DepressiveHacks (DHR&D) Update

Alright, so as we head into 2025 in less than a month, I think it’s time to share some of the things that I’ve been focused on the past few months besides trying to help improve my mental health.

As many of you know, I’ve been writing in web3 for a few years, and I’ve had a difficult time getting freelance writing work. Part of that, I’m hoping, has been because we’ve been in a bear market and people haven’t had the funds to pay for extra labor, especially outside freelancers. However, it is increasingly likely that I will start in 2025 only by being able to platform myself. Fear not, I am not going away, but I am very open to any opportunities to do individual stories for any web3 publication.

In addition to writing, I offer consulting services. I am looking to work on better clarifying what types of work I’m able to help projects with, as I’d like to be able to consult more in 2025 and feel that the time I’ve spent both as a community manager and community member in web3 during the depths of the bear market gave me a unique perspective. I’ve always taken a generalist approach to web3 because I like to learn, and while that has not made me rich in monetary value, it has made me rich in knowledge.

Being able to see how many teams go about trying to create and expand the business behind their digital assets has been a valuable lesson in how to create something that lasts. I’ve watched plenty of startup projects over the past few years ride the roller coaster that is trying to find something in this space, and I think I can help the right people take more nuanced approaches to longevity and success here.

Alright, so if the vision is to do more work here, what’s next?

I’ve had some meetings with some folks in recent weeks about what it would take to create a company. This was a very humbling experience, as I thought that I was much closer to being ready to create an entity than I am. The amount of work that I’m getting at the moment is minimal, but ideally, as DepressiveHacks scales, there will be enough revenue coming in from my labor that I can afford to create a company, which will be known as DHR&D (DepressiveHacks R&D).

The next Forbes magazine coming out will mention DepressiveHacks amongst its Forbes Legacy Pass members. I’m hopeful that this added publicity will help to spread the word about me and what I’ve been quietly building here in web3 throughout the past few years. As you likely know if we’ve met in this wild west space, DepressiveHacks is many things, including an investor, community member, mental health advocate, and friend (fren). I approach being here with as much authenticity as humanly possible, sharing my experiences and thoughts on what’s going on, and trying to help others with their goals and visions in this space as much as possible.

While I certainly don’t intend to end any of those activities, I want to really focus on my skill sets and my labor in web3. Writing and consulting, as well as investing with a long-term time horizon to support builders and founders whose visions align with mine in the web3 space, are the core components of DepressiveHacks that I want to expand upon the most in 2025.

Finally, I plan on continuing to discuss mental health, because we all know web3 needs it. I also look forward to being a community member when time permits, as well as exploring areas of web3 that I’ve not previously educated myself on. I’m very excited to try to scale my skills and labor in a more optimistic web3 market in the future.

As always, thanks for being here. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for us all.

Mental Health Update

(Originally posted on X on 11-5-24)

Alright, can't sleep. Here goes nothing.

I'm doing fine. Kind of. It's hard to explain. Let's start by discussing this year.

2024 has, in its simplest form, been a year to recover from 2023. After the end of my longest relationship in my life and the first time getting let go from my job, I was in a pretty dark place. Throw clinical depression and social anxiety on top of that, and it can be easy to see how a pile was stacked against me that would be seemingly impossible to overcome.

I wouldn't say I'm back yet, which is the hardest part. It's been about a year and a half, and while I feel glimpses of myself shining through sometimes, the truth is that I wake up more days than I'd like haunted. I've learned a lot, and I've taken much of this year to help myself in whatever capacity I can. Unapologetically, I've made this year about myself and seeing what I can do to improve my mental health.

In some ways, I've made serious strides. My therapy sessions feel more productive than ever before. It was truly a blessing that I was already enrolled in therapy before all these changes occurred in my life, and I credit a big part of my ability to continue to retain employment despite feeling like a shell of myself to both this accidental preparation, as well as my ability to secure a remote job after being let go from my previous position. I'm very confident if you saw me walk the halls of an office every day, it'd be clear that something is wrong, but through Teams messages and maximizing the time I feel best, I can get my stuff done and keep people at work happy with my efforts.

On better days, I feel grateful for this. On less fun days, I see the mountain of work that still lies before me. There are so many things that I want to do. Things I was once capable of and things I dreamt of. These things feel so out of reach now. Even simple things. Let me explain.

While I've noticed a generally better ability to function than previous depressive episodes of my life, it's still not a highly functional state. There was a period at the beginning of 2024 when I couldn't speak to a bartender or waiter because my social anxiety was so bad that no words came out. Not only was I not going out much, but I could do very little alone as my ability to advocate for myself and speak to others was slowly deteriorating in front of me.

These conditions make things that are seemingly very easy to other people very difficult. I still struggle mightily to get out of my comfort zone. I'm afraid of running into people that I haven't seen since before 2023, much as I'm afraid of seeing people who knew me before previous depressive episodes. Not everyone understands and it's difficult to explain sometimes.

I've done probably less work this year than any previous year of my life, meaning I've only focused on my day job and trying to grow DepressiveHacks. Usually, in previous years, I was juggling many more jobs or work opportunities at a time.

My energy levels overall haven't been great. I'm working through how to improve that, but I've dedicated at least 2 days a week to doing nothing, knowing that I'm going to struggle to get much done those days. I try to maximize the days that I feel okay to get things done.

This has been life this year. I've spent more time alone than I ever have in my life, and I fear that will increase in 2025. It's not all bad. I've had time to think and work through some things. Time to learn more about myself as a person. Why I have such terrible self-esteem. Why I don't feel happiness like other people do. Therapy has been a godsend, did I mention that? I wouldn't be here without it.

This has all been very honest and I still struggle with the balance of being transparent and not wanting to worry people. I just wanted to be very candid because I often sugarcoat my experience to not worry people. I'll say it's a good day or a bad day, but I won't explain what that means or why. Sometimes, there is no reason why. Sometimes, it just is. That's why it's clinical. Sometimes, it all doesn't feel worth it. Sometimes, the amount of work left to be done is overwhelming and I just want to give up. Not saying it doesn't make it less true.

I'm writing this following a particularly bad day, but not every day is like this and I'm happy to report progress in better taking care of what I need to get through days like this one. I envision a day when I wake up and I feel more like myself again on a consistent basis. I had one of my best days in years about a month ago, so I know things are headed in the right direction after a year of radical acceptance - aka just do whatever is necessary to walk this journey forward and basically rehabilitate myself as a human from the inside out.

It's a lot of work to get to know yourself. It's painful. It can lead you places you don't like. This is why a lot of people don't do that work. I like to say I'm more painfully self aware than I've ever been. I think part of why my energy levels have been so bad is because of all this work, constantly going on in my mind even when I'm seemingly occupied elsewhere in my life.

I signed up for a speaking gig in a week and a half, and doing things like this and forcing myself out of my comfort zone is, I feel, the next steps in regaining my ability to function in society. I used to be at least capable of pretending to be an extrovert and speaking to others in ways that weren't totally an embarrassment. Signing up for these things, even small things, can feel overwhelming and terrifying, so I'm trying to go at a good pace, but I hope that 2025 can include more of this.

I don't want to be afraid, but I am. I don't want to feel the way that I feel sometimes, but I do. Accepting that and being okay with where I'm at while striving for a better, more hopeful tomorrow has been a difficult balancing act.

I have lost 25 lbs this year and hope to lose more before the year ends. I have other goals for winter regarding getting in better shape physically, but they feel a bit overwhelming right now, so I'll save those for a different day.

I am doing less networking the past few months for DepressiveHacks. I'm doing less writing, but occassionally, it still flows like it used to. Basically, I'm still here when I'm up for it. It's a shame; I saw a lot of potential for 2025 and wanted to hit Q4 running, but acceptance is important and I've done what I can. I wish I was writing for these big web3 publications, but that's legwork and networking I haven't felt up for, and that's okay, too.

I never did catch on with another project after Birdie closed down at the end of Q1 this year. I don't think I was meant to. I think I needed this time for myself. It's funny, because every time I feel bored and hungry for something new, I'll have another depressive day in a few days that reminds me that I'm not feeling well enough on a consistent basis to commit. Committing when you know bad days are coming is hard. That's another challenge I'm still working on.

So, basically, the tl;dr is that things are going okay. I'm moving in the right direction. Slowly, but surely. Seasonal depression is arriving, which just means more bad days than normal, but I'm working on a plan for that and will continue to do what I can when I can across every area of my life that I am capable of.

Thank you, as always, for being here and reading my writing. Go call someone today and see how they're doing. Send a text to someone telling them that you love them. You really don't know what someone is going through and what it could mean for someone.

World Mental Health Day 2024

(Originally published on X on 10-11-24)

I haven't done any writing for myself in a while, and I saw that today was World Mental Health Day. I took it as a sign, so here we are. My@LT3NFT made for the perfect cover image for this topic.

