Today, I turn 35. There was a time I thought I would die young due to my environment. 13 would be the end, 16 max. By the grace of God, I kept getting older. When I was 18, I drove by the lakefront in Milwaukee, WI, and sat for hours planning. Many of my peers were either on their way to a lifetime of being in and out of jail, on the outskirts trying to figure life out, traumatized, or even deceased. Then there was me.
Hypercritical, shell-shocked, methodical, artistic, technically astute, and still alive.
This must mean something. Right?
Statically, to make it out alive from my environment is nearly impossible. To go from homeless to traveling the world, teaching people about life-changing technology is amazing. It’s an honor, and I do not take it for granted. With that said, I have not “arrived.” I feel like I’m still as hungry as I was when I was pacing in basements or sleeping next to cockroaches, getting bit by ants. I still hear the sirens of cop cars and gunshots so close you can almost smell the gunpowder in the air. I still feel the pressure of needing to produce in an environment that almost feels like it’s meant to break you, where the atmosphere is heavier than gravity. Where dispair grips you and tries to live in your skin like a leech. Where people treat you like you don’t exist if you don’t have money. Where you fight to be different or succumb to the status quo of woe and normalized dysfunction. It feels as real now as it did back then.
This is why I am forever grateful for each day and never afraid of new challenges, environments, or obstacles. When you’ve been at the bottom and lost it all, but somehow you survived, it’s like a superpower to keep going. It’s God’s grace.
I’m not afraid to try, fail, and keep trying until breakthrough happens, because I’m not even supposed to be here. But God saw fit to keep me alive. At the age of 18, I figured that if God kept me alive, there must be a reason. So, I prayed, planned, and moved.
I didn’t know where life would take me or what God could do with a fragmented, broken young man with genius potential, but I worked hard and was willing to humble myself and learn. Nothing deterred me because I knew my “why” and I still do.
While this is not an exhaustive newsletter, I can point you in the direction of cool topics related to the Bitcoin/Web3 industry for reference.
PumpDotFun, a memecoin creation tool, was banned in the UK. Things got crazy.
The smart contracts of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing tool, are free and clear from prosecution, setting an industry-wide narrative around decentralization. The legal aspects of the Tornado Cash lawsuit are still hazy.
MagicEden has done a large airdrop as of today, which has impacted people outside of the US and the UK. The airdrop was for people who used the MagicEden platform across the following blockchains: Solana, Ethereum, & Bitcoin by way of Runes and Ordinals. People are happy, except people who missed out. Speaking of which: Thank you, America, for “protecting us” from money. (This is sarcasm. American users are sad about missing out.)
Lastly, for those who wish to support me on my birthday as I embark on the mission to build for the mass adoption of Bitcoin, here are a few ways to do so:
Share NoCodeHacking 2024 with a person or group who is interested in building in Web3, but they may not be the most technical or not technical at all! Since December 3rd to present day, I have been doing daily programming, teaching on everything from how to REALLY build with AI, funding your idea, and how to be a NoCodeDev in a highly technical world. Every session has been recorded through the NoCodeClarity Twitter (X) account! It’s like a virtual accelerator for NoCodeDevs looking to build on Bitcoin. Special sessions have included Assune from Gemach DAO and Kenny Rogers from the Stacks Foundation. Register for free and commit to win your share of $8,000! But hurry! Submissions are due on December 14th, 2024, at 11:59 PM CST on GitHub.
Join TwentyOneSociety, the education arm of my “build for mass adoption” thesis. Its sole purpose is to empower the 99% of the world yet to onboard into Bitcoin. How can people invest in something they do not understand? TwentyOneSociety brings understanding to the masses by taking them from Bitcoin curious to Bitcoin activated. I’ve released 1 of 3 books last month on November 21st entitled “Bitcoin in 21 Days,” and the next book, entitled “Bitcoin in Business,” releases on December 21st. “Bitcoin in Business” will be a must-have for business owners looking to give their company a global audience and a decentralized edge, future-proofing themselves. The final book in this cohort of Bitcoin literature is called “Bitcoin Advanced Strategies,” which is releasing on January 21st, 2025. There may even be an illustrated children’s book in the works. You can pre-order “Bitcoin in Business” and “Bitcoin Advanced Strategies” by visiting TwentyOneSociety.com. “Bitcoin in 21 Days” is live on Amazon. Three courses will go live in February 2025, and they can be pre-ordered also.
Listen to “From Heaven to Harmony III,” which is now live! Backstory: I am a spoken word artist, lyricist, voiceover artist, and producer. I began releasing music in 2015, but have been writing and working on music since I was 13. Anytime my family grows by way of a new Perceptions child being born, I release an instrumental album as a way to engage with my listeners around the world in a new way since I won’t be able to hit the studio for a while. Each installment of “From Heaven to Harmony” has a photograph of me with my newborn child; the first was my first daughter Christina, the second was my second daughter Charlotte, and the third is my one-month-old son Christopher.
Here’s a Spotify playlist with all three instrumental albums on it:
If all else fails, you can just send Bitcoin, on-chain, or Lightning. Every sat counts. :-)
Until next time, thank you for being part of the journey. The best is yet to come!
Peace and love. God bless you.
— Christopher Perceptions, the 35-year-old.
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