On: the worst call in NFL history, money as financial energy and more

P.S: I curated a list of some of the books I read over the past five years to share the stories and words that have resonated and inspired me on my journey of self-mastery.

You can get it here: https://niyotwagira.com/ebook

Today’s Snapshot

• What failed movements teach us about radicalism
• Money is financial energy, use it wisely
• Should you quit or persevere?
• NFTs and events

1-On tempered radicalism

In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement emerged as a powerful voice against economic and social inequalities in the USA.

While the movement could have resonated with many Americans who shared concerns about the growing wealth gap, it ultimately lost momentum and failed to achieve its full potential.

The key factor in its failure: an extreme positioning, which alienated the majority of its potential allies and supporters.

This could have been different.

Srdja Popovic, an activist who played a pivotal role in toppling Serbian president Slobodan Milošević, through the Otpor student movement, believes the Occupy Wall Street movement could have achieved greater success with a different approach.

He saw some major miscalculations in the movement’s approach:

-The ‘occupy’ name implied that the only way you could participate would be to drop everything you were doing and start occupying something (a building, a place,…). -The idea of camping out/occupying some space is too radical and only appeals to a few people.

He also made some suggestions that could have improved the movement’s odds:

-The activists could have called it ‘the 99 percent movement’ -The 99 percent sounds pretty self-explanatory (it’s the 99% vs the 1%) -The movement could have also been more inclusive by inviting the 99% to get involved and protest using their own preferred tactics.

A few takeaways from this:

-In the real world, the approach used to present and address issues often plays a more significant role in determining outcomes than the issues themselves.

-Radical ideas have the power to transform the whole of society, but the way they are presented (names, slogans, etc…) is as important as the idea itself.

-As in business, it’s not the business idea itself that is important, rather its effective implementation: marketing, sales, distribution, etc….

The approach of presenting a radical idea in a way that doesn’t alienate potential supporters and allies is what’s referred to as ‘tempered radicalism’.

Note: I first read about this story in the book Originals by Adam Grant.

3-On money as financial energy

Money is a form of energy.

We can better understand this concept by looking at the simplest definition of what energy is: the ability to do work.

When you work and get paid, you are exchanging your time and effort (physical and mental effort=productive energy) for money.

In other words, you are converting your productive energy into financial energy.

Just like any other form of energy, financial energy can be generated, and stored to be used later.

Human civilization has sustained itself by converting energy from one form to another, and using it to do work or store it for later use.

The way we create, store, and use financial energy affects our other forms of energy, and has a big impact on our well-being.

For example, having a lot of financial debt can create stress and anxiety, which can drain your mental and physical energy.

On the other hand, cutting your spending and buying less stuff can help you preserve and store more of your financial energy, and by extension provide peace of mind.

Although this analogy is not perfect (for instance: you might not be fairly compensated for your work/effort), it can be a helpful way to think about money.

This framework can help you understand and develop a better relationship with money.

Which in turn can inform your financial decisions, and help you leverage it better to create a more fulfilling life.

4-On productive perseverance

You are often told that you should never give up, no matter what.

That grit and determination are all you need to overcome any challenge.

However, this is not complete, and it’s not always the best approach.

Sometimes, the smartest move is to quit.

But how do you know when to quit or persevere?

That’s when productive perseverance.

Productive perseverance is the art and science of intelligently pursuing a goal.

It is about knowing when to persist in the face of certain challenges, and when to quit or pivot when returns on investment (time, energy, and other resources) continue to decrease.

It is about tuning into your environment and understanding the obstacles affecting your pursuit.

Productive perseverance is different from grit.

Grit is simply the ability to stick with something, even when it is difficult.

Productive perseverance, on the other hand, is about being strategic and intentional about your efforts.

It is about using your time, energy, and resources wisely, and about knowing when to cut your losses and move on.

5-On NFTs as event Tickets

In the simplest of words, NFTs (non-fungible tokes) are the digital equivalents of collectibles.

For most people, NFTs are these weird images of monkeys and others that are claimed to be art but lack any aesthetics.

But NFTs are more than that, and they could be useful in the event space.

The underlying technology (blockchain) allows to create unique tokens that can be easily verified for ownership and authenticity, therefore bringing a whole new level of transparency to the event space.

For instance, NFT tickets can be used as memorabilia, and to prove that the owners attended an event, grant them some perks that are exclusively made available to those who attended that event.

This utility can be further reflected in the recently sold ​ticket of Michael Jordan’s first game.​

If the tickets were digital forms NFTs, many people who attended that game could still have them and either keep them for their own memories or even sell/trade them.

There is also the issue of fraud when it comes to event tickets, with some people selling fake tickets, and others buying tickets in bulk to resell them, preventing true fans from accessing their favorite performers or events.

With NFT tickets, this can be addressed as purchases can be traced and rules that prevent accumulations of tickets implemented to prevent the abuse described above.

This issue was first published in my biweekly newsletter.

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