My mental health is one of the most important things to me in this entire world. Not only is my mind my meal ticket, but I've also spent most of my life taking poor care of my mental health and learning how important it is the hard way.

If you haven't heard the backstory, DepressiveHacks was created originally as an outlet for my mental health. I'm going on year seventeen of having clinical depression (it took a while to get it diagnosed - it'll be year six of that in 2025). I also have crippling social anxiety. I've never been social, but it got much worse after COVID-19. It got so bad that I've sometimes had to ask someone else to speak to others on my behalf.

I created DepressiveHacks as an outlet, quite literally to "hack" my depression. While things have changed considerably over the past 2.5 years and then some since DepressiveHacks started, I could've never imagined where things would be now.

I often bemoan not making money in web3, and that's my own fault for never selling things and being a long-term-oriented investor, but I've gained an awful lot here. I've met people with whom I would've never crossed paths but for this space. Wonderful, kind, smart people who have become important to me as humans beyond their ability to buy my bags (yes, this is possible, you should try it sometime).

As I write this, I rapidly approach 4,000 followers on this page, which is a number I would've never comprehended when I started. It is so encouraging to see so many folks who care about similar causes as myself and want to have my voice as part of their experience online. I have tried to ramp up giveaways and other means of showing my appreciation for the people who are here supporting me in my goals in web3. I hope you can see how much it all means to me. Thank you.

A lot of exciting things are coming. I think that there is potential in 2025 for DepressiveHacks to turn into a legal entity as a result of all of my work. My goal, even if it isn't next year, is to create an actual "DepressiveHacks R&D, LLC" and use that as a vehicle for all that I want to do, both for myself and for others, in web3 and beyond. This would include supporting mental health however I am capable of at that time. Nothing would make me feel more complete than seeing this "hack" become something that helps others in their darkest mental health days.

In order to do these things, I am going to need revenue. I currently am not working on any project teams after over a year as a community manager and consultant to @BirdieGolfLLC, which sadly shut down after Q1 of this year. I am open to discussions on writing and consulting opportunities for anyone who feels that my voice would be beneficial to what they're working on. I am only open to freelance work at this time, but appreciate the kind gesture of any offers that would've been full-time.

I also want to do a better job of networking in web3. Everything that DepressiveHacks is and has become to this point is a result of collaboration and relationships with others. Here's to strengthening those existing ones and forming new ones as well in the year ahead.

I share all this not as a pitch today, but to show you how much thought and effort I'm putting in on my own, self-funded, surrounding the topic of mental health. This is such an important issue and very dear to my heart. Please reach out to someone today and check in on them. Please be kind to others. You never know what someone could be going through and how much it could mean to someone that you took the time to support them.

Happy World Mental Health Day. May we aspire to recognize the importance of our mental health and the mental health of others every day of our finite, yet beautiful lives.

Thank you for being here.

What Is DepressiveHacks? Take 2.0

(Originally published on X on 7/25/24)

I've thought about writing an updated version of this original blog post from 2022 for a while now. I asked Grok what DepressiveHacks was. I mulled it over myself. I've spent years at this point having people I know in real life try asking me what I'm doing and why. I'm going to try to articulate the vision here as best I can now that we're a couple of years in and I can look at some past experiences that helped shape where we are today.

What is DepressiveHacks? In its easiest form, I view DepressiveHacks as a vehicle for opportunity. This really started as a way for me to learn mostly about crypto and have somewhere to write. If you don't spend much time writing, you may not know that long-form content is a chore. There's a reason people like reading and writing in short 180-character bits. I don't always need to go on and on about my depression. This allowed me to acknowledge it, put it somewhere (publicly, I'll add), and move forward.

A few things have happened since winning the Nifty Gateway contest to get my beloved Awkward Astronaut PFP that is the face of DepressiveHacks. First off, two years in, I cannot believe how many folks I've met and spoken to who are shaping web3 as an industry. I started this account because you can't invest in crypto without being on this platform. You miss so much without it. I remember following folks with a few thousand followers who were so knowledgeable about crypto. Those same folks are the ones I still follow and now know from having spent over two years in web3.

I have spent the past two years collecting. Tokens. NFTs. Frens. The networking I've done here and the folks I've been able to help support both with my money and my time have been amazing. I wish I had more of both to give. I'm optimistic in the future, that could be the case, but we'll get to that.

I never have really been into trading all that much. At the start of year three, I just finally sold my first ETH NFT ever. I much prefer a buy-and-hold method, and the places I purchase reflect a longer-term belief in the people behind those projects, their vision, and my belief in their ability to get things done and shape web3 for the better.

By this point, you're probably saying "Okay, so whatever DepressiveHacks is, it's not meant to make money." Up to this point, you're largely right. I've got no idea overall how things are going, but I'm confident an S&P Index Fund would've outperformed this buy-and-hold strategy the past two years.

What I wouldn't have, besides all the digital assets in my collection that I hope to continue to add to, is all of the opportunities I've had to explore web3 and create something. I would tell anyone that my best investment last year was not measured in % gain, but in the fact that Dgen Network not only welcomed me with open arms when I bought my Dgen Pass but allowed me to start contributing to them as a writer. I now have a portfolio of web3 work that I can refer to and show that I'm skilled as a bridge between native and non-native crypto audiences on a variety of topics spanning multiple depths of difficulty.

I'm currently still working on my interview series of pieces with leaders across web3 for Dgen Network, as well as open to new opportunities to freelance write across the web3 space. I also am excited to share that as a Legacy Pass holder, depressivehacks.com will be featured in Forbes later this year. The actual shock that will come from holding the issue in my hand and seeing this thing I've been working on for 2+ years within the issue will surely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I've never been more optimistic about this buy-and-hold approach, because I believe it will bring opportunities as web3 and crypto continue to expand that would've never been possible without genuinely connecting with others and enjoying being a part of the community. I can't tell you exactly what will be coming, but I feel really good about it. It's quite terrifying, actually, and I told my therapist as much in our last session.

I've updated my website, dove deeper into my socials (including qualifying for ad payouts on this platform, which all go towards expanding DepressiveHacks and supporting more parts of web3), and am working on new opportunities to write, consult, and contribute to the future of this place that has come to mean a lot to me.

Oh, also, I think that as regulatory clarity comes and new folks come to web3, being a part of these legacy communities is going to be a huge plus. Just being early, genuine, and kind I think is enough for success here, as well as not rugging people. So I'm banking on this to maybe one day not have this be a total money pit.

In the meantime, we're going to continue to do as much as we can to meet more folks in web3, show other folks why the future of blockchain technology is bright, and get as many new opportunities to write as possible. I want to help guide web3 into a brighter future and support the people. communities, businesses, projects, and ideas that are doing so.

So, what is DepressiveHacks? DepressiveHacks supports web3. DepressiveHacks supports mental health. DepressiveHacks supports entrepreneurship and opportunity. DepressiveHacks is a writer, consultant, investor, community member, former community manager, former publisher, and learner. Maybe in 3.0, DepressiveHacks is formally more things and actively even more things. Who knows? That's okay. Supporting others is the name of the game here. Mental health. Entrepreneurship. Knowing you've got folks on your side as you tackle these difficult tasks is huge.

As always, thanks for being here.

Birdie Golf Update / DH Update

(Originally published on X on 6/12/24)

I've never written an article here, but I thought about it and figured this was an appropriate time for a few reasons. The first of those reasons is that transparency is always the best policy. It's 100 times better to put it all out there on this platform than to hide away in a discord channel. Second, the visibility could be beneficial down the line.

When I started as the Community Manager for Birdie Golf, there had been significant resources used to launch a crypto wallet, called Birdie Wallet. Maintaining and supporting this wallet took a lot of money and time and was really the focus of Birdie before my entry.

I could see that this was not sustainable as a business model and suggested that we pivot to apparel in hopes of driving revenue that could finance the growth of the company. This was our focus through much of the bear market and we launch multiple collaborations and products through 2023. I am proud of the work that was done and the people that I was able to meet and connect with along the way last year.

In January of this year, I took a trip to see Ryan in Florida, as well as attend the PGA Show in Orlando (my golf irl gets me in). There were many people who marveled at the number of apparel companies compared to previous years. Ryan and I began having serious discussions about the level of marketing that would be required to compete with even the niche, boutique golf clothing companies making a name for themselves on Instagram.

Ryan put a lot of his own money into trying to get Birdie off the ground and attempted to launch products in both web2 and web3 to gain traction. I contributed my own money to get Birdie off the ground. I never took a paycheck for the work that I did (marketing, consulting, community managing, whatever needed to be done) in hopes of moving the needle financially to get the brand off the ground.

