Hey folks!
It’s been a month since I started back over at ETF.com, and while I had originally hoped to “cross-post” ETF and capitalism related content here, the honest truth is we’ve made *so much content* in the last month it’s not possible. Dozens of articles, over 30 videos, a dozen media and conference appearances — it’s been a whirlwind.
I will admit that this has felt a bit like trying to build a sandcastle on an eroding beach. But I also don’t think that’s pointless. I think building sandcastles is an act of hopeful defiance. “See, cruel world, good people can still try to make connections and build communities in the face of a raging storm.”
So I’ve just been making. Making as much content, and having as many conversations as I can. And while I love all my darlings, like any insecure writer, here are a few things you might have missed that at least tickle me.
Cheap, Fat, Starving for Attention
Readers may remember this line from a post I made back in April here. Well, I did a full on presentation of it at FutureProof, and was lucky enough to have a full camera crew there. Here’s an article-version of it, over at ETF.com, with the full video at the top.
A Raft of Interviews
As neurospicy as I am in crowds, FutureProof is different: it’s outside, it’s easy to find space to chill, and there’s never that “trapped at a cocktail party” vibe. Put a microphone in my hand and it’s actually the kind of space I thrive in.
Over two days, we shot over 25 videos one on one with advisors, ETF issuers, service providers and other industry notables. We didn’t do it to make money — there is no sponsor. We did it because we’re serious about building a community around having real conversations. You can see the growing list of interviews we’re dropping here, but we’ll be dropping one a day until we run out, and by then, I hope we’re on to the next gathering. Of particular note to readers might be my longer sit-downs with Bob Pisani (former CNBC guru), and Caleb Silver (Investopedia, but now business editor for People, Inc.), or chats with Desarte Yarnway (Altruist), Guillermo Trias (Tidal) and Meb Faber (Cambria).
My goal for the next few quarters is to show up Mic-in-hand at every event I can get to, to talk to as many people as possible face to face. In trustless world, one-on-one conversations really feel like magic incantations which help heal the world.
Click Beta
I have learned a lot from Matt Zeigler over at Sunpointe in the last year — mostly about music, but a lot about all this “having real conversations” stuff. His “Just Press Record” series where he simply introduces two people and then steps back is one of the most uplifting things I’ve ever witnessed or participated in.
That’s the vibe we’ve both tried to create with our once a month “what the hell is going on with the world?” podcast, Click Beta, with regular special guest Cameron Dawson. And yes, I’d love you to go to YouTube and subscribe, But,, BUT!!! Also. Playlist.
Over at ETF.com I wrote up a full playlist for last week’s episode. You can read the article with the quotes and music references over at ETF.com, but also, here’s the playlist if you just want some new tunes.
Simplify’s Entering the Fall Event
I will give the team at Simplify a lot of credit for having me on-stage at their always-spectacular fall event at the NYSE. The agenda was a who’s who of modern finance, from David Einhorn to Cem Karsan to Josh Wolfe. And despite me being … unkind … to some recent product moves, they still saw fit to have me moderate a panel on real-world AI and the CapEx boom. I found the conversation super interesting, and helped hone my thinking about who the real long term beneficiaries of all this bubble spending are going to be.
What’s Next? More! But wait! It’s falling apart!?
It’s been great to be back just CRANKING out content for ETF.com, and we’re really excited about some crazy ideas we have for next year. In the meantime, I’ll repost juicy tidbits here every few weeks.
And for the non-ETF-Nerds, I’ll be writing more bloggy stuff here shortly. On my topic list:
Disconnection as a form of rebellion.
What we can learn from Thich Nhat Hanh in Vietnam.
My “fall Ango” season of meditation.
The shifting sands of consciousness research.
Being your community’s “money person” in a time of crisis.
Moar Zines.
But in the meantime, everything outside my immediate circle of work and family and friends seems, well, bonkers and broken. I wake up every day feeling like I should be doing more. And then this morning Hank Green snuck this in a video, and I’m trying to absorb it.
Two characters in his book (April and Maya) are trying to figure out how to solve a problem. Maya says “don’t worry, some other people are going to come along and solve that problem.” April says “Oh, so that problem will solve itself.”
And Maya says: “No. That problem is going to be solved by other people.”
Other people solving problems. That’s you. That’s me. That’s all of us. We’re all the other people. I don’t know how to fix much, but I have some inklings on how I can help some people talk to each other a little more sensibly, about real world issues like money and markets and defending the integrity of institutions we know work pretty well.
So I’m gonna try and solve what I can solve. And I’m counting on you to do the same.
Thanks!
“My goal for the next few quarters is to show up Mic-in-hand at every event I can get to, to talk to as many people as possible face to face.”
Not a bad way to earn a living. Not a bad life at all.
Sandcastles can also bring joy and be beautiful while they last. Maybe that's enough...