I saw a moose today, and it is big and its antlers were HUGE. I’m in the RV, so I’m safe, but you don’t want to go near moose in Colorado. They will attack you. I felt like I was in the presence of a mountain that decided to walk. Moose are absurd-looking creatures—long legs, big saggy noses, no business being graceful. There’s something very sobering about being near a moose. They make everything go quiet. Don’t disturb them. Don’t be known.

Moose medicine is big don’t-fuck-with-me energy. It’s the spirit of walking through the world on your own terms, knowing you’re supported just by being who you are. Moose don’t hustle. Moose show up, slow and enormous, and the whole forest pays attention. That’s the kind of energy I’m learning to carry with money. I don’t want to chase it. I want it to feel inevitable. I want to feel like a moose in the woods of my own life—so rooted in my own rhythm that anything trying to control me looks ridiculous. I’m not here to work for someone else’s dream. I’m here to be efficient for my own. I’m here to move with power, trust the abundance of the land, and let my weird, majestic body lead.

M for money

Let’s talk about MONEY. I can do what I’m doing right now because I did pretty well with the investments I made 5 years ago. I have no debt (except for mortgage debt), and I make very few crypto trades over time that do so well I am doing what I’m doing now. I haven’t lost money, which is a lot to say for dabbling in crypto. Although most people I know do very well in crypto, there are plenty of stories online of people losing it all, but, honestly, I’ve never met one of them.

I tried to buy Bitcoin at 16 when you had to Western Union money to Mt.Gox. I didn’t get Bitcoin because Mt.Gox was a scam. I recall paying $100 to the Giant Grocery’s Western Union in my hometown. It would have gotten me almost 10 BTC when it was at $11. I wish it had gone through. I wish I had been more persistent. At the time, I just wanted to buy drugs off the Silk Road. I didn’t push it. I didn’t know what I was doing.

Years later, after college, when I had my first high-income job, I got back into Bitcoin. Three years later, I went to work in crypto full-time. Over the last four years, I’ve held roles in research, project management, communications, and public relations across the crypto start-up ecosystem. I love start-ups. I am an entrepreneur.

The only time I got fucked in crypto (almost)

I almost got fucked by Voyager. A couple of years ago, this company called FTX collapsed. You may have seen this in the news. It was worse than Lehman Brothers and Exxon. A lot of people lost money. The CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, went to jail. The entire industry hung its head for like 2 years. It was career-ending for a lot of firms and individuals. If you were in crypto at that time, you know who made it through and who didn’t.

I had 12K on this platform. One day, before it went bankrupt and shut down everyone’s accounts, I saw the writing on the wall and pulled it out. The next day, they locked everyone’s accounts and filed for bankruptcy. If you had money left on the platform, you didn’t get it back (and only 75% of it) for like two years.

At the time, USDC was getting 12% returns, which was standard for a while. Everyone was giving out that kind of return, but when firms started going bankrupt because FTX fell, there were few safe places to be than simply holding, returns a wash, and hoping you weren’t in Luna/Terra or anything connected to FTX. Even years later, firms were battling it out in court to avoid going bankrupt from the funds they lost on FTX. It wasn’t just consumers who were invested in FTX, but entire firms. You might have thought your funds were on one platform, but they were actually being traded with FTX. The effects of that collapse were HUGE.

I say this to illustrate that there have been major risks in crypto, but it is also the thing that’s literally funding my life right now. You can’t invest in something you don’t understand; that’s a good rule to live by, but I have made money in crypto because I do understand it, intimately. I’m not a day trader by any means, and I only play in memecoins when it’s fun. I hope, over time, I can teach you enough that you can go forth and prosper.

👉 Do you want to learn more about crypto? Send me a note if you do. I’m gauging how much is in this right now.

My business coach says I need a job

I have a business coach who is also a spiritual coach. I love her. She’s epic. Today, she told me I need a job or income while I build my business. I disagree. I don’t want to go into debt to build a business, but I’ve burned the boat with Corporate America. I am a bad employee, and at this point, I can’t work for anyone else. I have never been able to as it is.

I’ve asked her for clarity on whether I really need this. I’m pissed off thinking about it. I’m done working for other people. I’m setting up my LLC today so I can go register this RV in the business name. Everything I do is part of the business now. My existence will be a business because I am an artist and teacher first and foremost. This is the creator economy, and I am late to it.

With passion for the future,

Valerie