On March 20th, 2024, I wrote an update on the holder's channel in the Birdie discord that we were running out of money. Frankly, the amount of marketing we needed to do was beyond our means after seeing many competing brands that there are.

Okay, so now that you're caught up, here's the update. As a result of the lack of funding, as well as the crowded market we aimed to enter, we have made the difficult decision to pause operations. The growth of Birdie will no longer be Ryan's or my primary focus in web2 or web3. The store has been taken down, as sales were not happening and it was costing money to maintain the site. Although the pivot to creating more tangible products seemed like a good idea, the golf apparel market is completely oversaturated at this time. We have not found anyone willing to invest the resources we'd need to tackle such a major barrier to entry and we cannot endlessly fund this ourselves knowing the difficulty of the market.

I'm obviously disappointed in the way things have turned out. I spent a lot of time, energy, and resources on this project as if I had founded it myself. Although I did not agree with the direction that Birdie had taken before I came aboard, I genuinely feel that Ryan has always tried his best to create a business with real value proposition and drive real benefits to the community.

There are a few important things I'd like to share. First, Birdie products are still able to be created and sold without the marketplace. Should someone want something, they can still speak with Ryan for individual orders. Obviously, having a marketplace is a much better means to transact, but after not having any revenue in 2024, it became a liability.

Also, Ryan and I are still around despite this pause. We continue to participate in web3, network, and explore opportunities. There is no telling what the future could hold. The infrastructure for Birdie still exists and the store could be reinstated should it make sense down the line. The discord still exists and will remain open. We have a small, loyal community who I have come to thoroughly enjoy speaking with about golf and web3. I know I speak for Ryan as well as myself that we appreciate the support immensely and we will always be on the lookout for ways to give back to those who supported Birdie.

As far as myself, I'm not really sure what comes next. I've spent the last couple of months really absent from web3, trying to focus on my physical and mental health. The realization that we weren't getting anywhere despite all of our efforts was a difficult one, as I know much was sacrificed by all of us to try to get Birdie off the ground.

I want to close by telling you all that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't do more or accomplish more with this effort. I give 110% to everything that I do, often to the detriment of my own personal life. I wanted this to succeed as much as anything I've ever done in my entire life. I feel I've let many people down, including myself.

As always, thanks for being here.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

(Originally published June 26, 2024)

It's been a little bit since I updated anything here. Tbh, I've been focused on just feeling okay this year. Trying to get outside and feel some sun. This has meant less computer time and less writing time, but that's okay for now. I'm really hoping maybe it won't be six months until the next blog post, but maybe it will be. Anyways, here goes some updates.

It's been a couple of years now since DepressiveHacks was created. At the time, I had ideas of what I wanted to do and where I wanted it to go. As it usually goes, I was wrong and those ideas were totally incorrect. You can find them in early blog posts on this same blog. You can go read about how wrong I was and how I realize now what a fool I was. That's okay, though. We all learn things. Sometimes they're easier and sometimes they're not. It's all part of the journey.

If you would've asked me in 2022 where I envisioned DepressiveHacks in two years, I would've never imagined things would be where they're at now. I do very little actual educating as I originally intended, much to the bemoan of some very early audience members. I did a lot more crypto investing than I expected to when I created this in 2022. I also completely missed the boat on making it a profitable endeavor, because any money I've made has not come from this blog. Again, oh well.

I am returning to write here because I need somewhere to express that I have never been more optimistic about the future of web3 and DepressiveHacks' place in it. This is very clearly the direction things have gone here, and I've met some really incredible people and had some amazing opportunities that never would've happened without severely leaning into the crypto and web3 space over the past couple of years. I still remember the day that I won my pink Awkward Astronaut that you all are so familiar with.

There are going to be some really cool things that happen between now and the end of the year. A few of them I know about already and can't disclose yet. These things are the reason that I'm excited enough to express it in a new blog post. Opportunities I never foresaw. I am so grateful. I'm confident that there will be opportunities I don't know about at this moment that come about as well. I've always played the long game in the web3 space, which confuses a lot of people, but I see it paying dividends slowly and surely more than you'd expect. This has only reinforced my thinking on this strategy.

I've not done a lot of investing this year. That's very intentional. I plan on seeing how the rest of the year goes. If 2024 is a wash year, so be it. I spent too much time caring about how much I was investing down to the penny in the last couple of years. Very much to the sacrifice of my own well-being at times. This was a hard lesson to learn. The future is scary. I felt constant anxiety when thinking about it. A crippling anxiety that only could be eased by trying to plan, save, and nickel and dime a way to a better tomorrow.

Listen, I'm always the first person to admit that I'm an idiot. I'm terribly stubborn. I often need a kick in the ass. Plenty of ass kicks have come, with the most recent being the shutting down of Birdie. I spent a lot of time working on building that out with Ryan. It hurt to close the shop despite continuing to lose revenue month over month. Life is unforgiving sometimes and all we can do is trudge forward the best we can. Pivot. Do something different. Learn from our mistakes and our experiences.

I'm optimistic. For the first time in a long time. I feel a sense of wonder about what's coming up that I lacked for a long time. Stay tuned. This thing's just getting going. As always, thanks for being here.

2023 Wrap Up

(Originally published December 21, 2023)

Today in therapy, my therapist walked me through an exercise in figuring out what I'm grateful for that happened in my life in 2023 and how I would like to take those things with me into 2024. I would encourage anyone who has had a difficult time to do something like this. I found it very helpful to verbalize positive outcomes and encouraging that even in the darkest of times, there is light.

We have flown past the year anniversary of this blog. October 2022 was the first ever blog post. Since then, I've had opportunities to do more writing. Lately, I have not been writing as much, and it is something I am looking to pick back up. I recently applied for a new web3 writing opportunity that I am hoping comes through for me. I have some ideas for new pieces that I would like to do. It's just a matter of finding where to publish them and how to best get new readers.

It is encouraging that the web3 space is coming back. The economy has been so bad for so long. People and families are struggling, which is a really difficult thing to see, especially this time of year around the holidays. I hope that 2024 brings brighter days ahead for many, myself included.

So, what am I grateful for from 2023? I am grateful for my new web2 day job, which I enjoy much more than the previous position I was in. I am grateful for anyone who has been a part of my life and year. Web2, web3, doesn't matter. I am so lucky to know so many people who add value to my existence. I have learned a lot this year, especially about myself. I generally think that I'm a fairly self-reflective person, so I have difficulty sometimes putting in the work. I feel that because I've accomplished something previously, it's all taken care of. That's not how things work. Much like physical health. Just because you've lost weight before doesn't mean it can't come back. Physical and mental health are a continuous process. I hope to improve upon both in 2024 having learned some major lessons in 2023.

I'm grateful for the traveling I've gotten to do this year. I've seen some familiar places and some new ones. I look forward to doing hopefully even more traveling in 2024. It is one of my greatest joys in life to see unfamiliar places. Travel really helps with my depression. Seeing something new, getting out of my routine, and experiencing a different reality is not only engaging but humbling. I often learn a lot when I travel.

I am grateful for creating DepressiveHacks. I have gotten to do many things in this space that I wouldn't have dreamt of when I first started investigating the blockchain. I am hopeful that even more cool things will come in the future. People who remained throughout the bear market showed serious tenacity and really demonstrated the type of person they are. Opportunity will come and networking in web3 is the key to it. I'm more bullish on that than any asset, web3 or web2.

Finally, I am grateful for the game of golf and the opportunities I have had working in the golf industry. I anticipate a lot of cool things coming up in 2024 and beyond for my efforts within the golf world. I truly love what I do in that aspect of my life.

Thank you, as always, for reading. I am hoping to have more to share in 2024. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season. Be sure to hug the ones you love and spend time with them. This existence is short and often painful. Cherish those moments. -DH

October Is Lovely This Time of Year

(Originally published October 30, 2023)

When I started this blog, I had a really grand vision for what DepressiveHacks was going to be. It's been over a year now and things have certainly gone vastly differently than I originally anticipated. I have had some really unexpected surprises and met some incredible people. Let's get up to speed.

So since my last blog post, I have been let go from being a Publisher at Nifty Gateway. I had some auspicious dreams of using my position as a Publisher to help bring local artists in my area into the digital art world. My goals, as usual, were ambitious. I ended up publishing my own photography and a drop from a very talented photographer I met through sharing various web3 communities together. While the experience definitely was positive, I actually lost money on this initiative and never recouped what it cost me to actually publish NFT drops. Part of this was that the market dried up as I got onboarded. Part of this was my need for more experience in this field. Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity that Nifty Gateway gave me.

That being said, being able to pivot is key. Not everything that I try to do is going to be a success. That's okay, though. This evening, I finally updated my website to remove the Publisher tab. It reminded me of the other opportunities I have in front of me. It reminded me of how I had no idea that any of those tabs would exist at one point. The world is full of possibilities. You never know what's going to happen.

