dear friends,

recently I felt a huge wave of doubt hit me this past week— it physically felt painful. in a podcast, I wanted to hear from my parents' perspective about my mental psychosis that I had when I was 14 years old.

I was in the hospital for a week.

this was 10 years ago almost exactly.

it's strange and maybe my mind is being led to that point in my life because it's been exactly a decade. and we humans tend to put meaning to numbers.

10 years is significant.

it's almost as if I am conversing with my 14 year old self, the lost kid who was spiraling out of control.

in this week's letter, I had this specific "conversation" stewing in the background of my mind and I hope you keep this in mind as well.

it was strange. throughout writing this one, I felt my nerves rising and falling, constantly oscillating as I had back then — a tether to that kid's soul.

don't lose your child-like energy in the pursuit of money.

your friend(ly)

jakester

P.S. this is technically the 5th letter [I know it says 004 but 000 was the 1st] and I did watch the remastered version of Discovery, Interstella 5555 (special event in theaters that lasted only few days after 12.12.24 - portal day)

The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

full album / movie: https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLSdoVPM5WnndLX6Ngmb8wktMF61dJirKl

[last song of album - 10 minutes long] - the song title describes the live life letters perfectly :P

[more soothing and calm option - no lyrics]

All too often I see many people around me lose the wonder in their eyes— the stars that lose their spark. Their child-like wonder is lost to the information overlords.

My generation, Generation Z, the digital natives to the Internet, are now in the current age range of ~18-27~ years old. All we have known is a world with the Internet that continues to feed us, fueling our overconsumption of information.

And now, most of us are competing in the Corporate Gauntlet and feel dissatisfied with the current system of the corporatocracy, of our current society and world.

We feel lost and jaded. We lack agency and it's becoming more difficult to keep up with the cost of living as more and more complex issues continue to arise.

This is our world now.

In a world of dishonest players having more of an advantage than honest players - the honest players are driven out because there is little to no incentives to be honest.

What's the point in trying?

This was where my head was at when I was 14 years old.

As a kid, I had dreams of being an inventor, of being someone that creates solutions for the world, and I knew in my heart I was meant for something big.

I was a naive dreamer and acute observer of the world.

And, when I realized how fucked up the world was, I entered a state of panic and paranoia, of doubt and an overwhelming loss of self-worth. How could I fix this world?

I felt so small. So worthless. Useless and unable to make any major difference that impacted the real world. There was nothing I could do. My dreams were shattered. There was no hope.

This was all I could see through the glass window of my iPhone 4. Social media and my access to the Internet shattered me and I could not handle this reality, this corrupt world we were in.

At the time, me and my peers were also being exposed to learning Darwinism and Theories of Evolution. The survival of the fittest.

The voices began to take over as illusions glossed over my eyes.

…

A part of me is starting to realize these voices were only trying to protect me and expose me to reality. To make sense of the world and the interplay between conflicting ideas and things. But my mind was too young to realize.

Real eyes realize real lies [sorry I had to add some comic relief lol :P]

Comeback and don't get caught in the weeds of your own mind Jake. We don't have too much space nor time left to take up in their minds.

Give them space. Allow them to make their own connections.

Keep building your legos Jake.

We live in a world with asymmetric information - players do not have the same levels of information and the quality of information can widely vary.

The concept Information Asymmetry is so important to learn for many reasons:

George Akerlof's introduced this concept of Information Asymmetry in it's application to economics in his 1970s paper, "The Market for Lemons" that won in 2001 a Nobel Memorial Prize.

I had to read this dense paper for my Intermediate Finance class [shout out Professor Parham - he was like my Yoda].

This paper blew my mind and shifted my paradigm as a 3rd year as an undergrad business student who was a bit disillusioned by the corporatocracy, yet still had a profound love for markets.

I resonated with Akerlof's story too as he initially received immense backlash for his take and how certain unregulated markets could lead to significant market failures. Akerlof had some major balls making this argument in the 70s during an era of strong faith in unchecked capitalism.

Akerlof spotlighted failures and blind spots of free market capitalism.

He called out reasons as to why old people have a challenge in getting medical insurance, labor market discrimination for profit maximization, problems in developing markets, and of course the used cars industry. Those damn sleazy used car salesmen!

Each of these markets incentivized dishonest players due to information asymmetry. Dishonesty drives the honest players out of the market, leading us with few to none honest players.

