👏👏👏

Having made the switch I am focused on making it permanent

Action leads to clarity!

What’s the best thing & worst thing about Nostr?


Yup! Bang on sir


The average person has a horrific understanding of what money is

They are kept in the dark by design shines clearer & clearer

Prove me wrong...


“Money is a collective illusion”

FFS…

Is this guy serious?

I couldn’t help myself…

“No. Wrong. Money as defined by the Austrian School is the market’s most saleable good. It’s a tool. What makes a good money is dependent on a set of characteristics…”

It was time to hammer home some truth.

I’d had enough.

Frankly, it was getting late, and I’d grown impatient with a constant stream of miss-informed Bitcoin criticisms.

Shout out to Richard.

We met on the steps of RMIT Building 97, at 6pm last night, heading into the Melbourne BitDevs Meetup.

It was his first time.

It was mine as well.

Throughout the evening, clearly a smart guy, he had continuously tried to pick holes in the debate that was being had.

Initially I was happy to answer, or others around me, with calm, detailed, and reasoned conversation.

Everyone’s been there.

What if the block size is too small?

How can adoption truly scale?

Why won’t transaction fee’s balloon?

Quite rightly, there are lots of stones to turn…

Some reasonable.

Some unreasonable.

As I said to Richard: “keep asking these questions, it’s the most intellectually engaging Rabbit Hole I’ve ever found.”

Is that the case for you as well?

From my experience, many Bitcoiners have had a similar journey, in that Bitcoin grows, grows, and grows some more, in terms of one’s attention capacity.

You just can’t help but get drawn in.

Like an insect to a light bulb…

I had a friend admit “I think I am addicted to Bitcoin podcasts!”

Haha.

What’s struck me here though, is I must endeavour to have more compassion, people must be met where they’re at.

Apologies Richard for being so direct.

It’s not my usual demeanour.

You eventually triggered me…

Study Bitcoin long enough, and the same old FUD appears, re-dressed in all sorts of different formats.

It can be frustrating at times.

Indeed, Richard represented a classic phase of the Bitcoin path.

Incredulity.

I remember it well…

“This thing can’t actually be real… Can it?”

One has a gazillion reasons why it can’t possibly work…

The only way to move through this, is continued curiosity, combined with a healthy dose of time.

So questions.

Lots of questions.

And information.

Lots of information.

Which brings me to the point of today.

Information doesn’t spread fairly through a market.

It’s path to common knowledge is asymmetric.

Of course, in a sense I am happy about this, as it’s a key ingredient to the outrageous risk-reward opportunity Bitcoin represents.

I am going to get paid for the hard work I’ve put in to figuring out what this thing is.

Price action to the upside inbound!

But to be more candid, I am just extremely lucky that I had a number of life experiences that enabled me to see value in Bitcoin, at this stage in its nascent development.

Indeed, over the 80 episodes of Bitcoin With Jake I hosted, I would say on average people need 3 to 4 specific skill sets to grok Bitcoin.

In my case it was a blend of energy tech, inheritance planning, and long-term investing.

Richard will get there.

It’s just a matter of time.

Whilst I hope he really delves into the most important question: “what is money?”

You can have all the technical worries in the world, and that’s ok, but until you have a grasp of the fundamentals of what makes a good money, seeing value in Bitcoin is hard.

Money is not a collective illusion.

Money is what the market defines as the most saleable good.

The best money will be:

- Divisible
- Durable
- Fungible
- Portable
- Scarce
- Verifiable

Chuck into the mix an established history and censorship-resistance, then you might just have found the perfect money, ripe for the digital renaissance.

I truly believe that Bitcoin is going to help everyone lead a happier, healthier, and wealthier life, so let’s get to work closing that information gap.

Stay humble.

Stack sats.

Best,
Jake.

Ps - as much as I will try my best to continue to be open to people’s miss-givings, explain in detail where they might be missing knowledge, and point them towards resources that helped me, there are some moments when it is just too much. I get frustrated. Enough! This Bitcoin thing, it’s the real deal, get on board, or don’t… The choice is yours.

Pps - this was the first morning that both kids woke up only 20 mins in to my morning writing. Before you know it they’re hitting the keyboard, jumping around, and totally distracting me. It was so annoying! I know I was talking recently of how “zenhouse” I’ve been about their interruptions of this newfound sacred part of my day… Today I admit I wasn’t… Must either 1) find a better way to manage this or 2) get up earlier!

I know what I know. You know what you know. The information we've gathered, did not all arrive at the same time, and is a function of our life experiences. In lie's an opportunity for both wealth accrual and quality education. Can you help?


A wonderful image for a future if ever there was one

Quite a bit of technology to be developed first

We need a way to host content that cannot be switched off…

That for me is an obvious one. So you can send out on RSS


Off to my first Melbourne BitDevs meetup

Always love learning from the technical wizards

So much insight into what is actually going on


Followed a link to Twitter yesterday & was immediately reminded why I deleted it off my phone

Amazing how anxious I felt within just a few moments of consuming the content I saw

It’s hard to explain in a sense, being such a deep gut feel, but safe to say it didn’t make me want to go back


Altcoin Daily clearly don't understand what FUD actually means

Indeed people that continue to support ETH, whilst recognising the FUD is truth are either:

a) nefarious in their actions b) totally blinded into extreme naiivety

Neither option is a good one... Keep up the hustle!


Whenever seen Matteo talk about Nostr in the past he doesn’t see how to make money with it

Would love to see if that changes as he’s a really good guy

Truly entrepreneurial with a top mindset of building something

I for one like the idea of people paying for a great front-end

But with Nostr underpinning everything behind

I would pay for a client that was great! Schedule tool. Podcast hosting

Personally though, I don’t find myself using OPA much

Maybe that’s just me though…


It’s Sunday.

The sun is shining.

I am out for a walk along Brighton Beach, taking my daughters and dog to a playground, for an afternoon adventure.

As is often the case we pause to re-arrange the pram setup.

My 3.5 year old Ruby wants to stop scootering and jump on the back seat.

Fair enough.

As we do so we bumped into John.

We’d never met before, but he clearly wanted to say hi to the kids, and so we started chatting as we were walking along.

He was out for his afternoon walk as well.

Deep tan.

Perspiring lightly.

Full of smiles, questions, and thoughtful answers.

Being an extrovert I welcome these situations.

Turns out he’s 74, and does 14km of walking everyday, which is a huge 22,000 steps.

Good effort!

My wife and I are aiming for a minimum of 10,000 steps per day…

He’s absolutely flying along as I push the pram.

Then he really caught my attention.

“The key frankly is fasting”

“Nice! What does a day look like for you?”

“One coffee in the morning, big bowl of fruit at 5pm with lots of Avocado and Blueberries, followed by a chicken or fish main meal at 7.30pm.”

Fascinating.

Indeed, you have to search long and hard to find any Doctor’s that would recommend such a habit.

What a great conversation we had, totally by random, as our stars aligned to share some time together.

What a journey life is hey!

I am so grateful we get to gain experiences like this everyday, and as a 35 year old I relish the chance to learn from people older than me, at any opportunity.

What was your profession?

Where are you from originally?

How do you feel?

We could have talked for 21,000 more steps I am sure, but the playground we were aiming for hove into view, so we bid our farewells and cracked on.

Good luck John!

Wishing you the very best for your retirement.

Best,
Jake

Ps - this interaction left me more inspired than ever to really delve into the benefits of fasting, a topic I’ve been reading about, and also testing on myself. I love the fact it’s so simple, so counter-culture, and so sovereign. One literally needs themselves, some water, and some time… (which explains why the average Doctor cannot be incentivised to make money recommending it…!)

22,000 Steps - what is the secret to anti-ageing?

Lessons in life can appear from the most unexpected of places. Read on to learn what 74 year old John taught me about fasting and walking.


You’re walking down the street.

People are flowing by you.

Tall.

Small.

Smilling.

Crying.

Whatever the case might be, what would happen if you stopped each one of them, and asked a simple question:

“What is your goal?”

Chance’s are, most people would have the same response.

“I don’t know”

Or if they did have an answer, maybe it’s…

“Get my hair cut”

A little better would be…

“Grow my wealth”

Point being, we charge around through life without properly taking the time to set effective goals.

Could we be more productive?

Could we be happier?

Could we be better at realising our dreams?

I am just embarking on a personal development course with our wonderful osteopath Sharizaar.

She is an alumni of the Proctor-Gallagher institute, an organisation founded by a guy called Bob Proctor, a disciple of Napoleon Hill’s almost century old book “Think and Grow Rich”.

In one of the early lesson’s Bob points out brilliantly how directionless most of us are.

We haven’t set strategic goals.

And without good goals we’re doomed to mediocrity.

It really resonated.

In particular he unpacked the different types of goals he see’s.

A, B, and C type goals.

Let’s dissect them.

An A-type goal is a goal you already know how to do.

Let’s say my goal is to buy a new BMW X5.

Sounds nice.

But if I already own a BMW X5, which I bought 2 years ago new, then my goal is something I already know how to do.

If you already understand how to do it, then it doesn’t force you to learn or test yourself, so there is no personal growth attached to it.

On reflection, many of the goals I have are like this…

A B-type goal requires a little more thinking.

It’s a goal that you know, should you collect together lots of information, speak to that person, go to that place, buy that thing, then you’re confident you can get there.

You have a mind map of how to achieve a B-type goal.

Sure, attainment of the goal might be a good thing, but you’re simply collecting resources together.

There is no creativity involved in pulling all that together.

The problem with a B-type goal: you will get bored.

As I think through this, we’ve just made the decision to go and spend a month in Byron bay, so I set this as a goal.

I’ve booked a property, paid for flights, found a way to get a car and dog up there, all of which I knew I could achieve.

I am not bored.

But it’s a case of curating a bunch of things that I already know how to do.

Which brings me to a C-type goal.

As Bob brilliantly points out, this type of goal is more like a vision, a fantasy, a dream come true.

He encourages you to get creative.

Sit down.

Breathe.

Feel.

What is it that you’ve always really wanted?

Fly a helicopter.

Speak fluent French.

Climb Mt Everest.

Just some fun things that spring to mind.

The key here is to be almost irrational, conjure up things that one immediately rejects as impossible, something that initially scares you.

Go on a silent retreat.

Swim the English Channel.

Write a book.

Even those aren’t truly scary enough!

I am thinking on the fly here… Arguably this is best done with nothing in mind.

Create a sustainable source of energy that is costless.

Time travel.

