The Fermentation Layer - Why You Need Financial Pressure to Develop an Antifragile Soul
When Financial Pressure Creates Something Richer Than Quick Success Ever Could
Fermented onions develop deeper, more complex flavors through controlled decay. Not rot. Not spoilage. Transformation. The breakdown isn't the end—it's the process that creates something more valuable than the original.
I've been fermenting for about a decade. And I think I'm finally ready to pour.
The Privileged Starting Point
Let's be honest: I came from privilege. Family company. Safety net. Good schools. Never really struggled outside that bubble. I worked, yes. Eventually made it to executive level in the actual office. But my formative years were in that damn warehouse, and that impacted me in a big way.
Many successful family businesses have this dynamic—some next generation or the heir to the throne, in my case, your father hopes you like it and take over his legacy. You're financially taken care of, you contribute, work hard, but there's always that safety net underneath. You're never truly on your own.
Leaving that safe haven in 2013 was my second coming. That's when the fermentation, for me, truly started.
The First Fermentation: The Wreckless Years
2014-2015 were chaos. One big design client (all my eggs, one basket, kind of), living large, feeling invincible. Then one day it's gone. You didn't diversify. Didn't create systems. Life hits you hard and shows you what you don't know yet.
But also: Met my teachers. Met my wife. Intense reading and courses. Started the real work.
I thought that was my ONE rock bottom. Turns out, you don't just have one. You have several. Each one fermenting something deeper.
The Second Fermentation: The Tech Company Grind
2017-2025. Blockchain when nobody was ready. Web3, digital wallets, tokenization. Learning vibe coding, currently. Over building infrastructure while the world catches up.
Financial pressure the entire time. Offsetting with design clients. Dr. Goodman as one of my anchor clients who's helped through the hard times (ironic full circle from the guy who needed a website).
My skill set? Skyrocketed. My understanding of this crypto-token-blockchain world hitting legislation in 2025? Deep.
But also: Multiple rock bottoms. Waiting on timelines. Depending on others. Grinding while my son watches me work late into the night.
That pressure wasn't destroying me. It was fermenting complexity.
The Bullshit Detector Fermentation
When you're in the dark moments, the hustle culture vultures appear: Grant Cardone, School of Life, Tai Lopez ("Here in my garage"), and other social media gurus selling courses and promising fast solutions in just 66 days. In desperation, you give it a try. (To be clear, I found value in some of their free content, but I draw the line at signing up for a $5K or more course.)
I wasted time there. Bought some programs. "Find your NORTH STAR." "Build a funnel." "Upsell before they pay." "Show 20% off your marked-up 120% offer."
Everyone gave you sprinkles of tactics, then blamed YOU for not following their step-by-step recipe to overnight success.
Here's what fermented: I can SMELL manipulation now. These bad actors—some of them never had a real job or led a team—teaching tactics they learned from some gang online on how to exploit the vulnerable.
Financial pressure gave me a bullshit detector worth more than their courses.
The Forced Diversification
Financial pressure put me in the middle: juggling design clients, tech company equity, Dr. Goodman's marketing, newsletter building, learning vibe coding.
That forced complexity? It's fermenting antifragility. One stream fails, I have others. One skill becomes obsolete, I've learned the next.
People who got rich quick never develop that.
The Deep Questions Pause
Every week I write this newsletter, digging into layers I didn't know existed or acknowledging the impact they had in my present timeframe. Sometimes the questions go so deep I pause in awe, wondering: Should I go there, or should I let it go, stay present, trust that I'm enough, and just make it happen?
That pause? That's wisdom fermenting. Knowing when to excavate and when to act.
Financial pressure taught me the difference between urgent and important. Between healing and overthinking. Between preparation and paralysis.
The Fermentation Completion
Here's what I know now that I didn't know in 2013, 2017, or even 2023:
I'm ready.
I've read enough. Podcasted enough. Healed enough. I'm worthy now.
