issue.1 - I Owe You an Apology.
You might be furious, but let me explain.
1. I owe you an honest apology.
I put you on my subscribers' list without due permission. Guilty as charged - this is a confession, my hands are up on the air and I’m in your hands.
For that, I apologize.
In my sole defense, why would I spend tons of hours building my newsletter from zero if I could start with all the people I have interacted with via email throughout my life? It wouldn't be rational or effective. Was it right or ethical? Not entirely and that is why I'm confessing my violation.
The mess has already been made. Acknowledge it. Clean it.
Meta-Crisis Damage Report: no penguins were hurt in Antarctica, no trees have been brought down, no permanent damage was done and I haven’t contributed to the advance of climate change with this email (as it is digital) but I did spend your valued time and your inbox got disorganized with an unexpected email.
Status Report: You were bothered. And I have to make up for it. I will promise I will. Because this has just been the first lesson of all.
That was just plain marketing in a nutshell. It is always annoying, but it is rarely honest, At least I'm being both. This technique was specifically Growth Hacking
This sets the tone for "Agency." - My fresh newsletter about business, marketing, technology, and creativity where I will share my latest discoveries, my hard-won marketing secrets, news about business and technology (AI), and philosophical inputs, all wrapped in storytelling, making the information as easy to digest as possible. The goal is only one, to inform you with the necessary information for you to act strategically on behalf of your ventures and thrive in this scary economy.
If my pitch wasn't good enough, it is comprehensible, after all, I bothered you. For that, I will leave the unsubscribe button below (you can also find it at the very bottom of the email) but if you stick around, I promise I will make it up to you by delivering a massive amount of value.
I appreciate the attention and am sorry once again. I had to act.
1.2 Welcome to The New World
Morality is a Being in Constant Evolution
If you stuck around, that is because we think in similar ways and there is reason in your heart, because you like to think critically.
The U.S. tech industry is estimated to have laid off more than 97,000 in 2022, up 649% from the 12,975 that occurred in 2021. And the trend is continuing; companies like PayPal, Spotify, Google and Microsoft have moved forward with more layoffs, counting 77,000 workers in 2023.
Forbes, Mar 3, 2023.
It is a plain fact that the world economy is in a very bad place. All of us are, physically, mentally, and financially. We just tend to avoid the truth even if it’s not really our fault. Just like that scene in the Matrix movie where Morpheus offers Neo two pills: The red pill for a painful dose of truth, or the blue pill for a perfect dose of illusion, after all, ignorance is bliss. Which one have you been taking?
If the world is coming down on us, is it really the moment to ignore the facts and the headlines? No. Under no circumstance, we should hit inertia. It is time to act, and fast. The first step is uncomfortable but let’s do it, growth lies outside the comfort zone, always.
So let’s open the folders in our mind and revisit the one named “Philosophy”. Let’s unzip that “values_and_principles.zip” file and reorganize the files, together. Reason and logic are very similar concepts but they need to be separated and we are going to do it now on a quick mental voyage.
Because to think logically regards science and math. When it comes to logical thinking (the way machines think), things can either be right or wrong. zero or one. That is how software is built, by finding bugs (wrongs) and turning them into fixes (rights). That is also how science is made, by validating facts and data with conditional logic, one after the other. Like building huge castles with individual bricks.
When it comes to reason, it is quite different. We have the human factor and this means there are feelings involved. We still use facts and data but we mix them with our opinion and principles. To think with reason (critically) regards being flexible and adaptive. Analyzing the arguments, co-relating the facts, and making your own judgment and decision.
If you only think logically (to try and avoid all mistakes and risks), you are very much turning into a machine, like ChatGPT. If you balance your logic with reason, you become creative and adaptive because you start making connections that machines can’t.
A decision was made up there in the beginning. By myself and the readers. Because when I decided to send this newsletter, based on reason, I knew I could bother people and be in trouble, but I did it anyway. I did it because I really think this information should reach people and if you are on this list is because we have crossed paths in the past and I care about you and your ventures. Hopefully, you also do.
If this is still a trial and I’m writing my pledge, I will conclude with one last argument and this shall be valuable to you as well.
Brutal honesty: what harm have I really caused? I just added one additional email to your newsletter without asking for it. It was either this or spending months to build this same amount of subscribers. It wasn’t logical because it wasn’t ethical, but it was reasonable because it saved me valuable time and it fit my principles.
"Don't do to others what you wouldn't want to be done to you." This is the universal maxim. I will elaborate, dear reader. This same idea has several names, in the field of philosophy, specifically Kant, it is called "The categorical imperative", in the sacred scriptures it is known as the golden rule and is present in the Bible (Matthew 7:12) as well as it can also be found in the Torah or Hindu Sanskrit.
It is a universal maxim because rules should be questioned and some lines should in fact be crossed, but some other lines, shouldn’t. Rules are words on paper (constitutions) but they tend to get outdated, they take time to adapt and sometimes they protect the interests of whoever writes them.
“True innovation lies behind someone's rules”.
Think about Uber, how it wouldn’t exist if it didn’t have unemployed millions of taxi drivers and infuriated lobbyists all around the world. They did it anyway, and they improved our lives. Can you only imagine how many rules the biggest corporations break every day? OpenAI opened Pandora’s box with the release of ChatGPT and it is thriving even though they are laundering massive amounts of data from places they shouldn’t have access in the first place.
I applied the golden rule to my decision because I don’t really care if someone added me to their newsletter without asking. It is just an email and I can unsubscribe. I would in fact be bothered if they weren’t honest with me, and this I was with you. Honesty shall define one of the values of this newsletter and I hope you stick around for more!
So what is the verdict? Feel free to reach out and Lecture me, I know I’m wrong, so I will listen.
I will leave you only with one final question though.
How far are you willing to push your critical thinking in order to survive this economy and protect those around you?
If you lack the answer, the issue.0 might help.
I appreciate the attention and the forgiveness. I promise it’s all downhill from now. I will be your personal agent of action in times of crisis.
Over and out.
About the Author
Thiago Patriota
Made in 1996. Born & Raised Brazillian. Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Communication. Adept to autodidactism. Curious Soul. Published Author. Founder of Sentient.
That’s me in a nutshell but you can learn more about Agency and myself on the About page!