Go to Mars.

That’s better.

Those are terrifying!

What I like here though, it really resonates, is that “you are your thoughts”.

If we set a C-type goal well, sure we don’t know how to achieve it, but once we set our mind on it then the creativity flows.

“When there is a will, there is a way.”

Bob quotes Napoleon Hill “imagination is the most marvellous, miraculous, inconceivably powerful force the world has ever know”.

Well this is a fun way to start the day!

Pumped.

I am inspired to spend more time spitballing terrifying ideas that could become a goal.

Admittedly Sharizaar did help me to set a C-type goal lately, which is poignant if only for the fact it’s the first time in my life I set a goal that didn’t include something to do with money, which should actually just be the output of a good goal.

Each mornign and evening I say to myself: “I’m so grateful and happy, now that I give myself permission to live everyday as an open space of discovery, fulfilment, and wonder.”

Cheesy.

Yes.

Spiritual.

Yes.

Fun first attempt.

For sure.

Where is this all taking me?

Time will tell.

But with a renewed vigour to utilise goal setting I am confident of a happier, healthier, and wealthier future.

What goals do you have?

Best,
Jake

Ps - until the last year I was very bad at spending money on myself. Sure, I’ve invested in other people, I’ve travelled a lot, and been very fortunate in general, but I am guilty of poor self-care. Massage? No thanks. Osteo session? No thanks. Meditation? Don't have time… With the beautiful influence of my wife, a bio-hacker if ever there was one, I am quickly improving. One of the area’s I am most excited about, and have already felt benefits from, is paying up for personal development coaching. I encourage you do consider doing the same! As always, DM open, as I’d love to hear from you.

Do you have a goal? I bet you don't. Do you have a goal you're happy with? I bet you don't. Do you even know how to set a good goal? I bet you don't. I didn't until recently... A quick story to help you change that!


Lifting weights not only gets me into better physical condition

But it really fires me up mentally… I often feel so creative in the gym

Like there is literally nothing stopping any of us!


Part of the draw to Nostr is the censorship resistance

The rational mind lures one back to where the status quo eyeballs are

What do you mean you left an audience behind on Twitter?..

But knowing one is building on true bedrock

You cannot be switched off. End of story

Appeals to my sense of adventure, quest for truth, & freedom

Interestingly the people I meet here hold the same values

A small petri-dish for the future? Or loners forever?

We shall see… 😜


Shout out to all the parents

Good hustle


As investors, if you’ve missed #Bitcoin, you’ve miss-allocated

Government bonds no longer represent the “risk-free-rate”

Meaning the hurdle rate for all your return-on-investment calcs is wrong

Most have totally missed this fact to date

The question is: how long does this remain “contrarian?”


The average global citizen has never had access to healthy property rights

#Bitcoin fixes this in a way that most have no idea

Yes, physical real estate will remain important as we move forward

We still need land to farm, house, & profit from

But it will be without the monetary premium we see today

Whilst the ability to store digital scarcity as an individual

Will supersede even the most advanced property rights

As normalised from centuries of development in the UK & Europe

The average global citizen is set to benefit hugely from this

Long may that last 🙏🏻


Writing is a forcing function for wisdom

One can collect as much information as they want

But until you articulate it via written word you’ve not truly synthesised it


Let’s celebrate!

Yesterday marked the 14th day in a row I’d accomplished a new habit.

5.30 am.

Everyday.

I write.

How long do they say you need to embed something new?

I am never quite sure as it’s such a personal experience, but 2 weeks feels like a real milestone for me, and is something I am really proud of.

My alarm goes off.

I hit mute as soon as I can.

I pause… did she wake up?

Phew…

She didn’t…

Stirring the sleeping baby with one’s iPhone jingling, as I discovered one morning, leads to a sub-optimal writing window.

The key is I am alone.

I don’t hang around, I know this is a tight squeeze, so I literally open my laptop up and start tapping away.

Can I continue this habit?

I sure hope so.

Not only has it been very enjoyable.

Getting something creative completed before the day has even started has no doubt improved my mood.

But I like the output.

All these articles, inspired by wherever my mind takes me each morning, represent discipline, intuition, and truth.

Action leads to clarity.

And with each one I am learning…

One key has been to be flexible.

I am the father of young kids, indeed 15 minutes into writing this, my youngest woke up and needed me.

Now I am in bed with her.

Together we are writing!

Instead of get angry with her, or the situation, I’ve realised I must simply be ok with the disturbance.

It is what it is.

I got 15 minutes to myself, which was enough to kick-start my writing, and set the direction I need.

No-one has been able to interrupt my thoughts.

My mind is crystal clear first thing.

I love it.

Equally something fun just happened.

Whilst as I lay in bed with her the inspiration for how I would finish this article came to me.

Ding.

Like a lightbulb going off.

Over the past year I’ve hired a few different types of personal development coaches.

One of whom, Jin, shout out to her, sat me down and asked me to define what my personal values are.

In December I updated them as follows:

- Adventure
- Authenticity
- Creativity
- Freedom
- Intuition

Now, every decision I make, gets synthesised through these values.

They act as a filter on my potential actions.

As my daughter started crawling all over me, and I realised that she definitely wasn’t going back to sleep, I reflected on how this new morning writing habit was so aligned with my values.

- I am forming a new habit so setting out on a new adventure.
- I am sharing insights from my daily life so being authentic.
- I am optimising for my writing so expressing myself creatively.
- I am exclusively posting on Nostr so utilsing it’s freedom-of-speech characteristics.
- I am tuning into my mind so using intuition to guide me.

How cool!

And now my second daughter is awake…

And the dog is barking…

Haha

Time to wrap this up!

I repeat: I want to celebrate 2 weeks of writing every morning!

What a great start to the day.

Best,
Jake

Ps - starting new habits can be hard, but as I learnt in James Clear's excellent book “Atomic Habits”, one great tip is to think about “habit stacking”. Not only does he really hammer home the importance of compound results, but attaching a new habit to one you already do, is a really neat trick to increase the chances of it sticking. What success have you had with this? Any wins you’d like to share? As always, DM if any questions at all.

I am happy and I want to share why. Yesterday marked the 14th day that I've woken up early, written an article, and posted it on Nostr. This feels amazing. Will this inspire you?


That’s likely totally correct. I’ll report back if not.

I guess my point was more around the movement of a bearer asset rather than a fiat currency

But thanks so much for the input! It’s how we learn


Think of a kids playground.

Children running everywhere.

Mayhem.

The laughs.

The screams.

The squabbles.

A local favourite of ours at the moment, has a small sandpit area, that my girls enjoy digging around in.

I’ve never thought to bring their beach toys.

Annoyingly!

I mean, who doesn’t like to build a sandcastle with a proper bucket and spade…!?!

So I improvise, grab some paper takeaway coffee cups, and explain how they can use them to build with instead.

Off they go…

They love it.

For a while.

Before, oops, something else has caught their attention.

The slide, trampoline, or see-saw, is now the centre of their world.

Any parent out there will know this well.

What I want to highlight though is a process I witness each time.

Firstly, there is a feature in the centre of the sandpit, that all the kids gravitate towards.

They will dig trenches around it, put sand on top, and it becomes a castle, garden, or monument.

It is the critical piece of real estate in the sand pit.

Control this, and you’re on top.

Secondly, there was a time when a boy was with some well organised grandparents, who had thought to bring all his beach toys.

Trucks, diggers, spades, buckets, and a heap of shells etc.

Kids flocked to them.

For the boy, this was a disaster, as sharing all his goodies was not part of his plan.

As you can imagine, there are fights over the centre feature, and there was a fracas for the toys.

Which brings me to the point of today’s story.

What is this, if it’s not a rehearsal for the age old human instinct, to control land and technology?

A petri-dish for future discussions over who owns what.

“That’s mine!”

Can just as easily be the true owner of a toy or a child simply wanting to play with it.

Instinctively we want things.

So how do we control this urge as adults?

Often we don’t.

We fight.

But as I’ve been reading lately in Hernando De Soto’s excellent book “The Mystery Of Capital”, one excellent solution to this has been the development of property rights, which enable the growth of capital.

I highly recommend having a read.

One story resonated strongly, in relation to how settlers in the USA organised themselves, as they spread west through the continent.

Men would settle on land as squatters.

They would build, farm, and develop it.

Luckily for them the English property law prominent at the time didn’t follow across the Atlantic, which diss-allowed squatting, but rather they innovated, and it became common practice that squatters could legalise their ownership over time.

Precedent was set.

The incentive structure was clear.

Add value, care for the land, and the law will catch up to reflect your capital creation eventually.

Interestingly, settlers would identify the boarders of their newfound territory with signals as simple as axe cuts in tree’s.

Imagine that!

Primitive.

But effective.

De Soto also highlights brilliantly how a countries inability to build an effective property rights system hamstrings its growth.

For some citizens of the word today, it’s either too expensive, or takes literally years, to try and legitimise their property rights.

This forces them into what he describes as the ‘extralegal’ economy.

A place where people go to do business, in order to best go about their hustle, but without the ability to generate capital long-term.

It’s not that they’re criminals.

Quite the contrary in many cases

The issue is simple, the systems they operate in just don’t provide what they need, so they come up with innovate solutions of their own.

But these agreements are hyper-local in most cases.

Each neighbourhood knows how it works.

But, unlike the USA, these places never had an effective centralised institution willing and able to document, manage, and maintain property rights.

This is the missing piece to true capital development.

As a Brit living in Australia, I am very accustomed to utilising a house as collateral for a loan for example.

In many places that is simply not possible.

What really got me thinking though, was his detailed plans on how to help developing and ex-communnist countries put in place effective property rights.

They’re long.

Really long.

And with each step one can’t help but feel his ideas become less and less viable.

“I wonder if he has ever studied Bitcoin?” I thought to myself.

My bet: he hasn’t.

Indeed, it’s my belief that Bitcoin represents the highest form of property rights mankind has ever had access to.

If you have the key, you own the wealth.

If you don’t have the key, you don’t own the wealth.

Super simple.

Chuck into the mix Bitcoin is easily divisible, can be taken anywhere, cannot be debased, and is easy to exchange, you start to see its extremely attractive characteristics as a store-of-value with capital growth potential.

Consider all those extralegal economic actors globally.

Millions and millions of them.

All in need of a way to generate capital long-term.

Well instead of requiring a centralised government, which has clearly failed them to date, to dramatically figure out a way to evolve into the USA, now they can utilise an open network, digitally native, open 24/7, 365…

Quite a moment in history in my view.

