The Obstacle Is The Way – Finding Hope In Bitcoin
From Betrayal to Bitcoin: A Journey of Resilience and Revolution
By Humble Warrior (@humblebitcoiner)
Banks suck. This isn’t just a catchphrase—it’s a hard-earned truth that resonates deeply. But to understand why, let’s rewind to late 2019.
I sold my company, a business I had nurtured from the ground up to nearly 100 employees. It was time to be more present with our six children and to embark on a new chapter. This chapter wasn’t just about selling my company; it also meant finally starting the renovation of our historic home. After enduring many summers without air conditioning and outdated features, we were ready for some much-needed relief and updates. Classic historic home problems.
Our next challenge was finding the right builder. After exhaustive searches and glowing recommendations from our local community, we found one who seemed perfect. Their professional staff promised to keep the project on schedule and help us make quick, efficient decisions. Perfect for our busy family.
But life is nothing if not a series of unexpected twists, right? Hiring this builder led us down a dark, devastating road, erasing the financial gains from selling my business and crushing our family financially for years to come. In hindsight, there were signs—like when you know there’s a storm coming, but you go for a picnic anyway. We were naive about the intricacies of home renovation and trusted the bank and title company to handle everything. How tragically wrong we were.
Timing is everything. The renovation project coincided with extremely low-interest rates, leading to a refinancing boom. Add a sprinkle of pandemic, and before we knew it, delays ensued, ultimately halting our construction. Despite obtaining an exemption for our project due to my husband’s and my essential worker status, the builder’s financial mismanagement brought everything to a standstill.
Suspicion grew like weeds. After a few interactions with the builder that made me go “hmm,” I put on my investigator’s hat and plunged into countless hours of research. My findings, meticulously compiled into a spreadsheet so thorough it could have doubled as a doctoral thesis, led me to a brutal truth: the contractor was running a Ponzi scheme, robbing Peter to pay Paul. With no new clients due to the COVID-19 halt on construction, their well-oiled scheme began to rust. This practice, sadly, is common in the construction industry, but our contractor took it to a new level of deception. I’ll spare the details since this is still an open investigation.
My investigation revealed a litany of unpaid subcontractors, each placing liens on our home:; their only recourse if negotiations with the homeowner fail. It was miserable, talking to fellow “victims.” We were all ensnared in the contractor’s web of deceit. Their actions, though harsh, were driven by survival. The bank, our supposed protector/project manager, had been negligent, releasing funds without proper proof of completion or documentation. The title company also failed in its duties. Conversations with these entities were like dealing with children—each pointing fingers at the other. In the end, we paid off numerous liens while the bank threatened foreclosure, actions that doubled the cost of our renovation and padded our team of attorneys’ pockets nicely.
Imagine for a moment, waking up every day knowing that the money you painstakingly saved and invested in your family’s future was siphoned away by greed and incompetence. Picture countless nights spent lying awake, trying to figure out how to keep a roof over your children’s heads and rebuild what was so callously torn down. This betrayal doesn’t just impact finances; it shatters dreams and erodes the sense of security we work so hard to build.
The obstacle is the way, they say.
“The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” – Marcus Aurelius
Our dream of a comfortable home and financial security was slipping away. But amidst this turmoil, I discovered Bitcoin. By 2021, the financial strain was overwhelming. We were paying for a rental, a construction loan, lawyers, liens, and subcontractors whose work was paid for by the bank but never completed because the money went to the contractor, not the subs. Desperation led me to the traditional markets, meme stocks were all the rage, then to a course on momentum trading, learning about market dynamics and technical analysis. This wasn’t “me,” but I found solace in it. Staying abreast of global events became crucial for profit. Equally important was monitoring Elon Musk’s tweets, as they moved the market. Eventually, via Elon, the Twitter algorithm introduced me to Bitcoin.
The algorithm fed me a video of a man on stage at a Bitcoin Conference, tears streaming down his face, announcing that El Salvador would adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. This man was Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike. This algorithm-fed video was the genesis of my Bitcoin journey. Thank you, Elon Musk and what was then, Twitter.
