“My life is my message.” - Mahatma Gandhi

I want to thank @0xcarnation for writing “Influence is power”, which discusses money, power, and influence in DeFi. It was a thought-provoking piece and it inspired this response.

This article is meant to build on the thoughts shared in an “Influence is power” and respond to the ‘Food for thought’ commentary and questions.

There is no denying that people or organizations with money, power, and/or influence have an overweighted say in decision-making and outcomes. However, all of these are trumped (or enhanced) by consistency.

Consistency is a superpower because it requires repeat time, practice, and execution. Consistency is not determined by money, power, or influence. Life is the longest game each one of us plays. Consistency helps one achieve their goals, whatever they might be.

Money can be lost through theft, poor investments, or any number of other spending habits/vices.

Influence can be tarnished and evaporate overnight if an individual is suddenly perceived negatively by his or her peers because of their words, actions, or change in “brand”.

Power can be lost in battle, through transitions, or by new, powerful entrants.

Consistency is up to the individual. With consistency each day, each week, each year, an individual creates the opportunity to gain and yield power in their network or circumstances. Performing consistently is key. People will notice because not everyone does it. It’s uncommon. Consistency is hard.

Some of the most trusted brands and people in the world or in one’s life are those we perceive to provide consistent results, products, or reliable truths day in and day out. This consistency leads to trust, which in turn leads to power and influence (and potentially money). Consistency is a superpower.

In “Influence is power”, Carnation lists seven “Food for thought” items, which spark thought-provoking questions and considerations. Below are my responses and beliefs.

I do not believe crypto should become a place where “wealthy equals mighty”. However, as depicted in Spielberg’s Ready Player One, wealth and money centralizes in the Oasis creating a digital and physical world where money becomes power.

To avoid this outcome, I believe that designing a mechanism where ERC-20 tokens decay over time and have a half-life x years. I believe this encoded decay of value or governance power could provide a possible two-fold outcome: reward hodlers who were early and accumulated power before others had the knowledge or ability, and also allow for the opportunity for later entrants to become key players with enough time, energy, and luck. Could this type of natural time-based value decay help with the problem of inheritance tax and transfer of wealth from generation to generation?

I believe that the digital worlds, created by humans or AI, will allow people to start their “life” over countless times. If one of their identities or personas fails, an individual can gather up the pieces and begin again under another one. Starting “the game” over, again and again, I believe, is now more possible than ever.

Yes, legacy institutions will form in DeFi because money, power, and influence will be locked permanently inside protocols’ treasuries, and continued cross-protocol integrations will supercharge process efficiencies that new entrants will have a challenge matching or surpassing. I believe that DeFi institutions that absorb power, money, and influence should be controlled by those who invest sweat equity into their continued success. If you want to change it, contribute and dedicate your life to changing it. Capital allocation is to a project is not enough for governance. Not enough. Capital is cheap compared to a person’s time.

Yes, the Curve Wars and future digital wars will be about acquiring power, money, and influence. Accumulating veTOKENs is rational under current tokenomic models. This changes if there’s a mechanism of accumulating power, money, or influence thereby giving new entrants an opportunity to unseat incumbents.

I am not close enough to the action to comment on how Convex will behave or what the leadership team intends to do. That being said, if I held a large bag of $CRV, I would act in self-interest and have a strategy that rewards my capital and time expenditures. I’d anticipate that Convex would do the same or those that hold $CVX will be inclined to govern with self-interest toward their long-term strategies and vision.

Increase. Conflict is a part of life. Battles and wars are inevitable. Emotions are a part of the human condition.

I do not believe it is ethical to invest in arms dealers. I do not believe that weapons of destruction help communication between individuals or nations. I believe that weapons escalate violence and lead to anguish. I realize weapons are a part of the playing field.

I believe that weapons are necessary for survival. I just think the best weapon one can have is an idea that they share and execute with others. One bullet can take down one man or woman. One idea can conquer the world.

If you’ve made it here, thank you for your time. Let me know your thoughts or feedback. Ideas change the world :)