Everyone, anywhere in the world, how have access to equal property rights.

With De Soto’s lens, now they can truly nurture capital.

Said another way, squabbles in the sand pit, no longer carry the same weight as they once did…

Best,
Jake

Ps - even as someone that was highly trained in how to “make money”, it’s only recently that I asked the question “what is money?” This seemingly innocuous ask, has helped me to see the difference between an investment, and simply saving, which is a definition the average person has been de-sensitised from. Part of this exploration means one really starts to dig into the word “capital”. What I have found is quite the opposite to the champagne socialist wisdom of today that “capitalism is the cause of all our problems”. True capital management is the key to our future, based in property rights fit for the digital renaissance, with the potential to help more people live a happy life than any social phenomenon before it.

Access to capital is critical to human flourishing. For too long, huge swathes of the global population have not been able to leverage strong property rights, which drastically reduces their ability to unlock capital. Bitcoin "fixes this"...


So true. Key to managing that is having a strategy & sticking to it

Most people are not clear as to why they do what they do

Once you’ve got a strategy, stick to it, & then emotion can’t play tricks


“I want to shave my head”

A few years roll by…

“I really want to shave my head”

A few months roll by…

“I really really want to shave my head”

A few days roll by…

And then it happens again, this strange urge, that just keeps coming back.

Why oh why do I keep having this thought!?

Of course, each time I do, I test the waters with my wife.

“Terrible idea.”

“Why do that?”

“Please don’t.”

Haha.

She’s right… I have no idea why I would want to do that!

If you’ve met me in person, you’ll know that I tend to wear my hair on the longer side of things, and am blessed that I have plenty of it.

Indeed, I am lucky to have such a full head of hair.

But sometimes luck just doesn’t cut it…

The last time I’d had a shaved head was 15 years ago.

I’d liked it.

But never re-visited.

Then boom, New Years came and went, and I just could’t stop thinking about it.

The wife stress test again…

“Whatever makes you happy”

Nice.

I took that as a blessing.

On heading out to do some chores, I went straight to a barber, with the intention of the full clipper job right there and then.

First thing he says to me: “are you sure you want to do that?”

He’d looked at my nice quiff, combed to the side, and had done a double take…

“Yes”, my heart fluttered, “I am totally sure”

“Well I can only fit you in an hour from now”

Damn…

Instant gratification wasn’t going to be possible.

I had an hour to burn.

Plenty of time to reverse this stupid decision.

“No. Hang in there… If you don’t do this now you never will!” I thought…

I managed to distract myself with some new gym clothes, then back I went, seating myself on the bench next in line.

“Don’t be a pussy.. What’s the worst that can happen?…”

Another 10 minutes went by waiting.

As my turn arrived, my apprehension built, built, and built some more.

“Worst case: it grows back.”

What an amusing experience.

But something was driving me to stick it out.

I sat in the chair.

“Shave it all off please”

“How about a 3?”

“Sure let’s do it”

I couldn’t help but take a few selfie’s.

The clippers flew straight down the middle of my head.

My preppy hair-do in absolute tatters.

Carnage up top!

But the best bit: I had this big smile.

It felt amazing.

Indeed, I am grinning just now as I re-write this, as if I can tap straight back into the joy of that moment.

I felt the most liberated I had in ages.

As the clippers came to the end of the job, the guy in the chair to my right pipes up:

“I was thinking to myself when you arrived, you had really nice hair, what’s he doing here…!?”

“Ballsy” said the other barber.

We all had a laugh.

And I explained that for some strange reason, this urge to do it, had been building up in my mind for literally years.

Hah

I’d done it!

As I strolled home, I really was on ‘cloud 9’, smirking to myself with how fun that whole experience had been.

Then the big reveal.

I inched up to the top of the stairs.

And there were my wife and eldest daughter.

“What the hell have you done!”

They both laughed.

My wife: “I really like it”

Bingo…

“So do I”…

Which is still true this morning a few weeks later.

Best,
Jake

Ps - I’ve been trying to follow my intuition on a more regular basis, which is hard, given how it takes you to places that often seem irrational to the rational mind. But as detailed here, the key is to follow how you feel, and tap into where you experience joy. A simple story I admit. A powerful depiction of how this plays out however. Indeed, my wife’s comments are a reflection of my inner rational mind in many ways,  an interesting observation no doubt. Feel what makes you happy. Follow it!

Recently I used my intuition to make a decision. It felt amazing. We should never be scared to follow what brings us joy.


Where? I was referring to the fact there is no 3rd party you have to trust in terms of the money.

If guess you mean I am using software products to do it which are middlemen?


January 2024.

Headlines singing to the rooftops all over the world.

Bitcoin ETF!

Bitcoin ETF!

Bitcoin ETF!

No news is bad news for Bitcoin.

But in the years I’ve been following this market closely, I’ve seen plenty of hype, so frankly I don’t see this step in the journey as all that different.

So what’s really going on here?

As always there are two sides to the coin.

Some pros.

Some cons.

Let’s work through a few of them.

First and foremost, it’s important to recognise the importance of a Bitcoin ETF from a legitimisation perspective.

It’s a coming of age.

Bitcoin has made the milestone that is their school leavers ball…

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” has everyone jumping on the dance floor.

A first snog is under way…

For the traditional investment world, the fiat system, there is now an easier on-ramp to Bitcoin, approved by the US regulator, so fund managers can allocate to their hearts content.

Indeed some analysts claim that already 3% of Bitcoin supply is in the hand's of ETFs already.

The demand has been strong no doubt.

But think of a leavers ball, it’s not the first time kids have got drunk, indeed many of them have been partying for years.

This is similar.

Retail investors have been able to front run this demand.

Which on the one hand is simply glorious.

Excellent price action potential to the upside, which the ‘Lords of Finance’ have been unable to capture, due to their own regulations locking them out of the market…

But on the other hand I think this ‘misses the forrest for the tree’s’.

Bitcoin is a freedom technology.

It is a viable alternative to Government controlled fiat money.

Taking self-custody of a digital bearer asset is a superpower!

We’re separating money from state.

This is history in the making…

Is it really a good thing that centralised entities, ripe for Government coercion, now have the ability to accumulate large parts of the Bitcoin network supply?

The cynic in me screams be careful.

Indeed, if I wanted to try and influence, stop, or take control of Bitcoin, a logical attack vector is a ‘Trojan Horse’ style, utilising branded ETF’s, leveraging money I could print.

Hoover up a big percentage of the supply, then in theory, could one could try and dictate an alteration of the consensus?

Maybe.

What are the chances of this?

My view: low.

Wind the clock back to ‘the blocksize war’ of 2017, when the network mining capacity was far more centralised, then I think the risk was far higher.

The precedent was clearly set thankfully.

Zealot users and node-runners don’t want this thing to change.

This is the beauty of a truly decentralised system.

Accumulate as much as you can, but you cannot change how it functions.

We’re truly ruled by rules, not by rulers.

Back to these ETF’s.

My more trusting side points out the transparency and reporting requirements that the SEC has put in place.

Re-hypothecation is not allowed.

Whilst some of the ETF’s are run by people prominent in the Bitcoin space that I’ve studied before.

Hmmmm.

As always a few ways to look at things.

Let’s start to wrap this up.

Ultimately, I welcome the approval of US Bitcoin ETF’s, as an important step in the legitimisation of Bitcoin.

But temper that.

Who controls these inflows of capital?

Are they a threat?

How might they try to co-opt the network?

Like those teenagers I envisioned before, think of MicroStrategy, Tesla, and other stock listed companies that have held Bitcoin for years already; they’ve been boozing well before their final night of school…

Yes Blackrock has now joined the party.

But does letting the teachers pet in really improve the vibe?

Time will tell.

Personally, I prefer to keep a more macro lens.

What’s the latest hash rate?

How is user growth playing out?

Where is the fiat system breaking?

There’s always going to be something in the hype cycle of significance when it comes to Bitcoin.

What’s next?

Governments stacking…?

Let’s see!

Best
Jake

Ps - no news is bad news for Bitcoin. It’s already one of the most recognisable brands globally, so the fanfare of ETF’s stokes the fire a little more, which as a long-term HODLer I welcome. Capital growth potential: increased. Interest in this critical niche: increased. Capacity of mainstream media output captured by Bitcoin: increased… Saying all that… be careful who you jump into bed with!

The US regulated Bitcoin exchange-traded-funds have finally arrived. The majority of commentators are very bullish about this news, but as always, there's pro's and con's. Here's some thoughts to consider...


Haha. Then you go & post the note twice as you're not sure if the first was sent, due to the lag of relays. Lots of work to do making the experience as slick as what we're used to on Facebook etc


The moment you hook up Alby via your browser extension, pay for Nostr Plebs address in sats, having deposited just moments before from a Muun wallet... Holy shit.

A bearer asset. No middle man. Micro-payments. Speed of light. Super cheap. One login. The future of the internet right there in front of my eyes.


Have fun Joe!


Beautiful moment


Done 💪🏻


Awake.

Where am I?

Phew…

On the sofa, outside my daughters room, just where I was supposed to be.

Grim way to wake up.

I’d been dreaming.

In fact, I’d been living through a nightmare, which I was very happy to put behind me.

So strange.

What a world our dreams take us to sometimes!

In this case, I’d found myself interrogating multiple men, who were on a rugby tour.

They were young.

Innocent seemingly.

But I’d found them with my daughters…

Both of them only 3 and 1 respectively.

Fuck.

How had they got out the house?

Where have they been this whole time?

Why hadn’t I been able to protect them?

One of these men I was shouting at had looked guilty.

Like he knew something I didn’t want to find out.

I’d bumped into my daughters in a happy state, but who knows what’s happened to them, so I kept asking them questions.

“Did anyone touch you?”

“Is everything ok?”

“Where have you been!?!?”

As I was dreaming, one of my biggest fears was playing out in front of my sleeping mind, one that as a father you push back to the very depth of your conscience.

Pedophilia…

I was frantic.

I could see guilt in this man’s eye’s

I knew he knew something.

You go on the attack, barrage of accusatory questions, you have to find out the truth.

As the dream continued, they shared a name with me, of someone who had done something they shouldn’t.

I went to go and find them.

“God, if I get my hands on this c*nt, I am going to go mad…”

Anger of the darkest nature is stirred up.

Then I heard a cry.

What was that?

I rolled over and came to my senses.

And there I was, on the sofa, with my head on a pillow.