This could be particularly relevant to politics and perhaps the reason why we don't have many politicians that we trust as Machiavellian principles are incentivized to compete in that arena.

There is a low incentive to play morally "honest and fair" tactics.

Now how does this relate to philosophy of mind and ethics?

almost everything. there are some conceptual overlaps that are worth exploring.

when determining how to live the good life and human morality, we humans often have gaps in our mind, regardless of intentionality.

we are limited by our own perspectives and perception as to a Universal Truth as to what is considered the good itself. we can only see what are eyes can see and where our minds are primed to, consciously and unconsciously.

Scottish philosopher David Hume conceptualizes this gap quite nicely in his Is-Ought problem / distinction:

this distinction has been donned Hume's Guillotine because it cuts off almost any claim a moralist could try to make on what we ought to do morally.

if Hume is right, we become cut off to any source in the empirical world as to how we can create a morally ethical life. the good life. we are cut off to any information.

information asymmetry?

just because something naturally feels right, like eating meat or having sex, that doesn't mean it's something we ought to do. the pleasures we feel, the emotions, the joy… these are things that Hume would classify as descriptive statements of our experience. this is what is.

[these are simple yet complexing concepts; these minute long videos typically help me understand - lemons and guillotines]

so what do we do to overcome this gap, the limits of our own awareness and of our own knowledge.

We can negotiate through philosophical dialogues and make critical judgements from our own intuition.

Here’s a table summarizing the approaches to recovering from Hume’s Guillotine:

The approaches vary from introducing explicit normative assumptions to grounding moral claims in human nature, shared values, or practical considerations. Each has strengths and limitations, with applicability depending on philosophical commitments.

…

there is no "universal" answer or truth that will neatly save us from the guillotine from chopping our righteous metaphorical heads. all we really can do is be human and do our best to get to a way of thinking that doesn't harm others or creates the best net good.

to create mutual understanding between as many humans as humanely possible.

to do that, we will likely need to negotiate with others [who will likely have their own self-interests and agendas] and find a way towards this net good for humanity as a whole.

plus, you need to figure out a way to align that mission to yourself and for your own self-interest.

because you got to eat too, my friend!

Always be prepared for a negotiation. Do not bring a knife to a gun fight. There is no reason for you to not be prepared and to gain all the information needed.

The one with more information has the upper-hand, more often than not.

Getting [More Of] What You Want. Amazon Affiliate Link (it's free with Audible trial)

This book single-handedly improved my negotiation skills at minimum 3x and I would say I was a pretty good negotiator even prior to reading it my with my crazy Cutco Sales Experience.

It may have 10x my negotiation skills if I'm being bullish.

I definitely recommend reading it, especially if you are in the midst of the corporate gauntlet, job search, freelancing, consulting, and honestly any form of interaction or communications where you want or need something as a result.

With Q1 fast approaching, I do have many deals and negotiations I have in the pipeline and rereading this book has been shedding more light on how to navigate. It helped me prepare and land a $4500 videography gig in January.

Now enough of the ~ sales pitch ~ cuz' I'm not trying to force you to buy anything; but I'm also not going to stop you lol :P

This is your North Star, your saving grace in any deal.

This alone can determine the power and influence you have in getting what you want out of a negotiation or interaction.

Why?

Because you got options. If you don't have options, then desperation to get the deal done is your next step.

People can smell desperation fume off of you, especially if they are well-versed in the art of negotiating.

With the power of options, you have the power to walk away or leverage the other options to increase the value you extract.

Do not concede certain aspects of a deal just to get the deal done.

Our human brains often fixate on the idea that compromise is always the answer. It is not always the answer and can even lead to disastrous outcomes!

Do not assume that an agreed deal is a good deal.

Reservation price = Lowest / Highest Price You Are Willing To Accept.

A reservation price is the lowest price a seller will accept or the highest price a buyer will pay for a good or service. It's also known as a walk-away point or resistance point.

Remember, it's never a "you vs them" mentality. The best negotiations are those that are framed as a cooperative endeavor, not a competitive one with your counter-part. How would your view change if you had a fixed-pie perspective in mind?

Know your damn worth, my friend.

Know when to strike a deal. Or when to walk away.

J: spike, I don't think this is a good idea.

S: it's my mission friendlyjakester, I have no other choice.