As winter begins, I will start browsing more for additional work to do in order to occupy some of my free time and help distract me from seasonal depression. I would really like to increase my freelance business consulting. I haven't done any in a while and I think it's time to start looking for a new project to help with. Of course, this won't come in lieu of my other commitments. Usually, the goals and timeline of consulting gigs are rather specific and short-term.

I also recently got a new vehicle, which has been a personal pain point for a while. This has really tied up my funds for a bit, but the goal is to get these short-term expenses paid off and finally have some reliable transportation. This is something I really procrastinated, seeing as I don't do any work that isn't fully remote, but being stuck without transportation really limited my mobility and impacted my mental health. It's one thing to actively choose to stay home. It's another to be forced to. I would say that this distinction hadn't occurred to me before. This purchase also required me to liquidate some of my stock portfolio.

I'd like to talk about this briefly because I think it's important. I'm a big fan of the "buy-and-hold" investment strategy. I don't sell investments often. I feel that patience, which I generally lack in most aspects of my life, is essential to being a good investor and seeing success. While this is valuable to me, it also creates a sense of guilt any time I actually do want or need to sell something. It is not a decision I take lightly. It took me multiple months to get to a point where I wanted to sell stocks to fund my deposit on a new vehicle. This was very hard for me. I took losses on almost everything I sold. I think that the investments were sound, but the time horizon was shortened when I needed the money.

This post was originally titled "Q4 and 2024" and I actually scrapped that because I really don't have a clear vision of what's next. A new vehicle has taken up a good portion of my focus over the last couple of months. I've started paying back my student loans. Balancing out my budget to get car payments and loan payments each month without putting too much financial stress on myself is really the focus through the end of 2023. Meanwhile, I'll keep doing what I can. Looking for opportunities. Networking. It's really in times like these where the little things add up to the next big thing. Thanks as always for reading.

It's Been a Minute

(Originally published September 6, 2023)

I haven't done any of my own writing in quite some time. This year has been chaotic. I personally have lost my job and my long-term girlfriend. It's been a year of a lot of change. I've also picked up a new day job, thankfully, and have continued to do what I can to work towards my personal goals, as well as my goals for Depressive Hacks R&D.

For those who are new, welcome to my blog. You may have seen me write about various topics on other platforms. I love the work I do and I love being able to write about web3, crypto, investing, and all types of topics that interest me. People want to publish certain topics and create certain types of long-form content. This written content is what I specialize in. When I have things I want to discuss that don't necessarily fit the mold of published content by external parties, I'll write a blog here about it. I don't do much editing because I hate it. I just let the words flow. Welcome to the unfiltered fun.

It's no secret that markets are down unless you're watching home prices like a hawk. Seemingly, every other asset class has taken a bath this year. My stock portfolio, which is publicly accessible on this website, has been as flat as early explorers thought the Earth was back in the day. My crypto portfolio has really nose-dived and I've really only been putting money into Bitcoin and Ethereum. I've added additional NFTs to my diversified collection and have found a multitude of new communities to network in, hang with, and enjoy. That has really been the highlight of 2023 in terms of my investments.

I've also continued to slowly work on projects that align with my long-term goals for Depressive Hacks R&D. If you are unfamiliar with how this got started, check out this blog post: https://blog.depressivehacks.com/2022/10/welcome-what-are-we-doing-here.html. If you are looking for the most recent update, please read here before continuing: https://blog.depressivehacks.com/2023/04/dh-r-whats-being-worked-on-now-where.html.

My biggest focus over the past few months has been to work on things behind the scenes for Birdie Golf. OpenSea delisted the collection earlier this year, which caused a lot of headaches for myself and the founder of the project. Luckily, we think that things are looking up and we are excited to finish the year with some cool updates we've been toying with as the bear market has raged on.

I have put Publishing NFT collections on the back burner. I did do a drop for a photographer earlier this year, but the lack of demand was difficult and the way things are going right now, it's not a good time to be launching collections. I don't necessarily think that there's a need to never launch anything again, but I've never been in this to create dozens of my own NFTs.

Yondar continues to be a focus and figuring out how to put this amazing product in front of event coordinators is still a top priority. Marketing is such an underrated part of starting a business. This is magnified when you realize that many companies shell out thousands of dollars to get noticed and get off the ground. If you're not a fully funded operation that's looking to catch its big break, how do you take off without finding thousands to drop into social media advertising? This is a concept I've been playing with and continue to try to use across various projects.

I have also been in talks with Bugatti Group to become an ambassador for their travel bags. With high-quality gear that's available in a variety of styles, I look forward to seeing where this new venture with Bugatti Group takes me. More information will become available as the details are ironed out as to what I will be making available, but I was too excited to not mention it in this blog post.

I am currently trying to figure out how to go about getting a new car, as mine decided to tap out, while student loan payments are rapidly approaching restarting next month. These additional monthly expenses will surely reduce my investment totals. My hope is to pivot back towards stocks a bit as the year winds down. I don't plan on dropping any significant funds into anything, but priorities change. Priority number one is to get used to the new loan payments and try to pay extra on them every month to reduce the interest and lifespan of the loan. I can't achieve my dreams if I'm buried in debt. This becomes more and more clear every day.

For now, stay tuned. I've really taken a lot of the summer to myself to try to focus on my own well-being with such a roller coaster of a year. I continue to speak weekly with my therapist and try to discuss how I feel and why. Some weeks it feels better than others. It's a process, just like fixing your finances or getting a new job. I've often felt like just being in therapy is enough and the accomplishment of being there makes me feel good. I'm learning that digging into some topics and really trying to open up on deep-level discussion is so important. It's not that I don't talk to my therapist, but even people who self-reflect a lot don't want to dig into the jowls of their existence every week. Everyone has something that makes their eyes twinge when they look at themselves in the mirror.

I will continue to do what I can and bring updates, thoughts, and writing to anyone who wants it whenever I can. I hope for a blissful rest of your week for you and wish you nothing but the best. Until the next time.

DH R&D - What's Being Worked on Now & Where Are We Headed?

(Originally published on April 15, 2023)

I am happy to start this blog post off with some good news. Last week, I signed an offer for a new day job. This opportunity is one that I am very grateful for and should lead to some really great things going forward. It is back in the tech industry, which is obviously a bit of a concern seeing as I just lost a job there and things aren't going immensely smoothly right now, but I really am excited to get on board, work with the people on my team, and get back to it. I have enjoyed my time off but the ability to plan around a consistent paycheck is a luxury I miss.

As things get going, I'll likely need some time to adjust to the new job. There will be travel involved with this job as well, so getting used to a more mobile lifestyle will take some time, although I'm excited to be getting out and about. The base pay is better than my old job. The total compensation is better. Overall, I feel blessed.

Given this news, I have been taking some time to think about the next steps for DepressiveHacks and where we go from here. A solid base has been built. Approaching 1,000 followers on Twitter. Writing for Dgen Network with other writing opportunities in sight. Nifty Gateway Publisher. Yondar Reseller. Investment in a variety of assets across a variety of platforms. Things are in a good place considering what a roller coaster 2023 has been so far.

So what's next? Well, there are a few things. On the Publisher front, the next step is to get business cards made and get them distributed in my local area. The word about being able to help onboard local artists and creatives needs to be spread. I will continue to do occasional drops of my own creative work, but helping others was the original goal. I so appreciate anyone who purchased the "First Drop", some original photography of mine. There are less than 100 in the collection and I will be visualizing how to reward the community of holders who bought in down the line.

I have gotten a formal business email set up for Yondar and am now ready to take on potential clients for initial consultations. Please visit yondar.me to check out the product. I am very excited to be helping the team at Yondar to grow the uses of their amazing mapping software and hope to bring it to resorts, campuses, and real-life events. All throughout NFTNYC, I thought of how cool it would've been to utilize their product to help various attendees get to where they were going.

I will continue to work on growing my writing under DepressiveHacks and couldn't be happier to be able to freelance pieces for Dgen Network. I am looking into Mirror as an option for future use and see potential in continuing to create pieces for various outlets.

This list is not comprehensive and I am always looking for ways to grow. The goal is that as different projects, work, and incentives under the DepressiveHacks umbrella develop and start to create revenue streams, that money will be used to build further, outreach more, and continue to grow. Ideally, there comes a time down the line when DepressiveHacks can become a legal corporate entity, but we are very far from that still. It is encouraging to see hope and potential and I am excited to be able to continue to learn and grow. Writing, Yondar, and Publishers will be the main focuses for now, aside from continuing to be a community manager for Birdie Golf and investing. I see a lot of upside potential in the rest of 2023 and look forward to bringing further updates on the progress I am making toward the goals I have for DepressiveHacks.