It was 3am, she’d rolled out of bed, and needed help going back to sleep.

WTF…

What in the hell was I just dreaming about?

That was absolutely terrifying…

My instinct was to hold her close.

Never let go!

Why oh why do we dream like that?

Where do these stories we conjure up come from?

What is the sub-conscious mind?

Truthfully, it’s something I know little about, and have dedicated very few hours to actually learning about.

But as time goes by, I can feel psychology and mindset, becoming a more and more important part of my intellectual curiosities.

Perhaps this was the trigger I needed to explore further.

Without doubt, it’s made me write this was a growing sense of gratefulness that I am a father, and that I have the ability to keep my little girls safe.

Shout out to all the Dad’s out there.

We have a big job on our hands!

Which reminds me of a story, that really hit home lately, from the autobiography of Ted Turner.

This guy built a business over multiple decades, including creating the first 24 hour global news service CNN, creating billions of dollars of wealth on the way through.

As the book ended he concludes his proudest achievement.

His children.

Poignant.

Perhaps a healthy reminder: home is where the heart is…

Best,
Jake

Ps - becoming a father has been simultaneously the hardest and the most enjoyable thing I have ever done. I am so grateful to have met my wife, to be in a partnership in which I can even consider parenthood, plus to be able to have thrown ourselves into it headfirst. It’s the ultimate startup in that sense! Learn by doing. Shout out to all the parents out there, you’re dong amazing work, which your children will appreciate in the years to come no doubt!

I woke up in the middle of last night from a terrible dream. I thought my daughters had been kidnapped and raped. Thankfully it was not reality... Shout out to all the Dad's out there! Keep them safe.


Good additional demand combined with a simpler onboarding experience

Very interesting numbers to be throwing around


Interestingly, I still that sub 5% of the world actually understand that

Maybe even that is too high...


Hired for what sir!?!


Very compelling supply & demand mechanics for significant price action to the upside

Whilst that's just 1 ETF...


Idea: Create a podcast using just Nostr tech

Guests: have to be found on Nostr

Cadence: bi-weekly

Topics: investing, startups, tech

Type: 1-1 interview


“Jake, you’re like a bull in a china shop!”

Is something I remember my mother telling me.

Young boys…

Fast.

Stronger than they realise.

Clumsy.

A memory that sticks with me to this day.

But one’s temperament shines through even from a young age, grow’s up with you, and even now I confess a tendency to just “push on” or “bulldoze” my way through things.

Frankly I would like to be even more perceptive of my behaviour sometimes.

Which is why I am telling this story today…

I was meditating, and the latest rental application process I’ve been going through popped up on the carousel of thoughts, that I slowly digest over 20 minutes.

We’ve been hunting for a 12 month lease in Melbourne.

In fact, we’d found a place that was 90% of the way there to being exactly what we wanted, and I’d spent hours pulling together all the relevant information, chatting to the agent, and pushing to get the deal.

“Fuck it, I should just ignore Loz, take control, and throw everything at it. Stick to offering 6 months rent up front.”

Yes, the market is so tight, we’re offering rent up front, whilst my lack of a fiat employment contract scares people off in terms of ability to pay.

Indeed, I’d gone balls to the wall, first in best dressed, and already offered 6 months.

My wife wasn’t happy.

The last place we did something similar, we got caught short, and had lots of issues with the rental property that were exacerbated having already paid for the lease.

As a result, I’d reduced our up-front payment offer, on hearing the move-in date was actually 3 weeks later than advertised.

Then something cool happened.

One’s mind was chattering away.

Busy.

Busy.

Busy.

Rehashing all the stuff I’d been doing in relation to the house hunt.

And boom.

A moment of clarity within the noise.

Meditation at its best.

“You should not bulldoze your way through this like normal. Slow down. Make an extra effort to support Loz and her gut feel about this.”

Clear as day.

That morning I told her: “However this plays out, I support you, and any problems that occur due to me offering rent up front, or your gut feel, I take responsibility”

“Thank you”… She said.

A change of dynamic on my behalf.

What an interesting experience.

“Bull in a china shop” no more!

As the week progressed, I was relieved to get the news our application was approved, as to say the least the last few months of looking for a place have been full of ups and downs.

The next step is to sign and send some money.

I feel comfortable with it myself.

Especially as we also had our friend, an energy healer with a superb track record of helping us, do a brief scan of the property, finding nothing of concern.

But all afternoon, I can see it stewing in her, my wife pipes up…

“Something in my gut says this isn’t the right house”

Hmmmmmm

Shit…

In particular we’ve felt from a distance that the owner has been super stressed, managing a move overseas, and therefore has been erratic to deal with.

Even via an agent…

She claims to be heading overseas for a number of years. Will she?

She’s been funny about furniture remaining. Why bother?

She’s flip-flopped around with the move in date. How come?

Feel.

Stop.

Think.

Ok. Let’s pause this process and sleep on it.

I really want to honour my committeemen to her.

To support her.

To listen to her.

Then, and I don’t know why, Loz sends me this beautiful property on a hill above Byron Bay.

Wow.

Imagine living there!

My heart swelled.

I felt this smirk on my lips.

That would be fun…

We could easily put everything that's in storage on a truck, we have 2 cars, we could be up there in a week or so before this Airbnb finishes.

Indeed, Byron is an area we’ve been closely watching for a while.

Better weather.

Home-schooling.

Huge beach walks.

Lots to like!

Big change from inner-city Melbourne.

But maybe, just maybe, between Loz’s gut feel and my sense of adventure, we’ve just stumbled upon something we actually really want to do.

Energy.

Why on earth, after all this effort to find a place here, am I looking at beautiful properties in a totally different part of Australia.

Why have our minds taken us here?

Who is pulling these life-decision strings?

How can we use instinct to better navigate life?

To summarise, I am working hard on new operating system, one which is built upon meditation, intuition, and feeling one’s body.

My meditation teacher describes it as "tuning into to one's highest form of intelligence".

This resonates a lot.

As this upgrade is in progress, certain signals can be hard to decipher, as with any evolution.

Byron. Or not to Byron?

That IS the question.

Best,
Jake

Ps - for regular readers of these articles, you will know that we decided to sell our primary place of residence, in favour of accumulating more Bitcoin, and living in rental properties that were larger, nicer, and in area’s we preferred. Whilst the investment side of the strategy is kicking goals, the physical side of going between rental contracts has been much harder than expected, and is a huge learning curve for myself in particular. Even the best laid plans don’t always go as expected! “You can’t live in a Bitcoin…”

Making a big life decision is stressful for anyone. Changing jobs, moving house, starting or ending a relationship... Read on to learn how my wife and I are tuning into our instincts, leveraging meditation and gut feel, to navigate a house move for our young family.

This is a long form article, you can read it in https://habla.news/a/naddr1qqxnzdesx5mrqdfjxqerqvehqgs043gn588da502h36q0sffjay9m69mk28dmm805qtgzl7g6n6q0fgrqsqqqa283pme68


thanks will take a look!


Wealth.

What is it?

People have different views.

All the stuff you own.

All the money you have.

All the time at your disposal.

A common strategy is for people to create what they call a statement of assets, which totals up everything they own, creating a number.

$1000

$10,000

$100,000

$1,000,000

Whatever it might be, in this instance I’ve chosen a Usd value, but it could be any metric.

Gbp.

Euro.

Yen.

Even the number of houses you own, perhaps it’s totalled in head of cattle, or maybe you’re a gold bug.

Bitcoin of course.

Really any metric can be used.

Once it was glass beads in certain parts of the world…

But what’s it all for?

At the end of the day, these assets are useful for what they can buy you, ie their purchasing power.

One’s wealth is a store-of-value.

A tool.

The more wealthy you are, the more you can buy in the future, and therefore the more confidence you can have against uncertainty.

Now let’s have a think about expenses.

For sake of argument, let’s say someone has net assets of $500k, and they spend $50k per annum.

Meaning after year 1, should their capital base not grow, they will have $450k remaining.

To highjack some startup terms, this person therefore has a burn rate of 10%, and a runway of 10 years from today.

Solid.

Without working for an income, and with costs remaining constant, this person has 10 years to opt between labour and leisure time.

One would assume a lot of leisure time inbound!

Whilst they have plenty of time to deliver value, should they choose to, growing their asset base again with income from labour.

There are other factors to consider of course.

Will their capital base grow in value?

Maybe they’ve made some good investments. Maybe they’ve made some bad investments…

Will their costs change over time?

Perhaps inflation is out of control in their local currency. Perhaps they decide to have a couple of kids.

As always in life, everyone is unique, and therefore we must all review ourselves through our own specific lens.

Which brings me to the specific point of today.

What happens if someone has “solved the wealth problem”?

Circling back to our friend with $500k and $50k costs per annum.

Traditionally, storing that wealth was hard.

If you chose your local currency, you have inflation risk.

If you chose gold, how do you carry it around with you without being stolen?

If you chose cattle, what if they catch a disease?

If you chose equities, will the company have performed well?

If you chose real estate, how do you know liquidity will be there when you need it?

In many cases, we have to farm out the management of our wealth to “experts”, who take a management fee for their services.

Not only separating us from our wealth to an extent, but maybe they have a bad year…

Point being, managing wealth is hard, and there are no guarantee’s the investments you’ve made or the money you saved will retain its purchasing power.

Then along comes Bitcoin.

Huge capital growth potential.

Easy to transport.

Zero operational costs.

Indeed, the best risk-reward opportunity, that many lifelong investors have ever seen.

Our friend, should they choose to put $500k into Bitcoin, and continue to spend $50k per annum, arguably has an endless runway.

Ie their purchasing power, now they own a deflationary money, continues to grow at a faster rate than their expenses.

“But Jake, everything is always getting so expensive!”

I hear you.

We live in an era dominated by inflationary monetary policy, driven by central banks printing money, and the fractional reserve banking system allowing levered debt creation on deposits.

So our friends $50k costs will increase over time no doubt.

Everything is getting more expensive in dollar terms.

But flip it around.

Actually this is a reflection on a denominator that is crumbling in value.

It can buy less stuff.

Should you choose Bitcoin, then your purchasing power is actually increasing over time, and you can buy more stuff.

All this goes to say: “what if you have solved the wealth problem?”

I for one, have spent the vast majority of my adult life, thinking about how to make money.

I was recently called “obsessed” about it.

Everything I see, in some way, gets spun into a business idea.

