The Empowering Humility Podcast

Dolores: Welcome to Empowering Humility,
where we're on a mission to promote human

flourishing by restoring humility as
a common denominator in society today.

Let's dive in.

Giancarlo: Welcome to the
Empowering Humility Podcast.

I'm John Carlo Newsom, and I'll
be your host for this podcast.

I'm thrilled to have Brennan
and Ley with me guys.

I I, it's funny, each time I do
these podcasts, I'm like, okay,

this can be the best one yet.

But I, and I don't mean to be offensive
to all our past guess, but I really

think this won't be the best one yet.

And, um, matter of fact, I just heard
that Brendan, congratulations is the

12th most impactful Bitcoin in Africa.

Um, and I heard that that is a part
of Masley's organization you're gonna

meet that helps that, that assesses
all these great talents that are

helping bring Bitcoin and Freedom coin.

That's what a lot of my friends
like to call it, freedom and

responsibility coin, right?

It's not like the crypto
coins, uh, to Africa.

And I think, uh, our guests are gonna
be blessed with the amazing work you're.

So, um, uh, so today I'm gonna
give kind of a long intro.

So Brendan Ley, you guys have kind
of seen this intro, but I think it's

important to frame for our guests, um,
how important the work you're doing is.

Does that sound good?

Brindon: Very important.

Giancarlo: Awesome.

Awesome.

And it was fun, by the
way, to our audience.

He goes, before we got on, it was
fun to watch b Brendan Ley argue,

trying to push credit back and forth.

So, as you know, with the
Empowering Humility Podcast, we're

all about empowering humility.

And it was fun to watch them live
out humility and I hope, um, their

example that I just shared, that will
all embrace that, that will, uh, be

fighting at trying to get in a small door
that we, we as humans really grow our

ability to, to outcompete our humility
and to give credit and share credit.

So anyhow, kudos to you guys for that.

So let me, let me frame
our discussion today.

Today we are going to learn how Bitcoin.

Built on blockchain technology is
empowering, humility and livelihoods

like never before in Africa.

You will be inspired today, I promise.

Blockchain technology, by the
way, for those who don't know,

is a component of what people
have defined as Web3 technology.

And for those that don't
know, okay, what's Web3?

Well, Web3 helps us restore our individual
agency and personal responsibility

to our individual data and control.

So when you think about it today, we
live in a web two world, which is a

lot like communism, which misleads
us to believe we get all these

services for free, which is not true.

We are paying them, we're paying
them with our data, and, and our data

includes our minds, our emotions.

So we're giving all, we're giving
ourselves to other people, uh, for

free for them to frankly exploit us,
and oftentimes without our knowledge.

So that's why Bitcoin and blockchain
technology by US standards not.

As you can imagine, countries that
live by authoritarian standards have a

much different use case for wanting to
use blockchain technology or crypto.

So today we're gonna hear the differences
about why Bitcoin is so important.

It's so liberating, so empowering
and why something everyone needs to

study because as we went from the
horses to cars, that is exactly what's

happening in the financial sector.

We're going from horses to cars.

It's just a little harder to get
our heads around, but today you have

two young people that will help make
that transition that much easier.

Finally, I, I've mentioned
this on all our podcasts.

All of our guests embody Cell
being selfless servants, and I

think you'll pick up on that, that
they are mission over me ethos.

So it's a real honor to have them.

I can't wait for you
guys to get to know them.

And, um, does that sound
like, am I setting things up?

Good for you guys.

Brendan Ley.

Excellent.

All right.

I'm getting some vertical nods.

Okay, so let me get things set up here.

We all know there's no shortage
of social media and artificial

intelligence, AI that exploits our
vices and human weakness for profit.

And sadly, most of the time, this
big money and big tech, like the tap

tobacco industry back in the day,
exploits us without our knowledge,

at least as long as they can for as
long as they can get away from it,

uh, get, um, get away with it, and we
know that that is catching up to them.

Right.

Jonathan Het, who wrote the book, the
Anxious Generation, uh, Tristan Harris,

if you haven't seen the documentary
Social Dilemma, we now have the data

that shows how as they quietly take
advantage of us, the impact, the

harsh consequences is very real.

So take that picture.

And say, okay, how has the financial big
tech world taken also advantage of us?

And how can we get that individual power
and responsibility and freedom back today?

You're gonna learn about that.

So I want you also look at
this Web3, web two Big tech.

Look at, look at them.

Like PornHub.

Most of us recognize that
PornHub is really bad for us.

Most of us recognize that lust is kind of
a gross abuse of natural biology, right?

But there are other natural biologies
that also hurt us and that think

about Facebook, think of the way
they exploit envy, or they exploit,

exploit even, um, junk food, right?

In a way, Facebook.

Is a form of human trafficking.

It is trafficking our emotions
to each other for financial gain,

just like a human trafficker.

So I know that sounds harsh,
but it's really not hyperbole.

Let, let's, and this is why I hope this
conversation helps us all go deeper,

empowering our own humility, so then we
can take action and take agency and take,

restore our own individual responsibility
and freedom back that's being taken

over, being trafficked by others.

Um, so, um, the other, another really kind
of important thing I I wanna highlight

about the, the junk food of our, the
mental junk food we're consuming of greed.

You think about it, we, we've
never had our feelings of

inadequacy reinforced more.

But think about it, we are wealthier
materially more than all of human history.

We're all, we're on a, a call
connected between Uganda,

Nigeria, and Italy right now.

We all have phones that have more power
than any of our generations behind us had.

So, you know, we were having some internet
connections and we were kind of, you

know, b Brendan was talking about the
difference of like internet connection.

But still, even in Africa,

we are exceptionally wealthy and we've
gotta stop the influences that tell

us that we're not, and now we need
to kind of use all this blessing for

good and this is what you're going
to hear that measly and Brendan do.

So anyhow, we are becoming morally obese,
if you think about it at a moral level.

And we, the circle of people that are
enriching themselves from our suffering

and are in discipline is growing.

And so the purpose of e humility
is to be like a fitness gym to

help us basically become fit.

And deal with our moral obesity.

I also want to bring to bear
therapy culture and how mental

health care, or better, it should
be called, keep a sick care, is our

greatest corporate medical expense.

But Giancarlo Facebook is how
Grandma keeps up with me and

my kids and our busy lives.

I would say listen to yourself.

Be humble.

Doesn't this affirm that your
busy life to some degree is more

important than your grandmother?

So stop doom scrolling.

Go and visit or call grandma.

So now let's talk about
this tech enabled evil.

Like most evil, just like our excuse
to save Facebook's healthy 'cause.

We can talk to, to grandma masquerades
as light and good intentions.

And his corruption with us is so subtle
that it goes unnoticed until it is too

late, until your grandmother's gone,
until your marriage is destroyed, right?

Until you desire things so much that
you've lost your freedom and you've

consumed in your own envy, right?

Or your materialism.

So now let's pivot to Africa.

While it is not fueled by big tech
like the West, um, I don't think a

continent on earth has suffered more
from the tyranny and exploitation

of good intentions like Africa.

I find it fun that today's guests
are though using tech to jam wheel

sticks in the wheels of this evil,
of unaccountable good intentions.

If you think about all the tech
we've talked about so far, there's

always the threat of good intentions.

Talk to grandma, right?

Or, Hey, we make it easy for you to have
a centralized banking system, right?

So there's some unaccount.

There's unaccountable.

Good intentions is what is hurting us.

So today you will meet and learn from
our amazing guests who are using tech

that by design requires and reinforces.

And enforces strict moral and
monetary discipline, or maybe

we can call it moral fitness.

In monetary exchange today, you'll get
a glimpse into how these young men in

the, in the ecosystems they represent are
employing Bitcoin to counter the stark

polarity of starvation and moral obesity
of today's monetary systems in Africa.

Many who don't have food in
Africa also don't have a bank.

There is the bank in the unbanked.

We don't talk about that in the west.

We, we see the starving people.

We don't talk about how about the
people that are starving for like

just basic financial infrastructure.

So these sticks will not only help
stop the wheels of corruption that

is undermining the good in that is.

Behind all the undermining good
intentions of past aid to Africa.

If you think about it, all aid to
Africa has the, has the road to

hell, good to intentions in it.

But their tech and moral leadership gives
me hope that these young ens are also

setting the example and leading the world
in restoring moral and virtuous fitness.

I was telling Brendan and and Ley
I, it's my opinion as someone who

lives in the West, that the hope of
the world actually rests in Africa.