Tech Layoffs

(Originally published April 5, 2023)

So I know that I've disclosed in some communities and spaces, but March was a very disruptive month, hence no blog posts the entire month. I had been focusing on some paid writing and while I love this blog and everything I imagine it becoming, it sadly does not help me pay the bills yet.

The final week of March, specifically on the 29th, I went to my day job office like I had done almost every Wednesday for the previous year and almost eight months. It seemed like a pretty average day. I had just completed a call when I got whisked away for an emergency meeting with my boss. The door opened to the conference room and I met an HR representative whom I had never previously seen. I was informed that it was my last day on the job and that despite the company trying its best to avoid letting people go, the tech crunch has been brutal, and having worked for a tech distributor, there was an inevitable fate that had been prolonged as long as it could be.

I was hardly alone that day in getting let go and I'm hardly alone overall. Many people have found themselves in this boat recently the way that things have been going. I am fortunate that I have such a helpful support system. I should be getting severance and I still have my second job and some gig work / freelance work to help bridge the gap in the meantime. Things could definitely be worse.

It's really been interesting this week waking up without a day job to go to. As someone who has always had too much going on, I've simply adjusted my attention and time elsewhere. Obviously, applying for new positions takes up some of that time. As much as I enjoy not having to report to a day job and hope someday to work towards making that a realistic goal, my current situation is not sustainable without finding a new position. Interestingly enough, this experience has helped me solidify my goal of being able to focus on work that I want to do when I want to do it that isn't a day job. It also has helped me do some math and realize I have a long ways to go before I can do that in a practical sense.

Writing has been more of a focus since last Wednesday. As a freelance writer, I write doxed under my real name, ghostwrite, and now also write under DepressiveHacks. I am actually very happy to announce in this blog for the first time that I recently had my first piece regarding the web3 space published by Dgen Network. I hope to continue to work on covering the space for them and other publications. I think that taking my real-life talents and applying them to the space will only help me grow DHR&D and find better ways to add value and create a conglomerate of various activities and offerings, which is the dream.

I think that despite this misstep, the whole experience in the long run can end up being a blessing. It is really nice to be able to wake up and have the autonomy to work on whatever I am feeling that day. I have been able to take extra shifts at my second job, selling golf clubs, which is something I thoroughly enjoy, and have been able to spend more time doing it on the week of the Masters Tournament nonetheless. I have had days that have mostly focused on writing and being able to spend my day in a way that maximizes my creativity and writing has been very refreshing. The weather has finally turned around and spring is slowly coming each day.

Life is beautiful and things will work out. Short-term stress is inevitable, but I am so grateful to be where I am and have done the things I've done so far to get to this point. Change is a time for reflection and I feel that it's important to acknowledge my appreciation for everyone who reads this blog and engages with me in this crazy space and life. Nothing but the best for all of you. We will get through this together and be better for it on the other side. Onward & upward!

Thoughts and February

(Originally published February 28, 2023)

So this time of year is tough. February is arguably the worst month for seasonal depression and it has not been easy this year just like most. It's essential to try to continue to do what I can when I can despite my pivot from being hyped and ready to go for every aspect of my life to needing o kick myself out of bed in the morning and struggling to make it through the day. It's a real challenge. I haven't felt up to writing, consulting, building, learning, or growing. I just want to sleep. If you aren't familiar with depression, this is very common.

The overall economy has not been pretty. I've spoken at length about my struggles financially to start 2023. It has really hindered my progress and work so far this year and I am hoping that as the year continues, things loosen up and start to flow again. I am working on some things that could help and doing what I can with the energy I have to make progress. I also understand that there are not an endless amount of things that I can do in order to fix this and am working on accepting that things aren't the same as they were at the midpoint of 2022.

I am really happy though that this post looks like a third for February. There haven't been many months since starting the blog that I've had more than two blog posts in a month. I see this as a win, no matter how small.

My goal going into March is to be more in tune with myself. I have some time away from the snow and darkness next week and I am excited to get out of my normal day-to-day. I think that this will provide me with some energy and help me to move into spring with a better outlook and energy than I have now.

As far as DepressiveHacks, the next goal is to figure out the next steps for onboarding artists and doing more Publisher drops. I am writing this on the day Awkward Astronauts celebrated its anniversary with a birthday party. I think that despite slow progress, the promise of this project is extremely impressive. I am also working on best practices with Yondar in order to represent their company and product as best I can. Both of these aspects of DepressiveHacks are relatively new, especially compared to the blog, but I feel that both carry a lot of upsides to bring DepressiveHacks into this year and beyond.

The goal of DepressiveHacks started as an education platform. I still love education. I think that the avenues available for adults to learn, especially if they aren't receiving proper nurturing in their work, are limited. I aim to work education into the model at some point and try to focus my efforts there better, as they never really expanded beyond getting some good material I'd read and sending it out to followers on Twitter.

The new goal is to turn DepressiveHacks into a catch-all conglomerate. Everything that I have done with DepressiveHacks and in the online space is self-funded. The biggest thing about the DHR&D Publisher project and having DepressiveHacks become a Yondar Reseller is big in the development of this vision because they have the potential to actually generate revenue for the project. By no means am I here to steal from the ecosystem. I think there is so much potential in being here and despite DepressiveHacks maybe looking completely different this time next year, there's something to be said for not having to create everything out of my own pocket and having the progress of DepressiveHacks be so limited by the pay of my real life personal work and circumstances.

As the vision develops, I will continue to create updates about what is happening and where you can find DepressiveHacks hitchhiking across the virtual galaxy. It has been really humbling to start this and I will continue to work as best I can. There are a lot of awesome places where I can see this going. I am going to wrap this up now but I appreciate all of you readers who continue to lend your eyes and time to this blog. Nothing but the best wishes for you all.

Seasonal Depression Meets Financial Reality

(Originally posted February 16, 2023)

So, as I've been very open about, 2023 has not been a great year to start for me financially. I aim to be honest about this because it has drastically hindered my plans for the year for depressivehacks and my personal life. I aim to improve this as the year progresses and hope that sharing some of the stories can help inspire others.

I was able to complete my first drop as a Publisher on Nifty Gateway, which was a fantastic experience. I learned a lot and was so flattered that so many people would spend even $1 for a photo I took. It was eye-opening. I also learned a lot about drop mechanics and how much more difficult it is for creators in the space to make money than I'd initially anticipated. Having never done a drop of my own before and only purchased drops of others as an investor, this experience really opened my eyes. My drop was an Open Edition and I let it run for quite a while compared to a normal drop length. At the end of the day, it was quite difficult to successfully get the word out. I ended up netting about a $7 profit on the drop as a whole, which wasn't really amazing compensation for the time but as my trial run, I was just happy to not have lost money on the process.

This experience will help me as I prepare to speak with real-life artists in my area and discuss web3 with them. These are creatives that have no experience with the space and only have heard the best of the best, as we all know, from the media. It will be difficult to onboard them and bring success to them as new talent. It will be time-consuming. At this current time, I have so much going on that I can't predict when my next drop will be. I may try to drop more of my own photography if I find that there is demand. I would love to do drops for artists in my area, but the recruiting process will be long and time-consuming. I don't know if this is going to go as quickly as I'd imagined, but I am excited to begin and see what happens.

I am in the process of interviewing for a new day job. Through the start of this year, it has come to my attention that everything I do outside of my day job is sporadic income at best. When things are popping, this is not an issue. However, over the last couple of months, things have been slow as the economy has cooled. This has left me with significantly less free cash flow than ideal, causing me to evaluate what I can do. A higher-paying day job that still allows me the time to work on my side work would be an easy answer. I am hopeful that the position I currently am in the hiring process for will pan out, but understand that there are no guarantees and I may have to go back to the drawing board.

I am eager to get going on Yondar Reselling and look forward to working with the team to help broaden the scope of opportunities and resources available to help to close sales. I think that the opportunity to help facilitate the use of such a great program is a great opportunity.

I have yet to rely on any investments for income. I have a set amount that gets invested every year through dividend reinvestment into the stock portfolio and I aim to increase the dollar amount of dividends going into the portfolio this year once cash flow improves. I also am looking to branch out my investment focus this year and continue to learn about new and exciting opportunities. As the seasons change, my side work will pick up and hopefully, things will improve.

In the meantime, I have taken a small amount of space from being online and have been trying to focus on my daily life a little more intently. It is not easy. I have been getting over a cold the last week and my winter seasonal depression has been rearing its ugly head after being significantly more dormant for a good portion of December and January. As I slowly accept that my output and energy levels each day are dwindling, I am faced with the continuous shortcomings of my own expectations. In due time, things will continue to improve and I will start to feel better again. I thank you all for your patience and continued support. DHR&D is a project and vision of love and passion. I will continue to be here in whatever capacity I can.

