Jackson seems to have a natural 6am wake up time. And that means, I now have a 6am wake up time too!
I won’t lie. Part of me wishes he would sleep in later, so that I can sleep a bit more too.
But another part of me actually enjoys waking up early now. That’s because we get to go on a daily morning walk outside while the city is still asleep.
This was inspired by Ryan Holiday* as part of his morning routine to go for daily run / walk with his kids.
(*best selling author of books including “The Obstacle is the Way” and “Ego is the Enemy”, as well as the writer behind the “The Daily Stoic” and “The Daily Dad” emails I subscribe to)
In the morning, my mind is clear. The air is crisp. And there are very few people outside so it feels like we have the whole neighborhood to ourselves.
It is a great way to start the morning. And I’d like to keep it up for as long as possible.
Part of what makes it enjoyable to go on a daily morning walk is because I’m still on my mini-retirement / extended paternity leave. Put another way, I don’t feel the rush of getting ready in the morning, needing to get Jackson packed up for day care, and then scrambling out the door and commuting to the office.
Through these daily walks, I’ve been getting a sneak peek of how my life could be, long term, in what I’ll call a “post-bitcoin world”. Let me explain!
The future is already here
There is a saying that, “the future is here…it’s just not distributed evenly”.
As an example of how the future is not evenly distributed, I remember when Uber just launched in New York City. At the time, there were generous promotions being handed out, like getting 10 free rides. And of course, I took advantage of it!
The first time I opened the app, summoned a car with the press of a button, and magically watched on screen as the car came to my apartment (all while I was sitting on my couch), I had an “ah ha” moment how Uber was going to change the game.
And by adopting Uber early, in a way, I experienced the future ahead of most.
In contrast, when I traveled to other cities where Uber had not launched yet, I realized even though I experienced the future already, it wasn’t close to being distributed evenly. First of all, most people in these cities had not even heard of Uber. And even if they had, the majority had never tried it out for themselves.
Hypothetically, since I experienced the future ahead of most other people, I had an advantage. In theory, I could have invested in the company, or taken advantage of their referral bonuses by getting people to try it out (and in the process, earning more free rides), or even sold my car (and reduced the associated insurance / maintenance costs) and used Uber to get around everywhere.
I believe that if / when you can experience the future first, you gain a distinct advantage.
What does this have to do with bitcoin?
I am experiencing the future again right now. With bitcoin!
Since a sizable portion of my net worth is in bitcoin, I am getting a sneak peek what life could be like in a post-bitcoin world (for long term bitcoiners, this is commonly referred to as “hyperbitcoinization” or a “bitcoin standard”). Simply put, it’s when bitcoin tips over in the mainstream mindset as the best way to save, preserve, and increase wealth.
And ready or not, we’re rapidly heading towards this new world.
To put it in perspective, in the late 90’s, when the internet was becoming mainstream, it was growing around 60% annually. And at the time, this was by far the fastest rate a new technology had been adopted.
But guess what is being adopted even faster? Bitcoin! For reference, it is growing WAY faster compared to the pace that the internet was adopted, clocking in at around 115% annual growth. If you project that growth forward, and think about how ubiquitous the internet is, you can get a glimpse just how big this bitcoin thing is going to be.
And with all the growth ahead, I believe there will be some notable differences in the day-to-day life of someone who owns bitcoin in their portfolio.
Work
One thing I believe will be quite different about daily life in a post-bitcoin world is the need to work a normal 9am-5pm job.
I’m not saying that everyone will stop working. There are certainly fulfilling jobs that give a sense of purpose. There are jobs that help develop important skills. And there are jobs that create massive positive change.
But, at some point, assuming you own bitcoin, you’ll be faced with a dilemma. And that is, you’ll need to do a calculation whether it still makes sense to keep trading time (ie. 40 hours a week) for money (ie. a paycheck).
How do I know this? Because multiple times now, I’ve experienced how it feels when the value of my bitcoin goes up way way faster than what I earn on a pay check.
The first time was during the 2017 bull run when bitcoin kissed $20k. And at the time, it felt too good to be true. Then, earlier this year, the price rocketed up from $11k to $64k in just a few months. In that time, there were multiple days when again, I “made” (unrealized gains) significantly more money by just hodling bitcoin compared to what I got paid at my job as a Product Manager working at venture backed startups in New York City.
Now, it’s happening again on this most recent rebound from $30k to up $46k in the past month.
Even though the gains are only on paper, I experienced the feeling of seeing my net worth rise very quickly due to owning bitcoin.
Given enough of these days / weeks / months / years strung together, at some point, I won’t have a choice. I will need to decide whether it makes sense to keep working vs. spending those 40+ hours of precious / scarce time <link to time scarcity article> each week doing something else.
The outcome will be different for everyone. For some, it might mean transitioning part time. For others, it could be a career switch. And for others, it might mean fully “retiring”. Of course, that will depend on how much bitcoin you own.
Activities / hobbies / side projects
Given that there will be time gained back from not working (or working reduced hours), I believe activities / hobbies / side projects will move into the spotlight in a post-bitcoin world.
That’s because each of us will need to find other ways to get that sense of purpose and progress.
For me, that time will be spent on writing this blog, running, learning to code, and going through the online courses I’ve paid for but not finished. Actually, it’s part of why I’m taking a mini-retirement / extended paternity leave right now. I am test driving this new lifestyle to make sure I know what I’m getting myself into.
For you, it might be a completely different set of things like creating art, learning to cook, surfing, or more.
I believe as long as you create vs. consume (ie. watching Netflix all day), progressively master a skill, and have a sense of autonomy as you practice, you’ll find that the time gained back (from not working) will be more than filled up.
Taking the time to smell the roses
Additionally, with the extra time each day, I believe the pace of life will slow down…in a good way.
Instead of rushing through lunch, there will be more time to enjoy each bite. Instead of only having time to call your parents once a week / month, there will be more time to catch up (and you might even decide to spend a long period of time hanging with them, like I did recently). And instead of cramming your weekends with things to do, these will get spread throughout the week at a more leisurely and enjoyable pace.
And in this post-bitcoin world, being a new parent will be more enjoyable too. You’ll have time to go on a daily morning walk, like Jackson and I get to do. You might find yourself hanging out at the park more often and letting your kid play a little longer. And there will also be more time and energy to teach them about dinosaurs, astronauts, and anything else they are curious about.
Conclusion
Over the next few years, the future (ie. bitcoin) will become more evenly distributed. And as it does, I fully expect other new parents to also have this “ah ha” moment that they can be more in control of their time.
I’m learning how to do this right now on my mini-retirement / extended paternity leave. And so far, I’m liking what I see!