Reallly great read. Thanks man, I needed to see this.


On 29 August 2014 15:10, Julia Tourianski <juliatourianski@???> wrote:

> It pained me to read this. I just had a similar conversation with Blake
> Anderson about all these issues just yesterday. But like with that
> conversation, and reading this, it ended with incredible positivity.
>
> Charlie: I'm glad Amir and I visiting you made you happy for at least that
> day. I really appreciate you saying that. You've gone through some hard
> shit and those moment are vital to have.
>
> I think the key things we need to recall is family and friends. I'm
> blessed with an amazing family, who supported me through my hard times
> about 8 months ago. Not everyone has that, but you CAN choose your friends,
> and this community is full of incredible people.
>
> I'm not one to bond with people quickly. Friendship to me has always been
> difficult for me because I don't take it lightly. In the past few months
> (for I am but a small child in this movement) I've met the smartest, most
> inspirational people ever. Not only met, but became very good friends with.
>
> So I'll end by saying this: YOU ALL ARE TOO SMART TO KILL YOURSELF. Do the
> world a favor and stay alive please.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> For the secrets and lies, my PGP key:
> https://libbitcoin.dyne.org/julia_tourianski.pgp.asc
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 2:18 PM, Charlie 'Charles' Shrem <cshrem@???
> > wrote:
>
>> I've been battling depression the past few months, hardcore. When they
>> put me in solitary I thought my life was over.
>>
>> I have all of you my friends to thank for keeping my spirits up and
>> Bitcoin for giving me a propose. I think back on the good times, eating
>> with Amir and Julia on my porch and partying with Jason in Atlanta.
>>
>> Let the good times roll :)
>>
>> On Thursday, August 28, 2014, Amir Taaki <genjix@???> wrote:
>>
>>> I wanted to kill myself over Bitcoinica. It was a very bad moment...
>>>
>>> On 28/08/14 14:11, Jason King wrote:
>>> > For over a week now, I’ve been trying to write a year in review piece
>>> > for Satoshi Forest. The words, which usually just flow like a spigot
>>> > when I’m passionate about something, seem to just dribble out. And what
>>> > little eeks by is hardly print worthy. Maybe it’s just writer’s block?
>>> > Writer’s block happens. Or maybe I’m not as passionate about Satoshi
>>> > Forest as I used to be?
>>> >
>>> > But, I am passionate about Satoshi Forest, perhaps more than I ever
>>> have
>>> > been. And writer’s block, if it is the culprit, cannot explain why I
>>> > haven’t responded to Elizabeth Ploshay’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, in a
>>> > timely fashion. I guess I’ll have to donate now. You see it’s not just
>>> > the Satoshi Forest year in review, it’s everything. Emails from friends
>>> > I haven’t responded to, phone calls I let go to voicemail, new
>>> endeavors
>>> > at Sean’s Outpost I let sit unannounced
>>> > (http://blockchain.satoshiforest.com/). And then it hits me. I’ve been
>>> > here before.
>>> >
>>> > I’m really depressed.
>>> >
>>> > And it seems to be going around.
>>> >
>>> > Since the tragic suicide of Robin Williams, four (4) people close to me
>>> > have also tried to kill themselves. One succeeded. An anecdotal survey
>>> > of my friends has seen an equal uptick in the number of people talking
>>> > about or attempting suicide. It’s been really disturbing.
>>> >
>>> > In the preparations for the Bitcoin in the Beltway conference this past
>>> > June, I had one of the more surreal conversations of my life. An east
>>> > coast sales director for Marriott called me wanting to know if bitcoin
>>> > was linked to suicide. They had heard of the tragic death of Autumn
>>> > Radtke in March
>>> > (
>>> http://nypost.com/2014/03/06/bitcoin-firm-ceo-jumped-to-her-death-neighbor/
>>> )
>>> > and were concerned about hosting a conference for a technology that was
>>> > making people kill themselves. I was sure he was joking. He was not.
>>> The
>>> > conversation I had with him must have allayed his fears.
>>> #BitcoinBeltway
>>> > went great, can’t wait to do it again next year.
>>> >
>>> > Obviously, bitcoin does not cause suicide. And while we are quick to
>>> > sticky a “suicide prevention hotline” when the price crashes, bitcoin
>>> is
>>> > not causing depression. What we may want to look into is something that
>>> > is not bitcoin related, but more something that comes part and parcel
>>> > with “bitcoiners”.
>>> >
>>> > The woes of entrepreneurship and startup culture.
>>> >
>>> > Being an entrepreneur is fucking hard. Really hard. Most people don’t
>>> > even attempt it.
>>> >
>>> > It might not feel that way to you, but likely that’s because you
>>> > surround yourself with other entrepreneurs. Your friends work at
>>> > startups. Your trips are to startup conferences and conventions. Your
>>> > news feed is r/bitcoin and hacker news. You are firmly in the echo
>>> chamber.
>>> >
>>> > Most people will never try and build a product or company. So most
>>> > people will never experience what it is like to fear you won’t make
>>> > payroll and someone else will not be able to pay their rent because of
>>> you.
