Conversations #18 - 30 thoughts towards my endgame
I’m turning 30 today.
I find it to be a weird milestone to go through. On one hand, it really feels like I can’t call myself young anymore. That I can’t justify mistakes with inexperience anymore. On the other hand, I’m satisfied with what I was able to accomplish during my first decade as an adult. Like everyone, it’s been a long road of disillusionment. While not a fan of philosophising, here are 30 observations that have helped me navigate life :
Your inner circle defines who you are and who you can be. Growing in a caring family is the best headstart you can get.
Friends are the family you chose. Dream together, grow up together, enjoy life together. Life is not meant to be lived alone.
Settling down with the right life partner is the single most important decision of your life. I truly believe Paladin would not have survived the past year’s challenges without my partner’s support.
As with every great thing in life, you have to commit time to it. Never skip time with your close ones.
Mastering a craft takes decades. In a generation of instant gratification, spending the required times to learn compounds extremely hard.
Reading is the best way to learn. Imagine a master of his craft spent hours upon hours condensing all his knowledge into a few pages. This is the essence of great articles or books.
Writing is a great way to synthesize your thoughts and commit to ideas. I’ve absolutely failed at being consistent with it, but re-reading content from this blog helps me appreciate the path traveled so far.
The adventure is better than the goal, enjoy life. Everyday at Paladin and at the side of my partner is a blessing, I try to appreciate it as if it was the last, each day.
Learn to live with yourself. You’re a shitty human, like everyone else.
Toxic people are not worth your time. The fastest you cut them, the higher quality your life will be.
Each has their habits and ways of managing hardships. Mine is exercise. Climbing, running, swimming. Maybe it will be useful for the zombie apocalypse?
People’s judgement is often irrelevant, most don’t know you. But if they do, listen.
You are unseen by 99% of the people you meet, be yourself, they don’t care.
Society has placed an unspoken ceiling on what you can do. Don’t let others limit you.
Learn to listen to your body. Sometimes slowing down enables you to run longer. If things compound, then being a marathon runner is better than a sprinter.
The Internet has changed how we digest information, our society still hasn’t adapted to this.
Being technologically savvy is the single greatest difference maker for your career.
AI is scary if you started working before it existed. Test it out, you’ll regret it otherwise, when you get replaced by people who are AI native.
The world changes at a dizzying speed. Adapting is key, but it takes a toll on you.
Every new trend will challenge your values. Will you defend your value or change to stand the test of time?
No one is indispensable, not even yourself.
Cash is king. This is true both as an individual and as a company. Everything is easier with money.
Fundraising is entrepreneurship Easy Mode. It also makes becoming profitable much harder.
Entrepreneurship sucks, you will be 24/7, employees are a plague to manage, you never reach your milestones in time, and the pay isn’t worth the pain.
At the same time it is the greatest job possible if you like the freedom, and do the work to let your creativity feed your ambition.
Some days you will be the king of the world, but most of the world you will feel like shit, because you are.
Despite it all, you will not change the world, each of us are just speck of dust.
However, together, we can spark change.
Our world, our society and nature are all fragile, but they are also extremely resilient.
It sounds stupid, but most things don’t make sense, so enjoy the adventure
People like to larp about the power of compounding interests in order to build wealth, but I’m a much more fervent believer in compounding experience. The generation who built and thrived in DeFi is the single most knowledgeable generation in finance. We’re talking about 20-30 years old, who’ve already built sound money, credit protocols, spent years with assets on public markets. I really look forward to see all these mad geniuses delve further in their professional careers. I’m convinced these people will either build the next big financial services or take the rein in leading institutions.
As for me, I’ll focus on what I want my life’s work to be, building a metabolic currency, based on energy, the smallest economic denominator I could find.
See you in ten years for an update.