The longer we stick with striving towards expertise in a domain (like music, crypto, writing, gardening or cooking) the more likely we can bring our goals to fruition in that domain.
Any time put in towards learning, experimenting, collaborating within the domain we are striving to work in… is time we are building up expertise.
TIME PUT IN = TIME BUILDING LEGITIMACY.
What is crafted legitimacy?
Crafted legitimacy is building up credibility by putting in the work and striving to make the uncomfortable comfortable.
This hits home for me specifically as I strive to build legitimacy in two industries I am increasingly fascinated by: the music industry & the crypto industry.
It is my hope that you wonderful readers have been able to notice my increased interest in these domains. As it is my goal to become an expert in both of these domains due to my curiosity in the space.
Learning online is a team sport, and if it weren’t for the online communities I am a part of.. striving towards expertise in music x crypto would feel quite alien as well as unreachable.
However, as I’ve mentioned previously, building a personal learning network online is one of the most powerful catalysts to drive growth towards your passions.
Getting good at something is a time commitment. You have to love the process of getting good at what you are striving towards... or you will never stick with it.
Meeting others striving to do the same is incredibly motivating, especially if they are building in the fields in which you are looking to make a name for yourself in.
Whenever it feels like you aren't that far along, think of all the time you've already put into learning the subject in which you are hoping to become an expert in. This time spent learning/experimenting will only make you better, and you won’t need to start over again :)
MUSIC
My first ever song that I uploaded on SoundCloud, LETS GET TROPiCAL, was released about four and a half years ago. This track was the first song I ever created, as well as released to the world.
Recognizing this continued interest of mine for creating and releasing music to the world is vital, as it makes me realize that this must mean something given the staying power and lasting motivation I’ve had in doing this.
For creating music I have moved on from simply messing around on GarageBand to graduating onward to Logic Pro over the last couple years.
Being self-taught on the piano (still learning), finding new music, DJING, as well as sharing music I love with the world by creating mixes and releasing these on SoundCloud.
This is the progression for me in learning and experimenting with music.
There is a progression of involvement in the domains in which we explore… this involves a hell of a lot of experimenting, learning, collaborating… and putting onself out there creatively.
Getting good at something is a time commitment. You have to love the process of getting good at what you are striving towards... or you will never stick with it.
Let’s call it for what it is: creating a debut album is a lot of work! I have 81 days to get this album created, and I am realizing that laying out a large goal and a deadline to complete it by is one thing… whereas executing in the right direction on the day-to-day is a hell of a challenge.
But you know what? I am falling in love with the process.
I have found myself enjoying all the learning I have done in music theory, music production tricks, history of electronic dance music and piano tips as well as all the wonderful people I am meeting along the way as I share my pursuit.
Figuring out the workflow that makes me most creative… has been a challenge. However, I have learned that making music earlier in the day translates into me making it more easily later in the day.
The days in which I do sit to work on music.. do the work sessions go as planned? Did I finish a song by the end of the day? Not always, and you know what this is okay.
An intention that is set and followed through on is way more important than one that’s set and left as a throwaway. Progress towards a goal is still progress.
Often times, I bounce around from project to project, and refine the tunes in which I have already laid out a concept for.. fixing chord progressions, finding a better beat to roll with and adjusting volumes to make a track sound smoother.
I have learned that the more days you do the work, the more the creative flow will come. And once you get in that zone, this is where the true magic rests.
CRYPTO
My initiation into cryptocurrencies was the first day I bought ETH (Ethereum), which was April 12th, of 2021. Since this initial date, I have been studying like a madman, the dynamics of the world of cryptocurrencies. (Trust me - there is plenty to learn).
I wish I could tell you I spent an ample amount of time learning about cryptocurrencies before I put in $$$, but this was not the case for me.
However, I am convinced that to partake in legitimate learning about cryptocurrencies, you have to have some skin in the game. Putting a small amount of money on a consistent basis into crypto, was the first prerequisite to begin the insatiating process that is learning crypto.
Due to the democratized ability for pretty much anyone to be able to purchase cryptocurrencies over a platform like Coinbase, or Uniswap … It is my suggestion you get started today. You’ll thank me a year from now :)
Okay, okay. So I bought my first crypto and starting doing this consistently. What was the next step?
Of course, to get more involved with the things in which I was investing in! What any responsible investor would do, right?
This was exactly what I did when I purchased my initial tokens to join Friends With Benefits ($FWB) shortly after, on May 11th, of 2021.
“Friends with Benefits is the ultimate cultural membership powered by a community of our favorite Web3 artists, operators, and thinkers bound together by shared values and shared incentives ($FWB).” - About FWB
Only to realize that holy sh** this world of crypto is way more nuanced then I could ever imagine. FWB sounded like the perfect experiment to take part in.
“To join FWB, you must hold $FWB cryptocurrency tokens. This means that everyone in the community is literally invested in the community's success and gets to participate in the upside of the value we create together.” - About FWB
This led to me falling down the ever encumbering rabbithole as it relates to all things DAO-related. So what is a DAO really?
FWB is a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), and little did I realize that this would propel me deep into trying to understand what this new method of organizing entails for the world at large.
