Grounded in Technology: Freedom as a High-Performance Tool

This is from my talk at the University of Tampa Crypto Club.

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, we face a crucial choice: will we use technology as a tool for freedom and high performance, or will we become enslaved by it? As someone who has created my own path outside traditional systems, I want to share how being grounded in both technology and reality can lead to a more fulfilling and productive life.

My Journey

My journey began in 2017 with a cryptocurrency social media startup in college. I was trying to create a platform where users could get paid directly, breaking away from the traditional attention-extracting business models of the internet.

After dropping out of school, I moved to Tampa without a job and had to create every opportunity since then. I became a Bitcoin Lightning engineer, built an ERP system, and created a lending protocol. I founded the BitcoinBay Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that's put on events like Gasparilla and the Sound Money Soiree.

Currently, I have an OpenSats research grant funded by Jack Dorsey, developing Bitcoin smart contracts for derivatives. I also work on AI applications for a music artist, am designing a new flag for Tampa, and working on SPDI banking legislation.

The common thread? None of this followed a traditional path. I've created all these opportunities by embracing freedom and liberty as core principles.

As Thomas Paine wrote, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again." This sentiment from his work Common Sense inspired colonists to stand up to British tyranny, and it remains just as relevant today.

The Anti-Human System

Before discussing solutions, we need to understand the problem: our current financial system is fundamentally anti-human.

John Adams warned us in 1826: "There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, and the other is by debt." Fiat money is designed to extract your energy through inflation, taking your most precious resources—your time and mental energy—and preventing you from elevating your consciousness to be creative and express yourself fully.

The modern taxation system far exceeds what sparked the Revolutionary War. Colonists rebelled over approximately 3% taxation, while today we're often paying close to 50% depending on where we live in the United States.

The debt cycle—student loans, consumer debt, credit cards—keeps people trapped in the rat race. It's designed to be anti-human, keeping you focused on the 9-to-5 grind. You spend your days working, come home tired, binge on Netflix, and spend weekends as a couch potato. This system doesn't inspire human creativity or encourage you to use your time and energy for activities that elevate your consciousness.

Breaking free means recognizing these forms of theft:

• Time theft: Stripping away time for creativity and self-expression
• Creative theft: Suppressing your natural innovative tendencies
• Forced materialism: Making you chase things instead of meaning
• Artificial scarcity: Limiting access to abundance when it should be readily available

President Andrew Jackson understood this when he fought against the second national bank. Many Americans at that time were only one generation removed from the tyranny of the crown and the Bank of England. As Reagan later noted, "Freedom is only one generation away from extinction," requiring us to perpetually keep freedom and liberty in our minds.

Creating Value Without Permission

The traditional career approach is increasingly ineffective. When searching for jobs, you're competing with hundreds of applicants, waiting for opportunities to appear, seeking permission to create, and fighting for space in crowded fields.

The mindset shift we need is from "finding where you're valuable" to "creating value." Focus on what you're passionate about and creative with, putting yourself in a category of one. Opportunities emerge when you focus on what you offer to the market rather than what the market offers you.

The most important takeaway: You can just do things. You don't need to wait for approval or credentials. The barrier to entry is lower than ever, and all you need to do is take initiative.

Here are examples from my own experience:

1. Bitcoin meetup attendance: When I first moved to Tampa, I didn't know anyone. I found a local Bitcoin meetup and started attending, answering questions and discussing technical topics. The meetup organizer noticed me and offered me a job, which allowed me to create products based on my vision.
2. Music artist AI tools: I'd been listening to an artist named Mike for years and wanted to connect with him. I used my skills to train an AI model on his podcast so fans could interact with a virtual version of him. I also created a song voting system for concerts. This led to a relationship where I could hang out with him backstage and meet people in his circle.
3. Tampa flag initiative: I spent hours at the Tampa Bay History Museum, reading books about Tampa's history. While I don't have political aspirations, I wanted to have political influence. Creating a new city flag became an apolitical way to gain influence and create a symbol for the city to rally behind.

As Thomas Jefferson said, "If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done."

Many people fall into the permission fallacy, thinking college or institutional backing grants them permission to create. College is just a checkbox that everyone goes through. You don't need to be an expert in flags, AI, or nonprofits to start creating in these areas. With today's technology, you can quickly gain domain expertise and start making things happen.

Operating in Meat Space

An uncommon approach today is prioritizing physical presence. While most people live in a digital world, face-to-face interaction builds more trust, demonstrates commitment, and creates genuine relationships.

As Marcus Aurelius noted, physical presence and human connection are essential to our wellbeing. When job hunting, visiting offices in person immediately sets you apart from hundreds of online applicants. Go to the office, express interest in learning more, and offer to take the recruiter or hiring manager to lunch. This approach puts you higher on the list and may reveal opportunities not publicly available.

Attend local events within a one-hour radius. When someone wants to meet with me, I make a point to see them in person rather than defaulting to Zoom. Finding local events through sites like Meetup.com is how I initially connected in Tampa.

