Better Human - Sept 12
The 2nd most important day of my life was last Tuesday...
Dear Fellow Human,
Mark Twain said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."
My second most important day was this past Tuesday, around 1 pm central standard time.
Before we go on, I want to thank you for being here. Each time you open and read this newsletter, you support me.
Today I am bringing on my first official sponsor, Upgraded Formulas. I use these products myself, which is the only reason I took them on. Check them out below and strongly consider the hair test to get an accurate view of your mineral levels, so you know exactly how to correct them. (I have high mercury, low sodium, and potassium and am now working on fixing those. Since adding UF to my daily supplement stack, my sleep is better, and my mid-afternoon "slump" is nonexistent. Minerals matter, so instead of guessing, test.
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Ok, now back to this past Tuesday.
I was doing my regular morning routine of cold brew, reading, writing, thinking at a local coffee shop in Austin, Texas.
Before getting to the epiphany that changed my life, you need a quick backstory.
Two years ago, I sold half my company, Wild Foods, to a private equity group with the explicit goal of helping us grow.
Unfortunately, they failed to deliver on that promise. And for two years, I've been stuck in this weird limbo, fighting to keep us alive and our customers happy. It's been exhausting.
I'm hoping this chapter still comes to an amicable resolution soon. It may work out for the better, but it's still too early to tell.
During this weird transition period, I've been writing, podcasting, making videos, and exploring various investments and project ideas. Nothing has stuck, so I forced myself to take time and space to relax, go slow, and be in the moment with my young family.
As a type-A, iconoclastic, stubborn, strong-willed, sometimes-pain-in-the-ass-if-you-get-in-my-way entrepreneur, it has not been easy to "slow down."
It wasn't until Tuesday that I realized this was all in the cards. It had to happen this way to allow me the space to dive into Bitcoin and the history of money, economics, tyranny, and political history. So I've been reading, studying, writing, and seeking truth.
What I learned about myself is I'm somewhere between a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist. I believe in the free market, and I think governments should be as small as possible and probably funded through a consumption tax (sales tax), or maybe not exist at all.
I don't like labels in general, so you could say I believe in the free market.
And that's why Bitcoin has been the most exciting thing I've found in my life.
Since having the Bitcoin Epiphany, I've been raking my brain with how I can do something in Bitcoin, like a bitcoin-focused company. Most Bitcoin companies are focused on the finance side or the software side of the space. Then there are plenty of brilliant people making Bitcoin content aimed at educating the masses.
For some time now, I've had this intuition that Bitcoin is a revolution that will transform humanity in ways we can't possibly fathom. I have been reading and thinking about why this is, but it wasn't until Tuesday that I had a lightning bolt of clarity and vision enter my brain.
Sitting there at this coffee shop in the Austin heat, I poured out ideas for three hours straight as if possessed.
Never before in my life has a vision come so into focus in my mind. And for the last two years, that was what I couldn't see—clarity of what I should do next. Whenever I thought about a project, idea, company, etc., I couldn't see it. It just didn't come into focus.
I now believe I needed those two years and all the frustrations (and having a $500k note go away like POOF) to get to this point.
I don't know if I believe in destiny, but I do believe in quantum possibility and synchronicities, and this was something like that.
For the next two days, I wrote a short talk for an upcoming group get-together and brain-dumped as much as I could get out.
I gave the talk Wednesday night. I've never given a formal talk in my life, and I can't wait to do it again. It was exhilarating and exhausting. That night, instead of doing my nightly reading routine, I went right to sleep (and well before midnight).
Here's a rough recording of the talk: How Inflation Robs Humanity. I think you'll enjoy it.
At the end of the talk, I introduced the result of my Tuesday epiphany: The Better Human Company.
Our mission is to bring financial sovereignty, freedom, and education to humanity to those that need it most—third-world countries, conflict areas, and anywhere humans live under oppressive regimes.
We will do this by bringing internet-connected devices, loading them with Bitcoin and free educational resources, and getting them to those in need.
The more humans we can bring into the Bitcoin network, the more we get into the global economy. This gives them similar opportunities as you and I because they can now send and receive payments, unlocking unlimited possibilities for the individual to take their life into their own hands and escape whatever oppressive jurisdiction they live in.
You and I need Bitcoin, but we don't need it the way the ~2 billion unbanked humans worldwide need it. Not even close.
The ability to protect your life savings in the hardest money in history can mean the difference between eating or not eating, being robbed of everything or not, and escaping tyranny or forever be trapped.
Bitcoin in the right hands saves lives.
Some examples:
Women in Afghanistan don't have the same rights we do in the West. Most Afghan women have to hide any meager savings they accumulate because their brothers, fathers, and husbands will take it from them.
In Cuba, citizens have been kept in poor conditions for over 50 years due to the Cuban government controlling every aspect of the economy, especially the currency.
In Afghanistan, Western Union recently shut down service, which means that millions of Afghan citizens cannot send or receive money from relatives abroad. For many, this is their lifeline to afford food, housing, electricity, everything. And due to geopolitical assholes playing politics, these people will suffer. The small percent of Afghanis who have Bitcoin will be ok because they don't rely on the government, banks, or a monopoly-like Western Union to dictate their financial sovereignty.
The poor farmer in Africa needs the same things we need, but his country's hyper-inflating currency makes it all but impossible to plan for the future and get ahead.
And finally, billions of humans around the world hold US dollars. So what happens when the FED prints trillions more, as it now does monthly? Inflation.