A DAO is a self-organized network, using crypto incentives (creating their own native currency) and self-executing code (smart contracts)… which enables a large amount of people to cooperate around shared goals and reward others based on their participation/contributions. Envision DAOs as online communities in which you are paid to essentially learn what you want to learn about.
Needless to say, I was intrigued and had to learn more.
Which then led me to diving even deeper into crypto, accepting a role with HAX as a community manager.
“HAX’s mission is simple: to be an inclusive community whose mission is to crypto-pill the world.”
I began “officially” working in the crypto industry on June 29th, 2021.
My involvement with HAX and FWB made me realize something… that I can mesh the two things I am most excited about and do this full-time: exploring the intersection of music x crypto.
Why not explore further DAOs that are created to hone in on this intersection?
DAOs enable prideful ownership online, as opposed to the rent-seeking behaviors performed by traditional social media companies (ad revenue). The way the internet is currently organized. the majority of the value accrues to the platforms, not the communities created on their platforms.
It is my goal to help build internet communities, creating tokens that represent ownership in their communities. It is my goal to become Full-Time DAO as Cooper Turley stated in his recent Mirror post.
MUSIC X CRYPTO
Little by little, hints began to accrue that the way in which I can work towards my passion at the intersection of music x crypto was getting more involved with FWB.
Diving deeper into the subcommunities within FWB, particularly our #music-industry channel as well as #learning-crypto channel, I realized this community had a body of individuals incredibly committed to learning and building in the industries I was seeking to “make” it in.
This is where I realized that FWB is the perfect vehicle for exploring music x crypto full-time.
It is my goal to become FULL-TIME FWB. (I.e., Full-Time DAO).
By doing this, I’ll learn an abundance of what standing up an online community means, as well as how the psychology works of contributing towards a DAO in which members gain ownership based on their participation. Great incentives, create great communities.
It is my hope to then spread this wisdom to help initiate other communities to build their own micro-economies. Just as FWB already has established at such an early stage.
It is my intention to help other people launch DAOs. Along the way, learning an abundance about how to build community dedicated to cryptocurrencies, but also discovering communities seeking to disrupt the music industry as we know it. Ideally these DAOs will empower individuals and not corporate bodies.
Concurrently, going Full-Time FWB reframes my commitment to the community as I seek to help make it more valuable… pushing the envelope and leading a desired project that is needed for the group. In other words, as of Season 4 of FWB, my task is to help build out a legitimate way to render order from the chaos that is our Discord server (HQ for conversations), by building an internal archiving system for everything that goes down in the ‘cord.
Another goal of mine is to bridge connections with those working directly in the music industry in FWB, while also learning more about DAO mechanics.
In my experience working with DAOs I have recognized just how quickly you can crowd-source energy towards a project.. creating something legitimately unique and useful.
It is helpful to recognize that being a part of a DAO is …at its core, that you are directly incentivized to make this thing grow together. And that contributing, leads to ownership in the community in which you are looking to help.
With going Full-Time DAO, or really any startup, there are naturally risks.
“Being full-time DAOs means I'm kissing traditional compensation structures goodbye. No salary, no healthcare benefits, no 401k - just ownership. Or more specifically, tokens." - Cooper Turley (Full-Time DAOs)
FWB is setting a precedent as it relates to DAOs, especially given where it’s token market cap currently stands at about $80 million.
The upside is all there and it is my prediction, as well as many others in the field, that there are bound to be an abundnace of DAOs compiling similar amounts of capital.. this is the future of the social web.
Take the risk of owning your destiny. Join a DAO.
Join a body of individuals seeking to build something magnificent together in a domain in which you are passionate about. Chances are, there is already a DAO dedicated to that space. Here is a list of 100 DAOs that have been established.
And if not - start that DAO. You can use a tool like Aragon to get started. It can be as simple or as complex as you’d like.
Let curiosity be your compass.
Please my friends, explore the domains in which you have plenty of unanswered questions in. Just as I have with exploring the mindbending world of crypto, as well as I have with the process of creating a debut album.
Let your questions be the instrument to guide your curiosity, and share it with others working directly in the industry in which you are looking to make headways in. Become a leader in your space by asking the beginner questions everyone is too afraid to ask.
If you don’t declare your life’s intent, someone else will declare it for you.
Take ownership over your life, and realize that the longer you place daily action towards something, the more likely the pieces will fall into place for you. As long as you wake up the next day and keep at it. Craft your actions towards your goals day-in and day-out, you may just be surprised where the journey will take you and what you learn along the way.
AND ALWAYS MAKE MORE FRIENDS IN THE PROCESS :)
You never know where that next step into the unknown will lead you. Continue pushing to make the uncomfortable comfortable, this is the mental leap one has to make consistently.
So take a risk and pursue the things you love.
Follow your curiosities to craft legitimacy in your domain.
Cheers to lifelong learning,
Adam Bartley
Further Reading on DAOs
Can Crypto Put a Price on Community? by: Will Gottsegen.
Big Tech on steroids: why the 2020s will be “the decade of the DAO” by: Dominic Frisby.
How DAOs Are Reshaping Investment by: Adriana Hamacher.
Live by the DAO, DAO by the DAO by: Ben Munster.
The Decentralized Autonomous “1,000 True Fan” Organization by: Bas Grasmeyer.
PARTING NOTE
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