J: mmm, that's not good.

S: why?

J: these business heads are going to have a field day with you and take all your bananas.

S: I have faith in humanity.

5 minutes in the Marketplace of Vendors and Sellers

S: what just happened?

J: you have no bananas left. they smelt your monkey desperation from a mile away my friend. we should've just walked away.

S: I hate this.

This is where I sat, when I found myself between two worlds. Between two schools of thought. Between philosophy and commerce. Then, upon graduation, I was catapulted into the uncertainty of it all. Into space. I found a hero.

The Hero's Journey.

On the beach, Charlie stood. It's warm here.

He looked inward towards the island, then looked outwards to the sea. What was he to do?

The Boy of Wonder. He felt something from within, his body reverberating.

In Charlie's mind, he imagined himself gliding through space, through the cosmos. Pulling stars and planets together with the force of gravity. Seeing how even the slightest touch affects the nature of creation and destruction.

How one little motion could lead a star to implode into a blackhole. The points of no return. The natural endpoint for massive stars. Enriching future generations of stars and planets.

The Stellar Evolution Cycle.

It was a fearful yet exciting experience.

The dynamic interconnectedness of the entire cosmos.

Creation leading to Destruction. Destruction breeding Creation.

There he imagined a little boy in a room full of small colorful bricks. He was assembling the small colorful bricks into beautiful creations. The boy looked very similar to him, but much younger. Who was this little brown boy?

Then a wave of emotions came over him and he was back on the island. But at this point he was already building a ship.

Charlie awoke from his daze and half the ship was already built. What a strange experience. He felt an extreme sense of relief and luck. How lucky he was to have so much progress already done. He knew it was built mostly by his own hands. But something in him had done a big part in piecing it all together.

What was this?

I am standing in the green house. It’s warm in here.

God, the Universe, is aligning with me.

I feel the Truth being realized.

I hope I speak the Truth.

At least I know it’s my Truth.

Getting (More) Of What You Want

How To Connect

I shall read.

[theAltruist888]

We are a reflection of our reality.

Not everyone shares the same reality.

You can thank the media for that.

[mrcharliesllc]

Reject the deal with the Devil.

Realize your own BATNA is high.

Stillness in the Storm

I felt this overwhelm with my spiral writing.

The writing where I harnessed my darkest emotions and deepest thoughts in my mind.

I fear my writing could hurt the ones I love most

The more I harnessed the dark, the more I worry that I scare those close to me.

They fear I will spiral

. . .

When my loved ones see me becoming obsessed with my writing, spending nights being consumed by the craze of passion.

They grow worrisome.

They see me spiraling and it leads them to worry I would lose control.

. . . .

Drawing connections from ideas to ideas, branching from one to the next.

It felt like infinity repeating itself while in this state of flow.

It's hard to describe and may seem incoherent to the natural eye.

It was a very peaceful place.

. . . . .

I was in my own land of legos, building a world out of words.

I felt like a kid again, feeling my soul fully expressing itself.

. . . . . .

I felt this weird energy inside of me that was feeding itself.

It was like gravity, centripetal force, the force you find in tornadoes and whirlpools.

Constantly feeding itself and using it to propel itself upward, constantly spiraling and expanding on itself.

This was my mind.

. . . . . . .

I was riding a storm, a dangerous storm of no sleep.

I've been here before 10 years ago, through my psychosis and hallucinations.

At 14, my mind wasn't ready for this taxing endeavor.

But 10 years later, I have developed the tools and navigation skills to master the storm.

The Eye.

I woke up before 5am.

It's 4:55am

The voice in my head had woke me up it seems.

There was a vision I had in mind but it begins to fade as I type.

What was it? It felt important…

I felt called to write but I only went to bed around 1:30am.

My soul calls on me to write.

But I am tired.

All too often I see people too many lose the wonder in their eyes…

The stars that lose their spark…

this video is still unlisted but may come out to public soon. [secret link]

[Chorus : Sampha]

Oh, your lookin' at the church in the night sky

And you wonder where is God in your night life —

Oh, your lookin' at the church in the night sky

Wonderin' whether God's gonna say hi —

Please face me when I speak. Please say to me somethin' before you leave.

You've been treatin' me like I'm invisible. Now I'm visible to you.

Oh, the invisible truths they sold. I can't understand the games you play.

Understand, Understand…