Eliot's Crypto Newsletter - The Paradox Of Crypto Success
The Paradox Of Crypto SuccessYou’re supposed to pour in endless effort, but it’s also supposed to seem effortless.Hey there! If you want to join 1,489+ other readers learning about Web3, make sure to subscribe to this newsletter. Crypto is a giant money game. Whether you realize it or not, you’re part of a 24/7 competition where the ultimate prize is not victory, but something even more elusive—attention. To move up the rankings, you might have trained on your hard-skills, and do your best to showcase your genius and abilities to the world. But focusing solely on your expertise is mis-understanding the rules of the game. 1 | The Rules Of The GameI grew up in the French Alps, skiing four days a week, with no other concerns than whether Olivia would ever like me more if I traded my skis for a snowboard. As a passionate skier, when the time came for my first internship, I applied to my dream company—the one in charge of organizing the biggest freeride competition in the world: The Freeride World Tour. And don’t ask me how, maybe it was Justin Bieber's hairstyle that made the difference, but I got the job. Eliot: 1 | Losers: 0 I had the chance to travel around the world and attend the competitions live in different countries. From those competitions, something always struck me: It wasn’t always the most technical guy who was winning. In the Freeride World Tour competition, a score is broken down into five criteria: (1) Line, (2) Fluidity, (3) Control, (4) Air & Style, and (5) Technique. Pro athletes, compared to what you think, are not only judged on the quality of their tricks or their speed, but also on their ability to be effortlessly stylish. They can be the best technically, but to win, they need to do it with style. Or, to put it differently: You win the game when you become so good it seems effortless. Take Shaun White as an example. He is one of the greatest snowboarders of all time. He has won the Olympics, broken records, landed huge endorsements, and become a brand bigger than any other snowboarder. In the three minutes per competition (all we really see from him), when he flips in the air and lands on the snow, his performance seems effortless. But Shaun's success is almost entirely made up of all the things we don't see. In the recently released docuseries about his career, HBO included all of his biggest wins, greatest moments, and some of his training. But if they wanted to tell the truth, they'd have to show us the millions of fails he's taken, the thousands of almost-landed tricks, or the months he has spent in the hospital after failed attempts. It would be 5,000 hours long, and nobody would watch it. But that's how long it actually takes to be the best in the world. 2 | How To Win The GameWinning the game starts by understanding what you see is part of a giant competition. Effortless results are fun to watch because they’re aspirational. We're lured by the fantasy that maybe, just maybe, we too can land the perfect backflip, write the perfect thread, or buy a JPEG for $500 and sell it for $200k. Seeing the persons we admire, it’s easy to believe the things they do are attainable. Easy to idolize their accomplishments. But it’s hard to understand the price they paid for that success. See, to be successful in crypto, you have to avoid scams, stay on top of new trends, invest in the right tokens, and build your brand on Twitter. You have to believe in the technology enough for getting over the opinion of all your friends telling you to quit, and build game-changing products in a still unregulated environment. It’s easy, by seeing other succeeding effortlessly, to believe that there must be a “hack”, a way to replicate their success easily and unlock new opportunities. But the true hack is boring: It's just doing the work for longer than anyone else. Shaun has been around for 20 years, training tirelessly day in and day out. Most of my favorite Web3 people have been around for a couple of years, going through the crypto cycles without flinching. See, if you want to outperform most people, you really need only two things:
No matter the game you're playing—be it the game of crypto, the art of community building, or the craft of writing—you have to do the obvious and boring things you have complete control over. The obvious path to 5,000 followers on Twitter is to write better threads. The obvious path to 10,000 Substack subscribers is to publish more often. The obvious path to onboard 100M users in crypto is to build better products. Sure, the mundane tackling it takes to build something in Web3 sucks. It's boring, there's marginal reward (especially during this bear market), and more often than not, requires a substantial amount of grit. But you have to do the work because it's the only thing you can control. It’s easy to forget how many people are struggling despite how hard they work, easy to forget that many, among us, have lost thousands in crypto, or published tweets that went unseen. But it's all part of the game, to make it appear effortless, even when the reality is quite different. Closing ThoughtsCrypto twitter is definitely not real life. It’s a giant competition where you can’t appear as if you're trying too hard at anything. In this competition, the illusions of effortlessness may tempt you, but it's in the sweat, the dedication, and the persistence that true victory lies. There has never been a better time to keep doing the obvious things that nobody else does because this is your way to gain an edge during the next bull market. Speak soon, - Eliot PS: What did you think of this article? If you enjoyed today's edition, let me know here - It'll help me understand what you want me to write about (and it only takes you 10sec). PPS: Substack just launched their Referral program. If you want to help me spread the world, I want to reward you:
|
Older messages
For The Love Of God, Can We Write Better Web3 Stories?
