If anyone has worried about my absence from writing, let me give you a quick synopsis/excuse of my past few weeks. Most of it was spent gambling, as usual, in venues that included Las Vegas as well as Los Angeles. A lot of it was also spent with new obsession, investing in cryptocurrency. I won't bore you with the details of comparing proof-of-work with proof-of-stake with proof-of-capacity (what?) or the tedious screen staring of day-trades gone awry. Rather, I'd like to talk about the concepts of money, assets (houses/cars/watches?), and even time as commodities with relative values that we trade every day.
A lot of people consider life to be static. This means that your life is a still canvas and that if you do nothing, you will remain neutral in relation to the world. Some examples: if you keep $10,000 in a box, you are neither losing nor gaining value with it; if you stay in one job instead of taking another at the risk of lower pay but greater long-term benefit you are making a value-neutral decision. A more obvious question to prove these narratives untrue: if you sit around and do nothing, are you making a value-neutral decision with your life?
Of course you are not. The world is a place of fluidity and change. Your time is an asset that is constantly expiring. I don't remember Gordon Gecko's quote, but it referenced your time being the most valuable commodity. An opportunity lost is a loss of value. Not making a $1000 bet that will win 51% of the time is LOSING $10.
David Sklansky, a poker strategy author (who now wanders the Bellagio aimlessly and plays low-stakes poker occasionally), used to reference something he called the "invisible ante." He noted that some players play so aggressively in relation to the stakes of the poker game that it seemed that there were invisible antes in the pot causing them to take more risks than seemed necessary. But if you are looking to play MOST optimally you need to consider that you are ante-ing your TIME as well as your money. If poker is a means and not an end, it behooves you to optimally use both of these commodities.
Some people have questioned others that have invested aggressively. Many questioned me when I chose to pursue a career in music for years or to play poker for a living. In deviating from the "normal path," I was able to avoid college debt and create more money, free time, and satisfaction from my work.
A big disconnect is that people view the US dollar as static. But of course it isn't. The same house that cost $100K last year might cost more or less this year, but the house didn't change. If anyone is curious what a US dollar actually is, I suggest you google something like "the Federal reserve and the shift from the Gold standard." It just might make you rethink how you determine what has value, and it might disgust and frighten you also.
We've rambled a lot about money and time and life, so let me give Bruce Lee the privilege of wrapping it up:
