How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot
In the Caribbean by providence impoverished
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
The ten-dollar founding father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
Across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
Well, the word got around, they said, this kid is insane, man
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came
And the world is gonna know your name
What’s your name, man?
Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait, just you wait
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead sittin’ in their own sick, the scent thick
And Alex got better but his mother went quickMoved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin’ but ruined pride, something new inside voice saying
Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started retreatin’ and readin’ every treatise on the shelf
There would have been nothin’ left to do for someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution
Started workin’, clerkin’ for his late mother’s landlord
Tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the things he can’t afford
Scammin’ for every book he can get his hands on
Plannin’ for the future see him now as he stands on the bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
Just you waitAlexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the wings for you
You could never back down
You never learned to take your time
Oh, Alexander Hamilton
When America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote your game?
The world will never be the same, oh
The ship is in the harbor now
See if you can spot himAnother immigrant comin’ up from the bottom
His enemies destroyed his rep America forgot him
We fought with him
Me, I died for him
Me, I trusted him
Me, I loved him
And me, I’m the damn fool that shot him
There’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait
What’s your name, man?
Alexander Hamilton
In these times of chaos and turmoil, the human spirit will always rise. Take this time to improve yourself, to stop merely existing. It is so hard, your environment tends to dictate your pace –
And it takes consistent consciousness to be able to fend off the noise.
Or. You could just change your environment. A hard reset if you will. And not bullshit yourself.
I realize I bullshit myself quite a bit, I am afraid of doing things that show me exactly where the hell I am at.
It is easier to turn a blind eye to my insufficiencies. But I would rather not.
I am not perfect. I am far from my ideal. I am a truly flawed character. But I must press on.
Why bother caring about changing the world? Why care when you are still so far away from changing your world?
1) Because the world is a truly horrifying place – full of pain, suffering and blindness
2) Because to whom much is given, much is expected – I cannot lie to myself and just be a capitalist without cause. I want to provide value to our world, not hoard it.
3) The price has to be paid for my actions – yes. I have wasted time and faith on people and projects who have let me down, sorely so. But. I remain optimistic still. Halley’s 5th still plays deep in my soul. I believe in dreaming big still. I believe in working hard. I believe in going the extra mile.
Not because I want to prove myself, necessarily, but because the times and opportunity that we now have is unprecedented. We live in unprecedented times, historic times.
And I believe in fighting for it. Tooth and nail.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO
– I have to become a learning machine
– I have to be able to master the math and science behind learning spaces
– I have to be able to bridge the gap in the meantime, and still provide for my family a life they deserve
– I need to master my mind.
Hell, I am so far away from where I need to be. There’s so much more that needs to be done yet.
1. Find a true problem you want to solve
2. Derive the first principles assumptions around potential solutions
3. Validate first principles solutions with people who are credible
4. Build a product that you would use for yourself – truly design it
These things never changed. I’ve wavered in the past maybe. Youth and inexperience. Still am young. But I believe that these things hold true.
I will not want to be the kind of capitalist that sneaks, and weasels, that scams and snivels. No.
I hate that kind of fat cat attitude. It’s not the reason why I chose to be in this space. I am here to make a difference, to create an impact. To move the human race forward-
And also – if you can make a true impact, why must you snivel? Why must you sneak? Why must you act as if without that kind of clandestine attitude, you wouldn’t be able to make it?
Fuck that.
Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Steve Jobs – 1988
If one day I have my own building. This will be the centrepiece of the lobby.
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