dear friends,

I hope I didn't lose you in the spiral of last week's live life letter. I really attempted to go deep into the recesses of my mind. I hope it didn't scare you. All I did was grab a bucket, threw it deep into the depths of my stream of thoughts, and pulled it up for the surface to see.

This is the writer's way and I feel a part of myself being revealed. The channeling of my emotions into the intensity of my writing.

My aim and mission is really to serve you and bring you into an awareness of things not common in a traditional lens.

If you have been following and are keeping up with the speed of my thoughts, thank you. I know I am fast and lengthy.

I love and appreciate you so much. Shout out my Mom, Arabella, and Will Butler for replying back on the email <3 you guys really make me feel seen and to others that I have been conversing through texts and through conversations (I won't air you out to everyone :P) It has been very fulfilling.

As of now, I am still recovering from the spiral up and I have recollected myself. But now it's time to comeback to reality and bring it back to practice. Bring it back to the World and return to the land of normies as much work needs to be done [at least for my current journey].

In other words, I need money to get to where I want to go. I will elaborate further on how I plan to acquire said money in future newsletters. But in this newsletter, I will detail the importance of money, it's purpose with human society, the ideal relationship with this human invention, and other nuances.

Again, I would like to emphasis, I am limited to my own perspective. I am no different than you. I am no savior, no superhero, no insane mad scientist.

I am Jake Ochave.

And this is my view of the world and how I see the best path to an ideal life. I do believe there are some universal truths you, the reader, can pick up on and use in your own life, but please, use your intuition and think critically.

I say this only to challenge, to question, to expand, to bring to light the potential in you, whoever you may be, because I know it lays dormant in us all.

This Digital Renaissance.

gone digital - spotify playlist

you may be thinking…

"Jake, you are crazy to think that money is spiritual?" as you feel the blood boil in you instinctually and emotions start to swirl in you.

"what pretentious view is this kid about to spiel?"

hold that thought. don't dismiss it.

question why you hold that view?

there could be a tapestry of reasons as to why a person could think money is the bane of human existence, the necessary evil that is needed to run this world. there is truth to this. as money is something that a good majority of people put their trust and faith in.

"Let the money talk." or "Put your money where your mouth is" are all too common.

I would go to say that people trust money way more than the government itself. I don't think this is a strange claim to make. There's a reason why we humans decentralized a digital currency out of the control of the government.

We have more faith in a currency than of people. People become corrupted. Material objects don't. Material objects don't stab you in the back. They don't break your trust. But it sure causes people to do strange things.

The question still arises, "How is money spiritual?" if it's so ingrained in the material world.

The Fall of Man. The Human Experience. Death of the Wanderer.

Money. Enter the Arena. You must Play the Game. There's no escaping.

There are 3 Ways of the Game

The Rules are made. Forget what you know. Off the ledge. [know/ledge]

The Systems are right. Optimization is right. Don’t think.

how does one navigate this reality?

We begin to label things to navigate this reality. We want to know what is real. We no longer have this sense of the abstract. Of the lofty ideals…

we must survive.

we must survive in this reality. where our perspective is limited. we no longer have access to it all.

This is the plight of man.

the struggle within our eyes. we can no longer see what is beyond…

… the dream like world our merely dreams. clouds in our heads. the heavens seem so far away. inaccessible to our hands. inaccessible to our soul.

There are signs.

There are signs for the Soul to see. Within our own Soil. The struggle and turmoil. We mustn't see just yet. We must survive. Self actualize?

There's something inside. Conditioned to be suppressed. Suppress this innate drive. And follow this. This extrinsic drive will carry you farther in this world. Give into the pressures. Stop fighting. Stop it.

This fire must be contained. Just do what you are told. And you will be safe. Life can be good. Life will be good. If you just listen. Ignore the fire inside of you.

don't listen. these voices are conflicting within your soul and vying for control. it's hard to determine who to listen to. follow your heart, my friend.

Channel Your Fire.

Here is my Money Journey / Timeline throughout my Life:

I guess this is my resume?

That's something I do enjoy about entrepreneurship. No one gives a damn about my resume except me.

I only share this with you to show how money has moved through me. Throughout this journey, there have been many ups and downs and I owe a ton to the mentorship of those that came before me. Some of my earliest money experiences really shaped my relationship and view of money.

I saw first hand what money could do to people.

The London Pawn Shop really opened my eyes to what was out there.

I remember observing Tae, the owner of the pawn shop, interact with all walks of life. I probably interacted with loan sharks myself while working the front counter. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was being exposed to the beauty and power of financing material things very early on [and eBay - you see some interesting stuff happen in these kinds of marketplaces].

If you've never worked or been at a pawn shop, I'll paint you a quick picture.

You are short on cash and you need to find the means quick. You don't want to take a big loan from the bank. Banks won't loan to you because you have bad credit. What do you do?

You go to a pawn shop with either the intention of pawning your belongings to get a pawn loan or sell the item completely for quick cash.