These young men, when you hear
their story, they absolutely

value freedom like we do.

But unlike the West, they
haven't disconnected personal

responsibility from that freedom.

And I think when you hear how they
employ Bitcoin, it is, it represents

freedom that we all believe in, but it
also enforces personal responsibility.

So I'll let them expand
upon that some more.

Anyhow, I believe these young.

Are the catalysts for bringing a
global level of moral fitness that

will restore human flourishing
to the world as God design.

So in that, with that intro, I'm
super excited to introduce to you

Brendan and Magley, and we're gonna
discuss, excuse me, humility and

Money Africa and the gift of Bitcoin.

Welcome Brendan MCAS to the
Empowering Humility Podcast.

Y

Megasley: Yeah,

Giancarlo: tell.

So

tell about this guys.

Um,

what are you what are your top
of mind thoughts with that intro?

And either one of you guys can go first.

I'm just curious to hear what, what
came to mind as I was giving that intro.

See, they're being humble against, like,
Brendan, you go first, you go first.

Brindon: looping me in looping in.

Giancarlo: Brendan, go ahead.

Go.

Brindon: There is so much
packed in that intro.

But for me, um, for anyone who is
just tuning in, I would ask them

to put on their mentor track shows
because the background you've said

is exactly what, um, the truth is.

There's a lot that is going
on when it comes to the mental

obesity as you called it.

There is, there is culture dilution
at the expense of technology.

The, the fundamental example you used
of talking to grandma at the cost of all

these things you do, scrolling, losing
yourself in a feed that is not true.

Watching actors, independent actors, as I
like to call them, uh, present to you on

social media and you falling for it and
thinking that you are not at your best.

This, this conversation is going to be
interesting, but top of, top of mind.

Very good background explains
what I hope to also get from this

discussion from me, Lee, and yourself.

The most interesting thing you might
want to remember as you get into the

discussion is Africa is actually working
at a disadvantage because whatever

has worked in the Western world is
trying to be pushed on the African

continent and it is forces like Bitcoin.

It is forces like free will.

It is forces like education, not in the
traditional sense, but um, financial

empowerment and emotional empowerment that
are kind of countering this narrative.

So Mely and I have the opportunity
to be, I wouldn't wanna say at the

forefront of the revolution, but we are
part of that revolution that is trying

to stop this process in their ways.

So, yeah, maybe let's, let's
see what mega she has to say.

Giancarlo: Uh, I love it.

I, I, I just mental track
shoes, audience, uh, get 'em on.

Uh, let's also be, uh, transparent
with the independent actors that,

that are, want to maybe impose.

Uh, ways that have hurt us in the West
and Africa and make sure we don't do that.

And, um, ley, what, what are
your, matter of fact, what

are your top of mind thoughts?

But go ahead.

And also just after you kind of share your
top of mind thoughts and hopes for this

audience, um, tell us a little bit about
your backstory and, and like how you,

your why, why, how you got into Bitcoin
and what was your orange pill moment?

Megasley: Yeah.

Thank you so much.

Um, Giancarlo again, I, I hope the
name, the way I'm pronouncing the name

is correct and of course, uh, awesome.

Of course.

Uh, my boss, uh, Brian has
already said most of the things

I wanted to say about that intro,

Giancarlo: but he called you

Megasley: the only thing it, it
was a mistake from him anyways.

Uh, he's the boss.

But then, uh, I think the one
thing I'd actually like to add with

that, to that is that, um, the way
people in the west see Africa and

Africans is very different from.

What is actually happening, right?

You understand on ground, um, there
are lots of things you mentioned and

um, sometimes you see people trying
to bring solutions to, um, problems in

Africa and then the way they're actually
trying to bring those solutions is not

exactly how it's supposed to be because
they don't really, they're not really

based in Africa to see what the problems
are and to actually have like a better

insight and understanding as to how
to like, bring those solutions to it.

But everything you've said and um,
is actually, um, point and Brenda

has made justice to that already.

But lemme just jump
right into my backstory.

Um, mine is always a little bit funny,
um, as to how I came into Bitcoin

and why I actually got into Bitcoin.

Um, it was, I, I, I've actually not
been in this space for too long.

Um, I got into Bitcoin, I'd say
fully in 2022, but I have heard about

Bitcoin, um, a long time before then.

I actually got scammed when I
tried, um, investing in Bitcoin.

That was the very first time
I ever bought some Bitcoin.

But, uh, it, it ended up the
scam actually, and I lost money.

It wasn't big money anyways,
but then I was a student, so,

uh, it, it was a big deal.

But then, um, I, how I got the
opportunity actually come into the

Bitcoin space to even know about Bitcoin.

For what Bitcoin is.

It was in 2021 when I
actually applied for a job.

Uh, it wasn't a Bitcoin job, but
it was, they required a tech role

and it was an internship role.

I fortunately for me, I made it through
like four stages of interview and in

the last stage of the interview, I
remember, um, the interviewer asking

me if I, happy to be paid in Bitcoin.

I'm happy to receive my salary in Bitcoin.

And obviously I was like, yeah, of course.

And, um, he didn't, when, when had to
ask if I know anything about Bitcoin.

At the time I only knew Bitcoin to
be just a cryptocurrency and I didn't

wanna blow my chances or getting
the job, so I just went ahead to

say yes, even though I, I didn't
know much about Bitcoin at the time.

And, uh, fortunately for me, I
got the job and I started working.

Now when you're working with people that
understands Bitcoin and then they're

always talking about Bitcoin, I remember
I was doing a task, um, while at the job

as an intern to curate a Bitcoin cost.

For the, the, uh, my team members
basically, um, my view, this was

not a Bitcoin company at all.

It had nothing connected to Bitcoin,
but the people in charge actually

understood Bitcoin and they wanted the
employees to also learn about Bitcoin.

So it was, when I got that task to curate
the course, that's when I went to Deep

to actually understand what Bitcoin is.

I, I remember the first, um,
search I made on YouTube.

Uh, it was, um, an Antonio
police that came up.

I, I like that name, correct.

Right.

Um, he speaks a lot about
Bitcoin and I think that was

the very first video I watched.

He kind of like broke Bitcoin
down, explained how things

work, and then I got deeper.

I read about a lot of things because
I was curating the course, you know,

that actually curated the course.

I needed to really understand
Bitcoin very well, and then I was.

I got a point where I finally
realized what Bitcoin was, but even

then, I still did not have as much
interest because, you know, the

interest was just curate the course.

It was a task that was given to you,
curate the course and then complete your

task and you didn't want to blow it.

But, um, I, yeah, so, um, after that
opportunity I, something happened that

we had to kind of like leave the company
and then that was when I met my team,

my current team at Africa Bitcoiners.

Um, we kind of like
came together actually.

We have someone who is, um, very,
very passionate about seeing, um,

Bitcoin grow in Africa and she actually
was the one that recreated us, um,

myself and two other team members.

So we were three into two and
then we came into the space.

And then I remember in the
beginning she actually bombarded

us with a lot of materials, right?

Lots of Bitcoin related materials,
lots of Bitcoin related courses,

you know, to go through.

And we basically spent a whole
month to study about Bitcoin.

Just a whole full month reading,
watching, you know, taking tests.

Every test that is connected to
Bitcoin and taking all the courses

we can, we, we got some certificates
within that period of time.

The beautiful thing about that journey
was that within that one month, we

were able to know a lot about Bitcoin
than most people that have been

in the space for a very long time.

And not just that we knew about
Bitcoin, we also gotta see Bitcoin

for what Bitcoin really is, right?

And then from then, that's
when we started the journey of.

Actually, um, you know, letting other
people know because just like in

Christian, uh, the, the Christian Kingdom,
when you learn about Jesus and you wanna

also talk to other people about it, um,
sorry, I have, I, I I love my faith a

lot, so I used to always bring this.

So that's the same way with Bitcoin.

You realize the power that Bitcoin had and
how much of the potential, which was the

most important part of it, the changes it
could actually bring to us as Africans.

You know, coming from a place like my
country, which is Nigeria, where you have

one of the worst currencies, um, and of
course the people, uh, the governments

are not willing, really helping, uh,
matters in terms of carbon inflation.

So our con currency is
really, really inflated.

And then you get to see Bitcoin
acting the opposite way.

And I think when it comes to Bitcoin,
the pathway I'm always most passionate

about is, um, the part you get to.

Tell the people, especially the people in
my country, let them see that, especially

when it has to do with savings, let
them see that saving money in their

currency, in our currency is basically
just them killing the value they have.

