How reading bitcoin books helped me stack more sats

For many years, I was stuck in the bitcoin journey. Practically speaking, I did not go deeper down the rabbit hole during this period of my life.

Sure, I got in early in 2013 and bought some “magic internet money”. And I had even read a few articles about bitcoin on CNN, CNBC, and Forbes. (cringe)

But, I didn’t go deeper. And the size of my stack showed. It did not grow.

Things could’ve been a lot different if I was smarter back then. That’s because through most of 2014 (when I was in that stuck phase), the price for a whole coin was only ~$250.

Let’s just say, knowing what I now know about bitcoin, if I had a time machine and could go back to 2014, I would be the proud owner of a lot more bitcoin!

But alas, we all get bitcoin at the price we deserve.

I know why I was stuck

I was stuck because I wasn’t actively learning about bitcoin. Sure, I’d occasionally listen to a bitcoin related podcast when I felt inspired. But most of the time, I’ll be honest, my evenings and weekends were spent watching Netflix…

It was only after the 2017 bull market (and subsequent start of the bear market in 2018) that I started ACTIVELY learning about bitcoin.

And like magic, as I did, the size of my stack started to grow!

@Croesus describes it best here:

Two forms of learning

There are two forms of learning, (a) passive and (b) active.

Passive learning is good when starting off the bitcoin journey. An example would be…listening to an episode of Bitcoin Audible while doing the dishes.

Yes, I was learning through osmosis, and it’s better than not learning about bitcoin. But in the grand scheme of things, I only retained 20% of the material this way. And whatever I did retain was jumbled in my head…meaning I wasn’t able to clearly and concisely explain what bitcoin was to a friend.

Now, let’s contrast this with active learning.

Active learning is when you are (figuratively) lifting weights with your brain to learn, similar to how you use muscles when you work out in real life. As an example, when I read a book, I have to put in the work and focus (versus slowly tuning out / getting distracted while washing dishes and listening to a podcast about bitcoin).

And because I put in the work, I retained MUCH more of the material. And that led to deeper understanding of bitcoin. Which inevitably led to me buying more bitcoin.

The transition to active learning

The first book I read when I switched over to active learning was, of course, The Bitcoin Standard. For what it’s worth, it is THE book Michael Saylor references as part of his own orange-pilling.

As an aside, it’s a cringe looking back, but I still remember the moment before clicking “buy” on Amazon, wondering, “how much value will I get out of this book? I’ve already heard Saif talk about his thesis on podcasts…”

I’m glad I didn’t listen to that inner voice.

That’s because as soon as I started reading, I started highlighting. And I didn’t stop. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is a picture of a random page in my copy of The Bitcoin Standard:

The more I read, the deeper down the bitcoin rabbit hole I went. And like clockwork, the more often I started stacking sats.

Increasing the size of your stack

It’s really quite a simple formula.

1. 1. Read more bitcoin related books.

   2. Develop more conviction about bitcoin.

   3. Stack more sats.

   4. Rinse and repeat.

But, here is the hard pill to swallow: you have to put in the work and actively learn about bitcoin!

Are you ready to put in the work?

If you are ready to go further on your own bitcoin journey, Bitcoin Book Club is here to help. Our mission is to help Bitcoiners read and learn more about bitcoin! That’s because we know that the more you learn, the more you will stack. And that accelerates the path of hyperbitcoinization.

So, join one of our ongoing book clubs and we’ll help you find a small group of like minded Bitcoiners who are each putting in the work on the most important bitcoin books…like The Bitcoin Standard, Softwar, or even fiction books like The Mandibles.

Day to day, your book club group will help you stay accountable to put in the work and read.

And along the way, as a group, you’ll each be sharing insights about our own “ah ha” moments. And that’s a win-win for everyone in the group to learn more and reinforce those learnings together.

Stop being stuck

If you want to go deeper, start actively learning about bitcoin. And if accountability and lively discussions with like-minded Bitcoiners is up your alley, we’ll see you soon on Bitcoin Book Club!