I look at my skill set—the web3 apps I'm building, the deep newsletter work, the AI tools I can wield without being consumed by them—and I know.
The fermentation created something RICHER than if the tech company had paid out in year 2.
If it had paid out early, I'd probably be living in some fancy house near the beach, joining the ranks who gloat about what school my son goes to, my wife in Pilates, and me golfing in a country club, high-fiving the cool cats. So much has shifted in where and how I want to show up as husband and father.
Staying in that warehouse was, and would have been, the death of my spirit. I'd be a shell going through the motions. I've exhausted this warehouse—I release you.
The breakdown—the financial pressure, the multiple rock bottoms, the forced diversification, the bullshit detector development—all of it fermented this version of me.
And this version?
In the words of Maverick from Top Gun: "I don't know. I'll tell you tomorrow, but it's looking good so far." It's gonna be good.😏
This Week's Peel
What financial pressure, what struggle, what breakdown is fermenting something richer in you right now?
Not destroying you. Transforming you.
The person who gets everything handed to them never develops the complexity you're building. The person who quits at the first rock bottom never finishes the fermentation.
You're not rotting. You're fermenting.
And fermentation takes time. Pressure. Breakdown. Darkness.
But what emerges is more valuable, more complex, more lasting than the original ever was.
This week, notice: What struggle feels like decay but might actually be fermentation? And what complexity are you developing through financial pressure, delayed gratification, or forced resilience that quick success would have skipped entirely?
The "Being Coached" Layer: Hidden Value of Financial Decay
This week, Dr. Goodman says: You need to listen closely to what you just laid out, because you’ve nailed the critical truth that 99% of people miss. That decade of pressure—the chaos, the "rock bottoms," and the forced diversification—wasn't punishment. It was the necessary processing unit that broke down the initial, privileged version of you into something truly antifragile. If that tech company had paid out early, you would have bought security, but you would have lost your soul —like you said, or maybe not. You’d still be running on that same outdated operating system, just with more zeros in the bank.
Here is the distinction: Your greatest asset isn't the skill set you possess; it’s the Bullshit Detector you fermented. That tool, forged in the heat of financial pressure, is the only guarantee of your future success. Not in suffering, but in wisdom. Now, you stop analyzing the trauma and start vesting in the complexity you built. Acknowledge that the suffering chapter is complete. Now, start pouring the wealth you’ve created—the antifragility, the diversification, and the maturity you model for your son—into the world. You’re ready, and that’s a statement of fact, not hope.
Bookshelf Peeled - The Universe Conspires
This week, we look back at the book that started my entire reading journey: Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. I downloaded this as my very first audiobook during the chaotic "Wreckless Years"—well, a little before, maybe it ignited them. The central teaching of the book is that when you truly pursue your Personal Legend, "all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
The core lesson is that the universe doesn't conspire to make the path easy; it conspires to make you ready. The Alchemist shows that the detours, tests, and financial pressures are not obstacles to your treasure; they are the necessary process that prepares you to receive and keep it. The complexity and antifragility you developed were simply the universe's way of ensuring your success wouldn't spoil you.
The Alchemist: A Modern Classic of Magic and Mysticism.
by Paulo Coelho
Design Rebel: Emerging from the Kimchi Jar
Inspired by the idea that fermented foods benefit the gut (and the soul!), this week's theme features The Rebel Onion. The visuals were created using Leonardo.ai for both imagery and video. The script was a collaboration between Gemini and myself. Voice provided by ElevenLabs, and the entire piece was edited with Wondershare Filmora. Enjoy and share!
Weekly Inspired Insights I liked or found useful this week:
My cousin sent me this and this is spot on and follow this guy @stevenjreese.
P.S. If this resonates with you, share it with someone. I'm dedicated to helping fellow explorers—or anyone who found this page—uncover their authentic self with humor and insight. We're all in this together, finding the courage to truly live from our core essence (or as close as we can get!).
The Medicinal Layer: Healing Properties Within (Tentative)
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