Boutique gym focused on personal training. Wholesaling a health product. Building software for Nostr. Just a handful of the latest…

But, having bought Bitcoin, I am very confident that my capital growth position is so strong, that our expenses will fall as a percentage of net assets.

I don’t need to micro-manage a lame real estate rental agent and an investment property.

I don’t need to hunt for exciting angel investments to buy equity in.

I don’t need to monetise a podcast that I create.

Will this be the case a year from now?

18 months?

5 years?

10 years?

There are no guarantee’s in life.

But I am very confident: YES.

Consider potential price action to the upside, the ability to self-custody, growing hashrate… It lays the foundation for extreme confidence in the probability of capital growth and continued ownership.

Of course there are things I dream of owning.

Beautiful houses.

Watches.

Clothes.

But this is just more stuff… What I really need is energy, food, family, health, and ultimately, happiness.

No doubt an exciting moment to have reached.

A higher level of consciousness some might say…

So, what does one do with their time?

Labour?

Or

Leisure?

Well, when one is so heavily conditioned to think about how to make money all the time, it’s going to be an interesting process to experience playing out.

Sometimes unlearning is harder than learning...

How do you feel?

Does Bitcoin “solve the wealth problem for you?”

I’d love to hear from you.

Best,
Jake

Ps - 15 years ago my father died from a sudden heart attack, he was 48 years old, and was highly stressed. I inherited wealth from him in my 20’s and have spent the last decade figuring out what to do with it. I made a ton of mistakes, with terrible investments in some cases, but also learned of the opportunity that is Bitcoin. I don’t believe my father had solved the wealth problem hence his stress, but we’re fortunate to be able to use this new tool, which I genuinely believe will help people live healthier and happier lives. Let’s do it!

I was recently told that I was "obsessed" with business ideas. Read on to learn why this is in fact totally unnecessary, given Bitcoin now exists, and solves the wealth problem.


Will  check it out. Thanks


Love it. What a way to start the year Jeff! Good luck


Every bloody time... Doom scrolling through Netflix, Apple TV, Stan, Binge, & Amazon Prime...

My wife & hardly asking for much. Got to the end of the day & need some casual viewing!

"Why isn't there an app that tracks new epsiodes of things you liked in the past?" She asks...

Which gets me thinking. These are all legacy subscription model platforms

Walled gardens that one has to ask permission to join, plus pay for regardless of consumption

What does their future look like with Nostr around? An entirely different landscape

Imagine a truly value-4-value movie, which streamed sats with value splits to the cast

Which can be viewed through whichever client the user chose to use

Fascinating ...


In my experience 80% of the work is outside the gym

eg diet


Love this idea! Or each day they don't remain under their calorie budget


Taken me longer than I expected to figure that out

Of course hindsight is unfair in a sense!


Upper body day (pull focus):

- pull ups
- mid-back focused row
- db shoulder press
- cable incline curls
- db lateral raises
- rope tricep push down
- cable face pull

💪🏻
https://m.primal.net/HYBt.jpg


Same here! Location is key in that sense


Thanks for sharing!

As always there's horses for courses

An offer needs to do 2 things 1) pull people in 2) push people away

My vision here is for people familiar with a gym

But irritated by lack of results, so wanting better results

"All-in" I really just mean getting people training & focused on diet

Whilst the up-front payment forces people to be more invested

Lots of work to do figuring out the best approach!

Any reason you can share for not being in a gym?


Natural stem cell recovery technology, developed in military circles, now on the open market

This was a mind blowing episode that I encourage anyone to have a listen to immediately

The idea that the body is a constantly healing form of energy is fascinating & love that we can heal ourselves

Starting a 30 day patch program & hope to improve me eyesight. Results incoming

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7acyLRtB79eR0xcBnexXnh?si=wwtXgU_qS7KDGLJC7J_UHg


Imagine if you could see all the public comments a person you follow makes online

Every tweet, YT video, LinkedIn post, Instagram reel, that they engage with you can also can see

Huge ability to learn more for the user, & huge potential for the creator to build an audience

This is just one of the future scenarios the Nostr opens up which I’ve just learnt about


Strong urge to go into business with my PT & setup a boutique gym business

Lease a space, sell results, build a brand, focus on empowering people to feel their best

I think the key is really focusing on personal training, payment up front, & pushing people to go all-in

Why won’t this work?


Waking up early & writing everyday means I’ve accomplished something for myself before the day event starts

After a week of doing this I am going to commit to doing it full-time


Debt.

Useful tool?

Or trapdoor into a life of fiat slavery?

As with most things in life, this is a horses for courses scenario, with the answer being wildly different from person to person.

What is no doubt true: our status quo financial system is built with debt, so if you can master the use of it, then your ability to leverage is a superpower.

Is this useful to me?

Not right now.

As I found out yesterday.

In my morning meditation, I was downloading thought after thought as usual, and a bunch of stuff came up around taking a mortgage to buy a house.

I was inspired to re-visit that discussion to see where it might take me.

Having walked the dog past a broker’s office multiple times over the past year, I knew who I was going to cold call, and minutes later I was on the phone to Brendan.

He admitted to having over 20 years experience navigating the mortgage market.

Perfect.

For 40 minutes we spoke through multiple scenarios, which was simultaneously fascinating, but also extremely confusing.

The more time I spend in the world of Bitcoin, the more I’ve begun accustomed to the simplicity of it, born from the beauty of utilising a bearer asset.

Whereas fiat… well that’s another story.

“Jake there are 2 key area’s a bank will look at”

“Ok, sounds straight forward”

“1: what level of deposit? 2: what can you afford?”

In my case, answering the first question wasn’t too bad, in that I am fortunate to have accrued a healthy asset base; I could easily sell down some Bitcoin to put a deposit on a house for example.

The hard part was answering the second question…

Because I choose to create value outside the fiat system, without a fiat employment contract, I have very little income to show; it’s not easy for me to therefore demonstrate affordability.

We spent a long time discussing serviceability of the loan therefore.

And frankly it was such an eye-opener.

Indeed, it highlights the total mess the real estate market is in, with a huge disconnect between what people are earning and where the house prices are.

Let’s talk through some numbers.

Firstly, any foreign income you might be earning, is taken at a 60% discount by Australian mortgage providers “being conservative”.

Of course fiat earned in GBP or USD is worth less…

That didn’t make sense to me.

But then it was the raw calculations that surprised me.

Let’s say you are on a $100k aud salary in your job, which is higher than the average Australia-wide of circa $75k, you’re likely only able to borrow $500k.

Let me explain why.

The banks like to have a “buffer rate” in place, so with interest rates at around 6%, they want to see a borrowing capacity (serviceability) of 9%.

For sake of this example let’s just say the buffer rate is 10%.

If you then borrow $500k aud, the theoretical interest payments are $50k per year, more if you’re paying interest plus principle.

When one has $100k come through the front-door, it’s then taxed to a net income of circa $70k, then deducting the $50k debt payments one is left with $20k…

How on earth does that person live on $20k per year?

Surely no-one is able to do that?…

Which is why, as Brendan explained, often both parents are working.

Say the household income is more like $200k aud, then their borrowing capacity increases to more like $1mil aud, due to the double salary of $120k and $80k.

This imaginary couple would then have $40k per annum net to live on.

Perhaps they have 2 kids…

As you can see, this debt is hard to carry in this rate environment, and I would be very surprised if people chose to leverage up with disposable income squeezed so hard.

(Note: the real rate they're being charged is 6% not 10%, so this example is from a Bank's perspective, and heavily simplified)

In short: does it really make sense to take a mortgage?

Interestingly, Brendan explained that in some cases one needed to be in a job for literally just a day to get debt, highlighting once more the farcical nature of “box-ticking” that the credit managers must go through.

It seems such a strange way to manage risk when one can own a bearer asset like Bitcoin.

Anyways…

We’re here to dissect debt.

So, there was another route to showing serviceability I want to mention, other than some kind of employment contract.

You can use the cashflows of a company.

Had I been a Doctor in the medical profession, setting up a new practice, I might have been able to leverage with just projections alone.

But if I could supply 6 months of tax returns, showing income from a business, then you can potentially use that for leverage.

Interesting.

The entrepreneur in me felt much more drawn to this.

So, if I build cashflow from a business I own, that might work much better…

Brendan also pointed out that dealing with the business department, rather than the retail, can be much more useful long-term.

Here was an angle that might make more sense.

As I still like the idea of investing in real estate, but with leverage, to really boost the return on capital employed.

Importantly that means one can keep more equity in Bitcoin as well.

Anyways, returning to the numbers a little more.

Let’s flip to the real estate market side of things…

We would like to buy a place in an area of Melbourne called Bayside, aptly named as an area next to the beach, which is where we’ve rented the last 18 months.

Admittedly its an affluent area.

But either way…

House prices are certainly not $500k aud.

Not $1mil aud even…

The average house price in Bayside is $2mil aud.

Wow.

So even a husband and wife earning a combined income above average are miles off the market.

They might have saved the the 10% deposit of $200k aud, and shown they can service a $1mil loan, but that still leaves an $800k hole.

And I haven’t even factored in the cost of purchase.

Stamp duty tax.

Agents fees.

I think you get the picture.

So how the hell are these house prices where they are?

“You’d be surprised how many people earn $500k” Brendan commented.

Ok, fair enough, so maybe there is more money out there.

But either way, none of this makes sense.

In the 18 months that debt has tripled in cost, the Bayside real estate market has barely blinked, hovering around the same on average for the last 2 years.

I for one think the real estate prices have to come off.

And this conversation hammered that home.

But who am I to say?

As my great friend Dale pointed out when a guest on his podcast recently "it's the most manipulated market there is"

Let’s wrap this up.

I’d love to know, what is the real estate market like in your local area?

Are you also seeing this crazy disconnect between borrowing capacity and prices?

Let’s see how it all plays out.

Whilst I confess, I rather like the idea of setting up a company, which I can then utilise as part of a wider investment strategy that enables leverage.

With the status quo system being debt based, a hybrid strategy with debt in traditional markets, combined with HODLing a digital bearer asset such as Bitcoin, might well make a lot of sense.

Best,
Jake

PS - throughout this story I’ve not mentioned risk. What is risky? Lately I’ve truly come to terms with the idea that Bitcoin is the best risk-reward return you can get, indeed you can’t beat it, however you could augment it. This is why I like the idea of taking a traditional asset such as leveraged real estate, as well as Bitcoin, into my portfolio. But is taking on mounds of debt as “risk-free” as they would have you believe? Enough time in the Bitcoin rabbit hole suggests quite the opposite…

Dissecting debt: why is my local real estate market not a bloodbath?

