In Honor of My Dad

During covid I came home to live with my parents. I'm a bizarre guy-a landlord of multiple properties living with his parents. But, things happen.

While I have always been very close to my mom, and my dad is an awesome guy, I wasn't super close. That changed during covid. My dad was very sick-cancer-and I was very sick (ego, weight, arrogance, work unhappiness, breakup with gf, friendships cracking, weed problems).

My dad needed a friend and so did I. For 2.5 years, we became best friends. He suddenly died in October. To say it has been rough is not accurate. I am selfish-I miss my best friend. In honor of his memory I would like to share things he taught me. Yes, this has to do with crypto.

When I was younger, 25ish, my job was making not enough money and I was miserable. He told me "Jake (not my real name) you have no mortgage, no wife, no kids."

What he was saying was GO FOR IT. My dad took care of his family and my mom who has severe illnesses, but he regretted selling mutual funds that would have been worth millions. My dad never spent a cent on himself, and he would tell my mom he wished could be a valet to drive fancy cars. I wanted to buy my dad a used s550 convertible, but bitcoin did not hit 100k, and eth did not hit 10k.

This isn't about crypto-many of my friends, God bless them, they are slowly bleeding out. We are approaching 40 and for many fear will continue to drown their dreams. And that's the worst-when you have decided it's not worth dreaming.

There's a local coffee shop where my dad and I knew the owner, and after my dad died, the owner told me that my dad said "Jake has huge balls". I have sold 2 of my homes to buy crypto-a lot went to gbtc/ethe (please don't start with that topic) and my entire 401k was crypto. I loved that-my Dad didn't 100% agree with me, but he believed in me. And, my dad was right-crypto did crash. I thought btc to 200k in 2021.

My dad knew a guy that got every dollar he could in the 70s to buy gold. Part of me is the part of my dad that was unable to take the risk-you can't take that type of risk with 3 kids and a sick wife.

For the 20-40ish crowd (I am 39), in honor of my dad, I will tell you that the #1 thing I see from people in their mid 40s is that they didn't take the risk they wanted. Risk can be asking the woman out, it can be starting a business, or going all in on one idea. The 2nd risk I see from people is that they borrowed money that was due each month and they were trying to time the market.

You have the opportunity. Maybe it's crypto. Maybe it's not. But do something. Don't end up 44 and say wtf happened.

I know a guy who from the outside is super successful. 3+ million dollar house, probably has a few mill in stocks, and lives an upscale lifestyle (also has some crypto). But secretly behind the smile is anger and frustration. For every time that came up to do something he wanted to do (buy a certain car for example), he found a reason to not buy it. He became trapped in a luxury prison. Is it the worst thing possible? No. Compared to 99.9% of people on the planet he has the best life. But it nags at his brain.

My dad had a great phrase: the courage of your convictions. If you are relatively new to crypto, please remember this of all things. Reasoning: many will panic buy or panic sell. We read many stories about panic selling in price crashes/drawdowbs, and short term, yes it would have been smart to sell btc at 60k and rebought at 20k. But-panic sells go on the upside. I have a friend who was very early to crypto. He bought 3 btc at $2,000. Sold them at $8k. Years later, btc is 4k. But he regrets this decision. Another friend who is 31 bought $1,000 worth of eth at $13/eth. Sold everything when eth went to $130.

It's all about the conversation with yourself. Don't kid yourself. I have friends making $250k in the Bay Area, living in a single bedroom apartment, and the newest show on Netflix is conversation #1. I am not belittling these friends-many of us went through 2008 and we are terrified of risk. The older crowd went through 2001 as well. And the new crowd is going through the highs of 2021.

What keeps my conviction is not about crypto. It is about that the system due to tech and demographics cannot function without lower and lower rates, and more and more debt. That's it. And that plus tech that once the public is aware, cannot be hidden. It's simple. It's the log chart of btc. It's the log chart of eth.

For a long time (I am American) it has been pounded into my head about fairness, about "capitalism", about "paying off the debt". They will print and lower rates.

The rupard kipling poem sums it up-when everyone is losing their sanity, carry on. I'll see you in 10 years. At btc = 500k or 5k, at eth 20k or 500.

So, In honor of my dad, there you have it.