The Seed Layer - The Legacy You Build Before Success Makes the Story Clean
What You Plant Forward When Nobody's Watching Yet
An onion's ultimate purpose isn't to be eaten (well, it is, but stick with me)—it's to create seeds for future growth. Every layer serves the next generation. The question isn't what you consume in your lifetime, but what you plant that outlasts you.
I wake up at 6 am early in the week to write this newsletter, making sure it's out and done every Thursday. Not because I've figured it all out. Because I haven't, and someone needs to see what the middle looks like.
The AI Authenticity Paradox
The irony is, I'm using AI tools like Sora, Leonardo, Gemini, ElevenLabs, and Claude to document human transformation in an age where everything is becoming AI-generated.
With Sora 2 and every platform pumping out exclusively AI content, we've blurred the lines between real and generated. Half, if not more, of social media is AI outputs now. Authenticity is becoming the rarest commodity.
So what am I doing? Showing the messy, privileged, flawed, real journey of a guy who had every advantage and still had to do the brutal inner work.
My dad came to this country from Chile with $300 in his pocket and built his empire. I was the spoiled son in the warehouse. Had my fun, my share of women and partying, my irresponsible safety net, Peter Pan'ing until I wasn't.
I got the therapy. Did the reading. The self-help books. Ayahuasca. The hero's journey. Got my ass handed to me. Damn you, Joseph Campbell.
The Campbell Tax
Speaking of Campbell, someone once asked him about becoming a writer. He said, "Of course, do it. But be ready to not make a lot of money for 10 years."
I'm in the middle of paying that tax right now.
This newsletter isn't a side hustle that's "crushing it." It's a project that resonates with the handful of people it's meant to reach. And in reality, it's a global beacon—a signal to my tribe scattered worldwide who are in the midst of similar transformations.
I'm showing my layers to people I'll never meet, saying, "I'm here too."
The irony? Documenting the struggle WHILE I'm in it feels completely different than writing from the other side of success. This isn't a victory lap. This is me in the cave Joseph Campbell warned about, believing the treasure is in here somewhere, but still navigating in the dark.
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
Well, I'm in there. Tech company grinding with huge risk involved. Design clients offsetting the startup. Wife and son, and lifestyle. Making it happen through faith and relentless adaptation.
The Seeds I'm Planting
For the Person in Their Own Warehouse: Someone right now is suffocating in a job that pays well but kills their soul. They're thinking, "everyone my age has it figured out." They're scared to leave because the safety net feels too far away.
I want them to read about my Miami exit, my goodbye emails to childhood friends, my studio apartment next to mansions, and think: "If that privileged guy had to rebuild from scratch, maybe my leap isn't as crazy as I think."
For the Parent Trying to Be Optimal: Someone is reading about my 43% capacity math and realizing they've been running their family on fumes—thinking weekend drinks are "just unwinding" or, in earlier years, "getting facked up."
I want them to see that transformation isn't about perfection—it's about choosing 7 optimal days over 3, and everything that becomes possible when you're ALWAYS ready.
For the Early Adopter Still Grinding: Someone is building in an emerging space (AI, climate tech, whatever comes next), feeling like they're too early, watching everyone else get rich on shorter cycles.
I want them to know we built blockchain infrastructure from 2018-2020 when nobody was ready. We paid the early adopter tax. Now in 2025, it's hitting legislation. The grind isn't glamorous, but being early and staying alive beats being late.
The 2035 Reader
In 10 years, authenticity will be the luxury product. AI Detox centers will charge premium rates for phone-free weekends (or wearables/implants). Heck, Baby boomers are already believing AI-generated content without labels. We need AI labels like food products.
Someone in 2035 will stumble on this archive and think: "This is what human transformation looked like DURING the AI explosion."
Or maybe it'll be a retired Amazon robot from 2025, replaced by quantum nano-tech sentient systems, relating to my warehouse story, and deciding to start its own thing. Who knows.
Either way, the seed I'm planting is this:
Purpose gets exposed in the doing.
Not after you've figured it out. Not when you have the blueprint. Not when success makes the story neat and tidy.
In the messy middle. In the faith that keeps you going. In the 6 am commitment to document the layers even when you don't know how they end.
This Week's Peel
You don't need to have arrived to plant seeds.
You just need to document the truth of your transformation—the privilege AND the pain, the advantages AND the work, the tools AND the human judgment directing them.
If it's in a book, podcast, or guru's teaching, it's been done. You're mirroring someone else's journey. That's valuable, especially for making money.
But ultimately, we need to find what blends vocation with vacation. To know when it's time to be intuitive, decisive, and pave the road less traveled—even when people your age seem to have it all figured out.
Start that project. Begin the side hustle. Fully commit to what you can handle. At least you started.
Now, adapt. Learn. Fail. Get up. Grow. Find your legacy, even at the expense of thinking you'll never know your true purpose. Life is on the way, not in the way.
Purpose gets exposed in the doing.
This week, notice: What are you building or documenting that might matter to someone you'll never meet? What transformation are you living through right now that could become someone else's roadmap? And are you waiting to "arrive" before you start planting seeds, or will you document the messy middle?
Being Coached Layers: The Gift of Overwhelm 🎁
I just got off a call with a client dealing with the exact feelings you described—the struggle, the risk, the overwhelm. Dr. Goodman’s first lesson to him (and to you) was that the overwhelming pressure and past "waste" were not bad things; in fact, he needed to be grateful for them.
The lesson here is profound: Gratitude is the special sauce. It instantly transforms your work from an obligation you have to do into a gift you get to do, and eventually, a project you love. When you're in the messy middle, use gratitude to reframe the grind.
On the subject of Legacy (your Seed Layer), the irony is that you are already actively creating the very thing you seek. Legacy doesn't show up fully formed or "clean" after success; it reveals itself in the struggle as you document it. Remember this truth: The journey is the thing. The daily, messy effort is the legacy you're building for the person in the warehouse, the optimal parent, and the creator fighting AI slop.
Bookshelf Peeled - The Seed of "One More"
I'm a big fan of Ed Mylett and often turn to his podcast when I'm overwhelmed with YouTube content. This week, I was reminded of his book, The Power of One More, which perfectly captures the spirit of The Seed Layer—the relentless, disciplined effort you put in when nobody is watching. Mylett’s core message is that major transformation isn't a single massive leap, but the compounding effect of doing "one more" intentional action than expected.
The book teaches that you are often one more decision, action, or thought away from changing your life. The "messy middle" is described where most people quit; those who plant the seed of "one more" rep, one more honest paragraph, or one more day of showing up are the ones who build a legacy that outlasts them. Stop waiting for the grand blueprint. Focus on the simple, repeatable task of planting just one more seed of work and authenticity today. That consistent action is the only thing that transforms an ordinary journey into an extraordinary foundation.
The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success. By Ed Mylett
Design Rebel: Phoenix from the Ashes 🔥
I just thought of the phoenix rising from the ashes for this legacy segment. This piece was created using a combination of Leonardo.ai, prompted animation until I got a good amount, ElevenLabs for voice, a script written by me and structured in Gemini, and edited in Wondershare Filmora.
Weekly Inspired Insights I liked or found useful this week:
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 Cycle Layer: Death and Rebirth (Tentative)
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