What happens to the purchasing power of these dollars worldwide, some of which represent life savings for many individuals? They get POORER through a loss of purchasing power.
That's why the prosperity of America, especially the elite controlling and benefiting from the money printer, is BUILT ON THE back OF THE REST OF THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY THE POOREST AND MOST DESTITUTE.
It makes me sick every time I think about it.
Our mission at The Better Human Company is to bring Bitcoin and accessible education to humans that need it. We can change the world through a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down charity model.
The ability to empower the individual is why I believe that Bitcoin is the Trojan horse for finally bringing prosperity and equality to parts of the world that have forever been mired in corruption and poverty.
How we do this will require a whole lot of testing, iterating, and building.
Currently, it looks like this:
Collect old phones, laptops, tablets, and all accessories, then refurbish them and get them to individuals and communities in need loaded with a Bitcoin wallet, a small amount of Bitcoin (sats), and free educational resources: public domain books, free courses, translated learning materials, articles, guides, etc.
Disburse learning materials + Bitcoin to those with devices. We can turn many of these unbanked into personally sovereign-banked in minutes.
Show communities and purpose-driven organizations how to claim Bitcoin from our donors so they can take their banking into their own hands.
Educate and promote saving Bitcoin and using it as a long-term savings account/emergency fund.
Donate Bitcoin to trusted local communities and organizations doing important work on the ground (and help more prominent NGOs use Bitcoin as an appreciating treasury asset, further strengthening their financial resources)
Build a product-based business with a 50/50 B-Corp model - 50% of all profit goes into Direct Impact work. Each product will show the exact amount of $ going to those in need. Example (12oz coffee - $25 price, $15 expenses, $10 profit, $5 to shareholders/company, and $5 to direct impact work).
Create donation-based products to purchase. Example: buy a refurbished iPhone 5 and load it with $25 in Bitcoin and send this to a human in need.
Utilize volunteers to become BHC ambassadors and get devices, Bitcoin, and education to those on the ground.
Hold fun-raising events
Create educational content around our mission and Bitcoin through podcasts, videos, articles, etc.
There is a ton of work to do to get this off the ground, but that excites the hell out of me.
If you're new to Bitcoin, you probably hear "funny internet money" each time I talk about it. Or maybe you think it's about trading, making money, investing.
But that's the least exciting part of Bitcoin. To understand its potential and why it is inevitable, you want to understand its use-cases. Here are two articles I recommend from Alex Gladstein, who is doing fantastic work in the Bitcoin and freedom space:
FINDING FINANCIAL FREEDOM IN AFGHANISTAN
INSIDE CUBA’S BITCOIN REVOLUTION
How can you help?
Start by following along by joining our BHC newsletter so you'll get updates leading up to our launch. Do that here: BetterHuman.World
And if you have any old devices, cables, or laptops you want to get to someone in need, please submit this form. We will send you a receipt you can use to write it off on your taxes.
If you have any ideas for me personally or want to help in any way, please use this form to contact me.
Again, thank you for your support in reading and subscribing to this newsletter!
-Colin
A Principle of Better Human
Self-awareness
“Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance.”
–Anthony de Mello
It seems like the smartest and happiest people have cultivated the habit of questioning everything, especially themselves.
The more rigid your mind, the harder time you’re gonna have in a world where things change at light speed.
It’s just not a good strategy for life to be dogmatic and closed-minded.
Weekly Better Human Shows
The Better Human Podcast is now a 10ish-minute daily show. Short and to the point, one big idea each day to help you become a Better Human.
Watch on YouTube or listen via your favorite podcast app: iTunes, Google, Spotify
🎙 On Money and Frugality: Your Financial Energy
Money is energy. It creates opportunity and gives its holder the ability to act on their ideas and mobilize others on those ideas. Safe to say, how we manage this sort of asset is pretty important. Tune in to find out how frugality and smart money management can revolutionize your life, starting today.
🎙 Where are you on the Mental Bell Curve?
It’s near impossible to teach a man that does not desire to strengthen his own position by analytically addressing his flaws.
This is why people expend more energy defending their position through ad hominem attacks to dispel their confirmation bias rather than trying to understand the merit in an opposing view.
🎙 What's the Meaning of Life? Thoughts on Living a Happy, Fulfilled Life
Life isn't easy, but it can be made easier, better, and more fulfilling by getting your mindset, your goals, and your lifestyle down.
Tune in for a couple of dozen tips on how you can start thriving TODAY, in ways you didn't think were that important.
🎙 Conspicuous Consumption: How To Hack Signalling Behavior To Improve Your Life
What you do publicly through spending is based on evolutionary psychology.
Do you have any control over it?
You can, but you must first become aware of it.
Fix Your Minerals and Support The Show
My good friend Barton runs an awesome company called Upgraded Formulas.
After doing his recommended mineral test, I found some alarming mineral imbalances.
I found I have high mercury, low sodium, and potassium. To fix this, my current daily stack includes Upgraded Magnesium and Potassium, Upgraded Memory with Boron, and the Upgraded Iodine.
Since adding UF to my daily routine, my sleep is better and that mid-afternoon "slump" is nonexistent.
I’ve always known that minerals matter, but it wasn’t until I tested myself that I was able to see exactly what I needed.
I highly recommend doing the simple hair test yourself and in the meantime starting with magnesium and iodine, two of the most commonly deficient minerals for the average person.
Use code BETTERHUMAN for 15% off your entire order: UpgradedFormulas.com