T.T. 54: the cost of waiting
Bitcoin conferences and travel mistakes
Hola amigos,
2 months and 2 days since my last post.
More on that another time.
For now… greetings from Nashville!
I’m here for the Bitcoin Conference.
Yes, the big one…
Trump, ordinals, bankers, and all.
Again… more on that in another post.
For this one, I’m gonna talk about traveling.
I love adventure once I have momentum — that first step out of the door — but I also have a nasty habit of regressing back into my comfort zone.
Getting stuck in a rut…
Indecision. Analysis paralysis.
The big move to El Salvador last year was an exception. It took time, but I picked a clear direction… announced it publicly… built up momentum… and, five months later, I actually followed through.
After arriving, I ended up improvising a lot of the ensuing 8 months. But in that case, it actually worked out really well.
I spoke to over 100,000 people about Bitcoin, educating many freedom-friendly listeners on Twitter Spaces. My ideas, in real life conversations with new friends, helped inspire multiple new businesses. For my own work, I started a podcast — with some very positive feedback — and, in collaboration with some Bitcoin friends, organized a conference in Berlín’s new circular economy!
Lots of new experiences.
Lots of successes!
I’m not completely incompetent… quite the contrary, in fact, when I’m decisive and committed.
That’s the thing though.
Decisive. Committed.
Why do I emphasize this?
Because I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to come to this Nashville conference.
Ordinals…
Politicians…
Fiat bankers, including BlackRock.
Not exactly the grassroots “freedom money” qualities that made me passionate about Bitcoin.
My ticket for this was actually free.
Gifted over a month ago!
I thought about bailing anyway.
At the very last minute, FOMO kicked in.
I’m happy to be here. Nashville suits my vibe remarkably well, and it’s always great to hang out with likeminded Bitcoiners!
But waiting has consequences.
I didn’t buy my plane tickets or book my hotel until literally yesterday. The results have, unsurprisingly, been a bit of a clusterfu*k.
Three different hotels in less than 24 hours.
The one I initially booked didn’t have anyone to check me in when I arrived after 11pm… the one I found instead was great for last night, but didn’t have rooms available for the next few nights.
Finally, this afternoon, I got fully settled in.
But I also had payment complications.
In the past three weeks, I’ve used my fiat card in three different countries. Visiting family in Barcelona and London. (Coincidentally, the Bank of England had payment outages while I was there. I swear I’m innocent). Now back in the U.S.
Three countries…
Three fiat currencies…
And now three hotels.
MasterCard finally took issue with that.
Card declined… “fixed” with a phone call… declined again… fixed with another phone call. But it was a painful reminder of how the centralized fiat banking system can cause problems, even when the policies are ostensibly for your own good.
It’s all sorted out now — I’m typing this from the hotel where I’ll be staying comfortably until Monday morning — but it was avoidable.
And four takeaways are crystal clear:
People often FOMO into conferences at the last minute
The experience of traveling to them is worth it
Waiting until the last minute causes complications
The payment experience of Bitcoin is MUCH better than fiat
Speaking of which…
El Salvador’s main conference, Adopting Bitcoin, will be on November 15th and 16th.
It won’t have the ordinals, politicians, or fiat bankers that made me hesitate about this Nashville conference.
Pure adoption. Pure signal.
And tickets are payable in Bitcoin only!
You can use referral code “Jethoreau” for a discount.
There’s also a significant “early bird” discount… but only until August 1st.
That’s just a few days away.
Don’t repeat my mistakes. If you’re gonna FOMO in anyway, start making plans now.
Here’s the ticket link. I hope to see some of you there!
P.S. 1
I wrote a guest post for Adopting Bitcoin’s website about a recent controversy involving President Bukele’s economic policy.
Check it out here:
P.S. 2
I’m gonna try out a new writing habit with shorter, more frequent posts, starting with recaps from each day of this Nashville experience.
Sound Money in Music City!
I’ll get back to the festivities now. See ya soon :)
Three hotels sounds tough! I am glad it feels good and look forward to reading your take on things!
We will finally meet in El Salvador I will be speaking at the conference !!! ❤️till then