February Updates

(Originally published February 7, 2023)

Super thrilled to report that quite a few things have happened since posting the year predictions. Things have been busy, so blogging has been a little slow, but I am excited to be able to bring these updates to everyone. Some things that were long works in progress have come to fruition.

First, Depressive Hacks has been accepted as a Publisher for Nifty Gateway. This is great news, as it means that I now have the means to easily help start my mission of onboarding local artists and creatives in my region and network to the web3 space. The most exciting thing for me about this is that creating in the web3 space can help artists find another means of income through their work and support themselves doing the type of work that they love to do. DHR&D will help these artists by providing the background information and basic education to the space, as well as assist with drops and consult on web3, crypto, and NFTs in general so that artists don't need to learn everything themselves and overcome significant learning curves just to participate. More information can be found on the Nifty Gateway Publisher page here at depressivehacks.com.

The next exciting announcement is that Depressive Hacks has been onboarded as Reseller for YondarNFT. Yondar sells AR mapping software that both allows for a custom overview map of different locations, marked with beacons, within an area, as well as an augmented reality experience where users can see beacons in their actual locations, interact with them within a certain range from the location, and receive rewards for visiting. Beacons can contain audio or visual files, so Yondar can be used for self-guided tours on campuses and historical sites. Beacon locations can also be hidden outside of a certain distance, so scavenger hunts and mysteries can be run automatically through the software; there could even be a reward for completing these events, like a discount coupon to whatever business is in charge of the custom map. More information can be found at the Yondar page here at depressivehacks.com.

Personal finances are still a problem area, but that is slowly being worked on so that new investment opportunities can be realized later in the year. Resumes are still being accepted for free listing on depressivehacks.com. Not many new projects have been joined but existing projects have been kept, which is a huge step at this time.

As far as the space as a whole, I think that the start of the year has been pretty stagnant. Individual projects are building. The market is trading sideways. Every market in the world is waiting on some decisive action from the Federal Reserve. I think that patience will be rewarded in 2023, which is difficult since there are so many awesome opportunities out there.

I've only made a few moves in the stock portfolio. Last year's tax loss harvests were reinvested in January, with QuantumScape being repurchased for the portfolio and the rest going to Innovative Industrial Properties. Neither are close to risk free, but QS has been a long term long position for me as I feel that they will change the game when it comes to electric vehicles and the issues the industry faces in charging infrastructure and length of charge. IIPR has been a safer way to play the marijuana industry without owning any of the companies trying to keep their heads above water during this difficult economic downturn. IIPR has been down quite a bit but as a REIT, it will still pay a healthy distribution and provides a way to play the space on a more holistic basis instead of betting on individual marijuana companies to make it until further legalization and proper business infrastructure and processes are widely available.

That's about all I got. If you recently got laid off due to the major headcount cuts at technology firms and other companies, please reach out. I'd be happy to suggest anything I can to help. Thanks as always for your readership. I will try to not get so behind on writing for work and pay that I can't provide at least something here every so often. Onward and upward in 2023!

What's Next? 2023 Predictions You Didn't Ask For

(Originally published January 16, 2023)

2022 has come to a close. Assets were down. Almost across the board. The economy was flying for the first half of the year. It then started a rapid slowdown. The Federal Reserve raised rates. Then, they did it again. This was repeated over and over again.

I previously did a post about the year in review. I'll be honest, January has been a pretty difficult month. Things were busy in December, my budgeting suffered, and January has mostly just been an effort to catch up. In fact, I have put any and all new investing on hold to start 2023, which pains me to say, but is completely necessary to ensure no serious setbacks in my overall plans. The year, as a result, will be starting on a slow note, but that doesn't mean the whole year will have to be this way. I look forward to further work on so many awesome opportunities once I have things more normalized.

So what's first? Well, for one thing, I got behind on my credit card debt. I hate admitting that. I've been so good about it for 2+ years. Always paying everything off at the end of each month. Now I finally have a balance that I can't pay, and that's the first thing that needs to be taken care of. It's been a focused effort and I hope to only need the month of January to resolve this problem.

After that, I need to rebuild my emergency savings. I feel comfortable funding all the things that I do because of this emergency savings buffer. It is crucially important for all people to maintain some type of liquid cash account to ensure that they can cover unexpected expenses in life. Some unexpected tax issues and unplanned expenses caused my savings to diminish. On one hand, I'm grateful that the money was there to take care of the expenses when they arose. However, the inability to do this again in the future as of this very moment must be fixed. This is the second priority once the credit cards are caught up.

I'm almost embarrassed this happened because I know that these things are Personal Finance 101 and any good financial planner would tell you that these are the things to start with and immediately take care of when trying to right your finances. This is why I called a complete audible on my finances and decided to halt all investing. There's no replacement for fundamentals and trying to tell yourself that a good investment can fix these errors down the road someday is just not fiscally responsible to yourself.

So, once I get these things taken care of, what are my focuses for 2023? What do I think will provide the best opportunities?

This is solely me speaking my own opinions. I am just a guy who blogs on his website. I by no means intend for anyone to follow my advice or use this as a definitive guide.

I think that 2023 will be a difficult year to invest. There is not going to be an ease up on the economy until things stabilize. Every single bank last week in their earnings report listed their outlook for a mild recession in 2023. Things are not just going to turn around on a dime. I expect the year to continue to be choppy and difficult. In fact, I have cash in my stock portfolio for the first time basically ever. I intend to be patient with this. I want to increase my dividend income this year and make that a focus of my investing again.

In 2021, I focused a lot of attention in publicly traded stocks. Investments started in 2020 and a lot of that was also in public stocks. 2022 was likely the first year that the majority of my investments did not go into publicly traded stocks in my brokerage account ($4,225 in brokerage, $6,927.64 between crypto & NFTs). I would anticipate that that heavily weighted investing into crypto and NFTs would not continue in 2023; however, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think there were a lot of opportunities in the space while prices to purchase/buy in are cheap.

One area that I'd like to move into further in 2023 is real estate. I personally think that 2023, as with most asset classes, will be a bad year for real estate as the huge price hike we've seen across all real estate markets slowly comes down as the year continues. I believe that this year will end up being a good longer term opportunity to put money into both public and private REITs, which can help create cash flow for future investments down the road.

I'm also always interested in exploring new asset classes and investment opportunities. I look forward to continuing to learn this year. Outside of investing, my biggest focuses for this year are to continue to grow my irl work, as well as my work here in the web3 space. I believe that the best is yet to come despite some serious headwinds and problems over the first year, but honestly it took this type of market reversal to get my interest and efforts to begin with. I don't enjoy investing at all time highs, just like most people, so I waited for a good portion of the air to come out of the tires before beginning to explore web3. 

I want to continue to work on depressivehacks.com and grow what this entity has to offer. I love providing random updates of things that peak my interest and having somewhere to share that and express that with others. I truthfully just want to be able to afford to try a bunch of random ass shit and review it or post it or whatever. I just invested in a solid upgrade for my work station at home and that has me excited for my next series of irl upgrades. Hopefully that also comes in 2023. I also am excited to continue to work on Birdie Golf and partner with more people and projects in the space. Even if I can't be an investor all the time, I can still contribute despite my personal finance situation and add value.

I thank you all for your readership and following along with this journey. I look forward to further blog posts in 2023 and seeing where this goes all the way to the end of the year for another summary. I can only imagine what is in store given where I went in 2022...

2022 Year In Review

(Originally published January 3, 2023)

Alright, so I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good at this sort of thing. I've also been in the midst of a difficult depressive episode (not to be confused with a Depressive episode, which would be a tv show about Depressive Hacks). So, in an effort to try to summarize & lift my spirits, I'm going to discuss 2022 in a very open manner and hopefully get some closure on the year.

Nobody needs to be told that 2020 was a difficult year. 2021 was also a residual difficult year as the world figured out a way to wrap existence around the existence of Covid-19. I'd say that 2022 has really been the most "normal" year since 2019, which we should all be grateful for. I wouldn't say 2022 was particularly enthralling personally, but I am very grateful it felt more typical than the previous two years and that things have improved on the pandemic front.

Now, what to talk about. So I started a new day job in 2021. 2022 I spent the whole year at this job. I'll be honest - I tend to get bored pretty easily, so spending the whole calendar year at this job I see as an accomplishment. The first half of the year went solid when the economy was doing better. The second half left a lot to be desired. I work a job with commission, so obviously Q1 and Q2 were a lot more fun getting that pay check.

My second job is entirely commission, unlike my day job which does have a base + commission. Things at my second job this year went really well. So well, in fact, that I got to learn about quarterly estimated taxes and knock out a good chunk of money I had set aside to pay the government. I earned a personal record amount freelancing as well (the bar before was pretty low, but still worth celebrating). Next year, tax planning will be better as I now know what to expect, but let this be a lesson for all of you internet income earners. Nobody is there saying "oh, here's what you need to know if you start making more than a few hundred dollars on the side" when you're working. I work some other side things that can help sometimes, but those are the three areas I'd really like to focus on most.

