO and a real person showed up, yeah, we didn't align. We bumped heads, things didn't work, and somehow I'm the bad guy. That's cool though. No featured drink today. No drinks, we're not inebriated, we're thinking with a clear mind. Going into the new year, but coming up in the new year, we're doing things a little differently. We're bringing the afterpool. That's me actually making drinks. Imagine that. Talking life and breaking things down while the ice melts. Same stories, just closer to the bar. The final pour. So is the takeaway? Your tribe matters. I said it time and time again. Because whether you realize it or not, you represent the people around you. And since you get to choose that tribe, you are quite literally the person that you're standing next to. I'm grateful for all of the lessons I learned this year, even the uncomfortable ones. Because I'm walking into 2026, 10 toes down, grounded, consistent, and respectful of the people around me. Sip happens. Every sip tells a story. That's your pause for today. Before you go, the free pour pack is available. Five pours, no cost, all intention. And if you're ready to full Yeah, you thought you was gonna get out of the year without me fucking this up. And when you're ready for the full experience, tap into the brunch behavior the summer pack. To get the free pour pack, go to siphappens.info and type free pour in the message section. It turns out real growth wasn't doing more. It was moving smarter. From your boy Styles, catch you on the next pour.