A morning meditation inspired me to revisit my local mortgage market. Read on to learn what a local broker taught me. We covered the mechanics of debt, the due diligence process, and the divergence between affordability and house prices.

This is a long form article, you can read it in https://habla.news/a/naddr1qqxnzdesx56rxvenxucnywfeqgs043gn588da502h36q0sffjay9m69mk28dmm805qtgzl7g6n6q0fgrqsqqqa288pe7ap


It’s also one of the core facets of Austrian Economics

This was a particularly helpful lens to understand what drives value


All sounds very reasonable

The key is: what price does the 70% long term holder see as a no-brainer sell?

Their average buy price ofc can help us understand this

But my feeling is that even as low as 120k usd sees a large sell

So next question is: how much cheddar do they take off the table?

Let’s say they trim 10% that’s till 60% in long term HODL

Then we’ll see the god candle scenario come into play

Love the thoughts. Thanks for sharing


Shout out to nostr:npub1l2vyh47mk2p0qlsku7hg0vn29faehy9hy34ygaclpn66ukqp3afqutajft for his time last night

Look forward to seeing the new product

Whilst nostr:npub1prya33fnqerq0fljwjtp77ehtu7jlsjt5ydhwveuwmqdsdm6k8esk42xcv you inspired the social media app deletion

Wishing you wonderful days!


Wow.

Mind blown.

Just last night I had the pleasure of speaking with Pablo for the first time.

After only a few minutes on the call, he’d had time to explain what he was already building, and why an article of mine had spurred him to reach out.

Love it.

This is the power of content.

This is the power of community.

This is the power of belief.

For 45 minutes we flew through a series of fascinating concepts, showing clearly that his insights are simply years ahead of anyone else I’ve spoken with yet, and leaving me more excited about the potential of Nostr than ever before.

What a ride this last few weeks have been.

So how have I reached this point?

My coach Mark Moss recently told me, that regardless of one’s choice of platform, there is no future without content.

I couldn’t agree more.

As he says, we’ve moved from a) “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”, to another process of b) “who knows you?”

What had been holding my content flow back however, was this strange feeling of irrelevance.

Why bother putting all my energy into building a YouTube account, to one day be cancelled?

Do I really want to burn myself out responding to thousands of comments on Twitter, addicted to answering notifications?

Was sharing literally every single part of my day on Instagram, a strategy I actually enjoyed?

But along comes Nostr.

This feels different.

A key step no doubt was deciding to delete all my status quo social media apps.

Thank you Piriya for the inspiration.

This I couldn’t recommend more to people.

But then I started a new habit.

Get up before my kids, everyday, and scratch the creative itch I’d been feeling to write.

Feel into it.

Where does my meditative mind take me?

What thoughts are appropriate to expand on publicly?

How can I show the impact my mindset has had?

These articles this last week have been the creative output of this process.

I endeavour to continue.

Indeed, as we closed the call last night, I promised Pablo I would be happy to focus exclusively on posting content on the new client he is about to release.

Nostr is the uncensorable foundation.

This is what I had been looking for.

Here is a place I know that my creative output can never be taken away from me…

What a problem it solves!

Another important reflection, is not only had Pablo read an article of mine, he had also been tagged in a note I posted by another Nostr user.

I’d shared an idea about an uncensorable equivalent of Anchor to host podcast RSS feeds.

The tagger knew that Pablo had been working on something to solve that problem.

Bingo.

Having multiple eyeballs on a single idea is well worth it.

In fact, as I reflect on the meditation work I’ve been doing, this is an example of a thought I had had attracting into my life a person already solving that problem.

Fascinating.

This shows brilliantly why I like to think of content creation as akin to leaving digital breadcrumbs.

You just don’t know who might be watching.

Perhaps they’ll follow your trail…

Is there a possibility to build this product together?

For sure.

But let’s not get ahead of myself.

What’s the first step?

For me: content, content, content.

Use the product, continue to share my most prominent thoughts, and pave a way for other creators to see just how Nostr can be used to solve the platform risk problem.

Boom! What a start to the day writing this has been.

Frankly, if this doesn’t show you the power of content, community, and using our thoughts to manifest our future… Then I am sorry, I am not sure you’ll ever see it.

Until tomorrow!

Best,

Jake

Ps - over the years I’ve been as bad as anyone at sitting around with ideas, procrastinating, and not putting into action what I can feel is a good concept. Really listen to your body. Home in on the most reoccurring thoughts that you have. I am fast realising that being more preceptive with myself, is not only a far superior internally-driven strategy setting process, but a skill that can be developed. Fun times ahead!

I've recently experienced the power of content creation, community, and manifestation, all whilst using Nostr. Read on to learn how you could do the same...


Habit... Writing online is a different style tk elsewhere

You like ii? Or find ii annoying? I think it's easier to read


Really blowing my mind this idea of publishing once

But then seeing your content via multiple clients

It's like your creative output can literally follow you around

In the past I've posted the same article on LinkedIn, Medium, & Twitter

Nostr totally turns that on its head in such an intuitive way

Will we have large brands & broadcasters in the future?

Or will individuals simply do it all themselves?


A simple starting point might be a weekly email summarising the best long-form articles on Nostr...?


It's hard to fathom just how early we are to Nostr

Having spent 5 days writing first thing each day

I now appear as a "top creator" on nostr:npub1yzvxlwp7wawed5vgefwfmugvumtp8c8t0etk3g8sky4n0ndvyxesnxrf8q

https://m.primal.net/HXlh.png


Happy birthday!


Not only is “stay humble, & stack sats” a brilliant philosophy

I think you’re so on point re the awareness of bitcoiners

Specifically the ability to self-custody & ride out the storm

Gold was so hard to custody, at some point it could be taken

Plus information about the manipulation of gold wasnt as rife

Ie gold holders didn’t know as much about the problem as bitcoiners

As another point, I think the short-term volatility is so different vs gold

It’s like the back of a hedgehog in that it’s a self-defence mechanism

Sure, short gold, & it moves perhaps 25%

Short Bitcoin & it does a 5x. Boom. Wiped out

Fascinating times ahead


When I write & publish using nostr:npub1048qg5p6kfnpth2l98kq3dffg097tutm4npsz2exygx25ge2k9xqf5x3nf which I did this morning

Why does nostr:npub18m76awca3y37hkvuneavuw6pjj4525fw90necxmadrvjg0sdy6qsngq955 show the article but nostr:npub12vkcxr0luzwp8e673v29eqjhrr7p9vqq8asav85swaepclllj09sylpugg does not? https://image.nostr.build/24b9ddae79e3dc2235588b5b8d174f57ebf34f91a8a0146ff58f4137bc34f220.jpg https://image.nostr.build/4c643b63a5b9df23dd728754b6ef4278ec8632e59af8377b2b13167a312331ec.jpg


Her: “Oh, I like them, they’re nice…”

Him: “Cool. How much are they?”

Her: “Let me ask…”

A husband and wife.

Or a couple on their first few dates.

Frankly it could be any two people, enjoying time together, out shopping for a birthday gift.

Let’s say they’ve picked up a pair of sunglasses.

A quick glance in the mirror, with them on, and boom… “they’re nice…”

Then they check the price.

$99.

$9.

$900…

Whatever the price might be, the purchaser has to make a calculation, to decide if they are of suitable value.

Like all economic decision making the individual has a number of factors to consider.

Perhaps they’re literally the first pair they’ve tried on…?

Maybe they’ve been hunting all day for a suitable gift…?

Whatever the case might be, value is subjective, and always on a sliding scale as different factors change.

Crucially though, a price is a piece of information that carries within it vital detail.

In particular I like to think through supply and demand impacts.

Think of the sunglasses again.

The couple searching for a gift decide to continue looking.

They want to go and check the other shop up the road.

However another shopper rushes in just after them, a man, late, en route to watch his favourite team.

It’s a hot day.

His season ticket seats are directly in the sun.

He needs to make a quick decision.

“Those are perfect he thinks”

And boom… Decision made. He makes the purchase and away he goes.

Same sunglasses.

Same price.

Different economic calculation.

Now flip it around, and think of the retailer, who is making a margin on all the items in their store that they carry.

Maybe the sunglasses don’t sell.

Ever.

The price is deemed too high by shopper after shopper.

They’re stuck with stock.

This might be no problem at all for a period.

But then the Christmas period is fast approaching, and they need space on their shelves, so they decide to lower the price.

Boom.

Traction.

Prospective buyers love the offer and the sunglasses are sold.

Simple examples I know, but the point being, as humans we’re making individual decisions all day long about value.

Apply the same logic to other parts of your day.

Going to you local cafe.

Stopping in the petrol station.

Or picking up your weekly groceries.

You can see people everywhere making these calculations.

Indeed, just consider the supermarket aisle for a moment, with all those goods stacked ready for sale.

It’s quite incredible how many prices will have been analysed in order to have co-ordinated that experience.

Think of all the products.

All the inputs for each.

It’s an extraordinary feat of human ingenuity to have organised all those things into one place.

A carrot, as a simple vegetable, has to be sown, grown, harvested, cleaned, checked, packaged, and transported to market; all of which is translated into a price.

Indeed, admittedly not the time and place to go into, but there is a wonderful article somewhere about how much work goes into producing a single pencil.

You get the point.

Pricing hugely influences decision making.

Now, what happens when you take into consideration inflation?

Taking the same stance as the Austrian School of Economics, ie inflation is caused by money supply increase only, then you start to see a very different picture.

Someone, somewhere, can print their own money.

They can then give it to their closest friends.

The cantillon effect in full flow.

Well those people now have more money.

They can walk into the grocery store and pay a premium without worrying.

Or equally they can buy equities, oil, real estate…

The supply and demand dynamic is warped.

Retailers see a surge in demand at a certain price point.

Producers see a surge in demand at a certain price point.

The entire supply chain see a surge in demand at a certain price point.

Little do they realise but the signal they’re getting from the market is in fact corrupted.

Only a small fraction of the market has this buying power.

They’re incentivised to sell more.

To produce more.

But when this stock gets to market what happens?

There is no demand for it.

Then what happens?

Over supply means they must discount…

Then what happens?

The market crashes.

Again it’s a simplified example I know.

On a big enough scale, with everyone making these corrupted decisions, we get what is known ‘the business cycle’.

A phenomenon that is normalised in mainstream economics today.