So that is, that was where the, the
major passion actually from, um, letting

people see Bitcoin for what Bitcoin is.

Let them see the potential it
carries and how much change it can

actually bring to their financial
life and even in the future.

You know, there are lots of people
saving for their kids in the future.

I know a lot of them.

And then these people are
putting their money in.

And then when you look at the
way the Nira has been going, um.

Deflation, sorry, excuse me, has been
going, uh, inflation wise, you quickly

just realize that these people are only
doing this, they're actually doing more

harm to themselves, but then they're only
doing this because they do not know about.

So that's when we started the journey of
teaching, basically educating people about

Bitcoin, letting them see it for what
it's, that it's not just a cryptocurrency.

And of course, trying as much
as possible to bring as many

people as we can into the system.

So that's where we started African
Bitcoin as, um, and like I said,

the story where I said, uh, someone
recruited us, um, where I meet my team

members, that is actually the team,
the Afghan team we formed at the time.

And, um, yeah, the race has actually been
story from then we went on to, um, you

know, state of Africa free routing and
Africa free routing initially started as,

um, we, we had the initial plan of running
Lightning notes, free routing, lightning

notes to support Africa generally,
because, um, when we looked at the map

at the time, I mean there are lots of
lightning notes, um, in other continent,

but in Africa it was really, really scan.

There was little to nothing going
on as, as lightning was concerned.

And in terms of lightning notes as well.

So we decided to go on a journey
to, you know, build and run

lightning notes in Africa that
are actually resident in Africa.

So we can also light
up the map as well too.

And we also not, did not just run the,
but we made them in the sense that.

Payments that goes through our note.

We didn't charge anything for it,
so they were basically just payments

going around, uh, zero fees.

And um, from there we went on, you
know, develop, which is what is

actually gaining it has actually been
gaining a lot of traction so far.

Um, we've gone to different, um,
cities and the whole idea is.

Train developers because at the end of
the day, when you talk about adoption,

if you just keep going to people to tell
them, Hey, this is Bitcoin, this is what

Bitcoin can do, um, uh, and you need to
come into Bitcoin, it's not really going

to be as effective as it would have been.

If you are going there with like a, like
a product that actually solves a problem

and then you let them see these products
after explaining everything, you let

them know this is actually, this was
actually made possible because of Bitcoin.

And in order to have such products,
we need to have, um, build as we

need to have developers that are
think, that are thinking, um, and

are building solutions that are also
tailored to, you know, the problems

that we face in Africa in general.

So that's how we started the
Lightning Developer to train

developers on how to build on
Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.

And also we help businesses as well too,
to set up lightning, um, payments business

that once accept Bitcoin payments.

We help them set it up And yeah,
that's pretty much it's, I.

Giancarlo: You, you, you, fantastic.

And actually, I'll play in.

I'm, I'm a fellow Christian brother
with you now at Empowering Humility.

We, we value everyone's diversity
of faith because, uh, uh, we feel

we all are, are seeking after God.

Hopefully.

It's truth, empowering humility.

So we don't, I'm not in us
sharing our faith doesn't impose

it, but we openly share it.

But I, I wanna play into our shared
faith because you mentioned you

teach the value of Bitcoin, right?

Just with the same passion.

You talk about Jesus.

But at some point we can't
just talk about Jesus.

We have to act, we have
to build something.

We have to do something.

The scripture says, faith
without works is dead.

And I feel very much as we've talked
about it on other podcasts, how much

of the Western church is a dead faith.

There's not, works a lot of talk.

So I admire how you are not only teaching
the gospel of Bitcoin, the value,

the, the transcendental value just
like Jesus, but you're also teaching

people how to develop the framework.

Also.

It also, even in, in government and
legislation, there's a lot of great

policy, especially, I mean as, as you
know, a reservist in the military,

how often do we hear great, beautiful
policies, but people don't build the

systems and information technology to make
those beautiful policies or frameworks

easy and available for everyone.

So I admire that a lot.

I was going to, um.

Uh, yeah, I, it, I think it's great
that I think, um, Brendan, tell your

backstory, but also I thought of you
because you had, you've been a great

mentor to me in that, you know, we'll
also talk about circular economies.

I, I learned about that when I met
you guys both at the Plan B, but how

those are best seated with someone
who begins to pay people in Bitcoin.

So your story measly how you, you, it's
not that you were looking for Bitcoin,

is you were looking for a job and,
and the fact that someone said they

would pay you in Bitcoin means you go,
well, maybe I should learn about it.

You also, you also, your story
also tells something very

important for empowering humility.

Fitness is, even if you're involved
in something meaningful, let's say

going to church on paper is very
meaningful, but there's a, we have to.

Humble ourselves to truly
step back and go, okay, what's

the true purpose behind it?

'cause we can just check the box.

Right?

It's very interesting you told
me, if I understood correctly, you

built a course to teach on Bitcoin,
but it didn't become real to you.

Kind of like a lot of people who come
to faith, something tragic or something

has to make kind of be that moment where
it goes, oh this, it's more than just

checking a box, getting a certificate.

And then I think you look at the
failure of the, uh, United States

college education system, how many
poor people from hubris, not through

humility, got degrees, spent a
lot of money that were worthless.

So I think lots of lessons there.

Boy, measly.

Thank you so much Brendan.

Tell, tell us about your story and teach
us maybe about circular economies, please.

Brindon: LY is a beneficiary
of a circular economy.

Uh, one person who chose
to pay Bitcoin forward.

I think that's the, I've become
a very big advocate of spending

Bitcoin because if we do not spend
Bitcoin, we miss the opportunity to,

to show by action, to show by doing.

I'll start from the back.

Um, 2016, I am in high school.

I genuinely want to make money
online and I go online and I

type how to make money online.

And for me, what I found
was, uh, paid ad viewing.

So 2016 was the peak of, uh, Facebook
ads and most Google based ads.

So there was a website where think the

unnecessary traffic was being routed
to, for people like me, people who

are looking to make some quick money
to go on there and fabricate clicks.

So we were fabricating clicks
of ad, of, of, of adverts.

So we're being paid to view adverts.

I did that and um, every
click would annual 1 cent.

Uh, you would, uh, look at images,
so images that are being advertised

by, I don't know, whoever.

And you'd look at those images and below
those images, there were digits attached.

You'd have to type those digits out.

And every time you click
enter, I hope, or I'm thinking.

That would look like a click on
the other side, on the, on the

person who paid for the ads.

So every click would be worth 1 cent.

And from the time I discovered that
website, I worked day and night,

clicked enough times to hit a thousand
dollars, and by the end of the week,

as per the clicks I had made on the
website, I had a thousand dollars.

I had not held even a
hundred dollars in my hands.

So I was like, this is my
opportunity to become rich.

As you can imagine, a thousand dollars
in high school is a lot of money,

so I prepare myself to be rich.

I go cash out.

So when I click cash out, they're
like, um, do you have a bank card?

Do you have a bank account
where we can send this money?

Of course, I was still below edge and um,
I didn't have a bank account to my name.

I didn't have a Visa card, so
I could not receive the money.

I didn't know how to use MoneyGram,
but all the way to the bottom

there was an option called Bitcoin.

It was the only thing
that I did not know about.

And I was like, what's this Bitcoin thing?

So I've grown on the internet.

I like to call myself raised by YouTube.

So I went to YouTube.

I'm like, what is Bitcoin?

So I find out what Bitcoin is and
I realized it was fully online.

It required no identification, uh,
which I will, uh, circle back to

and the importance of the absence of
identification in financial inclusion.

I then get down in the rabbit hole of
how do I receive money using Bitcoin?

I eventually figure it out.

I find myself, uh, I find
my way to a Bitcoin wallet.

I download it, wrote down my seed phrase
on a plain piece of paper, which I

don't recommend people doing because
I lost that piece of paper after.

So then I feed, yeah, yeah.

I feed the wallet address into
the website and they're like, aha.

So you figured out Bitcoin, now you
have to test your Bitcoin address

by sending us Bitcoin back then I'm
like, maybe Bitcoin works like that.

Giancarlo: Oh, no.

Brindon: Uh, I thought maybe
Bitcoin works like that.

I mean, they asked for about $10.

I'm like $10 to a ratio of a thousand.

I go back to YouTube how to
buy Bitcoin, so I land on a

website called local Bitcoins.

I am able to, to get my way around
buying some Bitcoin, so I got a

total of about $14 into, into the
Bitcoin wallet that I'd created.

I sent them, I will never forgive them.

I sent them $10 worth of Bitcoin.

