Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates, humanity’s three wealthiest human beings on our little blue planet—all self-made, some even immigrants, and together they form the very fabric of the “American Dream”. The dream states that despite the situation you are born into, you can supersede your conditions with only the will to do so.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the bread and butter of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
Rising above your god-given situation in hopes of a better life, through hard work, iron willpower, and the ingenuity that powers the very internet that you are using to read this piece of writing.
This concept of innovation in technology dates back to the 1800s during the industrial age in England, when farmers learned how to utilize machines to transform the face of society. In modern times, we don’t simply use machines but books to inform us and educate us on the world around us.
These 5 books will transform your idea of innovation, economics, and your understanding of blockchain technology—if only you allow them.
Adam Smith: Father of Economics by Jesse Norman
Kicking off our list is the foundation of modern-day economics and its founder, innovation-loving Scot, Adam Smith (I’m sure we have all known an Adam Smith or two in our lives). Adam Smith is quite possibly one of the most important economists of the past two hundred years.
Giving way to not only economic principles but philosophical ones as well. For example, the belief that individual liberty and self-reliance are at the core of a successful society. Meaning, that when we believe we are in charge of our own lives, we often perform better, are happier and make for a more innovative society. A principle that is paramount in the creation of new blockchains and web 3.0 protocols.
The American Dream Is Not Dead by Michael R. Strain
Populists often claim that the American dream is dying, gone, and from an era of the past. Director of economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael R. Strain however argues that the American dream is far from gone.
Arguing that it is gone, only speeds up its death. By taking a hard look and analysis into what is currently working in our current technological and economic situation, Dr. Strain sheds light on the fact that we are living in the best time for blockchain entrepreneurs. That there has never been a better time to band together and launch a crypto project if only you are bold enough to dream.
City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream by Jim Krane
Innovation isn’t only evolving the face of the United States, but it is also allowing former small nations like the United Arab Emirates into the fastest growing crypto capitals in the world. This is an international case for Dubai, a once small city-state composed of local tribes and an agricultural economy. To the stuff out of a James Bond film, where they are no longer slaves to their environment and are actively transforming their lands into fields of gold.
In this book, journalist Jim Krane offers a first-hand experience of how innovation and investment in technology have freed this small city-state from the grips of a harsh desert climate and ushered in an era of prosperity and one of the highest GDPs in the world. Ushering in an era of lucrative real estate built on sand.
Freedom by Milton Friedman
Arguably one of the most celebrated books on economics and innovation, Milton Friedman provides a comprehensive framework of how technology-leaning societies are less racist, discriminatory, and more equal in the eyes of the international community. This is because technology does not see color, nor discriminate against gender or sexual orientation.
In his novel theory, he also argues that a strong central government takes away the freedom to choose the life path of the individual. Yet the stronger the technology, the ability to innovate and produce—the freer the people. And so it is in this spirit that decentralized finance first started. And that which continues to lend itself to crypto projects from around the world.
How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital by Nathan Latka
Modern-day self-made millionaire, Nathan Latka dives into the practical applications of transforming your life by breaking all the former rules we have been taught about how to get rich. Latka dives deep into blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, pragmatism, and creating techniques that work in our modern-day without all the fuss of having to build wealth by working in your nine to five corporate job.
He argues that through the use of “side hustles” like investing in crypto, you can transform your life for the better. And by being multi-talented, multi-goal oriented, and an expert in enhancing already built out economic principles—you too can become rich without much capital—or any at all. Is that not the American dream?
You Too Can Be Great
At the end of the day, let us face it, whether you want to be a multimillionaire in crypto or not, will be completely up to you. And this, my dear reader, is the very meat of the American Dream and achieving it. As many of the authors listed above argue, you don’t need to be born into wealth or privilege or possess the right type of skin color or height—you need only your wit and the willingness to rise above your situation.
It might not be, but it’s possible. Because hundreds, if not thousands of today’s billionaires have built their fortunes by creative ingenuity and building upon the works of earlier geniuses. Remember Bill Gates did not invent the computer, nor did Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos create the internet. They saw what was already there and yearned to perfect their image. As the old saying goes, you do not need to reinvent the wheel—you simply have to add a battery to it, and you have the Tesla.
Build your own Tesla, it is possible.
