Welcome back legends. In this week’s Savant Letter we have:

• One Web3 narrative: WTF are soulbound tokens?

• One writing tip: It’s all about the incubation period

• One story: The best decision I have ever made

Let’s jump in.

Does Web3 have a soul?

The co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin thinks so.

Vitalik co-wrote a paper last year called: Decentralized Society: Finding Web3’s Soul.

The most interesting part of this paper is the idea of soulbound tokens.

Soulbound tokens (SBTs) are non-transferrable, verifiable tokens that show an individual’s accreditation, work history, or any other type of record.

These are stored in a user’s wallet (which also holds NFTs and crypto currencies).

SBTs are permanently linked (bound) to a unique wallet, those wallets are compared to ‘souls’ —  hence ‘Soulbound’.

According to Vitalik, “The tokens would be like an extended resume, issued by other wallets that attest to these social relations.”

Why would anyone want to use SBTs?

Basically, they help users bridge the credibility gap.

Right now a user’s wallet is totally anonymous and it causes a lack of trust.

By using SBTs, a person’s wallet can gain credentials and close this credential gap we currently have in Web3.

Ok, so what are some examples?

First one is lending. 

Right now you can deposit crypto via a lender such as Compound and instantly get a loan. No form to fill out and no permission necessary.

But, you will only get a loan that is a certain % of the total amount you deposit. That’s because they have no idea who you are (in this case via your wallet).

Crypto lenders have to treat everyone the same. Even though some borrowers may be more responsible than others.

With SBTs you can have a verifiable record of all the loans you have taken out on the blockchain. If you are very responsible, that lender can lend you more based on your credentials.

It’s similar to a credit score in this example.

This makes the use of capital much more efficient.

Efficient capital is sexy.

Another big use case is work/education credentials. 

Let’s say you are a sales rep at a large company. Every quarter you are crushing your numbers.

Now what if all those achievements were recorded in your SBT.

Let’s say you left that job for a different company. The next job you applied for you would show them your SBT and they could automatically verify your achievements.

The need for a resume pretty much disappears because it’s all recorded on the blockchain!

Right now all the things we capture on the blockchain are financial. SBTs open the door to capture info that deals with social relationships which is a HUGE use case.

So what are the downsides?

Well, some people may not want all this information about them stored on the blockchain.

If your wallet was ever hacked and all your personal information was on there, it could be very bad for you.

In case you are wondering, SBTs are already used in many different applications. I think this will be a significant use case in the coming years.

You can find the original paper here.

Subconscious mind = incubation

I tend to overthink things.

My conscious brain starts at 100 mph the second I wake up.

It’s faster than any sports car.

The downside (other than 24/7 torment and constant rumination)?

You need your subconscious brain when it comes to writing and being creative.

I recently read a book on copywriting called The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman (solid weekend reading).

Sugarman is one of the greatest copywriters of all time.

In the book he talks about how all good copy needs time to incubate.

His advice: after working hard on something, put it aside and go do something you enjoy.

Let your conscious mind turn off and let your subconscious do its thing.

He calls this the incubation period.

It’s the reason you work 6 hours on something then when you are out with your friends, you suddenly come up with the answer that eluded you for hours.

This made so much sense after I read it and now I try to implement this strategy every time I write.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

A Decade in a Foreign Place

This week, exactly a decade ago, I left the US.

I remember the nervous excitement I had when I turned in my apartment keys.

Was I really going to do this?

That prior year I had made some drastic changes to my life.

I moved out of my apartment on the beach and moved into a small studio apartment.

I got rid of my BMW and started taking the bus to work.

My co-workers looked at me in disbelief - did you take the…bus this morning?

I stopped going out on the weekend and wasting money on booze and shit I can’t even remember.

I was ENLIGHTENED as I told my coworkers with a smile on my face that made them wonder what I knew that they didn’t.

It sounds silly, but a year before this I had somewhat of an epiphany.

I don’t remember what brought it on but I remember experiencing this intense feeling of liberation and letting go.

What had been holding me back for so long?

I was unhappy at my job but I felt trapped because of the money. I was an overpaid (& overworked) finance bro and I was stuck believing I had no other options.

Finally, I had accepted to let it go.

Money be damned.

So for that year I stopped spending money on stupid shit and I saved everything I made.

I sold all my belongings, quit my job and moved to South America.

Flying to South America on a one-way ticket with no house keys, no car keys, no job and no defined plan was the most liberating feeling I’ve ever had.

But I also remember being nervous that it might not work out.

10 years later I’ve lived in 3 countries, learned 2 more languages, met my wife, had two kids, started three companies, and have no plans of living in the US again anytime soon.

It was the best decision of my life.

You never know how life is going to work out.

You might as well just take the risk.