Indeed, until I asked the question “what is money”, I’d spent my life following along with the Keynesian philosophy taught to me at business school.

Central banks good.

Government spending crucial.

Inflation necessary for growth.

But what if this is in fact a total lie?

What if corruption of the money causes astronomical capital miss-allocation?

How different would the world look on a sound money standard?

Crucial questions.

Which I’ve no doubt enjoyed grappling with.

I encourage you to ask them as well.

Best,
Jake

Ps - look at the tree outside your window, with all the leaves on it, and think of each leaf as a problem in the world. Trace the leafs, along the branches, back to the trunk, and down the roots. Then consider the root of that tree as a money printer. Simple analogy yes. But very helpful to translate what I know see: money printing is the root of all the evil in the world today…

Corrupt money: what is the root of all evil?

Sometimes keeping things really simple helps to understand that world around us, so have a read of this economic journey, to understand the importance of pricing, the impact of inflation, and the root of all evil.

This is a long form article, you can read it in https://habla.news/a/naddr1qqxnzdesx5cnwdpexvcrvdphqgs043gn588da502h36q0sffjay9m69mk28dmm805qtgzl7g6n6q0fgrqsqqqa28nhxgdr


So many good books out there!


Thanks for sharing. Will have a listen for sure

BTC tends to help most financing equations I find

But ofc most people don't stop to even consider it


Just had lunch with a friend who is a real estate developer here in Melbourne

Having been walked through the ROI for any new deals its clear the market is broken

Government intervention at every step of the way. Certificates. Ceremonies. Tax...

In his view its now at least 5 years project management to get anything finished

As a result its simply not worth deploying capital because the margins are gone

Debt costs up. Regulation costs up. Materials costs up. A vortex of inflationary mess

Australia has some serious long-term systemic risks that no-one ii talking about

Is this the inevitable result of money printing & bloated, unaccountable government?

The idea of a free market is long gone...


“You’ve got a problem”

“It’s a scam many fall for”

“Most people just need to focus on making money”

Punchy.

Straight to the point.

And frankly not unexpected.

Indeed, enrolling in a coaching program with Mark Moss has been a wonderful learning experience, shout out to him for all the time and effort he has put in this last few months; I really value his advice.

What were we discussing?

I was being asked for an update on how many sales I’d made.

The simple answer was zero.

However I’d decided to answer, alongside my pitiful admittance of “zero sales”, with what has become my general feeling in relation to the course I enrolled in.

Over the New Year break I’ve had a chance to really reconsider what it is I want to do with my time, my attention is my most valuable resource after-all, and the upshot is that I want to find something that “makes my heart sing”.

Mark has been coaching me through how to use organic content to drive revenue.

Get people’s attention.

Then steer it towards products you can make money from.

I’d made progress.

I’d managed to run an oversubscribed free coaching program, for 30 days, assisting people with their Bitcoin inheritance protocol.

I’d also found that something was holding me back.

For some reason I wasn’t hungry to collect their testimonials, to refine the program, to iterate and improve.

I was listening to him coaching other students on the call through their problems.

Why did I have this slightly apprehensive feeling?

Ironically the concept of “sunk cost fallacy” came up.

It resonated.

People stick with a product or service longer when they’ve paid for it.

Quite rightly, Mark was emphasising how important it was for us all to start getting people to pay us.

But “that’s me right now” I thought.

I don’t really feel like pumping out content via IG or YT to then hustle products.

Fuck it.

My turn came to speak.

I decided to confess…

“Zero sales”

“Want something to make my heart sing”

“Feel like I am in the same boat as the sunk cost fallacy customers”

I was worried to admit the truth.

Then something really fascinating happened.

Quite rightly I was on the receiving end of the advice I mentioned on opening this story, that hunting for a purpose is essentially a fools errand, and I just needed to focus on making some money.

Punchy.

His view.

Likely not wrong in most cases…

But as part of my explanation as to where I thought my attention was going had been Nostr.

I’d admitted I couldn’t help but feel on legacy social media platforms, as a content creator, I didn’t want to give them my attention, energy, life-force, as I had this sense I was just building on quicksand.

This had resonated with Mark.

He stated: “my biggest fear is having my YT account taken away”.

In fact, he went on to admit that after 5 months of being locked out of his Twitter account that got hacked, he had found himself questioning “why bother” fire it up again…

I felt my heart surge.

My body literally came alive.

THIS FELT GOOD.

As entrepreneurs, we need to solve problems.

The best problems are those that people find most acute.

In this case, a successful content creator with a large audience, was admitting that platform risk was “his biggest fear”.

We went on to discuss the ludicrous situation in which the SEC incorrectly tweeted about the latest Bitcoin ETF approval, the questionable ethics of a Government using a private technology company to communicate from, and his investment in Zion that is build on DID.

“If you want to build technology, we should have another call at a different time, as I have some ideas”

I could feel a shift.

I was excited.

I think my heart might be singing…

Mark’s biggest fear, resonates strongly with me, and my hunch is that the majority of content creators out there are the same.

So what next?

Well I need to take action.

Which is precisely what Mark coaches “action leads to clarity”.

I will begin a customer discovery process, curating insights from the many other content creators that I know, whilst I will also have a look into what is already built on Nostr.

My initial idea is to re-create a service like Anchor, which Spotfiy acquired, to host one’s content and broadcast to RSS feeds.

So rather than sharing URL’s on Nostr to places with platform risk, I would like a creator to know that their content can literally never be cancelled, by the company or technology that hosts the data.

I would pay for that…

I bet Mark would pay for that…

I bet thousands of content creators globally would pay for that…

Everything starts as an idea!

Best,
Jake

Ps - this is my first post on Habla. I am intrigued to understand the benefits of using different Nostr clients for different mediums, and I love that this re-creates the feel of Medium long-form articles, a crucial part of a content creators toolbox. Perhaps this will totally obliterate the need for newsletter platforms such as Substack?..

#morningwriting

Gut Feeling: why should we listen to our body?

I want to spend time on things that "make my heart sing", which some think even searching for is a "scam", however here is an example of what that feels like.

This is a long form article, you can read it in https://habla.news/a/naddr1qqxnzdesx5crsde58yensvesqgs043gn588da502h36q0sffjay9m69mk28dmm805qtgzl7g6n6q0fgrqsqqqa28gdp89e


Thanks!


Nice. This is exactly the point!


I am no techie. I just know that as a content creator I would love to get away from having my content at risk


Would love to test it out, or help in some way


Let’s see how I get on!


Acquired by Spotify. It’s where I hosted all my podcast files to then broadcast to iTunes / Spotify etc over RSS

https://podcasters.spotify.com/


What I am thinking is to ensure when you post on Nostr the url you post takes someone to a place that can not be cancelled

As creators if we use YT to host and broadcast then send UrL on Nostr the post would never dissappear but the episode could

So if you had a way to store all your content that couldn’t be cancelled it would be very valuable (I would pay for it!)


Yeah that might work. Whatever size a podcast episode would take up


I assume that what I post on habla, is broadcast in nostr, and could be viewed in yakihone?

Ie each long form platform is competing with UX only

They can’t store your content like the status quo


Yeah it’s so interesting how this works  as I “learn by doing”

Ie as a user you can use different apps for different experiences

Video / short form / long form / audio etc

But as a creator one can also use different clients to best broadcast

Will have to test them out


From my research so far this is something that hasn’t been built

An Anchor for Nostr users. Ie a way to store content that can’t be cancelled

As a creator I would pay for that service for sure

Whilst a friend today with a large YT audience admitted the same

“I am terrified of YT cancelling me, I was just blocked on X for 5 months” nostr:note19ylpy9wcjuy9d4wwhtzty26fr8d5jugs32al0q2ctghy0czggypqv37h83


Why is one better off posting long-form on nostr:npub1048qg5p6kfnpth2l98kq3dffg097tutm4npsz2exygx25ge2k9xqf5x3nf or nostr:npub1yzvxlwp7wawed5vgefwfmugvumtp8c8t0etk3g8sky4n0ndvyxesnxrf8q rather than directly through nostr:npub18m76awca3y37hkvuneavuw6pjj4525fw90necxmadrvjg0sdy6qsngq955 etc?


The Future of Media: is advertising dead?

Nostr.

Notes and other stuff over relay.

WTF.

What is this thing?

A censorship resistant communications protocol.

Ok.

Another base layer building block for an evolving decentralised internet.

Ok.

A tool that finally unlocks the ability for micro-payments online.

Ok.

What else?

Time will tell, as is always the case, but not a bad set of high-level explanations to lure in those of us who dream of building businesses online.

A decent “hook”…

Like all innovation, we “build upon the shoulders of giants”, leveraging inspiration from all those ideas that have gone before us.

After years of studying Bitcoin the design immediately appeals to me.

Whilst the hours and hours spent creating content on legacy platforms means I am well aware of the problems with the status quo.

Public and private keys. Love it.

User centric. Love it.

Multi-client optionality. Love it.

But the most interesting is almost philosophical…

Value-4-value.

For 12 months I pumped out 80 episodes of my podcast “Bitcoin With Jake”, in that time I had a handful of b2b sponsors, and earned circa 10k$ aud.

It seemed obvious to me that monetising an audience with advertisers was the best way to go, but there were signs of something fascinating happening on the new podcast app Fountain, as people were sending me micro-payments of Bitcoin whilst listening to my content.

Over the same 12 months I earned circa $30 aud.

Admittedly a tiny percentage of total revenue.

But everything starts somewhere…

Then along comes Nostr.

Holy shit.

“This is like Fountain but for all information on the entire internet…” I thought to myself.

Attention caught…

So why is it philosophical?

Let me wind the clock back.

I’ve been enjoying the autobiography of Ted Turner lately, the American businessman who built CNN, learning of his roots in billboard advertising, following through to radio, and then the early days of TV.

1960’s USA.

Hyper-local but rapidly expanding markets.

Aggressive private entrepreneurs.

A different era no doubt.

But deeply insightful in terms of bringing a lens to opportunity, whilst highlighting nicely that the principles of a media business remain the same today: monetise attention with adverts.

Indeed there is nothing different to a driver eyeballing a billboard 50 years ago, to the modern newsfeed scroller on social media today.

One story resonated strongly of Ted’s, which was around the growth of Ultra-High-Frequency TV, a technology that proliferated fast.

He sensed it was a big opportunity.

Users had to go and buy a UHF aerial in order to access the programming, which happened in a flurry when Ted became the owner of the local baseball team, as fans flocked to watch their favourite game.