>>> >
>>> > Most people will never know how difficult it is to raise money. To get
>>> > someone else to believe in you enough to open their checkbook and
>>> > support you financially. The hours you spend and the mental strain that
>>> > comes from hearing “No” again and again and again. And if you get a
>>> > “Yes” the pressure doesn’t dissipate! It increases! Now it’s your crazy
>>> > idea and someone elses money you’re responsible for.
>>> >
>>> > Being an entrepreneur is really hard.
>>> >
>>> > And we are really hard on ourselves. We are afraid to show any
>>> weakness.
>>> > Because we’ve been taught being weak or vulnerable is to be shunned. If
>>> > someone asks you how your company is doing “We’re killing. it.”
>>> probably
>>> > comes off your lips before you’ve even processed the question.
>>> >
>>> > It is statistically impossible for everyone to always be “killing it”.
>>> >
>>> > But ask at your next mixer or meetup and almost everyone will be
>>> > “killing it”.
>>> >
>>> > And that pressure to succeed, to perform, to win is immense. And I
>>> think
>>> > that pressure may be even worse in bitcoin.
>>> >
>>> > Not to everyone, but to a lot of bitcoin early adopters, and especially
>>> > to a lot of early bitcoin entrepreneurs, bitcoin is a promise. A
>>> glimpse
>>> > of a better world free from the inequalities brought by our legacy
>>> > financial system. So if you fail in bitcoin, it is easy to feel that
>>> you
>>> > are failing on that promise too.
>>> >
>>> > I’ve felt that way. Felt that if I screw up I am screwing it up for
>>> > every non-profit and charity. That they will somehow not get the
>>> > benefits of bitcoin because I failed. I see it in others. Just a week
>>> > ago at #Cryptolina I talked with a group of brilliant entrepreneurs who
>>> > were convinced that if they didn’t beat an incumbent payment solution
>>> to
>>> > market, they had lost the war. And that whole segment of the market
>>> > would NEVER benefit from cryptocurrency.
>>> >
>>> > Being a bitcoin entrepreneur is hard.
>>> >
>>> > And I don’t have the answers to how to deal with all the pressure and
>>> > depression that come from doing what we do. But I have learned a couple
>>> > of things and maybe someone else that is experiencing depression or
>>> > having dark thoughts can read this and gain some value from what I’ve
>>> > learned. And even better, maybe someone that has dealt with depression
>>> > in the past can riff on what I’ve said and provide some insight into
>>> how
>>> > they cope.
>>> >
>>> > 1) You are not alone.
>>> >
>>> > When you are depressed, it seems like everyone else has it all together
>>> > and you are the anomaly. That’s not true. They probably don’t have
>>> their
>>> > shit together either. And everyone has problems we don’t see. Everyone.
>>> >
>>> > Some of the greatest entrepreneurs and investors of all time have had
>>> > brutal fights with depression and suicidal thoughts.
>>> >
>>> > READ:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> http://www.inc.com/magazine/201309/jessica-bruder/psychological-price-of-entrepreneurship.html
>>> >
>>> > 2) Bitcoin needs you and it doesn’t need you. And that’s ok.
>>> >
>>> > Bitcoin needs you. It really does. But it doesn’t need only you, it
>>> > needs all of us. You are not the single point of failure. Bitcoins
>>> > success is just a decentralized as the blockchain. So give yourself a
>>> > break. It’s ok to make mistakes and it’s ok to fail. It’s even ok to
>>> > fail spectacularly.
>>> >
>>> > Think back to how many times bitcoin has been declared dead. How many
>>> > times has the price crashed? How many times has a major bitcoin
>>> > institution been corrupted/hacked/found to be a scam?
>>> >
>>> > And yet, here we are. An you are here too.
>>> >
>>> > 3) It is ok to ask for help.
>>> >
>>> > This is hard to learn. We come from a self sufficient culture. And if
>>> > you ask for help, people will realize that you are not as awesome as
>>> > they thought you were...BULLSHIT. Asking for help has ZERO bearing on
>>> > how awesome a person you are. In fact, your friends WANT TO HELP YOU.
>>> > Being there for you in a moment of crisis is something your friends are
>>> > probably really down for. But if you ignore them or won’t tell them you
>>> > are having problems it is really difficult for them to help. Talk to
>>> > someone. If all else fails you can always call…
>>> >
>>> > THE NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
>>> >
>>> > I know all of this might not make a difference. When you are caught up
>>> > in your head in the middle of a depressive episode nothing seems to
>>> > help. Try to find something that you can concentrate on just to get you
>>> > thru the worst of it. For me, I go play with my kids. It helps me.
>>> > Sometimes more than others.
>>> >
>>> > If you are feeling down, try to talk to someone. And if you see someone
>>> > feeling down, try to lend a supportive ear.
>>> >
>>> > Bitcoin needs you alive.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > unSYSTEM mailing list: http://unsystem.net
>>> > https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/unsystem
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>> CharlieShrem.com | *Please **encrypt messages with my PGP key
>> <http://charlieshrem.com/contact/>*
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> unSYSTEM mailing list: http://unsystem.net
>> https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/unsystem
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> unSYSTEM mailing list: http://unsystem.net
> https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/unsystem
>
>