And, uh, I remained with about
two because I, I, I, I spent on

transaction fees and everything.

So then I wait.

I'm like, whew, $1,000.

Let's go $1,000.

Let's go.

That holiday ended, I went
back, finished high school.

Up to now, I still check my wallet.

I've never received a thousand dollars,

Giancarlo: Oh

wow.

Brindon: but, um, the wallet
that I retained where I had

the $2, I also didn't touch it.

So for about two or three years,
I did not do anything with that $2

that was stayed in, in the wallet.

And when I come, when I came back to
it, when I kept coming to check if

the $1,000 was there, I found, uh,
over a longer period of time that

this money had actually tripled,

Giancarlo: Yeah.

Brindon: or tripled.

And I thought to myself, so instead of
trying to go and click on some random

website, which does not pay on time.

Shouldn't I just buy money,
uh, find a bunch of money, buy

Bitcoin, keep it, it doubles.

I become a millionaire.

That was the new strategy.

So then I get, I get into the world of,
uh, buying a bit of Bitcoin, but then I

become more curious because the doubling
effect really brought me, it's a very

common factor in the Bitcoin space that,
uh, most people come for the money and

stay for the principles and the potential.

So I came in to make a bunch
of money and I got looked in.

So I started doing research.

I started engaging on Twitter.

I made a lot of friends.

By I think two 19, I was confident
enough I up and spoke to my friend.

I'm like, but there's this Bitcoin thing.

I put my $2.

They became four.

I had at that point put, uh, other monies.

And in 2019 they had.

Slightly gone up.

I told him, so this is a strategy.

We are young men.

We don't like overworking.

We are going to go look for money,
start businesses, look for money, put

that money in Bitcoin and just wait.

That was a strategy.

So I got to teach him what I had
learned, but he also asked me a lot

of questions that got me back to
researching and getting in detail.

Um, so fast forward after him learning and
I learned, we bought Bitcoin now in 2020.

After the break of COVID, the
Bitcoin price showed up drastically

and for us, we made a bit of money
and we were like, okay, so if we

are rich, how about our friends?

So we got the idea of if we teach people
about Bitcoin, maybe they can pay us

some money for the knowledge we'll share.

Then we'll put that money in Bitcoin.

But they'll also get
to learn about Bitcoin.

Yeah.

So I think that's how we birthed our first
education organization at that point.

Of course.

Um, as most initial people are, you get
corrupted by crypto because Bitcoin is

a bit, the numbers is, it looks big.

It looks like you're buying
a whole, a whole mansion.

Uh, but, um, I ended up
touching to a bit of crypto.

I got to understand what
blockchain is in detail.

I got to start to teach people
about crypto and Bitcoin in general.

But something, uh, very
important happened in 2021.

I got through to the signal.

I like to call it signal.

I met a couple of people
online who called me out.

They said, brilliant,
you're very energetic.

You know how to teach, you
know how to speak, you know

how to communicate these ideas.

Simply.

Why are you wasting time
teaching people about.

Crypto.

It was not until they, they pointed
it out that I realized that all

the cryptos I had discovered over
the years, some of them had either

crashed and they were nonexistent
or they were heading down that path.

Giancarlo: Yeah.

Brindon: But of course,
you're stubborn a bit.

So I hesitated.

Um, I was getting a few
offers from majority of the

exchanges to teach locally here.

So I've worked closely with Binance.

I worked closely with Ft X.

But what put the nail in the
coffin was, uh, we had just

started our partnership with Ft.

X, uh, I think by like two months.

And we were doing,

Giancarlo: Well,

Brindon: we were doing education
on the ground on their behalf,

and FTX collapsed now when FTX

Giancarlo: this with your story.

Wow.

You, you got, you were
wrapped up in the FDX story.

Wow.

Brindon: yeah.

So when FTX collapsed, we had a
few of our friends, we had taught.

Come back to us and say, okay,
I had $20, I had a hundred.

You guys brought me to this team.

When is it coming back?

So then everything made sense.

I'm like, if I want to
build the next 20 years.

At that point, I had actually
decided that we're going to,

to stay in that Bitcoin space.

If I'm going to run a career
for my lifetime in this space,

I can't be vouching, I can't be
putting to my name projects that

won't exist in those 20 years.

Otherwise I will be the
greatest scammer of all time.

Giancarlo: Yeah.

Brindon: in 2021, late, I think, uh, early
2022, we took, uh, a very bold movement.

We decided we were going to close
the old crypto company, which was

still heaven, and we transitioned
to a Bitcoin only stance.

Now, within that space,
a lot was happening.

I was making new connections on online.

I was.

Getting bigger offers
from the crypto space.

So it was very counterintuitive for
me to say no, for me to actually

refuse to take up all these easy
monies that crypto projects were

offering me at the expense of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin doesn't have a marketing team.

Most companies would not come to
to pay you to do the Bitcoin work.

But for the long term perspective of I
want to build in this space, I had to

take the, I had to take the liberty and
the the due diligence and do the work.

So that's when we built Gorilla sets,
which became a Bitcoin only platform.

We started out with the same thing we
were doing in the previous company.

We started doing education and every
time we received an offer from a crypto

project, however tempting it was,

Megasley: was.

Brindon: refused to take the offer.

So.

Along the way.

Of course, we lost a co-founder
initially in the, in the company

that we had started the crypto one.

We had gotten a few co-founders,
uh, we stayed the two of us.

When we started the Bitcoin only
mission, we made a public letter.

We wrote, we posted on Twitter.

We said, guys, we have detached
from crypto going forward.

We're a Bitcoin only company.

All our efforts will be Bitcoin only.

And there was a lot of noise around it.

It's, it's, uh, it's pe People don't
like general crypto space, does

not believe that people who become
Bitcoin only are good for the space.

But I think that's the best decision
we ever took because from that time,

it's, it has always been impact.

Impact and we've not lost that
progress in any collapse or anything.

So Gorilla sat speaks up.

Um, of course we added the aspect of
tourism because in the last few years

we'd had a few Bitcoiners come to visit.

And we'd manage their logistics, where
they stayed, what they saw in terms of

tourism, how they experienced the country.

So we decided to blend gorillas, which
is the tourism and stats, which is

Satoshis, to create the first Bitcoin
tourism company on the continent.

We were the first, and um, it went well.

We, we actually did some good work.

We were educating around the biggest
university in Uganda, and that's where

the circular economy nugget drops in.

So we are already an established
Bitcoin tourism company.

We know our fundamentals, but we've
not really put a structure to the

way we educate people to the way
we were creating the community.

We were just teaching,
teaching, teaching, teaching.

And the moment you start teaching,
teaching, uh, you lose an

ingredient, you lose practicality.

Just like my, uh, Bitcoin pasta Mely said.

When you are teaching Bitcoin, you
have to add a bit of evangelism, door

todo, drag people to to fellowships.

So I was able to interact with someone
online who was calling for anyone

in the African region, interested in
building a Bitcoin circular economy.

remember I was not quick to respond to
that, uh, because I did not know what

it was, but I told you guys, I come from
YouTube University, so I got to YouTube

what is a Bitcoin circular economy.

So I get the whole concept.

Actually, after reading a few of, um, uh,
the, the documents and watching some of

the videos, I realized we were already
building a Bitcoin circular economy.

We were just missing a few pieces.

So then I go back to Twitter
and I pitched this was, uh, to

the person who now is my mentor.

He's called Herman.

He was also in Logan.

I pitched, I wanted to build
a circular economy around the

biggest university in Uganda.

And I already had efforts
that were going on.

We'd already taught a few students, we'd
already put Bitcoin in in some of their

wallets, but we had not completed the
cycle, which is very important for people

who want to teach or learn about Bitcoin.

We were stopping at giving them Bitcoin.

We had not yet completed the curve
for them to see it being spent, for

them to see it, um, being turned
in, into day-to-day services.

So I pitched that and uh, I won a ticket
to go to to Prague, Czech Republic.

And of course, I did not have money
because it was a very short notice thing.

I won a ticket to attend a conference,
but there was a flight in between.

So, because I'd been doing all this
work and I'd come out publicly to say

I'm going to be a Bitcoin only when I
put up a campaign for people to support

me using Bitcoin, for me to travel to
Europe, that campaign filled up in one

day and I needed about $2,000 to travel.

So all these Bitcoiners online had been
watching the kind of effort and devotion

we had put into growing the community
and they immediately sponsored me.

