
Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...

Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...

Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...
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Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...

Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...

Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...


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<100 subscribers
Awhile back, on a Ben Thompson/Stratechery podcast, he introduced the concept of “Principle Stacks.”
We have principles.
But they aren’t all equal.
There is a priority order in which they “board the plane.”
So, for example, when I see a headline on CNN that says “Trump contradicts Netanyahu on Gaza,” I understand that CNN’s principle stack has the “we hate Israel” as higher than “we think Trump is a total liar.”
So, Trump’s a total liar unless there is something higher in the principle stack to which it is subservient.
The point here isn’t to rip on CNN. What’s the point? They’re a hollow shell anyway.
The point here is to remind myself that, I too, have principle stacks. So does everyone.
The key is to recognize what they are, determine if the stack is actually in an order aligned with the future vision of the kind of person I want to be, and be aware of when the stack is being deployed, in order to identify moments of potential “stack inconsistency” (which may be viewed as hypocrisy possibly).
Even better, and I don’t know if this is something that one can know or one simply must feel, is when the stack sits in harmonious alignment from top to bottom.
Perhaps that’s when we feel the muscles under the skin relax, when the brow unfurrows, and when the shoulders sink gracefully, sloping toward the earth.
Then, the stack is aligned.
For the moment.
Awhile back, on a Ben Thompson/Stratechery podcast, he introduced the concept of “Principle Stacks.”
We have principles.
But they aren’t all equal.
There is a priority order in which they “board the plane.”
So, for example, when I see a headline on CNN that says “Trump contradicts Netanyahu on Gaza,” I understand that CNN’s principle stack has the “we hate Israel” as higher than “we think Trump is a total liar.”
So, Trump’s a total liar unless there is something higher in the principle stack to which it is subservient.
The point here isn’t to rip on CNN. What’s the point? They’re a hollow shell anyway.
The point here is to remind myself that, I too, have principle stacks. So does everyone.
The key is to recognize what they are, determine if the stack is actually in an order aligned with the future vision of the kind of person I want to be, and be aware of when the stack is being deployed, in order to identify moments of potential “stack inconsistency” (which may be viewed as hypocrisy possibly).
Even better, and I don’t know if this is something that one can know or one simply must feel, is when the stack sits in harmonious alignment from top to bottom.
Perhaps that’s when we feel the muscles under the skin relax, when the brow unfurrows, and when the shoulders sink gracefully, sloping toward the earth.
Then, the stack is aligned.
For the moment.
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