In this episode we introduce four powerhouse members of our crypto crew and share some key insights we've learned from them.
Welcome back to the Make Shyft Happen blog & podcast! This week, we're focusing on creating your Crypto Crew!
A "Crypto Crew" is just who you follow to learn more about crypto because the best way to learn something new is to immerse yourself in it. We hear about this method all the time with learning a new language and, well, with a new technology like blockchain and crypto currency, it’s a lot like learning a new language. There’s the actual language and coding of the technology, but that’s not even what I’m talking about. I’m talking about financial literacy terms, political terms, economic terms, even cultural terms. There’s literally a culture around crypto and slang that only people in the space understand!
This can be intimidating at first because there’s so much to learn and we’re busy people, right? We don’t all have time to carve out of our day to sit in a quiet corner and read and research this stuff. I know that – that’s why these are short episodes. I GOT YOU. You have a life you need to get back to and I don’t judge you for not dropping everything to learn about the ins and outs of crypto.
However, there is a way to still live your life and immerse yourself in a learning environment to start to fully understand this complicated stuff quickly and in a way where it doesn’t have to disrupt your life at all. The best learning environment out there is right where you are right now – on your phone! Or computer. Basically, on social media.
Because you choose your feed on social media. You choose who you follow, or who you unfollow, or mute, or block. I don’t care which platform you use, as long as it’s Twitter. KIDDING! Well, truthfully, Twitter is the best social media platform to learn about crypto right now, but no matter what your favorite platform is, just start following people who talk about crypto.
Mindfully curating your social media feed is the best way to start learning about any new topic because it introduces a sort of passive learning process that is built into a habit you already practice: like scrolling through your social media feed!
Simple enough, right?
So, when you’re eating breakfast and you open up your favorite social app and start scrolling you see that Jessica just had a new baby – omg she’s so cute! Sara just posted a pic with a new guy... but why when everything seemed to be going so perfectly with her and Blake?! Oh look! Your grandma had spaghetti for dinner... Oh and Dogecoin is now worth more than Ford and oh, the FDIC announces that they will start looking into how banks can hold bitcoin and why does everyone keep saying gm? That must be a crypto thing?
You’re just going about your everyday life, but next thing you know your friend brings up bitcoin or NFTs at the dinner table and you start speaking the language of crypto! 💃🕺."
You understand it and your opinion on it, whether it be for or against, is properly informed and well thought-out. Plus you feel confident and empowered by crypto questions instead of intimidated or confused by them.
So, if you’re looking for a way to get started, just follow one person and look at the suggested follows, and follow more people and keep snowballing like this until you’ve assembled your Crypto Crew!
Who should be in your Crypto Crew?
Natalie is a journalist and newscaster and dare I say – *boss bitch*
She so eloquently simplifies bitcoin to its very essence. I’ve learned a lot about the financial system and how it works from her, in addition to how it relates to bitcoin. She’s just an awesome and very knowledgeable person to follow.
POMP is the best person to keep you up-to-date on crypto news. He focuses on Bitcoin and crypto in general. He’s an ex Facebook-er (I’m NOT calling them META yet!) and he’s been informing people on Bitcoin ever since it was super embarrassing to do so and the media literally laughed at him for thinking it was ever going to be a thing. I’m talking about even in 2018 after Bitcoin crashed and everyone was calling it a scam. Pomp was there on national TV saying it was going to get even worse, but not to worry because Bitcoin always bounces back. And the news crew actually laughed at him!
Plus, a lot of people don’t know this about him, but he also fought in Iraq and served in the army for six years, so he brings an interesting perspective because he undoubtedly has a rebellious side that is common in crypto against the establishment, but he also has a patriotic side where he loves the country and wants to see it succeed.
I won’t put words in his mouth but he’s definitely a very smart and interesting character. He actually got his YouTube channel banned for like half a day for posting an episode on Bitcoin that was deemed "potentially harmful to the audience" Above is that video that got him temporarily banned from YouTube.
3. Cathie Wood
On a more serious side, there’s Cathie Wood. This woman is incredibly smart and very serious about crypto and how it’s changing the world.
She’s the founder, CEO and CIO of Ark Invest, an investment management firm, one of the best performing funds in the internet age actually, where she manages billions of dollars for some of the wealthiest people in the world. Casual, right?
She comes from a traditional finance background before getting into crypto which makes her perspective a really important one because she knows exactly what the crypto adoption process looks like for big corporations and for traditional financial institutions. So, she explains what needs to happen in order for them to enter the space. She's even shown that she can predict, with decent accuracy, when the traditional finance world will start moving their $$$ into crypto.
*Full disclosure, I have a difficult time understanding what she says sometimes. It can take me an hour to get through some things she talks about because I have to pause and look them up. If you have a traditional finance background you’ll be just fine, but just something to keep in mind with following her.
However, her ability to pick up on trends that no one else sees in a space that people from the outside rarely understand is so important because when she effectively predicts when a large institution will adopt bitcoin, which she has before, she is effectively predicting when all crypto will start going mainstream. When the prices will go up.
Remember in my first post when I talked about how this is the first time ever you can make money off of the brands coming into the space? Well, her in-depth, complex analyses helps put a timeline around it, so that everyday people like you and I can get in before and essentially front-run the banks and institutions. Because once they get in, the price will go up very quickly.
4. Tom Bilyeu
Last but certainly not least, Tom Bilyeu. He’s a key person on this list. Not because he’s the most knowledgeable person in crypto, but because he’s not and he owns that fact because he just entered the space on a more serious level in recent months and he’s documenting his journey.
Tom is interviewing the best people in the space right now, so you can learn along with him. His interviews with Raoul Paul and Michael Saylor were the first two that introduced me into this world, so in my opinion, he might the best person to start following right now to get on-boarded into crypto.
He started Quest Nutrition and grew it into a billion-dollar company, but now he has a media company on YouTube called Impact Theory that he does out of passion and he believes NFTs will be the future of his company and he's betting everything he has on that belief.
He is the most exceptional speaker and interviewer I’ve ever seen and he is wildly dedicated to educating his audience on cryptocurrency and even topics like the growth mindset and just being an overall badass in life! 💪
He represents the perspective of the creators and entrepreneurs coming into the space and how exciting crypto and blockchain and NFTs can be for creators. He inspires me to think about what’s possible with this new technology.
So that’s it for this week’s Make Shyft Happen episode on the crypto series and in the words of Tom Bilyeu... be legendary my friends.
Peace out ✌️
The Make Shyft Happen podcast is hosted by Leslie Wheeler and produced by Yaristotle. If you enjoyed this, please don't forget to subscribe! Tweet us any questions you might have @makeshyfthappen