Show up → do little → expect reward.
That’s the fiat mindset in human form.
It’s the same template everywhere:
Show up to a job → get paid regardless of actual value created
Show up to college → get a degree regardless of actual competence
Show up in politics → get authority regardless of contribution
Show up in corporate → get promoted regardless of impact
Show up in crypto → print a token regardless of energy
It’s all the SAME pattern:
Presence mistaken for productivity.
Appearance mistaken for value.
Time mistaken for contribution.
And from that mindset emerges an entire global economy built on:
digits without energy
debt without discipline
credit without collateral
titles without talent
roles without responsibility
returns without work
The irony?
People expect compounding value because they’ve been conditioned to believe effort isn’t necessary for reward.
Noticing something lately…
A lot of folks coming into NOSTR and Bitcoin are still carrying the mindset of the old world.
They work jobs where their value was always defined by someone else…
bartenders, warehouse crews, forklift drivers, builders, service workers — people with real skills, but skills shaped for systems where:
you do the task
the boss approves
you get the reward
So when they arrive on a sovereign protocol, they don’t suddenly become sovereign.
They look around and think:
“What do I offer here?”
“What can I share?”
“How do I earn?”
And if they don’t know…
the old pattern creeps in:
Opinion = contribution
Zap = treat
Regurgitation = reward
It’s not stupidity — it’s conditioning.
Most were never taught to express their own wisdom, or create openly, or trust their inner voice.
Their value has always flowed through someone else’s structure.
Just something I’ve been observing…
this transition takes time.
Sovereignty isn’t a button you press.
It’s a mindset you grow into.
And on NOSTR, you can see who’s still stuck in the treat-economy world…
and who’s starting to light their own signal.
Some folks still stuck in Treat-Economy Thinking…
bark an opinion, expect a prize.
But that’s not how NOSTR was built.
Creators don’t wait for treats.
They spark value.
They build signal.
They experiment, fail, refine, and share.
Look at the writers dropping full essays.
The devs open-sourcing projects for free.
The artists sharing their process.
The sats flow their way naturally — not because they beg,
but because they give.
Regurgitation doesn’t deserve a reward.
Creation does.
Presence isn’t value.
Contribution is.
NOSTR isn’t a kennel.
No one’s tossing biscuits.
This is sovereignty.
This is signal.
Treat-Economy Thinking doesn’t live here.
A zap is supposed to be a signal, not a bribe.
It’s supposed to be:
“This moved me.”
“This taught me.”
“This helped me.”
“This added value.”
Not:
“Good job for barking.”
“Nice regurgitation.”
“Here’s your penny for noise.”