And I took my first, my first plane,
my first trip out of Africa, uh, and my

first visit to Europe, thanks to Bitcoin,
and thanks to the work we've been doing.

And when I reached Prague, it was
learning about circular economies.

I met very interesting people.

I met the meet the big name Bitcoiners.

I met people who had sent me
such from across the world.

Some of them had attended the conference.

For me, when I came back from that
conference, it was, how do I replicate

what these people have already found out?

So we picked up the Bitcoin circular
economy model and we started building,

uh, the first Bitcoin circular economy in
Uganda, which we called Bitcoin Kampala.

Uganda.

The Kampala is because it was around
the university, the Uganda is because

we eventually took on a project that
looks after 115 orphans now using

Bitcoin, and it is out of the city.

So we started in the
city and we expanded out.

So we started doing that, and
for me, that immediately showed

me what we'd been missing.

We were able to get merchants
around the university.

So every time we taught people at the
university, every time we taught people

around the university, the Bitcoin
would put into their wallets as a demo.

They could go buy a juice, they could
go buy a snack, they could buy some

airtime, they could buy perfume.

So it was instantly money.

And majority of the people here whom
we've taught about Bitcoin, they look at

it as manifest, not as a store of value,
not as our, not as my initial thoughts

of, uh, trying to double my wealth.

They look at it as money.

And on the other side of the
orphanage, um, we interact with an

orphanage where we have 115 children
who either way required donations.

So we created a platform for them
to receive donations using Bitcoin.

Now, the ingredient that we
added at the orphanage is because

it's a big concentration of, uh,
children and their caretakers.

We started talking to the
suppliers of the orphanage.

We started talking to the service
providers of the orphanage to

be able to pay them in Bitcoin.

It took a long time.

But because we were their major source
of income, we were their biggest

client, it was an easy negotiation.

It's like, you don't have to do it now,
but gradually as we grow, we are going

to receive more Bitcoin donations.

So if you don't take Bitcoin, you
are defeating the whole purpose of us

receiving Bitcoin donations in terms of
transaction fees and having to convert.

So we gave them enough time to adjust to
the new innovation that we're taking on.

And boy oh boy, that started the whole
revolution like between 2023 and now

all our expenses at the orphanage,
except when we buy, uh, petrol or

any form of, uh, gasoline, um, and
the online services where we can't

pay for Bitcoin, more than 95% of our
expenses are being paid in Bitcoin.

We reached an extent where the
school, where the children go

to accepted Bitcoin for tuition.

So, and then now that has grown
into, uh, supporting other circular

economies on the continent.

It has grown into delivering all these
lessons to the world through the keynotes.

Kind of like the one where
we met in Luo, where we're

talking about entrepreneurship.

Because if you look at the whole
story behind what has happened,

it's just an entrepreneur trying to
find a way out for himself and in

turn impacting this whole community.

So that's my story.

I've cut out a lot of details, like
how I've still not yet received

my $1,000, but I will not forget.

Giancarlo: I, I love it.

Outstanding.

Thanks, Brendan.

I love that it is just.

Away for an entrepreneur
to find a way out.

But what you mentioned is really cool.

It's, it's not just for the
entrepreneur, it helps build a community.

The, i I think that is, that was, uh, one
of my takeaways from the Plan B conference

that we, where we met in Switzerland.

And so for our audience to know, ano
Switzerland is a city in Switzerland.

Um, that is basically, um,
kind of like El Salvador.

So El Salvador is I think,
probably the most popular, most

well known circular economy.

If you, if you search Bitcoin Beach is
kind of, was one of the first models.

But Luana has kind of taken that from a,
from a Swiss standpoint and the Swiss,

or like the, arguably the world leader in
financial freedom and independence, right?

So it's very interesting.

Lugano, they host a
conference called Plan B.

But when, when I went, it
literally was the most meaningful

conference I've been a part of.

There was no checking the box.

It was truly meeting people like
both of you that are, are truly

committed to this vision and, and
so that there's more than just the

practical side of the community, right?

Exchanging things.

There's, there's, there's, we
kind of restore that, that analog

connection, which is very interesting.

We're restoring analog connection
through a digital technology, which

is a very interesting paradox.

I also loved how you mentioned, um, you
know, the e humility, um, uh, project.

We have, uh, every week at the University
of North Carolina, some teams that

are promoting our, our fitness app.

And so I think it's interesting
also how you are at the place of

academia planting these seeds,
helping people taste what it is.

And I, I thought it was
interesting how you both.

Mentioned two values of Bitcoin.

That, um, and the importance of making
it circular by not only it being a good

store of value, like Magley mentioned,
how the inflation is really outta control.

Where in one, I think in one year,
two years is almost 200% inflation,

which means that, you know, you
what you could buy this year,

you can only buy half as much.

The next year is horrible.

And even in the US though, in
the past 90 years, I recommend

someone called Michael Saylor.

Um, he's probably the, the, the
lead corporate investor in Bitcoin.

He highlights that over time, our money.

What, what basically what you could
buy with a hundred dollars, um,

in, at the, at the beginning of the
century, a hundred years ago now.

Um, you can't, it, it's,
it's worth a dollar, right?

So it's that that
inflation is eating away.

And if you think about it, it's
kind of an an undeclared tax.

And, and the other thing too that I, I
wanted to share with the audience that

if you think about all the technology
we have, especially with AI and robotics

coming about, we should have deflation.

The, the, the money it costs for you to
take a potato out of the ground to do

anything with technology or AI should come
down, the cost of food should come down,

but what's happened is just the opposite.

So this is what Bitcoin helps
defend, keeps it at a local level.

But I wanted to ask you guys
at a, um, at a moral level.

So I, your, your story about FTX is great.

It's always fun to, uh, like I think
we all, um, uh, have to face some,

um, one of our phrases at humility
is, um, uh, be humble or get humbled.

Right.

So sounds like both of
you got humbled, right?

You ley, You got scammed with
crypto, um, you got scammed with

FDX and were, you know, kind of
tied into that, didn't know better.

Um, I think we all have been part of
people who scammed us and hopefully we,

we can look in the mirror to make sure
that we're not scamming people right?

Because I think it's those small breaches
of integrity that collect and next

thing you know, we don't realize that
we are actually part of the problem.

We, I think most wolves in, in the
community don't become wolves overnight.

So, um, tell me about what does empowering
humility mean to you and how does Bitcoin

and your story reinforce your view of
what empowering humility looks like?

Mayley, y'all are all being

humble, waiting for the.

other to Go

Megasley: Go godley.

You go first.

Um, so I, if I got you correctly,
um, you're asking what humility

means to me and how Bitcoin, um,
kind of like helps enforce that.

Please gimme a minute.

Giancarlo: Sure.

Megasley: Okay.

So for me, um, personally, I think
when I think of the word humility, uh,

I'm so sorry about that.

Um, when I think about the word
humility for me, I often always

see it as you as an individual
realizing first that, um, you're not

really, um, the center of the world.

Basically just understanding
that, um, that, that, that basic

understanding alone, kind of like will.

Um, help you be as humble as you can get.

And to some point also, I
personally also always tie

humility to, um, discipline, right?

Um, when, uh, you are disciplined
enough to know what to do, and you,

you're also disciplined enough to do
it right without, um, any excuses,

without, um, having to, um, look for
other means, basically to escape it.

So you're disciplined and you do
what you're supposed to do at the

right time when you're supposed to
do it, taking responsibility to me.

So that is what I see humility as.

And then when you try to connect
that back to Bitcoin, you see

Bitcoin by way of design, kind
of like teaches you, discipline.

You, you understand.

Um, there is no buying your
way back or there is no, um,

you know, inflating the price.

There's no increasing the value.

I'm, I'm looking for
the best way to put it.

Now with Bitcoin, um, your,
you are, you are, you are

disciplined by default, basically.

'cause you can't really do
anything to influence it.

You know, that, um, it has to, you
have to do some work for some new

Bitcoin to come into the world.

That's like when we talk about
proof of work in terms of

mining and there is no two ways.

So basically, um, you are forced to abide
by that rule of, you know, um, proof of

work basically to mine, get new Bitcoin.

And also if you look at.

Um, things like self cost study,
um, generally because Bitcoin is not

controlled by any one person or any
group of person or any government,

you know, it teaches you to be, um,
responsible and discipline as well to,

to, um, take care of or take charge of
your funds and your, of course, your

private keys, um, as much as you can.

That is, I I, I'm just looking
for the best way to put it.

I don't know if you guys got what
I'm, I tried to explain, actually.