Now, what happened with this money? Obviously, I had to use some of it for existing. Things got expensive with inflation and so more than anticipated went to regular things, rather that's an evening out for a date or groceries or even presents for the holidays.

A good portion went to investing. I do all my own investing and this year was one to forget. I even tax loss harvested to try to lower my income tax. It was pretty easy to do because I was down sizably.

I will not sit here and tell you "everything is going amazing" when it isn't. I'm a big proponent of buying and holding, so my time horizons aren't really in question yet, but it would be a lie to say that this year went well. As someone who is risk tolerant and has long timelines, I was and still am pretty heavy on SPACs and crypto. If you know anything about how the year has gone, that hasn't been a particularly fun trade. I will say that some pluses occurred in my Fundrise portfolio, which held up quite well compared to my stocks. The diversification into that alternative was good and I see why I did it after a year like 2022.

I went through my first IPO with private stock I held in the beginning of 2022. I also purchased some additional private stock, invested in wine with Vinovest, and dove into the world of NFTs.

Ah, yes, the part where I discuss what NFT world has been like. As someone that has been investing since 2020, I can hardly tell you that I'm SUPER experienced, but NFTs are so different than most other markets. I have really ate it on a few projects that aren't looking spectacular this moment (I won't throw any under the bus, but have you really invested in an NFT project if you haven't gotten rugged?).

What's most interesting to me is that each project is so unique. Some are basically IP investments, which is an area I've learned a lot about and found you can also invest in outside the NFT space with sites like Royalty Exchange (which I'd love to use someday when I can afford to). The confidence in whomever founded the project to maximize the IP is really why you'd stay, unless you have a plan for monetizing the IP yourself (or if you just like the art & don't care about the money).

Others are basically investments in startup businesses. It's so interesting to me to get to speak directly with visionaries trying to kickstart their dreams through a new method of raising funds. Still, others are social or utility driven with holders benefiting from different perks the project promises. Many companies who existed prior to NFTs use this model to enter the space and offer some type of benefit to their real life entity that's associated with their NFT project.

No, I haven't made money there either. This whole year was a huge learning experience in investing. It's hard to make money in a down market, especially when you're not a super active trader. Instead, I'm going to focus on some other highlights from joining this area of investment.

I was brought on to community manage for Birdie Golf. Now, if you know anything about me as a person, you'd think "why would Depressive be hired as a Community Manager where talking to people is a part of the job?". I'd normally agree with you, but I work every day to overcome my terrible social anxiety that seemingly has just gotten worse since Covid-19 started in 2020. Coming up with different ways to work on the project, add value to Birdie, and engage others has really helped me to learn a lot about the space and I look forward to where Birdie can go in 2023.

Another major highlight was launching this website. Sure, right now it's just a blog where I ramble on about stuff and yeah, there's a little portion where you can find what I, the creator of Depressive Hacks, would list on my resume and work I've done both in an organized job and on my own. However, I feel that getting started was a big step and am excited for what could be in store for 2023. I will also share that I invested my very first money into this site (beyond the $10 for a domain name). I have invested for two years in all kinds of other people, projects, companies, entities, and ideas. This is the very first time I've put money into one of my own concepts and I am excited to see where it goes. 

Along the way, I've met countless people. I am grateful to know so many people who are working on developing different things. I was even so inspired that I majorly upgraded my work station and now am working away on multiple screens with all kinds of gadgets and tools to help grow all areas of work that I participate in. In a weird way, web3 has turned into my social outlet since I have such a difficult time trying to engage in real life anymore. I hope to work on that in 2023 but I appreciate so many of you helping me get through 2022. It was a hard year.

Work stress. Money stress. Relationship stress. 2022 was the culmination of a lot of stress. It's cliche but I hope to improve my quality of life in 2023. One major thing that I will share openly that I'm so happy about is that I was able to go back into therapy in 2022. That has made a major difference and is likely the reason that I'm still able to sit here and type about such a hard year in the midst of such a hard depressive episode. Winter is here. More depressive episodes will come. This blog will be here for me when they do. Not that I want to turn this into my therapist because I pay my actual therapist too much to do that, but it's been nice to focus my attention and efforts here in times of distress and have an outlet for my creativity, whimsy, curiosity, and learning.

Now: 2023 goals. I hope to grow this site. I want to be able to make more connections and collaborate to bring better reasons to visit depressivehacks.com beyond just listening to my ramblings. I appreciate every person who takes the time to read my content, but I'll be honest, it's not a ton of people. Creative new ways to engage and grow the brand, the site, and everything that this stands for since I launched it in early 2022 excites me.

I want to make real progress with my work. When I say that, I'm excluding the site for now. I want to figure out if my day job is where I want to stay. I want to continue to grow in my second job and hope to see even half the jump in success I saw from 2021 to 2022 during the course of this upcoming year. I want to continue to invest in things that fascinate me and that I believe in, as well as hopefully make some money. Cash flow was a HUGE problem in 2022 and I hope to correct that a bit this year. I want to continue to work on Birdie and help grow that year over year. I want to capitalize on opportunities that come my way. My sibling just did a vision board for 2023 and despite teasing them about it, I honestly don't hate the idea. I've never been a good planner and struggle in being concrete with my goals. I prefer to under promise and over deliver.

Anyways, I really appreciate it if you made it this far in the post. I'd hardly say that this encompasses everything that happened last year, but it seems like a good enough wrap-up, so we're going to call it. Please don't forget that I'm actively accepting resume applications to have your resume (anon or not) listed on depressivehacks.com FOR FREE so I can try to connect you with others who may benefit from your skills. Always open to ideas, collaborations, brainstorming, whatever. Just look for the pink Awkward Astronaut (#9179) across platforms; that is the face of Depressive Hacks and branding is important, so it's consistent (homeostasis). Thank you for your viewership; I hope to bring you even better stuff to scroll through on the toilet in 2023. 

Synergies & How Can I Help?

(Originally published on December 18, 2022)

So, the other evening I could not sleep and I was thinking about the website and what to do next. I've really enjoyed having the ability to write here and express my thoughts on whatever topic I like, but I envision more for this page and I would love to help build in a way that can benefit others as well as myself.

This whole idea started as a way to focus my energy and attention into something productive during the winter months. I can attest it has been successful thus far in that goal. I think that it can be more, though.

A lot of people right now are struggling through the holiday season. Rather it be emotionally, financially, physically, spiritually, or otherwise, you never know what others are going through. Be understanding and lead with empathy. It's easier said than done, but I truly believe we can make a difference if we try to keep that in focus.

To that end, here is what came to me as an idea & I am writing it as a blog post to try to gather feedback. I can better spell out my vision in long form and I am curious if there would be demand for this concept.

I want to create a page where your resume can be listed. This would not be a job board in a traditional sense, as it wouldn't contain any way for you to apply to a position. Maybe someday, that concept could be added, but that is not the original vision. Instead, I would like to create a resource where a resume can be posted anonymously.

I would maintain contact information for each listing and create a way for the resumes to be reviewed. The idea here is that it could provide a place for the network of entrepreneurs, investors, intellectuals, and others to seek talent for their project. This could be of value to a small business owner, project founder, or anyone who is at the very lonely first stages of going out on their own to start a business.

Being able to utilize the scalability and value that the internet provides to help the growth potential of whatever it is you invest your time into is essential, especially during such harsh times across the globe. In times like these, much of what we turn to is community and those around us to continue to support our efforts and spirits in difficult times. For that reason, I want to be of value to those in the Depressive Hacks community and do my best to create synergies that can help others, as that's really one of my biggest strengths.

I will continue to work to expand my network and find more areas where I can be of use to others, through Depressive Hacks and in my own actual life. Should this idea for a resume archive be in demand, I will begin by creating my own freelance resume and posting it on the site as a trial. I would be happy to lend my skills set to help others and am always happy to listen to an opportunity. I envision the ability to give better recommendations to others as I learn more about the real life skills of my network and what types of things can be brought to the table and are in demand for others. As a freelancer myself who works a multitude of jobs, as well as an investor, I believe I am in a unique position to see ways that I can pair things together to create positive change. I try to do this as much as I can with synergies I find in my regular life and I am excited to try to bring this practice to web3 and the Depressive Hacks brand.

Please feel free to reach out with feedback and I look forward to the thoughts of my readers. Nothing but the best wishes for you all this time of year and always.

How to Take On A Second Job

(Originally published December 3, 2022)

So for years now, I have done a lot of various different types of work in my personal life. The extra work I do helps to finance some of my ideas, projects, investments, and concepts. This work has helped to create this blog and given me something else to start investing in, as if there weren't enough options already.

