First off, I am no cryptocurrency expert and do not pretend to be. I'm learning just as much as anyone else who is honest about this will admit he or she is learning. It is frustrating though trying to learn something that is so counter-intuitive to the understanding of physical assets. It's not that I can't figure it out it's that I'm not sure it is something definable in terms we currently have in our lexicon.

When I grew up I had the curse of testing very well on those standardized “assessment” tests in school so naturally everyone thought I was a genius and had to be a doctor and all that. I love animals so I told them if it was medicine - I would be a veterinarian. The problem is I don’t do well in structured environments and never cared for school where I was told daily what to do I always have had my own way of thinking and though I wasn’t overtly rebellious – I know when I’m right and when I can make a better way of doing something and I don’t accept “because I said so” as a good enough reason. I loved being out in the woods and the ocean where “wildness” was the system (I’ve been a swimmer and outdoorsman since I was 6). It’s like Thoreau said, “In wildness lies the preservation of life.” I am conservative in my principles with a wild, passionate lust for life. Gets me into trouble sometimes though…lol.

I started in college as a biology major and had fun with it though I got lousy grades in it because I didn’t like the repetitive nature of being a science student. Again I had no fear of wild animals or the wild and was always the guy who went out to get specimens for the lab, though they didn’t let me bring back the 4 foot venomous copperhead I caught for some reason. Something was missing from this line of work though – passion. When I was a senior in High School I found I had a talent for writing Shakespearean sonnets. I could think in iambic pentameter and could write them on a near daily basis. As I continued with science, I got more interested in literature. I finally stopped school for one semester and restarted as an English major. Immediately my GPA skyrocketed and I was happy in what I was doing. However – how do you make money with an English degree? I found out – you become a corporate administrative slug.

While I was in college, I learned about investing in real estate from my dad (who started buying rental property in my college town.) I also read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and was hooked. I determined when I was 19 years old that no matter what job I had, I was going to be a real estate investor. I wanted to start buying property when I turned 25 and buy on average 1 property per year. Before I turned 25 though I got married (at 23) and didn’t actually get to buy my first one until 26. At 28, I separated from my wife whom I haven’t spoken to since (long story) and lost everything I had in a ridiculously dramatic divorce battle that lasted over a year. At 29 I was divorced, broke, homeless, had no credit and was working in a job that I really couldn’t stand. I spent a year trying to claw my way back into some financial stability and in that time lost my job too. So now I was in a position where I had to royally kick ass in order to get back to a financial equilibrium. This was back about 12 years ago.

I did, eventually. I won’t lie to you – my first year of entrepreneurship was ROUGH making about $15,000.00 and learning how to live on that. I got to know dried bean/lentil dishes quite well (never thought I could eat on 50 cents a day before). However, 3 months into my second year I made over twice my first year’s income. I know numbers are how people typically measure success but what’s more important than the straight income is the fact that I am now CREATING my life rather than merely living it. This was a key turning point for me. It doesn’t matter what happens to me anymore I can beat it and accomplish anything. Life has thrown obstacles at me that have become the greatest gifts for me, teaching me to be more resourceful than I ever thought possible. You could take everything away from me again and I will make it back again. You can’t take my happiness from me either. I’ve learned that lesson. I could be broke, lonely and betrayed and still happy – not complacent but happy. Happy because I choose it.

I believe we're at a crossroads of human history here. I think we're nearing the place where it becomes almost commonplace to be masters of our own fate. I'm not sure but it's what I think. I'll see you on the other side.