Billionaire Blues

tfw money != happiness

Like so many others in the Bay Area, I want to become a billionaire. Why? I’m not happy with the world as it stands right now and I think having lots of money would give me the power to change it. I wouldn’t be a typical billionaire though. I would understand the power of money, how many shoulders I stand on, and how much I am responsible to pay it forward to the future. It’s my duty, my giri. I want to make the delta between the world without me and the world with me as large and up-and-to-the-right as possible.

Unfortunately: what I want cannot be bought. It must be built.

Fortunately: I love to build.

So alas, I’ve been disillusioned with the game. I have sat in a room asking myself “why” too many times and about too many things. I have unraveled all of my faulty source code and rewritten it from scratch. I have had visions for the future that I wish to see manifest in the world. The future is community, culture, beauty, excellence, and the real world. It is made of Main Characters, full of purpose and mission who are constantly learning and creating. It isn’t status games, or selling your soul to pay off your student debt. It is the redirection of energy from inefficient stagnating systems towards new, informed, intelligent, coordinated, growing, changing, mutually-beneficial positive-sum and efficient systems.

How do we do this? The first step is recognizing that there is a problem, and the second step is recognizing that there is a solution and it starts with you. All systems around you were created by humans and are just made of humans. There is nothing more powerful than coordinated groups of humans.

I’m not asking anything of you now so don’t freak out. Also, the answer isn’t to burn anything down or destroy. The answer is to ideate and create. To outline and define the goal post, and then charge towards it.

In my head I can hear the skeptical tech bro saying “Ha, who does this girl think she is!” “You can’t change the world!” “You clearly don’t understand how the world works!” “What college did you go to? What are your credentials?”

My answer to this is: I think the most important thing in the world is time and I’d rather spent my time finding and implementing solutions than convincing naysayers I’m worth listening to.

So who am I writing for?

I’m writing for everyone who is feeling lost and afraid of the future. To remind them that we’re not alone in solving everything. You don’t need to rest the weight of the world on your shoulders, we can work together. We can figure out what we want and then build it. You don’t need to be a billionaire (frankly, I can’t think of any billionaire alive right now who can do what I’m talking about doing). You just need to remember how much power you have in defining the future and take responsibility for it. You need to remember how important your life and time is and reflect on how you’re spending it. Ask yourself what you want out of life and go get it. I’m asking you to hear me out on what I want the future to look like, and eventually, if you agree with my vision—help me build it—but for now, just read my substack and listen to me rant :) This will all come together in the end.

I’m also writing for myself. To remind myself why I’m doing what I’m doing. Why I am putting myself though hell to become a successful founder. I don’t want to lose sight of the goal. I don’t want to forget what being poor and upset with the world or the cards I was dealt feels like. I want to write down and share my ideas to hold myself accountable and focused on the real mission—building the best society, one where I would be decently happy trading lives with anyone else in it. One that only values two things: human rights, and technological progress.

I’m not impressed by status or money. I’m impressed by progress and purpose. Join me in trying to give the world universal basic progress and purpose.

xoxo,

Emma Salinas