1% Smarter Newsletter No. 009
What I'm reading, listening to, and learning from the week ending 1/15/22
I tend to find nuggets of wisdom in the strangest of places. This past week, I visited a friend ensconced in Aspen, Colorado, for the winter. We spent the better part of the holiday weekend hurling ourselves down run after run across Aspen’s postcard-perfect mountains. Be it the change of scenery, the lightheadedness from the cold mountain air, or my upcoming new job1, I found myself reflecting on lessons snowboarding holds with regards to Web3 and life in general.
Lesson 1: It’s Never Too Late
When I moved from the East Coast to San Francisco at age 24, I soon had the opportunity to accompany friends on weekend trips to Lake Tahoe over the winter. Many of these friends had been skiing their entire lives; almost all had at least a few years of experience. I, on the other hand, had been to a ski resort exactly once, over a decade prior. Sheepish with my lack of experience, I considered politely declining these weekend invitations. The learning curve for mountain sports is steep. Moreover, the prospect of paying for lessons, surrounded by kids half my age or younger, while flailing my way down bunny hills seemed somewhere between unpleasant and masochistic.
Nonetheless, I swallowed my pride and opted to give snowboarding a try. It took hours upon hours of falling and struggling back to my feet, but eventually I graduated from the bunny hills to the groomed cruisers further up the mountain. In recent years, I have pushed myself further, pursuing steeper black diamonds, bumpy moguls, and uncharted tracks through dense copses.
Do I still fall? All the time. But it hardly detracts from the otherwise exhilarating experience.
People just starting to learn about Web3 might feel like I did at age 24: surrounded by peers who appear light-years ahead of them. They may be asking, “Is it even worth beginning to study this newfangled technology? Have I missed the boat?” To which I would reply, take the long view. In the near term (1–6 months), you may feel like a novice. But if you remain open, curious, and committed to learning, your commitment will pay dividends over time. And whereas modern Alpine skiing has existed for nearly two centuries, Web3 is barely a few years old. Consequently, reaching the 90th or even 99th percentile of expertise in Web3 is considerably easier than doing so in skiing.
So to anyone who thinks it is “too late” to get into Web3, I say, “Balderdash!”
Lesson 2: Lean into the Curve
When I am going a little too fast on my snowboard, or I feel myself losing control, my instinct is to lean back…which is the exact opposite of what I should do. It seems paradoxical, but to stay in control, snowboarders are taught to lean forward on their front foot, essentially tilting their body down the mountain. This is like telling someone, if you find yourself falling down a mountain, lean into the fall! Even after all these years of snowboarding, I have to fight every instinct in my body giving me the wrong advice.
By nature, I am a conservative person, which is why I work in credit risk: I am trained to think of and mitigate bad future outcomes. When stressed or overwhelmed, I prefer to pause, reflect, or even opt out entirely—essentially, to lean back.
Web3 is moving fast. Sometimes, it feels like I am riding a snowboard that is barely under control. Although Web3 has its share of charlatans and scams, it is largely composed of optimistic, forward-looking people. Are its projects risky? Like any new technology, yes. Are the range of possible outcomes diverse? Extremely so. Yet I am pushing myself to stay on my front foot and lean into the exciting new technology, joining Discords, reading white papers, and learning from relevant creators and investors.
Lesson 3: Be Present and Enjoy the Ride
Why do over 9 million Americans ski or snowboard every year? The health benefits, magnificent winter scenery, and the sheer pleasure of going fast are all compelling reasons. But above all those is a singular benefit: skiing forces you to be present.
While gliding down a mountain, it is impossible for your mind to be anywhere but there, in that specific time and place. No wondering about what is for dinner later. No fretting about work on Monday. No grousing over drama with friends or family. No notifications on your phone to disrupt your attention. Past and future fade away; the world outside your field of vision disappears.
I contend there are few other activities that consistently put people in a state of flow. According Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, the foremost researcher in this field of psychology, flow is:
Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.
Anyone who has skied or snowboarded can identify precisely with this definition.
When I research Web3, sometimes I enter a flow state. In fact, the experience of learning about Web3 is often called “going down the rabbit hole,” which sounds quite similar. As I have written earlier, I strive to derive enjoyment from the process even more than the outcome, which occurs naturally during my journey into this new technological space.
As I depart Aspen and return to San Francisco, I will carry these lessons with me:
It is not too late to learn, to try new things, to begin again. In Web3, or whatever new opportunity I encounter in the future.
Lean into opportunity and even a healthy amount of risk. Be uncomfortable. Ride the edge.
Above all else, be present and enjoy the process for its own sake. Seek out activities that enable me to be present.
💡 Featured Content
My top pick this week
📄 Crypto Bezos by Packy McCormick
🖥 Web3
📄 TransUnion Brings Credit Data Checks to Crypto Lending by Sebastian Pellejero
📄 Crypto theses for 2022 (Chapter 1) (PDF) by Ryan Selkis
📄 The Mirrortable by Balaji Srinivasan
💰 Money & Investing
📄 Building American Dynamism by Katherine Boyle
📄 A Breakdown of Americans’ Monthly Credit Card Spending by Jenna Ross
🏛 Government and Policy
📄 2021 Letter by Dan Wang