Slow Down and Zoom Out

Care about the future with the choices you make today.

I turned 26 years old earlier this month. I am at the point in my life where I am looking to build my assets and career for the future. In thinking about the future in an intentional manner I am shifting my time horizon to years down the line. I recognize that the decisions I make today will have a greater impact on the life I live years from now.

The more I talk to people my age, the more abnormal these behaviors generally are.

People think in days, not years, and most certainly not decades.

Humanity naturally trends toward living a “high time preference” life. High time preference means prioritizing the present and immediate over the future. Evolutionary history makes this make sense. Finding fresh water to drink or killing an animal to eat are great for fulfilling the immediate needs of thirst and hunger.

A drink of water is better today than in four days.

A meal is better today than tomorrow night.

In today’s world with refrigerators and tap water, these immediate needs are automatically fulfilled and can be deferred to the future if we choose.

You can save your cheeseburger for your next meal, you don’t need to gorge yourself. Put it in the fridge and you will not become sick from eating the meat.

You should not fear dying of dehydration in the United States. Water is freely available almost anywhere you go.

However, even with the changes in these “life-saving” innovations of available water and food storage, humanity has continued to live high-time preference lives.

The reason I would argue is a loss of purchasing power due to inflation. As a result of currency devaluation, a dollar spent today is much better than waiting five years to spend the same dollar. In this sense, it makes no sense to wait until the future to spend your money.

But if you constantly are spending all of your money from your paycheck, you have no ability to plan for the future. You won’t be able to retire and you won’t be able to cover any emergency in the event something catastrophic happens.

So what do you do?

Spending your money is killing your future quickly.

Saving your money is killing your future slowly.

Invest or die.

I recently was part of a conversation where someone was discussing their investments on the year and they were ecstatic that they were up 7% on the year. This person was close to the typical retirement age. Age is important here because it showcases the differences in thoughts.

Being completely honest, my initial reaction was, “7% and they are this happy?”

After my initial thought, I realized that I suffered from a plague very common with people my age. I was suffering from the expectations and thoughts that 100% returns on investments were commonplace and happened instantly.

The two above thoughts are wrong, yet in a society that perpetuates the idea of an “overnight success,” or “hitting the lottery,” they are commonly held beliefs.

The reality is that if you slow down, and zoom out your time horizon from days to years and decades, a 7% annual return yields amazing success as it is continually compounded.

Albert Einstein famously said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.”

If your time preference is high, you don’t benefit from this phenomenon. Lower it, and you will.

However, investing in stocks is still a gamble. You are trusting that the companies you put your money in will be successful. If you pick the wrong company, you could lose all of your money. If you pick the right company, think Apple or Microsoft in the 1980s or 1990s, and have a low time preference of decades, you could find your family in a higher tax bracket.

I believe that for people around my age, Bitcoin will be the investment that outperforms all others and helps buy back our financial freedom and purchasing power.

Bitcoin averages much higher returns than 7% year over year. In 2024 it is over 50% and since 1 year ago it is up 142% (at the time of writing). I believe this trend continues for many reasons but one of the main reasons is because I believe Bitcoin is more of a savings technology than an “investment.” Yes, it is an investment in your future but it is not an investment in the idea that you are hoping a company can maintain its competitive advantage or release products that capture market share. With Bitcoin, you are merely deferring your dollars, or other fiat currency, that is losing its purchasing power on a daily basis, to a form of currency that has a finite supply and is seen as “digital gold.” By conducting this exchange, you are preserving the purchasing power future you will have.

Humanity has used gold for millenniums to signify “real value.” As the world continues to become ever-digital, Bitcoin is the sound form of currency that will thrive.

A dollar today is just a dollar today.

A dollar turned to Bitcoin today, is a vote for your future.

Will Bitcoin make you an overnight millionaire like hitting the lottery? I don’t think so. But that is an unrealistic expectation to have—for anything, not just Bitcoin.

Hold it for years, treat it as a deferment for a better future, and you will be happy.

Slow down and zoom out.

Stack SATs.

The views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only and should, in no way, be interpreted as financial or investment advice. Always conduct your own research when making an investment or trading decision, as each such move involves risk. I am not a financial advisor and do not claim to be qualified to convey information or advice that a registered financial advisor would convey to clients as guidance. Nothing contained in this e-mail/article constitutes, or shall be construed as, an offering of financial instruments, investment advice, or recommendations of an investment strategy. If you are seeking financial advice, find a professional who is right for you.