I didn't really understand it at the time as a young 14-15 year old, how pawn loans worked or why a person would do it.

Why would you pay someone else a monthly payment to store your things?

Why did people take pawn loans that were valued less for what the object was actually worth?

I worked two full summers at Tae's shop. I finally made this realization after many car rides with Tae, the wise ol' Buddhist pawn shop man who was well-respected in the Portsmouth community. I learned that Tae takes on a risk when holding their stuff. The risk that they default on the payment.

The people loved him for his fair and honest dealings. There was a reason why his shop was the only shop that didn't get robbed in the shopping center.

Don't screw people over if you have the power to not do so.

These people needed the money and this was a service for them.

Most of these people genuinely believed that they could get their items back by paying the pawn loans off. Some did. But a majority of people defaulted after a few months. It's tough to see your fellow man in difficult circumstances, knowing there's not much you can do for them. They were giving free money away through interest.

Don't look down on them. Big banks do it to us everyday, just on a much larger scale. We are no better. [we will touch on this topic of interest more in the future]

Who doesn't love pyramids?

The Egyptian Pyramids were built on the back of slaves.

What wasn't built by slaves?

[it's funny because a lot of people joked me for being part of a "pyramid scheme" but what I think they don't realize is that we all are; I'm a jokester at heart who loves irony]

I hope these graphics aren't too graphic for you. Please don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger and this is just an abstraction of the system we live in! Don’t hate the player, hate the game :P

I don't necessarily agree with it completely as I am sure there are some nuances that are missing. It just reminds me of one of my lectures from my prestigious business school.

We were on the topic of Organizational Behavior and the infamous Corporate Ladder.

Rather, I should say, the Corporate Gauntlet.

It displayed all the probabilities and outcomes in a world where we entered as an Associate. The potential career paths we could pursue and the likelihood of gaining said positions up the corporate ladder / pyramid.

It was a vigorous and complex gauntlet.

You've got to imagine the difficulty in rising through the ranks. The competition. The bureaucracy. The politics. The amount of time dedicated. The Darwinistic tendencies.

It requires an immense skill, conviction, and good behaviors/manners to reach the top. And typically, your competition will not play nice. At least the firms and corporations I am imagining from the perspective of a business undergrad.

The typical corporate talk. No thank you.

Don't get me wrong. If you need a steady income, a stepping stone into the future, or just structure - this is the logical choice. This is the choice that makes the most sense. The most practical decision. Complete the assignment and do not think any further.

You've got to make ends meet and no one will blame you for that.

But remember…

We religiously recited this in our finance lectures. This is the maxim of most, if not all corporations.

We all got to eat. These corporations are no different. Every corporation will do what it needs to survive. And sometimes they do things that are not in your best interest. To maximize shareholder value and do what is in the best interest of the firm. This is something you really cannot control or have agency over unless you are an owner.

it's a tough world and it's easy to become disillusioned by the injustices. the world is not fair. it can feel like the world is stacked against you. the corportacracy.

when our basic needs our not met, we are in survival mode. money, in this stage, consumes a person's full attention. it is of utmost importance and we not only expel a ton of physical energy, but a significant amount of mental and spiritual energy.

for a long time throughout my journey, I was hesitant and I questioned the morality of money making activities.

most people who struggle for money, from what I have observed, either lack financial literacy, lack financial confidence, or have been conditioned to hate money and see it as an evil thing.

money isn't evil. people are evil.

but there's more nuance to it. we all have evil living inside of us. it's very rare for an individual to be purely malicious. we are all capable of evil and can perform atrocious acts. it's human nature.

if we define evil as ignorance, we are all ignorant to some things.

and typically, when we don't understand things, we assume ignorance and it often leads us to believe it is a bad thing. uncertainty and the unknown is uncomfortable and scary.

we don't want uncertainty. we want control. we want agency over the things in our life. this is our true desire of self-actualization.

we want to have agency over the work and contributions we make in our life. and often, our agency is taken away by those no smarter than us. perhaps even those more ignorant than us.

you want more agency. you want to be able to do what you genuinely care about. to enjoy life and take it by the horns. you want a good life with the least amount of pain and discomfort.

the whole purpose as to why money was invented was to overcome our survival needs and move up Maslow's hierarchy shown above. To move up the spiral of development.

The reason why we want to climb up the corporate ladder is because we want more agency. We want more control. We want to be able to live a life on our terms. Higher cashflow gives space for higher awareness. Money can provide options.