Each new aerial meant they had a larger audience to advertise to.

Likewise, I sense that Nostr is a big opportunity.

As more and more information is not just available on Nostr, like the flurry of additional UHF broadcasting that appeared, but the vastly improved incentive structure in place via value-4-value means new users are going to arrive.

Ted Turner was selling adverts.

Facebook sells adverts.

My podcast sold adverts.

Like it or not, these information sources will always skew in favour of their paying advertising customers, regardless of their claims for impartiality.

Can a news desk run a bad story on a customer of theirs without threatening their advertising revenue?

Of course not.

Value-4-value is a model that puts the power back in the hands of the user.

This is a radical change in the incentive structure for the creation, curation, and publishing of information.

It couldn’t have arrived at a more important time.

The censorship of public discourse has never been more obvious.

What business models will spring up?

Who is building the CNN of Nostr?

How will the future of media change?

Let’s wait and see!

Best,
Jake


Certainly one approach! Thanks for sharing


Paying capital gains to the Australian government on one’s BTC gains is simply part of doing business here

Could prove to be a very expensive tax bill should things play out as I feel they might

Ofc one could not sell, try to take debt, or move countries if you didn’t like it

Equally we should be lobbying to have it entirely removed as a form of money rather than investment


So classic this meme. Well played whoever did that!


True. Is an ETF the gateway drug for private investors to figure this thing out?

Came for the gains stayed for the revolution is still effective in my mind as a learning tool

Time will tell!


This is the same message of 3 years ago & will be the same 3 years from now

Lots of education to be done!


Attention investing: when does dreaming become valuable?

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

Who remembers the sound of a traditional grandfather clock?

I do.

I have to stretch right back in the memory bank I admit, but it’s clear as day, I recall a soothing rhythm that emanated from the antique we used to own.

What does it mean?

Well it brings one right into the present moment.

Snap.

Lick a click of a finger.

One’s attention is on the here and now, which is something that all too often, is simply not the case.

I find myself dwelling on things that happened in the past.

Over and over, I worry about something that I can do nothing about, perhaps an altercation with someone, or a task I didn’t complete to the best of my abilities.

Why do I do this?

It is likely a total waste of energy.

Equally, I am guilty of dreaming, conjuring up fantasies of future scenarios that are not reality.

On the one had I deem this to be very important, everything around us was once an idea.

The TV. Your shoes. Any artwork you might have on the wall.

But on the other hand, again, one is using their energy on a situation that is not the here and now.

Which is why I find meditation more and more valuable.

Have you tried it?

Over the years I’ve tried all sorts. Apps. In-person courses. Solo.

Lately I’ve had a wonderful new teacher Sama Katharo coaching me,

We sit on a weekly call for a couple of hours together.

He takes me through a guided meditation, some of the deepest states I’ve ever achieved, and then we chat.

I particularly like the way it helps hone one’s senses for the present moment.

Tick. Tock.

It brings one right into their body.

But then something fascinating happens.

My mind tunes into what feels like another dimension, which then speaks to me, with a flow of feelings and thoughts.

He describes it as “communicating with our highest form of intelligence”.

Which then really hammers home a phrase that resonates strongly: “You are your thoughts”

Hmmm.

Spiritual? Yes.

Wishy washy crap? Maybe.

Fun experience? For sure.

Which all goes to say, we’re on a journey, a path through life that is full of all sorts of twists and turns.

It’s fun.

It’s hard.

We learn.

We fail.

But one thing is certainly true, where we direct our attention, is arguably the most important capital allocation decision we can make.

For too long I’ve under-valued working on mindset.

I look forward to righting this wrong, seeing what comes out of it, and evolving into what comes next.

Shout out to the meditators out there.

Best,
Jake

PS - one of my favourite ideas lately has been a personal development program for Bitcoiners, who have achieved a certain level of wealth in their life, but are now unsure what to do with their newfound time. What is my true purpose? What really makes my heart sing? How could I better invest in myself? A nice problem to have no doubt…


Love the sound of that program

Look forward to seeing what comes out of it


I wonder how long until we hear to an ETF that is not fully collateralised…

A quick re-jig of the regulation & boom the hypothecating begins

This alone is a reason to figure out #Bitcoin in self-custody


Seems very very unlikely…


Most people that pay a management fee lack the knowledge to do it themselves

They could of course learn. But people do love a “done for you” product

One day they will figure out the importance of btc the freedom tech… one day!


Thanks will test it


Thanks will have a look


All this ETF noise is simultaneously hilarious & boring

The fundamentals underpinning #Bitcoin adoption remain the same

Tune out to all the headlines & enjoy your life!


What are people’s favourite Nostr clients when using chrome?


Someone somewhere is having a lot of fun!


It’s hard to imagine where Nostr will be 3 years from now


Thanks! Really appreciate the support

Also thanks so much for the SATS

As a content creator who’s migrated from the status quo platforms, it’s that seed of a new model, that makes me so excited

Nostr is how we break the traditional ad model of media

No longer will most information be influenced by large customers paying for attention

But rather the audience itself can reward the creator in a bearer asset of true value for value

Wow


“The more you know, the more you buy”

Is not only true for me, but the vast majority of people I speak to about btc


Create first, consume second: why it’s time to kick-start a new morning routine.

Is that a baby crying?

Probably…

As I rolled over, I realised it was my second daughter, who had managed to fall out of the bed we were sharing.

“God I miss her sleeping in a cot” I thought to myself…

After a swift grab of her sleep suit, I yanked her up, and helped place her head back onto the centre pillow.

Phew… I lay back down again.

After a brief pause, wait, ah yes, she’s falling back to sleep; nice.

I was left with my thoughts.

“If only her cot wasn’t in storage…”

We were in our 3rd Airbnb of the Christmas period, in between 12 month rentals, and as a Father of a young family I had plenty to reflect on.

A comment my wife quite rightly makes, “You can’t live in a Bitcoin”, echoed through my head.

She’s so right. This is hard isn’t it Jake? I had to admit it was. Indeed, on reflection I had totally under-estimated the difficulty of renting.

This was one of the moments I will remember in the future.

We are what I call “mid-trade”, in that the investment strategy we set is still playing out, and as a result we need more time.

The thesis is unfolding as we speak.

Well what is that exactly?

Some would say we’re mad, but we sold our primary place of residence back in 2022, in favour of purchasing more Bitcoin and renting for a few years.

In fact I sold all our investment properties to accumulate more Bitcoin.

What’s not to like about superior risk-reward in your portfolio?

Thankfully the investment is playing out as I predicted, with solid capital growth, however the Melbourne rental market has proved far more tricky than I expected.

Rents are increasing, vacancy rates are very low, whilst agents give preferential treatment to friends and family on the inside.

You live and you learn as they say.

Which brings me to the point of this story: I want to share more.

Specifically I want to write more.

So having being inspired to re-visit my morning routine, I am going to be setting my alarm, and waking up to get 25 minutes of uninterrupted writing in everyday.

I am going to create first.

Once that is done, my day can proceed, in the knowledge I’ve been able to scratch that creative itch.

All those problems that will arise.

Phone calls.

Emails.

Crying babies.

Appointments.

Nostr…

All of it, can be consumed second.

Speaking of which, I can hear my eldest daughter waking up…

This is day 1 of the new routine!

I look forward to writing again.

You can expect a wide range of topics, all relevant to my life, as a Dad, Entrepreneur, and Investor.

Please reach out if you have any questions at all!

Best,
Jake


Cool! Let me check it out. Not very techy is the simple answer..


Great points. Plenty to consider for sure!


Any examples yet? I agree that they are likely to develop their own clients


Thank for the support!


This is precisely what I’ve done


Fair. So in a sense the brand is unnecessary because the information available is not doctored to an agenda

It will be up to the users to decide what they do & don’t want to consume


“Why Nostr is the future of everything”

Great article title that

Let’s make it happen!


Yeah it’s fun to be part of something so early in that sense


Very true


The guy is light years ahead of everyone

Love to see it & couldn’t agree more


Look forward to seeing what you create

Good luck!


Cool. Any other reasons you can share?


Yeah it’s a great experience so far


Fair enough!


Love it.

Related: How’s it been building with Nostr?


We’re very lucky to have:

a) had the skills necessary to understand btc

b) seen it when we did

c) have a front row seat for the separation of money & state


If time is our most valuable asset, why spend it here?


Love it. Thanks for sharing


So some people come & go quickly? Interesting

As always: it’s your choice what you do in terms of product

Read the FT / Guardian / Washington Post

It’s up to you!

IG / X / TikTok

Etc

What I am learning here is that people screw “freedom”

Freedom of money: btc

Freedom of speech: nostr

Fascinating user base profile to create for


I have this strong instinct that one’s life force is their most valuable asset

Ie one’s attention is paramount to just about everything else

This means I am loathe to even post a single thing on status quo social media

Even though I’ve created a following of thousands & the ability to get millions of impressions

What happens if we put our life force into Nostr only?


Do you feel the same? What’s the main reason do you think?


Yes! Let’s watch the free market play out & see what wins


I’ve noticed very quickly that Nostr users are more authentic

Maybe that’s just my experience of being part of this community

But it’s very refreshing to say the least!


In September last year my latest startup dream came to a crashing end

My co-founders decided I was surplus to requirements & I had to leave

My biggest learning has been the power of resentment to hold you back

Being betrayed stirs up such strong emotions in you they’re impossible to ignore

But the best way to start seeing a future has been to totally release & forgive those involved

Very much still a work in progress, with lots more twists I am sure, but what a journey life is!


Freedom of speech is pretty black or white in my mind

Either you let anyone say exactly what they want or you don’t

“Hate speech” is often defined by someone’s opinion

Who are they so say what is right or wrong today?

An everlasting ethical discussion no doubt

Nostr is cool because it doesn’t discriminate at all

As a user the next step is to be better at curating

The individual vs the collective playing out in yet another area…


The more I research the more I believe this

Huge opportunity to build a media brand that people can actually trust


I like email marketing because of not just relationship building but also the fact you can take your email list with you

Now that Nostr exists & we can take our connections at all times, I wonder, does that ultimately kill email?


First step to Nostr: delete all status quo social media apps

Result: FEEL better… anxiety reduced, more time, generally happier

Vision: the future of a decentralised internet really opens up…!


It’s amazing how negatively the FT reports on BTC have been over the years

When you search “Bitcoin” on their website article after article of FUD

Narrative slowly changing is so interesting to watch play out