Resign, Invest in BTC, Kill People Without Knowing, Repeat.

Welcome to the bubbly world, my friend.

Taken by me, 4 years ago.

So you quit your job, you joined the “rebellious” movement against “big corporations” by joining yet another “big corporation” which “values” employees more by giving them a Snickers bar each time they do a good job.

So you have done it all. You are probably now “pro-crypto” too because it is “the future.” I wish I got a dollar for each time someone told me “Blockchain bro, it is the thing to be in right now!”

Oh not to forget, you are also now anti-vaccines/mandates and call for freedom of choice/speech, and you probably think that COVID restrictions shall be lifted because it is just “like seasonal flu”.

I walk out of my office into a pub to meet with friends, and have one of my favorite Jordanian/Lebanese wines. But wait, haven’t you heard? The bartender there now is also an “investor”, he’s got the latest trading app and joined “special” groups for trading, where they argue which stock will go up and which stock will go down.

Congrats, you are now part of the herd. You are probably a smart guy/girl, but as part of the herd, you are as dumb as the one who thinks going out in the snowstorm in Prius is a good idea. No you are not a follower of ‘someone’, but you are definitely moved by the stupid psychology of the crowd.

Don’t get me wrong. I work for a big corporation, I’m now considered stupid by ex-colleagues for not hopping on the “opportunity” of resigning and going to another corporation (I’m not cool like them, I don’t see the “opportunity” in quitting. I’m not rebellious) and I’m considered stupid among friends for not “investing” and for not spending my money “wisely”, and I’m apparently cruel for being pro-vaccines/testing/masks/government intervention in tackling the pandemic.

We are living in one of the noisiest eras of our lives, amplified by Facebook, memes, WhatsApp, twitter and of course, Instagram.

Let me tell you something.

When I was 17, in my senior year of high school, my Dad came to me and said “your mom just quit her job, you have to get a high GPA to earn a scholarship, because otherwise I can’t afford to pay for your university”.

That was one week before the school year started. That was the first reality check in my life. I totally freaked out, I had no option, my back was against the wall. I got to studying like a freaking machine, but that was not the main reason why I earned 96% and got a full scholarship at the top university in Jordan to study electronics and telecommunications engineers, which I wanted, but it was my isolation from the bubble of senior year in high school.

Yes, I went into social isolation. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t give up on my social life, but I didn’t listen to anyone’s advice, I didn’t follow my generation in their activities/advice.

I went into university and the same cycle repeated itself. Again, within a year I self-isolated and decided to start my first business instead of earning a high GPA/show-off. Not that I couldn’t be a nerd/cool, I was actually one of the top 5 students in the first year and I was considered the most networked guy by friends. Anyways, I decided to focus on something else, I started an online magazine for the youth in Jordan, worked as a barista and as a salesperson at a local shop. In other words, I made money (on my own and by working for others).

Fast-forward 5 years later, here I am, the same thing happening, but yet at a very amplified level by the pandemic: at work, social life, community level and internationally. Peers quitting by the dozens, friends immigrating, people becoming unconsciously psychopathic with their attitudes and actions during the pandemic, everyone speaks about Tesla/Apple/BTC/ETH/…, and everyone believing that by having a trading app on their iPhone they are now an ‘Investor’.

This might be the first bubble(s) that will burst like crazy and which I have to live through in my lifetime and must survive, which, I’m still trying to figure out how, but to protect myself and my loved ones against the ramifications, I will not give up.

But trust me, I gave up trying to convince people to stop being dumb as hell as part of the crowd.

Peace,

Edmond