But, there are other means to get there. Sure, it may be harder. Unconventional. Non-traditional. With no clear path forward…

You will be tested. Pushed into the water. Some people drown. You've got to develop the lungs to breathe. To not panic when life forces your head under in the streams of stress.

you still want an answer?

money is spiritual because of the faith and trust we put into it. the whole invention of money was all based on faith and trust. the whole currency system is just a system of karma.

we exchange a good or service with a currency that says that we have fulfilled something of equal value. and people just trust that we have done it because we have the money or credit to back it up.

they don't trust you out of the goodness of your heart. they trust you because you have the good karma to back it up.

and essentially, every transaction is an exchange and flow of value. it's an exchange and flow of energy and resources. it's a binding force that connects us with others. if money didn't exist, it would prove really hard to trust others and facilitate equal and fair exchanges.

money itself isn't inherently good or bad.

money is an amplifier of who you are. how you earn, spend, and invest money reveals your priorities and values.

this is my whole reasoning as to why I want more money. to provide me the energy and resources to impact more people on a larger scale.

Be weary of the subtle details. The devil is in the details.

Do you fear me?

Evil lives in us all. There is evil in this world and I am the epitome of it. You hate me, yet I am in you. The sin of your misdoings. Of your non-doings. I am in you.

You hate me because you cannot accept me. For I am you. The voice in your head. The little prick that sits on your left shoulder. All I must do is hold a mirror and that's enough to make you fearful of me.

Alas, you have discovered my secret. You do not fear me. You fear yourself. You fear of what you may become. You fear the power I can give you. The material possessions that can possess you.

You may own many things and be proud of it. Yet, you are blind to what owns you. You are a slave to me and you do not see it, you fool!

You reject the deal, yet the deal has been done!

Is this not your stamp?

I jest at you. In your struggle for life. For all that is good in this world. Your pursuit in the material world of the material things.

How do we navigate now in our reality?

Do not fret, all hope is not lost.

Look deep into oneself and acknowledge what is there. You may find a friend.

I am not your friend.

They may reject you, the darkness inside you, but do not falter. Be aware, harness the power of the Meta Self, the voice that rules over all and befriend them. We often confuse this friend to be the devil himself, but they are not the same. Use your awareness, your meta-awareness.

You are so delusional, my friend.

Do not be too prideful in your possessions of this world as you cannot carry them to the next. Greed is a green-eyed monster that can rule your world.

Yet, to be too prideful and arrogant to think that you are above money, is another creature to be weary of.

I am hungry. Feed me.

Satisfy your survival needs. Satisfy the hunger, but do not become a hedonist. Do not think you are above your own basic human limitations. We all get hungry. We all must eat. That is inevitable, my friend. Creation and destruction.

And if you do not satisfy certain hungers, certain desires, they find their way out the Cave somehow. Don't break the contract you have with these innate parts of yourself.

Break the contracts that are not necessary. That don't have your best interest in mind on a long time scale [as there will be times where you must transverse the grey area of your own morality and the nuances of the world].

In the face of a greater evil, are you willing to use a lesser evil to combat it?

Promises should not be taken lightly.

Do not break contracts you promised to yourself you would never break.

Break only the contracts that you were unaware of, that were set on you. That were conditioned onto you. These false contracts that have tricked you into believing that your are stuck. These are self-limiting beliefs.

If you don't need to pay the piper, why pay them?

You don't need the devil to live.

Remember to fulfill your basic needs and your rights as a human being. This gives you the foundation to move up in awareness and self-actualize.

Create not only to express yourself, but to help others.

The key to it all could be our Souls.

Build a ship Charlie. Sail to the horizon. And you will find what you are looking for.

Charlie was confused. What was he looking for?

The Blue Star that shone across the night sky was gone. It has crash landed beyond the sea. Charlie just stood there on the beach, clueless as to what to do.

Build Charlie.

You Must Build. Gather the Resources Necessary for the Journey Ahead. You have what it takes. It's in you. Build Charlie. This is What You Must Do.

Charlie was on an island. He was still new to this world after leaving the Cave. He felt overwhelmed. A huge wave of doubt continued to haunt him. Could he really do this?

The storm was drawing near. To survive, he must build. He must create. To get where he needs to go. To accomplish what he had dreamed of.

J: are you sure you want to meet humanity? we aren't the most favorable or likable species. in fact, we are kinda horrible.

S: it's my mission to seek humanity.

J: I get that but I fear you might be disappointed. we do so many bad things to the world, to ourselves, and probably to the cosmos. we have the tendency to do bad things that are weird and a bit bizarre. and they might put you in a cage.

S: I am aware. they are ignorant to the world around, but they are not to blame. ignorance is bliss. I do realize this. Monkey see, Monkey do.

J: monkey see, monkey do.

When Spike and Jake find humanity, chaos ensues. a fox is robbing a piggy bank. Luigi has made a hit and run on Bowser and is glorified for it. The world is an uproar as if it wasn't already. The noise continues to amplify as more complexities arise. What Jake feared most was that he saw himself in this world, a mirror to his soul, the catalyst to change. Was this really the answer?

cast of characters

000 - the meta-self [God(like), the Creator, Narrator, Universe, Archimedean POV]

001 - friendlyjakester [red kid spirit, creative self, inventor, philosopher]

002 - crazycharlie [blue calm spirit, practical self, problem solver, entrepreneur]

003 - the shadow friend [???]

004 - the hero [???]

005 - spike the space monkey

006 - the devil