PR0VCTR

self definition

pr0vctr@newsletter.paragraph.com (PR0VCTR) — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 22:40:50 GMT

Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it's to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential -- as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You'll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you're doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you'll hear about them.

To invest your own life's meaning is not easy, but it's still allowed, and I think you'll be happier for the trouble.

i blinked and missed the death spiral coming

pr0vctr@newsletter.paragraph.com (PR0VCTR) — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 17:04:22 GMT

6 months before the gnarly ‘22 recession started showing it’s teeth, i was subtly prompted to think about the next 6 months critically. i thought to myself - “my partner has been such a great partner, surely they won’t pull back from what we all committed to together when we started”.

i was completely wrong. as my partners macro-world melted and they started facing their own death spiral, well shit rolls downhill 100% of the time.

i missed the signal. i am directly responsible for the cratering of my company as it death spiraled to zero over the coming months and year.

i will never make that mistake again.

what did i learn from this?

pick your partners carefully
listen carefully in the moment and act quickly
prioritize what the company needs - fuck everyone else
if it’s not working, nuke it quickly, and replace with something better (the biggest learning)

own the fear

pr0vctr@newsletter.paragraph.com (PR0VCTR) — Sun, 15 May 2022 23:34:57 GMT

wake up every morning thinking you’re about to get laid off. you’re most likely not. but it’s imperative that you boost your focus to increase cash flow and inject new opps in your “pocket”.

hang / chat with 2+ new people every week (or as close as you can to this). inquire as to what they’re working on … if it’s something you can help with - ask them if you can help & take cash / equity / tokens or a mix for getting involved.

get organized to launch a business that will generate $1000/mo. dream big, but start small. this is v attainable.

launch a minimal viable community (MVC). community unlocks potential. being a leader of a community is incredibly valuable (and fulfilling). u can sell products, services or NFTS to them.

this: do this: the “jobs to be done framework” will keep u honest on shipping products with high likelihood of success during a recession:

invest in yourself. a warrior relies on him/her/their self. its the only thing that can't be taken away from u. sharpen your blade and it’ll give you creative juice to ideate.

TLDR:

reduce costs as much as you can
keep spirits as high as you can
ship something somewhere consistently
get $1000/month passive coming into the “pocket”
consistently hone new skills

inspiration:

https://twitter.com/gregisenberg/status/1525842988383059969