#38: BRB 🇵🇹

Books I Brought On Vacation📚

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Hello from Portugal!

I am currently sitting on the coast at what was formally known as the end of the world, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the coast, and the rain bashing against my window 😂

Hopefully the weather clears up tomorrow, but for now I'm enjoying the change of pace of coastal life and looking forward to the next few days.

I had the best intentions of writing a well-thought out newsletter for you today while the rain stopped me from exploring, but then the sun came out, and I went for a hike instead.

I was putting a lot of pressure on myself this evening to try and put together a full entry for you tomorrow, when I realized that was silly.

The whole point of Recalibrating is to recognize that there are times when a change is needed to prevent burnout while building sustainably.

I've spent the last few weeks doing deep-dives into complicated technology (blockchain, AI, web3, creator economics), perhaps this week is a good time for a bit of R&R.

"oh no, but what will I read now? I was expecting another mind-altering piece of writing from Callum again this week"

If that's what just went through your mind, I still have a few suggestions for how you can shift your perspective this week 😉

Also, I made you something that I included at the end of this entry 👀

Recalibrating Recap 🧭 ✨

Welcome to Recalibrating! My name is Callum (@_wanderloots)

Join me each week as I learn to better life in every way possible, reflecting and recalibrating along the way to keep from getting too lost.

Thanks for sharing the journey with me ✨

Don't forget to check out the Recalibrating Podcast if you'd like to listen to this newsletter. There the first two entries are recorded so far, I'm working on putting out the third one soon (it might be out by the time you read this).

Recalibrating Podcast

Last week, I gave an overview of the first 8 entries of 2024. The goal of this overview was to help you see the bigger picture of what is being built with emerging technologies in the creator economy (and broader economies globally)

This week, I am taking a break from writing a full newsletter since I am on vacation in Portugal. Don't worry, I still have a few suggestions on what to read & think about if you're looking for some recalibration 🧭 ✨

Books I Brought 📚

I have two books in front of me:

1. Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life (by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi); and

2. Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet (by Chris Dixon)

My first vacation since I quit my job last June and these are the books I brought with me 🤔 why?

Well, let's take a look:

Finding Flow 🌊

Finding Flow is the book that has probably had the single greatest impact on my life (though Atomic Habits is perhaps a close second). When you start to understand what it means to actually engage psychologically with life, you start to see things differently.

Your perspective is permanently recalibrated.

Flow is that state where you are so deeply in the moment that you forget about the self entirely. You are in the zone, fully present, actually aware of what you doing.

Each of us finds flow differently; that's kind of the whole point.

For me, I find flow while reading, taking photos, flying my drone, hiking, playing guitar/violin, cooking, basically the entire time I'm travelling, and probably a few more that I'm forgetting.

Each of these activities bring me fully into the present moment. They make me feel alive, rather than just living.

But flow is not a permanent state. If it was, it would not be so valuable.

Flow is fleeting.

Sometimes it is there, sometimes we lose it. Sometimes we stay in flow for hours, sometimes only minutes or seconds.

I like to think of finding flow like playing the lottery: each time you sit down in a flow-inducing activity, there's a chance you "win" and find flow. You play a ticket. Each time you sit down to try, you increase the odds of winning by playing more tickets.

But there is a difference between chance and flow: the more you practice finding flow, the easier is it to find it again the next time.

With practice, you can find flow more regularly and stay in it more deeply.

You can deepen your psychological engagement with life.

How do ~ you ~ find flow?

Read Write Own 📖 ✍️ 📑

Chris Dixon is a forerunner for best blockchain educator in the world. He has influenced the thinking of thousands, if not millions, around the world.

I just listened to an a16z web3 podcast where Chris explained why he wrote this book. He said that he was hoping to put together a manual for anyone who is even slightly confused about blockchain and why it is a world-changing technology.

He said that this book is for people to give to their friends and family when they are interested, but confused, about blockchain and the development of the Internet.

I have spent the last 6 years reading and writing about blockchain. I like to think I understand the concepts quite well, especially since I have my certification in blockchain law. That said, Chris provides excellent commentary and context on the history of the Internet (read & write) that I found refreshing and insightful. This context feeds nicely into what I am working on now with the the next era of the Internet: own.

I have explained blockchain quite a lot over the last 4 or 5 entries. If you are still confused, don't worry, I will continue to explain it in different ways so that you can hopefully see the bigger picture.

If you are looking for a crash-course in accessible and understandable language of these technologies, I recommend picking up a copy of Read Write Own.

Why I Brought These Books On Vacation 📕🧠

Last week, I ended my entry with:

I think that this system (blockchain-based internet) offers the potential for any person to monetize whatever skillset they have, in a sustainable way that augments their lives, rather than burns them out.

I mean it. I think we are in the middle of a revolution of the Internet, where people are going to be able to monetize their interests and knowledge on a level we've never seen before.

My goal is to help you understand why this revolution is happening, how it works, and what you can do to join in (if you want).