So that's the part I like to look at
when you, when you talk about Bitcoin,

connecting Bitcoin to, you know, humility
or how Bitcoin kind of like helps enforce

humility on my own, um, perspective.

Um, yeah, that is it

Giancarlo: well, I'll, I'll
throw I'll file onto that.

a little

Megasley: that.

Giancarlo: The, is that you think
of when you, the first thing you

said with humility was, is we're
not the center of the world.

And the way Bitcoin was designed
was that no human being can

be the center of that crypto.

You think a lot of the other crypto
projects, there's a human involved, right?

So there's some very popular people
that have like their mean coin.

Now the, it's, I feel it's too
much power for any individual or

frankly, even a government, right?

Because the government's run by
a group of people and we already

know that all civilizations.

Have corrupted their monetary
supply to support those in power.

And that's, Bitcoin is a, is
a, is a hedge against that

because no one can control it.

So it, that's why it implicitly
enforces humility amongst all of us.

And if you think about humility,
and we talked about this, I think

in the original podcast, you really,
there's no basis for valuing someone

else's freedom with humility, right?

Like, why do I care if you're free?

If I can control you, I don't care.

Right?

There, there's, there's no why.

Um, this, this trustless system makes
is implicitly, requires humility.

Um, and I loved also how you tied it to
discipline and it, uh, very, very cool.

Brendan, what are your thoughts
on humility and bitcoin?

Brindon: I think the first thing, the
first advantage we have is fundamentally,

almost everyone who has the chance to
interact with Bitcoin existed before

the creation of Bitcoin, and the
worst thing that you can do to any

adult who does not possess humility.

Is to try to teach them something new.

So Bitcoin out of the gates, presents you
with the first barrier you have to get.

You have to get over your ego to
be able to say, oh, the money I've

been using ever since I was a child,
the money that I was told is what

I need to work for day and night.

The money I've used to send and
receive value might be corrupted.

And for me, that's the first level of
humility for everyone that I have met.

For them to actually look within
themselves and say, this is not the truth.

This is not what I have known it to be.

And for some of the people, the higher you
go in terms of what we call intellectual

authority, the lower the humility.

So there is something within the
Bitcoin space where we say Bitcoin

is an intelligence test, it's an
ego test, and it's a health test.

It's an intelligence test because
it looks at your ability to welcome

new information, which is a form of,
uh, intellectual humility for you

to see and identify that information
actually transitions and new, uh,

new facts can present themselves
and it is up to you to accept them.

Then ego in term, sorry.

Um, intellectual humility, and
then you spill into the ego test.

The ego test sometimes applies mostly
to people who are authorities because

the world has been built in forms of
structures and Bitcoin has no structure.

The structure is actually code.

So for most people, um, especially the
big bankers, the, the big governments,

the presidential, um, advisors
and people who are in leadership.

Their ego tends to blind them
into thinking that, uh, they can

supersede the technology like Bitcoin.

And the ego test is the biggest
test to people of power.

Giancarlo: Yeah.

Brindon: of power tend to lose
humility the more power they have.

But with Bitcoin, the more power you have,
the more humility you possess because then

you realize how out of control you are.

Because you only have
power over your wallet.

You only have power over
your wallet address.

You only have power over your transaction.

You can see what is going
on, but you can't do much.

That's, uh, that's the, that kind
of humility that Bitcoin introduces.

It's kind of the phrase of,
uh, of rules without rulers.

So that's where I find the ego test.

The health test is on the side of.

How have we been relating to
this thing that we call money?

Because money is directly
tied to a lot of things.

Money is our way of interaction.

And if we are spending money to eat,
we are spending money to travel.

We are spending money to stay feet.

If the money we have been using
automatically steals from us, isn't

that stealing from our health?

Isn't that stealing from our sanity?

Isn't that stealing from all the things
that we think that make us healthy?

Both in mind and and in spirit?

So bitcoin's technological design
by default creates humility, but

it also creates humility on a
group level because there's been

multiple times when the Bitcoin code
was attacked by groups of people.

So beyond that, the sovereign individual.

There's been examples where countries
like China, where countries, uh, like

the US at some point where groups of
people who thought they had power in the

Bitcoin space have been humbled by the
small people as they usually call them.

So Bitcoin brings back the principle of,
of love your neighbors, you love yourself.

I would like to say it like that.

So yourself, as much as capability
you have within yourself to take

care of yourself, to take care of
your Bitcoin address, it is as much

as you contribute to the network.

So the more you understand and
exercise your Bitcoin knowledge and

um, and knowhow around the space,
the more you protect other users.

If I take care of my Bitcoin
node, I protect the whole network.

If I teach people about Bitcoin.

I empower and strengthen the network.

If I, uh, send that to someone
else, I am creating volume.

I am paying someone who is
processing their transaction fees.

So there's a lot of reciproc
reciprocation, which introduces

something that we had initially lost
as human beings having hope that

when I do the right thing, the right
thing will manifest in the world

because it has not been that way.

It has been sometimes I do the right
thing and someone else who is on the

next step or someone who is across the
room chooses to do a wrong thing and

they cause a problem for both of us.

If I do the right thing on the
Bitcoin space, I have the certainty

that that right thing will see
through to the whole network.

So, and Bitcoin I, there is the difference
between humility and empowering humility.

The empowering phrase for me is
the architecture of the network.

It is always reinforcing, um, equality.

It is always reinforcing.

There's something in the
Bitcoin space that is called,

um, Mely, please remind me.

It has completely run out of my head.

The rebalancing, the,
the mining difficulty

Megasley: difficulty adjustment.

Oh, difficulty.

Brindon: Yes.

So difficulty adjustment is a principle
where there's an average time for

a Bitcoin block to be mined, but
whenever people are trying to overdo

it or to over-leverage their resources
to mind blocks, it gets harder.

When those resources are
pulled back, it gets easier.

So it introduces a concept of,
regardless of how you, you can't,

you can't win in the Bitcoin space.

By throwing resources at it.

You can't win in the Bitcoin space
by pushing with a lot of energy.

It's just the right energy at the
right time for the longest time.

That is why the the Bitcoin calendar
is known up until when all the

Bitcoin will be mined because there's
unexpected amount of energy that will

be spent for that certainty to happen.

So it's like praying to God.

The moment you pray, you know
that God has granted you.

The only thing you can't
fast track is the patience.

So that concept as well is like exact.

The moment you pray, you know
your father in heaven has granted

you what you want, but you have
to wait for the appointed time.

Giancarlo: I love it.

Absolutely.

Wow.

Many, many truth bombs.

Um.

Wow.

You, you really, um, I, I love, I've
never heard of, of you're you're right.

You know, I look at the US
Constitution, it was a framework to

create humility at a group level.

And Bitcoin has effectively created
kind of a, a next generation of code

that defends, I know what like our
original founding fathers wanted, which

was to, to, to decentralize that power.

It was also, it also recognized
that us humans are gonna try to

always shortcut the system, right?

And so, um, but again, it also
reinforces this critical value

that, um, we, I think most of us.

Want understand the, I believe
it's God's principle to love

your neighbor as yourself.

That it's, it's a self-defeating prophecy
if we don't respect that core rule.

And that leads me actually to, and I
love what you, uh, rule without rulers,

because rulers implicitly wanna get not
humble and, and, and make it about them.

And then, but what's interesting is
if if our rulers, because we all have

them, would step back and realize,
look, a good ruler will rise the tide

for all ships to include themselves.

So stay decentralized, stay humble.

And that's why, you know, I, the verse
that comes to mind is Jesus says,

those who are last will be first.

So, you know, I really feel
Bitcoin can be an empowering tool.

For politicians.

So I wanted to ask you guys, you know,
I think we're kind of at time, but, um,

you know, I'm personally nervous that
bitcoin, that folks wanna try to hijack

it, big tech or authoritarian governments,
um, that the incumbent incentives of the

incumbent system is so big, so strong

that they wanna protect themselves.

What do you, um, what
would you tell leaders?

How, what, how would
you encourage leaders?

You know, I, I admire the United
States where we, we want create

the strategic Bitcoin reserve.

I, I, we have policy.

We haven't put any money into it, I think.

Um, how do you encourage political
leaders, um, to embrace Bitcoin,

to strengthen their community,
to strengthen themselves?

Let's play into their ego a little bit.

How, how do you encourage politicians
and leaders to get behind Bitcoin?

Brindon: I want to quickly steal
this opportunity from my boss.

Thank you so much.

I want to tie something that, uh,
spilled into my head with a question.

