We Need to Talk
We Need to Talk
I had a serious conversation with myself...kinda.
"We need to talk."
Four words, instant paralysis.
I've learned to handle it quite well at this point, having been dumped my fair share.
Today though, I'm having the talk with myself.
Though I may be publicly documenting it for the first time, this quest for joblessness, the ability to do whatever, whenever, wherever, has been on my mind for a long time.
I've always held a medium-sized shred of confidence that it would happen...and I still do.
But as I've tried to fairly assess my chances of creating a wealth of freedom, I've had to take stock of my real strengths and weaknesses.
The problem is…I’m pursuing an unconventional path, and the time I’ve spent has been focused on scoring myself against conventionally sought after attributes.
Those conventional attributes look something like this on my ME resume.
Logan Hitchcock, Pretty Normal Guy
Growing Up, 1993-Present
Confident leader with good communication skills and creative ambition.
And while I think that might be an adequate depiction of the things I bring to a team or an organization, I'm not certain it should be where I hang my hat in this pursuit.
Instead, I’d like to focus on where I have the biggest edge or generate the most alpha.
Time for an investing crossover.
Alpha (α) is a term used in investing to describe an investment strategy's ability to beat the market, or it's "edge."
Recently I listened to Sam Hinkie (TRUST THE PROCESS!), give some thoughts on "edge.”
"How aggressive can you be about where you have edge? Do you have edge in one place? You don't have edge in ten places. No way. If you only have edge in one, or two, or maybe three places, why are you not resourcing enormous chunks of your mind here..."
This quote was enough for me to pause the pod.
I've spent so much time trying to find a thing or focus on one particular project, spreading perceived skills across a handful of mediums, and largely getting no where.
It's what has caused me so many times to just "give up" and move on to something else. You remember this graphic?
Maybe you remember me telling you about how little grit I have.
It's all true.
But as I've thought about where I might have edge - a place where I put forth consistent effort, it’s in discovery.
Yes, I’m kind of like the internet version of your favorite explorers, minus all the bad stuff they did…I don’t condone that behavior, I’m a good guy.
I'm curious by nature. I want to learn about new things. I LOVE NEW THINGS. I love staying up way longer than I should, tumbling through random blog posts and Twitter feeds to find little bits (internet pun!) of alpha. And..I’m good at it.
That's how I stumbled my way to being one of the first users on DraftKings, back when they were just doing freerolls. It's how I stumbled into cryptocurrencies before a much bigger public reckoning in 2017. It's even how I stumbled into TopShot, Art Blocks, and CryptoPunks in the last few months.
This is probably a place for pause, where you’ll say, “but dude, if you were earlier on this stuff, you’d already be jobless.” And of course, that is true. The point remains though, that I was early enough to generate alpha, without the intense commitment of resources that Hinkie suggests using against your edge.
Right now, in my free time, I will dig, and dig, and dig, and dig, to find new information.
I let my curiosity wander. Stalking Discords and Twitter likes and follows? It’s not beneath me. It seems like useless grunt work, but I love it and I spend a lot of my free time doing it, looking for another dopamine hit. A new discovery, a new bit of information.
Side note, I actually own the domain name "ObsessivelyCurious.com" — perhaps that would be a more suitable landing space for these words, one that might not alienate me from future "employment" opportunities.
It's like I'm on a high speed chase, but the car I'm trying to track down doesn't have a duffle-bag full of cash or other contraband, it just has useful information - my little adrenaline rush of "alpha seeking."
Of course, just rummaging through the internet can lead you to all sorts of places - like places with dark, scary, and inaccurate information. But, that medium-sized shred of confidence, it plays out here.
I'm confident my information filter is quite valuable. I know how to find good information, good sources, and sharp people. Let’s call it an intangible.
So when I come back to the aforementioned resume, and I think about my edge. I think I might have defined it.
I'm curious and I'm willing to dig really far to find valuable information.
Let me update that resume.
Logan Hitchcock, Seeking Unconventional Lifestyle
Becoming Jobless, 2021-Present
Obsessively curious, expert rabbit-hole navigator, finding alpha on the depths of the internet.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/alpha.asp
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sam-hinkie-find-your-people/id1154105909?i=1000502455395