But I can't be the one that gets you there.

Only you can.

In my opinion, there are two parts of the equation that lead to sustainable creation: flow + blockchain monetization.

Flow 🌊

Flow is personal. It's something that is different for each of us.

If you are looking to monetize something online without burning out, you need a sustainable creation system. The activity that creates the content that goes online should be sustainable.

Flow activities are some of the most sustainable activities there are. They are often autotelic experiences: ones that can be done for the sake of doing them.

Intrinsic, rather than extrinsic motivation.

To help deepen my understanding of flow, I did two things:

1. stared at waves for hours;

2. read Finding Flow.

Now, you don't have to read the book Finding Flow (though I highly recommend it), but I would like you to do something for me: think about the last time you found flow.

Start reflecting on what makes you feel engaged with life. You might be surprised what you find.

I'll get into this more in another entry, but my words will be a lot more effective if you put some effort into thinking about your own life and what activities make you feel fulfilled and engaged.

What makes you feel like the hero of your own life?

Blockchain & Intellectual Property 🟦 🔗 🟪

Sustainable creation in the creator economy requires a shift in how we think about "value".**

Typically, we use intellectual property (IP) to attribute value to creations (via copyright, trademarks, patents, trade secrets).

However, IP can be complicated and difficult to understand. While it is of course valuable to understand IP, you can begin building your own IP without needing a law degree.

Every time you create something (writing, art) you are automatically awarded copyright in the creation.

Typically, copyright is strengthened by registering it with your country's copyright registry. However, that can be time-consuming and expensive.

While it is not a replacement, minting creations or knowledge outputs (time-stamping them on blockchain) as NFTs can provide an immutable record (unchangeable) linked to your wallet address (digital signature tied to your digital identity). More on digital identity and web3 here.

Blockchain was actually created in the 1990's as a way to notarize documents and prevent back-dating, without using lawyers as middle-people.

Blockchain effectively lets you notarize your creations online in a manner that anyone else in the world can check and verify. Notarize = verify that a signature is authentic, typically done by a Notary Pubic or a lawyer.

Again, it's not a replacement for copyright registration, but in my opinion, it's a good middle ground for now (and will likely be routed through official government copyright registries in the future).

So, blockchain enables a sufficient stand-in for intellectual property generation for most people at the moment.

IP forms the basis of most of what we value in the modern world.

How does this pair with flow?

Flow + Blockchain 🪄 🌊

Putting it all together, we can generate self-value by finding flow (activities that help us engage with life, ones we find valuable) and we can encapsulate that flow by time-stamping it on blockchain to create a time-stamped record of the intellectual property publication date.

We can effectively take the flow (a fluid) and solidify it (cast) with blockchain in an immutable (unchangeable) manner. At least, that's where my materials science engineering brain goes after all that time studying metallurgy 😂. To cast is to take a molten (melted) metal and create a solid object with it.

Casting feels like a great analogy for transforming flow states into a solid state, something fixed and unchangeable that others can view in the future.

If we can find flow with activities that feel natural and authentic and find a way to encapsulate the value of that experience in a way that is sharable to others, we can generate value and share it sustainably.

flow + blockchain = sustainable creation systems

Does that get your mind going on how you find value in life? On how you find flow?

I hope it does ✨

It also forms the basis for something interesting I'm working on 👀 a new project I'm quite excited about.

Additional Reading 📰

If you would like more context on how I envision sustainable creations systems, this entry is an extension of Entries 6-10 of the mini-series on Maslow's Hierarchy Level 2: Security and Safety:
#6 Financial Security and Mental Safety
#7 Building a Sustainable Creation System
#8 Creating Income Without Burnout
#9 Mental Safety From AI-nxiety
#10 Automating Self-Regulation

I recommend brushing up on these entries to help wrap your head around sustainable creation systems now that you understand more about the notarizing nature of blockchain.

In particular, I have referenced Entry #7: Building A Sustainable Creation System more than any other entry throughout Recalibrating.

Note that #9 - #10 are related, but touch more on AI, which I did not cover today (though AI is incredibly important and related to blockchain, see Entry #35: Why We Need A Cryptographic Internet, for more information).

Next Week

My goals for the week are to continue finding flow as much as possible.

I suggest you do the same ✨

To help, here's are some drone shots I took today of the waves 🌊 The goal of this video is to provide a calming composition that can help you meditate on how you find flow 😌

Literal flow, casted into shareable format via video recording and uploaded to the internet so you can view it in your email.

Magical 🪄 🌊

Feel free to share the link with anyone if you think they could use a bit of relaxation 🌊

Stay tuned for the next update on my travels ✨

P.S. If you are interested in learning how I build my digital mind (second brain) to help me process information and identify patterns to solve my problems, please consider upgrading your subscription to paid. Your support means more than you know 😌 ✨

Paid subscribers get full access to Worldbuilding, a practical counterpoint to the theories described in Recalibrating. You also get access to a private chat and bonus explanations exclusive to paying members 👀

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