The next day, I joined a Twitter Spaces forum where Nayib Bukele’s brother spoke, and later, Nayib himself—the President of El Salvador—joined. I immersed myself in the Bitcoin Twitter community, learning about monetary policy, decentralized systems, and the profound impact Bitcoin could have on the world. Eagerly, I shared these discoveries with family and friends. I even followed up with a video titled “Economic Hitman” shared by @cryptograffiti on Twitter. However, their lack of interest persisted—it was disheartening.
Alone in my newfound passion, I continued my independent study, diving into the rabbit hole that seemed to have countless branches. I was determined. The more I learned, the more hope I gained for the world and our family. It was eye-opening, inspiring, and invigorating.
I started to find solace and strength in the shared belief Bitcoiners had that we could build a better future. Bitcoin represented this promise of a future where we are not just passive participants but active revolutionaries. It’s about building a world where we are in control of our destinies, free from the chains of corruption and greed. It gave me a sense of purpose and a vision of a future where we are not at the mercy of banks and other corrupt institutions.
The fact is, these corrupt and centralized systems have dominated our lives for far too long. Bitcoin is a rallying cry – it provides a way for those who want to fight back… to fight back. It’s for the people by the people. The transformative potential of Bitcoin reveals the ugly truths surrounding our financial institutions – where greed, power, and control run rampant. A system for the criminals by the criminals. Our founding fathers had a lot to say about the power banks held at the time and warned of greater peril should these powers go unchecked.
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered…. I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies…. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.” – Thomas Jefferson
For us, Bitcoin emerged as a beacon of hope during the darkest of days. It became a way to reclaim some semblance of control, showing us that someone out there cared enough about our broken world to create something incorruptible and revolutionary. It wasn’t just about financial recovery; it was about fighting back against the forces that had brought so much hardship into our lives. Bitcoin became a symbol of resilience and defiance, more than just a way to save for a better tomorrow. It was a call to arms, a way to join a revolution, to fight back, a rebellion against the old guard.
The lessons learned from my “orange-pilling” experience were profound. It wasn’t about watching numbers rise; it was about understanding that amid global corruption and chaos, there was a light—a guiding force from Satoshi, showing us a path forward. This light, this technology, was built selflessly to benefit humanity, and that realization filled me with something nobody could take from me.
This newfound hope rekindled our determination. Despite ongoing legal battles, unfinished home repairs, and soaring interest rates, we are not just surviving; we are rebuilding. We are stronger and more determined than ever. The knowledge and lessons I’ve gained are not just for me but are valuable insights I can pass on to my six children. In the end, even if the only thing I achieve is a deeper understanding of Bitcoin’s potential to create a fairer world, that will be enough.
The story I share is not just mine; it echoes the experiences of countless families who placed their trust in institutions, only to be betrayed by a system rigged against them. This betrayal forced us to seek a better way, and in Bitcoin, we found it. Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and incorruptible framework became our beacon of hope, promising a future where fairness and transparency reign.
But this hope isn’t just for us. With the knowledge we’ve gained, we must help others see the potential of Bitcoin. We must educate and enlighten, spreading the message of a technology designed to liberate, not oppress. As Thomas Jefferson warned, “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency… the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property.” The obstacle we faced, the corruption and betrayal by these institutions, has become the way forward. Bitcoin represents the promise of a future free from the chains of corruption and greed, where “for the people by the people” rings true for all to hear. And for that, I am eternally grateful.
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Note from Stackchain Magazine: No Bitcoin (or inferior monies) were exchanged for this article. This article was written by Humble Warrior and we are so grateful that she shared her story with us. You can find her on X @HumbleBitcoiner or on nostr humblewarrior@nostrplebs.com. Humble has contributed so much to pleb culture it’s impossible to list her accomplishments but rest assured you can find her hosting spaces on X that include all the best plebs and builders you could want to hear from. If you enjoyed this article and would like to send some sats Humble’s way you can do so via her LNURL humblewarrior@strike.me