43 / Ironman. NFT. Confidence.
Everything about Ironmans and NFT's.
Welcome back to Circle Three!
The Ironman is complete. Thanks to all who followed along, supported my fundraiser, or helped me in so many other ways. I appreciated everyone. This week's issue is a special Ironman theme for those who want to learn more. More to come as I digest all the events of the past week.
“I think the balance of confidence and humility is to say: These are not opposite ends of a seesaw. These are actually states that can go hand in hand. Confidence is believing that you can do great things. Humility is knowing that you don’t always have the knowledge and skills to do them yourself.” — Adam Grant
Adam Grant wrote my favorite book of 2020: Think Again. I had a lot to learn before the race, but also knew I had plenty to rely on, both people and skills. Grant says it’s not a question of this or that, but that we must have humility and confidence together to lead. What steps can make you a little more confident and a little more humble?
Some Ironman facts this week...
There were 1,692 participants in this year's Ironman Maryland race. Finishers of this race call themselves "Crabbies" because the race takes place in the heart of crabbing country in Cambridge, Maryland. The city is one of the oldest colonial towns in the U.S. and is the smallest Ironman host city in North America (pop. 13,000).
This year, due to warm temperatures, there were an abundance of stinging nettle jellyfish in the Choptank River (yes that is the real name). Thankfully, wetsuits were permitted. Below, you can see a real picture of the jellies from the water's edge.
We biked around the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, home to over 250 birds. It is one of the most unique birding destinations in America if you're into that sort of thing.
The Ironman Triathlon started in 1978 in Kona, Hawaii, where the world championship race is held annually to this day. The World Championship in Hawaii is known as one of the hardest one-day events in the world due to its length, conditions, and competition.
There is a 17-hour time limit for an Ironman race, typically starting at 7:00 am and ending at midnight.
WTF is an NFT?!?!
Everything You Need to Know about NFTs.
(Read this online here.)
An NFT, or non-fungible token is a unique, digital, tradable asset on the blockchain. This could come in the form of an image, a music file, or a video game character. They are built on smart contract-compatible blockchains like Ethereum, which currently has the majority share of NFT usage right now.
To be able to talk conversationally about NFT's here are two concepts you need to understand:
Fungibility
Fungible means interchangeable. One dollar is exchangeable to another dollar and you can exchange them without any meaningful difference. Similarly in crypto-land, one Bitcoin is equivalent to another. Non-fungibility simply means a unique item.
Proof-of-Ownership
The blockchain is the best technological system that exists to prove ownership. Every owner of every asset is recorded and easily looked up via the blockchain ledger.
When you combine these two concepts, you can create NFTs. An NFT is simply a unique asset in real life (a house, a car, a painting) that exists on the blockchain. This is a huge evolution in tech's capabilities.
🐦 Tweeting:
🔊 Listening:
📖 Reading: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin (aff. link)
➕ Win: Beat my Ironman goal time by 2 hours.
🍺 Untappd: Enjoyed my first beer back! RAR Brewing from Cambridge, MD.
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