There's a story in the Bible, uh,
all throughout Jesus' existence, who

was the moral authority for the word.

It was the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were the
leaders of the time.

Giancarlo: All right.

Brindon: they were always wrong.

They were always wrong for some reason,
because they had made the word, um,

they had twisted the word to their will,

not to the will of the
decentralized person.

So if you think about the,
there is a, there is something

called thank God for Bitcoin.

That statement is, thank God for Bitcoin,
to me, represents the fact that Bitcoin

is a manifestation of God himself because.

Majority of us have never
interacted with God.

Did you just get the book?

Yes, yes, yes, yes,

Giancarlo: For, for those that
are Christians on the audience.

This is a wonderful book.

This was my Red Pill moment.

A friend of mine,

I challenged it, Hey, this
is like, this is evil.

It's dark, it's maybe the, maybe it's the
coin of the, of the mark of the beast.

And, um, and he said, well, that possibly,
but why don't you read this book?

And it, it changed my perspective
as a Christian to embrace Bitcoin.

Anyhow, sorry, I didn't
mean to interrupt you.

Go ahead.

Brindon: Yeah, so, so what I was trying
to say, the rule without rulers, if you

think about the word and the way God has
manifested into our lives, and even in

all the other faiths, it is the belief
of a higher power, a higher power that

we all can't control but we can serve.

And Bitcoin manifests itself as a higher
form of monetary system that allows us to.

Serve fully to benefit
from its, um, its purity.

I would like to say it like that.

That doesn't mean that politicians
or countries like the US will try to

position themselves to take advantage
of it, but for me, what I would like to

remind everyone who would want to take
advantage of it is the forests in the

Bible were the authorities of the word.

But when the Son of God was on earth,
they were always proven to be wrong.

And indeed and indeed all the time that,
uh, the Pharisees asked questions from

God, they learn a different perspective.

Now, some of them resisted and that is
how we get to the crucifixion of God.

They resisted to believe what
he was trying to teach them.

But others actually took on and
understood what he was saying.

So this whole idea of we always have
control as human beings, we sometimes

have to get back to our roots and realize
this earth did not just appear out of a

stone and we did not evolve from monkeys.

There is a higher power, and I feel
Bitcoin is the closest we get to

the financial alignment of how we
represent value to the, that higher

power, whatever it is, for whatever
religion you come from there.

There is, um, for my Nan Christian
friends, those who are Muslims,

there is a very good friend of
mine called, uh, Muslim Bitcoin.

He's on Twitter.

He has a Bitcoin is halal.

And the same principles that we,
the Christians learn from Bitcoin.

There's an equal representation as
you would good in both religions.

In the Islam world as well.

So for me, there is, there is a,
a thread that I wanted to connect

when it comes to authority and how
those rules manifest in Bitcoin.

But for the exact question, the
advice to politicians, me, I'm

only a servant of, uh, Bitcoin.

This man is the boss.

So I'm hoping he can give a response
to that particular question.

Giancarlo: I, I don't, that's, that's,
uh, taking advantage of humility.

Maybe to kick it to you,

ley.

Megasley: Brenda, this, this
thing you do is not good, bro.

He took the time to actually explain
it very well and then still allowed me.

It's more like giving me a chance to add
something to it, but then he still called

me a boss on top of that, bro, come on.

But.

Yeah, I think, um, politicians, when
it come to politicians generally,

please a minute, um, when it comes
to politicians, um, I personally

like saying that, um, hu humility
and politicians, um, cannot really

Giancarlo: In the same

Megasley: the same.

I'm, I'm telling you.

Uh, it's very rare for you to see
politicians that exhibits that humility.

And it all still boils down to what,
um, Brendan actually just explained

that, um, the more power they get, the
more, um, the more they tend to lose.

If someone was humble before, you
give them the power, you give them the

money, it's really, really hard to bring
them back to that level of humility.

They, they, they were before
they got to that stage.

But to me, um, in terms of talking to
them, I know politicians lie a lot, you

know, especially when they're trying
to get something from the people.

But I also know that a lot of them, in
most of the things they like saying, they

like to talk about transparency, you know?

And, um, of course thinking it,
thinking it as, um, a way of, if

you're a politician, then you're
being put into a certain place.

You have to understand that you are
there to save the people basically.

And if you are, you are saving the people.

It means the people should be your
priority and if the people are your

priority, then anything in general that
would bring good to the people, you

should be in support of it no matter how.

And then Bitcoin is one of those things
that we know for a certain that's.

Is impactful to the people that is
impactful to, um, individuals, especially

in this part of the world generally.

So if you as a politician, uh, you, you
know about this and then you're still

resisting or preventing the people from
getting access to these impacts, then I,

I dunno exactly what to say about that.

But generally I would encourage
them to take at least take a step.

I mean, um, 'cause I think the biggest
fear they usually have is, um, anything

that would tend to, anything that kind
of like stands like, um, uh, like a, a

challenge to their power or something
that threatens their power generally.

And most of them see Bitcoin as something
that threatens the power they have.

Most politicians and, you know,
people in power generally because.

As you know, um, when you have control
over the financial system or you have

control over money, it seems like you
have control over people generally, and

if you take the power out of their hands,
um, it, it's not something that they

would definitely feel very good about.

So we, I would encourage them not
to actually think of, of Bitcoin

as something that is coming to
take power out of their hands.

They should take away that
fear and then just go deeper.

Try to learn about Bitcoin, generally
understand why it was created, because at

the end of the day, what differentiates
Bitcoin from every other currency or

cryptocurrency that is out there is the
why of which to which it was created.

And I remember when you talked
about humility and when Brenda was

still speaking, and it just got me
thinking about situation at Komoto.

Um, the creator of Bitcoin, I,
I don't think there's anybody

as humble as Satoshi is.

I mean, when you talk about
humility, that is the biggest

form of humility you can see.

Building something for the
people and not willing to take

credits for it, you understand?

And also letting it go
for the people to control.

I think that is how politicians
should start thinking.

You are there to serve the people you are,
you are there to, um, provide, uh, helping

hands to the people you are serving.

They try as much as possible
not to withheld anything that

will bring, impact their life.

Let go of the fear, get into Bitcoin,
learn more about it, study more.

Uh, and I think in the process
of studying and learning in both

our stories, my story and Dr.

Brendan discovered that what actually
made the difference is that we both, at

some point gotta learn about Bitcoin.

And by learning, we got to realize what
we did not know about it initially.

And that kind of like shaped and
changed our perspective entirely.

So that's the same advice
I would give to them.

Learn about Bitcoin, um, you know,
um, get some books on Bitcoin, go

into the rabbit hole and then you
get to understand what this really is

and how, how helpful it is to human.

So yeah, that is it.

Giancarlo: Outstanding response
that to remind our politicians,

they're there to serve the people.

And I would argue that Bitcoin gives power
to a politician, which they all love,

but to the servant leader, politician.

And, um, I I love what
you said, learn about it.

Don't be afraid of it.

Get back to your, I think most
in, in democratically, um, run

organizations, they do have a, they,
everyone begins with a heart to serve.

Um, and they just like, we again, think
we're all at risk of being corrupted.

I also wanted to quickly just state for
the audience, the men, several times you

mentioned, um, you know, getting SATs.

So for the audience, SATs are
Satoshi, which is one Bitcoin is

broken into a million Satoshi.

Right?

So it's kinda like sense is it 10 million,

Megasley: Hundred million.

Giancarlo: 100 million.

Sorry.

Sorry.

Um, I, I, I, I need to study better too.

Um, you guys have been fantastic.

I really, you guys are inspiring to me.

Um, real quick, what are the
first steps our listeners can

take today to start realizing the
fulfillment of the positive vision?

You guys have kind of created
a postcard of the future.

Um.

What's the first step?

Oh, and by the way, I think you guys
are modeling what politicians needs

to be is you learned the, the benefit
of Bitcoin on Yuan, and now you're

serving your local communities, you're
creating your own circular economies,

you're creating these education places.

So I think you guys are the model.

I hope any politician who knows
where these podcasts goes, we'll

say, Hey, we wanna clone that.

Um, we want to help more people
understand this empowerment.

Um, how can our listeners, what's
the first steps they can take today?

What do you recommend?

How do you recommend for people to start
learning and getting into Bitcoin and,

and strengthening their own community?

What do you recommend Brendan?

Go?

Why don't you go first?

Brindon: The easiest way to learn.

Bitcoin is to use it

Giancarlo: Okay.

Awesome.

So use it.

