True Conviction - The Daily Gwei #299
It can't be taught; it must be earned.
Over the years, those who have held ETH since the early days (2014/2015 or so) have been handsomely rewarded. Though, of course, most people didn’t hold from 2015 and ended up selling along the way at much lower prices. Some would’ve sold at $5 or $10 (a modest 16.6x and 33.3x return from ICO prices), many would’ve sold at $50 (a crazy 166.6x return) and most of these early investors would’ve been completely out at $100. Though there are a few among us who have held it all since the early days and they all have one thing in common - true conviction.
Some of you will remember just how brutal the 2018/2019 bear market was for Ethereum as ETH was falling rapidly (finishing 2018 down 94% from its all time high) and Ethereum’s main use-case at the time (ICO’s) completely disappeared. Sure, we had the first signs of DeFi emerging, but most people didn’t care at all since it was so niche and they had soured on ETH after how badly it performed in 2018. The only people left holding and buying ETH in 2019 were the true believers who had an insane amount of conviction that the asset they were holding would one day rise again. These people also had conviction that Ethereum would go on to amount to much more than just being a vehicle for ICOs - and these people couldn’t of been more right.
I don’t believe that you can teach conviction no matter how hard you try - it has to be earned by each and every individual. I could probably write stories about the 2018/2019 bear market for hours and describe how brutal it was holding ETH during that time (especially as BTC outperformed it) but even then, I would have no hope of teaching you conviction. Of course, one of my main goals with The Daily Gwei newsletter (and YouTube channel) is to hopefully instill some conviction in all of you, but I think that your own personal experiences will count for much more than any of the education I can provide.
To that point, experiencing all the wonders of Ethereum for yourself - DeFi, NFTs, web3, DAOs - is what allows you to build real and lasting conviction and also allows you to hone in on your own skills and discover what you actually enjoy. There’s no point in someone trying to convince you to be bullish on Ethereum if all they’re telling you about is DeFi and you don’t have any interest in that. By experiencing all Ethereum has to offer on your own, you’ll naturally find what interests you most and gravitate towards that - all while building that much-needed conviction. I’ve personally seen this play out among many of my own friends and it really is a sight to behold - Ethereum truly is for everyone.
Lastly, time plays a critical role in conviction building because its directly tied to one’s own experiences. For example, someone who bought ETH for $1,000+ in 2017 and then left the ecosystem 3 months later (when ETH dropped by more than 50%) had no hope of building conviction. Meanwhile, someone else who bought ETH at $1,000+ but then decided to stick around during 2018/2019 experienced all the ups and many downs of the bear market only to finally be back in profit in January of 2021. This person has battle scars; they have deep-seated memories of the bear market; they positioned themselves for success; they have true conviction.
And once you have true conviction - you are unstoppable.
Have a great day everyone,
Anthony Sassano
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All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.