when I got started in web3, i wish someone would’ve really drilled this small piece of advice into my head:
seriously.
i was killing myself, trying to stay on top of all the tweets, chats, posts, proposals, protocols, DAOs, subDAOs, podcasts, publications, and products that were coming out, when i really needed to just stop.
i was surrounding myself with information, desperate to follow along, but i needed to give up on 80% of the things i was interested in, pick a niche, and go deeper.
i needed drown out the noise, and the shitposters, and the newsletters that were trying to keep everyone up-to-speed with surface-level information about everything everywhere all at once, and just focus my attention on one fucking thing that kept me up at night.
i needed to stop worrying about EVERYTHING…
…so that I could start focusing on SOMETHING.
seriously, I can’t understate how much of a problem this was for me in the beginning. I was following hundreds of people on twitter, with my timeline set to “Latest,” reading every single tweet—sometimes two to three THOUSAND in a day.
it was A LOT.
and it felt important at the time!
I wanted to know what was happening, y’know? i was new, and I wanted to be part of the drama! the action! i wanted to be involved in the culture! isn’t that what we all want? doesn’t it feel shitty to be out of the loop?
it does.
i know it does.
but it doesn’t matter.
web3 is still an extremely small space.
web3 twitter is even smaller.
and if you spend a significant amount of time there, you start to feel like everything and everyone is within reach.
it feels like a news feed, delivering you what you need to know, as these distorted, parasocial relationships develop between the most prolific personalities and their audiences.
to me, obsessing over twitter felt like being early to the party, but waiting outside so that I could be the first to see what everyone was bringing.
plenty of people came to the party empty-handed, but some brought gifts, toys, food, and all sorts of exciting things.
and since i was waiting outside, i got to be the first to see them.
but i never actually stepped inside.
there are new, amazing, unbelievable things happening in this space every. single. day.
and especially during this bear market, some absolutely magical shit is happening behind the scenes, completely under wraps, waiting for its moment to shine.
and especially when it feels like every DAO tool, every platform, every governance structure is still juuuuuuust barely missing the mark, it can sometimes feel like the best option is to wait for something new to come along and solve those problems before you dive in and get your hands dirty.
trust me, i get it.
when you feel like you know better, it is beyond frustrating to see the same broken patterns recycled day in and day out.
and when it really does feel like the next guest to arrive at the party is gonna bring the solution to all your problems, it’s tempting to hover by the door.
but it’s much better to join the rest of the guests, where everyone is singing, and laughing, and making a fool of themselves.
it’s better to actually try the food, and give the DJ a fair chance.
it’s better to be participating.
it’s better to step inside and dance.
no one knows where all of this is going.
we all have a dream for the future, but there’s absolutely zero certainty that any of it will play out.
and if the cops are gonna show up, kill the lights, and send everybody home anyway…
…then I don’t want to be left with nothing but a list of the notable guests.