The pot
I figure they have this thing that they want to do, but they're not quite sure how or if they'll ever actually accomplish it. And everybody is likely in that boat.
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I had this vision for something called “The Pot.”
It made me think of Facebook friends because I've been on that platform since it showed up. In fact, I've been on that platform since it was available only to colleges.
So it's been a while.
The reality is over the time of being on Facebook, there has been X amount of friends that I've met and added to my friends list that made me wonder — as it became more difficult to find the value that Facebook provides long term — I wondered if there was a way to use some of the inherent wonderfulness of something like this, where you can keep people connected over the course of decades, and then be able to shift that into something almost new or even more valuable.
And so I had this idea for something called “The Pot.” When I got back from a really fun 30th birthday trip, where we did eight ballparks in nine days (or seven ballparks in eight days), I had a whole bunch of people ask me about that trip, saying “I've always wanted to do something like that, but I just don't know how.”
So I figure that that is the case with a lot of people; that they have this thing that they want to do, but they're not quite sure how or if they'll ever actually accomplish it.
And everybody is likely in that boat.
If that's the case, and you have so many people on this platform like Facebook — I think I'm connected over 500 people — then how can you use that power for something that solves this problem of: can I ever actually take this trip that I want to?
The pot was having everybody contribute a small amount that they felt comfortable submitting. Could be $1. Could be $10. Then every year, based on the projections, we could grant one wish for someone in that group.
The concept behind this Substack is very similar. We can have an opportunity to keep people excited about something that they're working on, but also eliminate some real roadblocks that exist, like funding.
So maybe “The Pot” is still a very good idea. But this (Substack) could also be another one.