Sure, making generational wealth is great. Building out a network of like-minded people is fantastic. Attending IRL events are memories to be treasured.
But have you ever made a lasting impact that reflects your unique touch?
NOW THAT IS SOMETHING SPECIAL.
Hey, the name's Micah. I'm 25 years old and a Persian-American who was born and raised in the Bay Area (specifically, the home of tech known as Silicon Valley).
Since I was a kid, I have never been academically inclined. Sure, I excelled at homework and projects, but I always came short on tests and that would always dramatically bring my score down.
I possessed skills that remained untapped and unrefined within the confines of conventional academia, and I often felt constrained. The traditional legacy system of education seemed to limit the expansive potential of unique individuals, including myself.
As I approached the end of my university journey, I set a new goal for myself: to achieve financial freedom and break away from the 9-5 world. But the question was - how?
Here's My Crypto History.
In late 2017, I first came across crypto through the Bitcoin run to almost 20K. Not too long after, a friend of mine from college (shoutout my boy Alex, love you g 💜) introduced me to stocks and crypto through the power of Robinhood and Coinbase.
I remember laying on my bed looking at Bitcoin when it was down to $3K per coin. I wanted to buy so bad, but DAMMIT. I just knew my parents would kill me if I used rent money to buy some intangible + volatile digital currency.
So I didn't buy. But I kept an eye on crypto for the next couple of years, and even saw an article about CryptoPunks in late 2020 (which I clearly didn't click on 🥲).
When early 2021 came about with the GameStop short squeeze, I took my first dive into stocks and became exit liquidity to AMC shares. So then I tried other stocks which barely moved, and then I got tired of those so I tried playing around with calls / puts, eventually taking a loss at all of them.
But it was extremely valuable for me, as I was on constant calls with another one of my close friends from university (love ya Slater 🤍) who was up $50K on Churchill Capital shares and calls before the merger with Lucid Motors. I told him to sell, but he roundtripped -- a common theme in my own future endeavors.
In July of 2021, I was a recent graduate from university and in my first ever 9-5 job (which I absolutely HATED and quit not too long after). I officially ventured into NFTs by following many influencers on Twitter, joining discords, and browsing OpenSea. Not too long after, I bought my first ever jpeg for .2 ETH ($600 at the time 💀), a SupDuck. I still remember purchasing it and thinking "what the hell is wrong with me?"
But man, did it feel satisfying. And once I copped my first jpeg, down the rabbit hole I went.
From there, I met my first ever friend (S/O my boy Mr. Cookies 🍪) who sent me an early invite link to the discord of a new NFT project by the name of Doodles (or the original name, DoodleDAO). I loved the art, the vibes with the couple hundred of people in the discord were fantastic, the team was proactive, and a vision was set that seemed like it had a bright future (spoiler alert: it did).
As someone who is skilled in humanizing others and understanding the power of connecting with folks, I immediately began networking with anyone and everyone. This space was unique in comparison to other industries; there was no explicit social order dictating who could talk to whom. It seemed as if everyone was on an equal footing, irrespective of their age or socioeconomic status; a unity forged by a shared belief in the transformative future of blockchain technology.
Through the power of the Doodles community (and thank you to Jake Frey for taking me in), I landed a job as a Community Manager at Americana, a company that pioneered the RWA (Real World Assets) space by bridging higher end physical collectibles onchain.
And so I continued on through the rest of the supercycle, networking with many wonderful people and making amazing friends, building my own alpha group called the Nobody Server (now deprecated), attending fantastic IRL events, as well as round-tripping hundreds of thousands of dollars and learning many other lessons along the way.
Fast forward to today, and I have been spending the majority of my time on Farcaster. As this space evolves, there is a necessity for people to adapt, and I adapted to what I think will be the future of social & blockchain tech.
So what kept me around? Was it the money? No, it was the community. I felt like I belonged somewhere with people who understood and were passionate about the same things I was; something difficult to find in other parts of my life. I felt at home. 🏠
So has my goal changed over the course of the years? Absolutely. I want to leave a legacy, and for people to remember me for years to come. And it's going to be fun doing it. The financial freedom aspect will come at it's own time (in God's will).
As Straw-Hat Luffy says:
If it's a boring adventure, I don't want to do it.
More Things About Me:
I absolutely love LoFi, been an avid listener since 2015. 🎶
A huge foodie, I eat everything and anything (almost). 😋
An Otaku of course -- can't you tell? 🍥
Working out is something I truly love, I used to be a (not professionally) bodybuilder for 6 years but had to stop due to some health issues (don't worry, I'm good). I currently do a lot of walking and running, but I do miss going hiking and swimming. 🏋🥾 🏊
LOVE TRAVELING. I value memories > materialistic things, so traveling is the best bang for my buck. Gone to many places such as: Japan, Guatemala, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico (incl. Baja California + Catalina Island), Luxembourg, Turkey, Canada (both sides) and other places in the US like Alaska, Hawaii (Oahu and Maui (2x)), New York, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, etc. Still have a big bucket list of places to go, especially tropical ones! 🏝
Haven't been playing much and I'm pretty damn rusty, but played the piano for well over a decade and deep down I really do love playing it. 🎹
Got my blackbelt in Taekwondo at age 14. Yes, I know, I was 14. But I was put in the adult class so I was still working my butt off to get that belt. 🥋
I used to be a speed reader and read hundreds of pages a day as a kid -- my mom literally took me to a class where I would learn to slow down (didn't work LMAO). 📖
I'm also a fast eater; one time in HS, my friends and I were at In-N-Out, and as I started eating my burger, one of my homies timed me. 💀 Trying to learn how to slow down since.
Huge fan of Mario games ever since I was a kid (that's all my parents would basically let me play because Pokémon was out of the picture smh). Mario Kart Wii is my favorite, but I love Super Mario Galaxy (and #2), Super Smash Bros. Melee / Brawl, Super Mario Bros (OG one) and the revised ones, and so many more. 🎮
I have a cat named Marbles that I love dearly. I'm a cat person all the way (sorry dog people). 😹
I LOVE TAKING RISKS. THE THRILL. But you probably knew this one considering I'm in crypto. But I also do love rollercoasters and am not of great heights. 🎢
I'm a follower of Christ and not ashamed to say it. God has blessed me since day 1 and I'm always happy to talk about it. ❤
