Media's Matrix: 5 Tips To Stay Sane this Week!

An evergreen GUEST POST from John Carlton + a few FYI's from yours truly.

Before you ADHD-scroll this email / post, and I hand you off to today’s excellent guest poster, a few things from your Master Grizzly:

#1) The GAP has been filled.

On July 23rd, via my Twitter-X feed, I posted a snapshot of the $BTC daily chart. I mentioned how I expect that the pricing gap shown needs to be filled BEFORE Bitcoin continues its ride, again, past 71,000.

So, the first part of that prediction, the gap being filled, occurred yesterday. If you like buying on chart-predictable dips…well… you’re welcome! ;)

#2) BTC’s Biggest Myths Debunked

If you’re remotely on the fence with Bitcoin, because you’ve let mainstream media’s misconceptions slither into your noggin, then this 17-min video will be an eye-opener. A great primer or reminder about Bitcoin’s transformative power.

Now, let me hand this over to John Carlton for some tips on how to avoid getting trapped into the media’s Matrix:

by John Carlton

I repost this every few years, cuz it seems relevant. Do with the advice as you will…

“I'm seeing a lot of fear in the news lately -- some of it real, lots of it imagined, most of it overplayed.

The battle for eyeballs and clicks has turned the entire media circus into a rabid dog fight.

Couple of rules for staying sane:

1. Remember that the news story you're reading has likely been written by a single person (or, at most, two people). Maybe an editor did some fact checking (increasingly not, though, as staffs get trimmed to bare bones everywhere).

God did not write the article. Neither did Satan. Nor was it penned by a genius, or even a particularly bright individual in many cases.

It's a regular dude or dudette with biases, neuroses and an overwhelming fear of being disliked, fired or (worse, for a writer) ignored.

So take it all with a grain of salt. If the topic interests you, go find several other takes on it by other writers in other venues. (Yes, even the dreaded "other side" of the political spectrum.)

(This all goes double for TV talking heads, by the way.)

2. The idea of "aggregate" info gathering has real merit in today's confusing environment of instant misinformation and sensationalism-posing-as-journalism.

With opinion polls, for example, it's best to never take a single poll as meaningful -- get the aggregate of multiple polls (like Nate Silver and several other sources do), which will present a more nuanced view of what "the truth of the matter" is.

The same idea goes for understanding statistics that get thrown around to bolster or shoot down arguments.

Any savvy disruptor can cherry-pick stats to fit his narrative. Much better to see what the context is, and learn how stats about "real life" work.

Just remember that the talking heads on TV, and the bloviators on the radio, and the writers for online and tree-killing news sources are TRYING to punch your buttons. Dog fight.

3. Best tip: Figure out what is beyond your control, and what is within your control.

No, your vote, nor your angry letter to the editor, nor your heated argument with the guy on the barstool next to you will change much of anything about world events.

Unless you're a player on the world stage.

However, you can be a player in LOCAL events quite easily.

If you truly believe you have answers and solutions, then the school board, the city council, summer youth programs, and even the neighborhood watch needs you.

Reality has a way of weeding out the big talkers, cuz when it's time for action they tend to wander off, bored.

4. Movement solves problems that sitting around being scared creates.

Literally, you can walk off a lot of stress. Put on your sneakers, get out and chug up some hills. Have those internal conversations while you're burning up calories.

You'll feel better later, I promise.

Paranoia is like a leach on your mojo. Once it gets its claws into you, it won't easily let go.

You'll need to spend twice the time murdering it, than you spent acquiring it.

But that's the game. You play the hand you've been dealt.

Sitting around wishing you had a better one is useless. Learning how to maneuver with what you have available in resources, skill and savvy is the ONLY way to win consistently.

[Editor’s Note: Speaking of movement, have you seen this amazing Just Move documentary?]

5. Stop whining. We're all in this together. However, it goes (and I admit, the news looks pretty anxiety-provoking... as it has since I was a kid), we'll either muddle through or die trying.

Meanwhile, don't let the bastards win.

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