Sunday, July 9, 2023
Crypto doesn't have to be that complicated, really.
How To Start Writing Online?
Sunday, July 2, 2023
Explaining the tactical side of the writing game.
Creativity Is An Underrated Performance Booster
Sunday, June 25, 2023
Simply put, creativity ultimately leads to innovation, innovation creates value, and value makes you stand out
You Should Probably Keep Doing Cool Shit Online
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Your network is your net worth is the most bullshit stuff I've ever heard and a terrible piece of advice to give anyone early in their career.
How Web3 Solves The Discoverability Dilemma For On-Chain Creators
Monday, June 12, 2023
Interface Is Helping Creators Getting Discovered Leveraging Interoperability
You Might Also Like
Bitcoin market poised for potential bull trend resumption amid ongoing redistribution phases
Monday, April 29, 2024
Santiment CEO predicts Bitcoin bull trend resurgence post-halving, advises vigilance ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Crypto Market Pulse Weekly – ₿ Bitcoin Hits Record Daily Number of Transactions
Monday, April 29, 2024
$BTC hits record daily number of transactions. Spot $BTC and $ETH ETFs to start trading in Hong Kong on 30 April. Franklin Templeton listed its Spot Ether ETF on US DTCC. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Analysis: What changes have occurred in the L1 Infra track in recent months?
Monday, April 29, 2024
Author: Laobai From ABCDE Edited:Wublockchain Recently in the primary market, the hottest track is undoubtedly AI, followed by BTC. About 80% of the projects discussed daily are focused on these two
Bitcoin Makes History By Becoming The Scarcest Asset In The World
Monday, April 29, 2024
We bring you the top stories in crypto every week! Stories like... Monday April 29, 2024 Sign Up Your Weekly Update On All Things Crypto TL;DR Bitcoin Makes History By Becoming The Scarcest Asset In
Polygon leads in EVM efficiency as DeFi users favor low transaction costs
Sunday, April 28, 2024
DeFi activity analysis finds side chain solutions like Polygon more cost-effective, although Ethereum secures most transaction fees. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Asia's weekly TOP10 crypto news (Apr 22 to Apr 28)
Sunday, April 28, 2024
1. Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETF to Launch on April 30 link On April 27, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced the inclusion of several ETF shares into the Central Clearing and Settlement
A Path Forward: Retro Funding and Revitalization | BanklessDAO Weekly Rollup
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Catch Up With What Happened This Week in BanklessDAO ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Polkadot community backs SnowBridge for seamless Ethereum integration
Saturday, April 27, 2024
The SnowBridge proposal has enjoyed unanimous community support and could go live in 28 days. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Weekly Project Updates: Binance Launches Renzo on Launchpool, EOS Introduces New Tokenomics, $SAFE Begins Circulat…
Saturday, April 27, 2024
1. Starknet Foundation Announces Airdrop Redistribution of STRK to Three User Categories link The Starknet Foundation has announced that it will distribute STRK tokens through a retroactive airdrop to
OP's Superchain Vision | Layer 2 Review
Friday, April 26, 2024
Quick Reads and Hot Links Covering the People and Projects Who Are Scaling Ethereum ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