In my own life, I've held more than one job at a time for the majority of the last decade. When I was younger, it was out of necessity; now, it is risk management. During these tough economic times, plenty of people are trying to think of ways to make more money. Maybe you'd like to change your career entirely. Maybe you just want to be able to have something on the side that would help you pay for presents for your kids. Whatever your financial goals are, you've likely heard time and time again that you can only cut expenses for so long before having a real impact on your quality of life. The "easiest" thing to do is to generate more income - this is in quotes because it STILL IS NOT EASY.

Now, what I do is a bit excessive. My friends make fun of me and ask me: "how many jobs do you have again? Why not just get one job that pays better?"

This is totally fair and I will admit that my day job doesn't pay amazing. What it does do, however, is give me a great work-life balance. This balance has allowed me the time to work on additional means of income outside of work. Sure, some of them might not make money this second. Maybe they'll never make money. Some of them, however, do make additional money. In fact, I just had to make my very first quarterly estimated tax payment this year because I needed to avoid having a huge tax burden come next April, as well as avoid paying fees and penalties for not being up to date on things.

It may not seem like it, but this is actually a good problem to have. Now the majority of it comes from maintaining a second job, but there are other things that I do that factor into my taxes. This isn't really supposed to be a self-portrait though, so let's move on.

I've worked a lot of day jobs, part time jobs, and structured employment. Those experiences have given me a diverse background - highly recommend reading the book "Range" by David Epstein for anyone looking to explore the distinguishing factors between generalists and specialists in a professional setting. Through this experience, I have found ways to expand outside of my immediate work experience.

I want to share some of this experience in branching out. Hopefully it can help someone to find a way to further support themselves or their loved ones. Maybe it will help someone to move out of their job into an area of work they find more fulfilling.

I started working multiple jobs when I was young, but if you're just now thinking of taking on extra work for the first time, here are some of my tips:

First, pick something that you really enjoy. Do you have any hobbies that you really like? Any certain aspect of your job that you find particularly interesting? What is something you have a good understanding of from some amount of passion? Working more than one job when you're used to 40 hours a week is going to take some adjustment, but it will be easier if you enjoy whatever it is that you're doing.

Second, determine how long you need some extra money for and how soon you need to start earning it. Could you pick up some seasonal work or part time work for a short period of time? It's always a nice thought to start your own side hustle, but realistically, this takes more time than people realize and isn't going to provide you a boost to your income in the short term, which is especially important if you need extra money quickly.

You'll want to examine both local options to your area for extra work, as well as check online. I personally have had some good luck finding extra work in sales, writing, freelance work and consultation work. However, I'm always curious and looking for new ways to add income to my bank account. I've worked multiple jobs in seasonal industries and temporary positions. Before and even during my time as a corporate employee in an office, I worked a multitude of part time jobs that included being a secret shopper, a caddie at a golf course, a delivery driver, a tutor, a business consultant, and many others. At no point did any of these jobs provide me with enough money that I could've done them as stand alone opportunities, but there are a lot more opportunities than people realize to try to use some extra time that they have to make extra money and help boost their income to better balance their finances.

I hope that this helps to motivate someone to start diving into alternative ways to add some income on the side and help get through some rocky times ahead. I would be happy to write more on this topic if there is a need and always am happy to help use the experience I've had finding work in various ways to assist others in their search. 

Leverage

(Originally published November 15, 2022)

The last week has been pretty chaotic. Personally, the economic slowdown has shown itself at my day job, second job, and freelance work. Money just isn't being spent the way that it was six months ago. Maybe that's for the best after what has happened this week in crypto. If you aren't familiar, the world's third largest exchange became insolvent after they got over-leveraged.

This terminology may not be something that you're familiar with or you may not see how this applies to crypto, so I'm going to take a little time to explain. Many people all around the world maintain a bank account. You open a consumer account, deposit your money, and the bank holds your money for you until you go back to get it again. That's the basic format of how banking works for the consumer. However, it doesn't explain what is happening behind the scenes.

The bank uses the money that is deposited to finance other operations that make money. For example, small business loans from a community bank are generally funded from the deposits that community members have made to the bank. The bank uses cash to generate returns and then pays a VERY small amount to account holders in interest.

The reason that it's possible to confidently put your money into a bank account is that there is typically some type of guarantee of deposit by an overlying entity. In the United States, the banking system is backed by FDIC insurance, which guarantees a deposit into an account up to $250,000. This means that if the bank is unable to pay out your account due to overextending the money they get from deposits into risky assets, the FDIC will help by guaranteeing your money and making sure that you get it back despite the individual risk of that bank going under. This was instituted after the major bank runs of the Great Depression and is what allows confidence to keep funds in the bank.

Banks typically carry responsible leverage; however, there have been historical exceptions that have created turbulence in the economy. The subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-08 comes to mind immediately. The checks and balances in the established banking system create a more stable economic force.

This is relevant because crypto is not FDIC insured, meaning that there is no guarantee of deposit of funds on an exchange or brokerage. Customers of FDX, the exchange that went under due to being leveraged too far (among other things), won't be able to claim FDIC insurance and will have to wait for bankruptcy courts to unwind the assets and hopefully get SOME of their money back.

Leverage at the scale of major financial institutions can create serious problems in the economy. Most people aren't heading one of these organizations and aren't going to be in this position. That doesn't mean that there aren't lessons to be learned though. For sake of beating a dead horse, I won't turn this into a rant on self custody of assets.

A big takeaway for individuals is that using leverage is very risky and that purchasing ANYTHING on credit comes with risk. Even something as simple and common as credit cards can really escalate and cause consumers to feel like they're fighting an uphill, if not impossible, battle. Debt can be a bear to overcome. Debt based on leveraging an asset, like a home equity line of credit (HELOC), can be risky if the asset that the loan is based upon (aka the leverage) starts to decrease in value.

Home prices can bottom out and cause serious liquidity crunches (2008 showed us that). It is more common, however, for this to happen with a more volatile asset. When it comes to volatile assets, crypto is at the top of the list. The use of fungible cryptocurrencies to be used as leverage for any type of loan is an extremely risky practice. We've seen enough blowups (Terra/Luna, Three Arrows, Celsius, Voyager, FTX) to know that this type of practice needs to stop AND mirrors what has happened in TradFi.

Moral of the story? Don't get greedy. If you want something, earn the money to pull it off. Be patient. Easier said than done, but that's my $0.02. Hopefully, the next post is a bit more cheery.

Depressivehacks.com & How You Can Help

(Originally published on November 7, 2022)

This post isn't going to be a long, drawn-out ramble like the last one. Instead, I want to call you, dear reader, into action.

Depressive Hacks came about as a concept drawn upon my need for an outlet for my creativity and my love of learning and education. I don't know if I will ever run out of random things I find fascinating to discuss here and I absolutely love that. However, this blog isn't meant to be just a space where I can yell into the void of the internet with more than 140 characters. I want it to be a collaborative and creative learning space for everyone. With that being said, I am officially opening up this platform to anyone who would like to do some type of Q&A about any topic they find fascinating and have expertise in.

Some qualifying rules and regulations. First, it doesn't need to be something you do professionally. It's great that people can take their passions and make them their jobs, but most people have more passions than jobs. If you have worked as a plumber for 20 years and want to discuss tips for rental property owners, that's great. If you're a plumber who wants to talk about your passion for priceless comics and how you feel about the collectibles market as a long-term investment, that's amazing too. The goal is not to pigeonhole you into whatever you feel best fits your resume. In fact, think of this space as a way to expand your resume and show your expertise to the world.

I will maintain the final publication and edits; however, I'm going to give you a chance to triple-check whatever you respond to my questions to make sure that you are completely content with your portrayal. I will even provide a final approval opportunity after I make edits, which will mostly be for grammar, punctuation, formatting, and flow of content.

I am happy to have a discussion with anyone regarding your topic of choice. You may choose to provide your expertise anonymously or as yourself. If you wish to link anything in your post, such as a website for your business or your social media, I am happy to provide you an opportunity to add your links to your Q&A. I will not be charging for these digital interviews and would encourage anyone with a small business, especially in a niche area, to reach out and utilize this platform to the fullest to get some free advertising.

I do maintain final creative rights and I must say that while I am very open-minded about the content of the Q&A discussions, not every topic is going to be a great fit. I will occasionally have to either tell someone to go back to the drawing board or outright reject a topic if it doesn't fit the greater scope of learning and education that I have in mind. I am hoping to keep this to an absolute minimum. Unprofessional topics of discussion would be really the only immediate rejection.

With that being said, DMs on Instagram, Twitter, or email at depressivehacks@gmail.com are all good ways to reach out if you're interested in collaborating for a Q&A. I look forward to launching this structure to the blog and can't wait to work with so many talented people out there!