Brindon: when you use, yeah, when
you use, like, just, just type,

everyone has access to chat.

GPT right now chat, GPT probably
has, um, access to your location.

After you type this prompt, turn
off your location because charge GPT

having your location is not helpful.

But ask ChatGPT How do I buy myself
$10 worth of Bitcoin right now?

It'll teach you in however way, but work
backwards of that, what you learn because

um, I could tell you to go look for a
course I could send you to the Bitcoin

standard, which is a very good book.

I could send you to all these resources
online that would do you justice.

But there's nothing that has
worked in my experience building a

circular economy than showing you.

Than having someone use Bitcoin.

The other option that I know Mely might
be shy to tell you about is on his

website there is something where you can
learn and you'll get your first Bitcoin.

So it's a win-win.

You can, you can explain more
what that looks like, whereby, um,

they've created a course, I'm hoping.

This is the course he created.

Um, he created something for
on on African Bitcoiners.

You can go to the learn, uh,
part and you'd be able to see

the different ways you can learn.

So Mely

please.

Megasley: Always putting
me on the spot, bro.

Okay.

Um, I think Brenda has said it, um,
the easiest way to actually learn

about Bitcoin is using it, and I,
I think it's cut across everything.

The easiest way to learn
about anything is actually.

Doing or using or getting into that
thing, actually getting your hands dirty.

Right.

And, uh, for the learning resources,
talking about, so we have a Bitcoin

for beginners course on the website.

Um, I did not create the course.

This was all Sarah White.

So, um, shout to Sarah.

Um, so this is actually, uh, a course that
is, um, broken down to the simplest, uh,

to its simplest form and it also carries,
um, African perspective in mind basically.

So the idea is actually to help people
that do not really know about Bitcoin, um.

Uh, help them learn from the very, very
roots from the basics of what Bitcoin is

all the way to where they, they're able
to end their first Bitcoin and how they

are able to like, choose the right wallet
and, uh, also save in Bitcoin as well too.

So that's more like, uh, a
summary of what the course is.

It is a 21 days for beginners bitcoin for
beginners course that runs over email.

We are actually working on a
beta version of this course.

I think we'll be releasing it, um,
if not, uh, late this mo next month.

Um, it's going to be early next year.

Um, so that one is going to be
an interactive cause and it'll be

way, way, way better than this.

So, yeah, that is it.

Uh, in terms of earning Bitcoin for the
course, initially when we started, we

actually did it in such a way that we
were paying people to learn about Bitcoin.

And how did we do that?

We have this course that is running and
if you go through the course for, um, I

mean the 21 days, and then you take the
final quiz and then you are able to pass,

get up to 70%, um, on the final quiz.

And then we give you, um, your
first, uh, 10,000 Satoshis, which is

currently what, around approximately
$10, let's just say $10 water,

Bitcoin, um, as your first Bitcoin.

So basically we were paying people to
learn about Bitcoin, but then along the

line, you know, human beings being human
beings generally, um, they always try to

take advantages of, um, things like that.

Uh, people, we saw people signing
up with multiple emails, you know,

taking the final quiz just to rip off.

Rip us of those SAT sheets, one
person could sign up with like 20, 30

different emails, you know, and then,
and that because of that we decided

to stop, um, giving out those stats.

And because obviously as Bitcoin enforces
proof of work, you have to do some certain

level of work before you are able to, um,
you should be able to, uh, you should be,

uh, able to receive some form of reward.

So that way that's, uh, the way they were
doing it kind of like took that away.

And now we are no longer paying people
to take the course, but there are other

things we actually do on the site.

Uh, there are lots of things on the
website teaching people where they

can end their f first Bitcoin if
they're interested, if they don't

want to buy and if they want to buy.

We also have guides too, on where and
how they can buy their first Bitcoin.

So yeah, that is a.

Giancarlo: You're, you guys are awesome.

I'm gonna highlight on the screen
here a couple of resources.

So those Bitcoiners Africa.

Amazing.

Um, next week is the
Africa Bitcoin Conference.

Uh, I think you're both
gonna be there in Mauritius.

And then what I'm really excited about
is this, um, adopting Bitcoin conference

where you actually can go and spend time.

There's a, um, a satellite event called
the African Bitcoin Circular Economy

Summit, and then a road trip where
you can go visit these, uh, circular

economies and see firsthand how.

These, um, how they're basically building,
uh, economies kind of from the ground up.

And, you know, I think those who've been
on the podcast, uh, before or listened

to it, um, you know, I personally
have a big concern with how in, in

Europe and in America, they're gone.

There's no more artisans.

Can these circular economies be a way
that we can bring back, like bring back

dinosaurs, bring back artisans, the, the,
the trades people that are the butchers,

the florist and kind of that have been
killed by the corporate oligarchies.

Unfortunately, the America looks
a lot more like communism than,

than I think it likes to admit
with the big tech oligarchies.

And so it's it's wonderful watching
how, you know, Brendan there with

the orphanages, you know, you, you
kind of, you revitalize some of

these local communities, so hopefully
that'll transfer to Europe as well.

And then this is Brendan's company,
gorilla does SaaS, um, go, go on

a safari with Brendan, pay with
Bitcoin and learn about Bitcoin.

And then this is free routing,
which, uh, ley talked about.

Um, that, and, and we, you covered
on, uh, we'll let our audience,

'cause we're out of time, search what
Lightning Network is actually ley.

Go ahead and take 30 seconds and
try to explain what the Lightning

Network is and why it's important.

I.

Megasley: Yeah, so, um, the Lightning
Network is basically just a, a scaling

solution that was built on top of Bitcoin.

It's more like a layer two solution
and it's major aim is scalability.

So with the normal Bitcoin on chain, if
you've ever made a Bitcoin transaction

before, you see it takes approximately
10 minutes for a confirmation to happen.

And that can take some time.

Sometimes it could take more than
that, but it's designed to take

approximately 10 minutes for it to happen.

And because of that, that limits
the amount of transactions that can

happen per second to around three, to
just seven transactions per second,

which is, which cannot be, uh,
competitive when you talk about, um,

the current or existing financial,
um, payment system that are there.

Giancarlo: We may have lost ley.

But I'll keep going.

Brendan, I think you, you got me here.

One of the last things we love for
everyone to, to, to share is at a

personal level, Brendan, um, what is
your favorite daily habit of humility

Brindon: Every day I have to
remind myself through a run

that I have not yet become a pro

at running and it's been
five years of running.

Every day that I try

to run, I find difficulty.

And every day when I run

in the morning,

I go through that day feeling

humbled.

So

for me, physical fitness
definitely takes me there.

It's uh,

that challenging,

Megasley: that challenging,

Brindon: challenging lifestyle.

Megasley: that challenging

Brindon: the one.

Giancarlo: that is.

That's awesome, Brendan.

So, physical fitness is kind of the
thing that keeps you humble, um, is

your daily habit of humility and measly.

If you're there, it looks like
you got the internet is, uh, down.

Let's see you there?

Let's see if we

got got, if you've come
back and you can hear

us.

Megasley: come back,
can you He can hear us.

Giancarlo: Oh, that's okay.

It was great though.

I think he got the Lightning
Network explanation out.

Um,

Megasley: Um,

Giancarlo: ley.

Brindon: He or he just lost

power.

There's a whole chance, 'cause it's dark.

Megasley: 'cause it's dark.

Yeah.

Brindon: chance that he lost power

Megasley: Chance that he lost

Giancarlo: I think so.

Megasley: I think so.

Giancarlo: Let's see.

Megasley: Let's see.

Giancarlo: Me ley.

I

think we're gonna have
to wrap up without your

brother.

I'm really sorry.

Um, let's see.

Me Ley one more chance.

We were asking Brendan,
what is his favorite

daily habit of humility?

Um.

Megasley: Um.

Giancarlo: if you can chat it
to us, I'll speak it for you.

All's good.

I think we're great guys.

I really appreciate both of you.

Y'all inspire me.

May God bless you and thanks again for
enjoying the Empower Humility Podcast.

This is the longest one
we've ever done, by the way.

So congratulations.

But I, I think it is my favorite,
with no offense to the past host.

Brindon: No, thank you for having us.

It's really been a great conversation.

I think I, I'm looking
forward to coming back.

Giancarlo: Excellent.

Excellent.

Well, we look forward
to our marketing guys.

They do a great job of doing outtakes
and, uh, we will make sure that we share

it with you so you can share it too.

Thanks again for embodying, empowering
humility, and have an amazing evening.

Brindon: You too, sir.

Thank you so much.