Whoa, Nelly – March 3, 2022 (62/365)

I know I wrote somewhere during the middle of February that I didn’t have to wait for March for me to start getting into investments. Well, March is already here, and I think I may have done a little too much.

I say I’m doing too much because I’m slowly eating away from my savings in order to get into some projects. I’m writing this, really just as a note to myself that I shouldn’t be too hasty.

What am I getting myself into? Well, in the name of privacy (it’s more about saving face, now that I think about it), I’m confident to at least share that I’ve spent a good deal of money into at least 6 crypto projects. First of all, yes, I understand that these 6 opportunities are possible scams, but my willingness to step into them are founded on how long they’ve been running (versus the Squid Game token that was rugpulled really quick), and the fact that the developers behind each project (save for 2 of them, I’ll be honest) have been doxxed. And, okay, yes, their claims of returns got to me… and so far, I have been seeing returns. I’ve withdrawn from at least 3 of them, and the other 3 are under observation.

I’ve taken out of some of my positions from a prominent crypto exchange to fund the later projects, and something inside of me was already warning me, and it felt like doing all this maneuvering wasn’t necessarily done out of aggression and confidence, but out of a variant of FOMO. It’s funny that I’m just now realizing this as I’m writing.

I say it isn’t necessarily fear of missing out on getting in early before prices go high, more than it is about a thought that I’m apparently still dealing with… and for all my talk about how Christ is so focused on us and loves us, God forgive me – the thought of doing all this to prove to those who reject me that I’m worthy of their attention made its way to more aspects of my being, leading to me possibly acting recklessly.

When Andrew Farley is asked in one of his many recorded radio broadcasts, ‘I’m saved, and I know I’m saved, but what do I do if I keep on sinning?’, he responds by saying, “Well here’s a bright suggestion: STOP!”

Right after I made the moves on that 6th and last project, I said elsewhere, I’m going to stop, for sure. Verses in the Bible sure came to life during the course of this morning, gently reminding me against making haste to be rich.

Sure, I justified myself by way of acting out of the energy Naval Ravikant projected in his podcast, and I was eager, not to make money, but to make wealth – assets that earn while I sleep. I thought this was the underlying motivation, even backing myself up with the usual playlist which will always have I Don’t Wanna Stop by Ozzy Osbourne, and Ace of Spades by Motorhead. But for all the virtuous emotions and the aggressive music, it couldn’t be helped to see that some of this was rooted from bitterness… and because of this realization, I am humbled.

Those songs were indeed integrated into my March playlist but I think I should be putting Smooth Operator in there somewhere – the all-time, all-season motivator for me. It’s not about the aggression. It’s about being calm and collected, operating out of silence. It’s working like Bobby Axelrod in Billions Season 1 Episode 1, instead of the Axe who also said later in the series, ‘when I leave, I leave Nagasaki behind’.

And, yes, it’s about flowing in perfect love, versus forcing moves out of fear. That’s what we used to be. We used to move from fear, now we ought to have our being in love. In this case, I ought to keep on reminding myself that while there are people that reject me, and while I do have my old mindset that absolutely has to prove to them that I am worthy of their attention, I am growing into resting, understanding and appreciating that Christ has proven, through His finished work, that not only am I worth His regard, but He has absolutely LAVISHED me with His everlasting love.

By the cross Christ reminds me that I am worth dying for.

By the empty tomb Christ reminds me that I am worth living for.

By the Holy Spirit Christ reminds me that I am loved with a perfect love, by no less than the Creator of the Universe, Creator of all things seen and unseen.

For all the rejection the world can give, I am fully accepted in the beloved.

So I’ve invested into those 6 projects, knowing full well that they could all go belly up at any time. Before I go any further I wanted to share that I’m fully aware that we could call these 6 separate income streams, but technically, since they are all birthed from one common foundation (investing cryptocurrencies) they all combine into one stream.

I mention this because I guess this is a time (1) to rest from looking any further into that stream, and (2) to pivot and look into other endeavors – Not necessarily more income streams, but things that I can make the most of my time doing.

And in my pivoting and looking, I’d like to take this time to share something beautiful that I read on Facebook, by a influencer turned acquaintance turned possible friend, Ryan Luelf:

Please stop creating simply to be “noticed”.

There is so much creativity that is being lost by our generation simply because it doesn’t preform well on the algorithm.

We don’t want to see you wasting your beautiful life making things that perform well on social media. We want you to create with boundless freedom.

We want to see your imagination come to life.

Who cares if it does well?

Who cares if anyone notices?

John Lennon said, “When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.”

The beautiful thing about creating from your hearts imagination is that it can’t be copied. It’s unique to you and we need your unique, beautiful voice in this world.

Once again, I am reminded that I create for a cause infinitely superior to proving to anyone here in this world that I am worthy of attention and acceptance. All of us in the Body of Christ would do well to consider that we create out of celebration of the Truth that through Christ, we have been fully accepted, and more than us paying attention to God, He is THAT omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, He is THAT loving that ALL of us in the Body of Christ have His FULL attention, every single moment of the day.

Let us take in the Truth of the Creator’s love for us – He not only notices us, but He is focused on us, as a loving Father keeping an eye out and taking care of His child.. and from this Truth, we create.

No amount of human intelligence can ever ‘work’ for God’s love – Just to read that His thoughts are greater than our thoughts should leave us humble, that we would put the pinnacle of our accomplishments as a species in its right place: that is, second to Christ.

It is through Christ, and by the Holy Spirit that we are set free, and free indeed: to celebrate our beautiful, eternal life now and forever, creating along the way, not for likes, comments, and shares, but FROM God who likes us, comments in wisdom, and shares in approval.

I could keep on going.. but man, I need some time myself to take this in.

What a good time to rest, and to learn.

God bless us all.