Develop meaningful conversations with strangers. At a UFO exhibit recently, I witnessed how a chance conversation on a train between the museum curator and a stranger with an AI company led to an interactive exhibit featuring 3D models of UFO researchers trained to answer questions based on their work and research. This collaboration only happened because of an in-person conversation.

Explore local museums, parks, and community spaces. Learn the history of your area and the key players. This connection to your community might reveal interests or opportunities you never knew existed.

Staying Grounded in Human Essence

There's something undeniable about the human condition that's being lost today. Spirituality—however you define it—is an essential part of being human and elevating consciousness.

In a world trying to extract your time and energy, you need to reclaim these resources through practices like:

• Meditation or prayer: Finding stillness in a chaotic world
• Genuine conversation: Meeting in groups like the revolutionaries did at the Green Dragon Tavern, where the Boston Tea Party was conceived, or Benjamin Franklin's Junto Club
• Reflection and journaling: Processing your thoughts and experiences
• Walking and exploring: Taking an hour-long walk without your phone to experience the world directly

These practices help ground you in reality while using technology to become more efficient and create opportunities.

Fighting Digital Addiction

I'll be the first to admit I'm addicted to my phone too. Digital addiction shortens attention spans, reduces capacity for deep thinking, increases anxiety, and disconnects us from physical reality.

Combat this through intentional content curation. Focus on long-form content like Substack articles or books that keep you on one train of thought for more than ten seconds. Curate your social media feeds—I primarily use Twitter by creating lists of people I want to follow rather than letting algorithms decide what I see.

More importantly, build a "town square"—a third place beyond home and work where you can have meaningful discussions. The founding fathers had the Green Dragon Tavern and Junto Club. We need modern equivalents. I recommend reading "The Square and the Tower" by Niall Ferguson, which explores how networks gain power throughout history and the importance of revolutionary networks.

Technology as Your Amplifier

While acknowledging technology's pitfalls, we can use it as a tool for liberation rather than enslavement. Here are some AI tools I use to be more efficient:

Granola: AI Meeting Assistant

Granola transcribes everything in Zoom or Google Meet calls, provides AI-generated summaries, and lets you ask questions about what was discussed. This eliminates the need to take meticulous notes, reduces asynchronous communication, and creates a searchable knowledge graph of your conversations.

Motion: AI-Powered Calendar Management

Motion simplifies time management by automatically scheduling tasks into your calendar. Just write down what you need to do and when it needs to be done, and Motion places it in your schedule. This frees you from constantly thinking about what to work on next.

Voice Memos: Your Second Brain

We've all had shower thoughts or middle-of-the-night ideas that were forgotten by morning. Use voice memos (either on your phone or a dedicated recorder) to capture these thoughts. It's easier to speak than write, so do a brain dump about what you worked on, who you talked to, and what you're thinking about. Transfer these recordings to your computer to generate action items, weekly reports, and a searchable knowledge base of your thoughts and work.

AI as a Scribe

While AI has been around for over two years, I don't think it's been as disruptive as predicted in terms of job displacement. However, it has found its product-market fit as a scribe. Historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and Marcus Aurelius were meticulous writers, but this required significant time or dedicated scribes. Now everyone can have a 24/7 scribe to document their life, generate action items, and act as a second brain that keeps you on task.

Research Assistance

Tools like Perplexity or Grok excel at deep research. Ask them about starting a jean company, measuring markets, finding suppliers, or average costs, and they'll search hundreds of web pages to create a comprehensive report with actionable insights. These tools let you gain domain mastery in fields you know nothing about, eliminating the need for traditional credentials.

Technology for liberation gives you back your time and energy in a system designed to extract them. It allows you to pursue multiple passions and creative endeavors, enhancing rather than diminishing the human condition.

Bitcoin as a Savings Technology

Bitcoin has been crucial to my freedom journey. I'm fortunate to have a job that gives me ultimate freedom because I left the anti-human fiat system and saved in Bitcoin. A year ago, I went four months without income while building connections and pursuing creative projects. Bitcoin made this possible.

The US dollar has lost 50% of its value since 2020 and 93% since 1913. This isn't accidental—the system doesn't want you to be creative, free, or at liberty. It's contrary to the founding principles of this country.

Freedom money is a byproduct of freedom itself. You must chase freedom and liberty to achieve creative expression and elevated consciousness. Bitcoin is a tool that enables this pursuit.

Creating Your Future

As you move forward, reject nihilism and remember that you come into this world with inherent value. It's up to you—and only you—to create value in the marketplace.

Find community with like-minded individuals, just as the founding fathers did with the Junto Club and Green Dragon Tavern. Join groups like the BitcoinBay Foundation, the Mises Institute, or the Old Glory Club.

Take action today:

• Start a meditation practice
• Choose a passion project to pursue
• Use the tools mentioned to increase your efficiency
• Attend in-person events
• Curate your information diet intentionally
• Learn about sound money principles for true freedom

Remember: you can just do things. As Thomas Jefferson said in 1776, "Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God." The same spirit that motivated colonists to revolt against British tyranny applies today to our monetary system and creative expression.

Elevate your consciousness. Resist tyranny. Create your freedom.