Javier was looking for options to protect his savings from inflation and, in the best of cases, obtain an economic benefit that would allow him to increase his wealth.

He ruled out investing in the Stock Market, since it was something he did not know about and that did not motivate him. As for real estate, he had some experience in buying and selling, but it was something he did not want to repeat due to the bureaucracy required and the high taxes previously paid.

He then turned to gold as a way to protect himself from the massive printing of money. Its objective was to store part of the value acquired with the sweat of its brow. He could also sell it at some point to make a profit and improve his quality of life, so he began acquiring gold on a regular basis. At the same time, he accumulated some cash as he was wary of keeping much value in a bank.

One day, while searching for something on the internet, he came across information about Bitcoin. Although he had previously dismissed that idea, it suddenly became of great interest to him thanks to the great returns that others seemed to be getting. He was watching a lot of influencer videos about cryptocurrency trading .

He became obsessed with the price and bought some “crypto” on a centralized exchange 1 with the idea of ​​​​making large returns in a short period of time. He couldn't stop looking at the graphs on his computer screen. He thought that he could profit by investing in different cryptocurrencies. He didn't stop for a single moment. He hardly ate or slept, he didn't interact with anyone.

With the arrival of the bear market and after losing money trading cryptocurrencies, he realized that he had made a complete mistake and that this was not for him. He was failing to take care of himself, he had forgotten his priorities and had isolated himself from others. Trading was not for him and he did not want to know anything about cryptocurrencies. In fact, he left that world burned by that bad experience.

After a few months without wanting to know anything about it, he came across a video of a certain Andreas Antonopoulos browsing YouTube one day, and curiosity pushed him to watch it. This man was talking about Bitcoin to a few people in a large auditorium. Although at first he seemed like a charlatan, it didn't take long until his brain exploded with each of the ideas he fired off: "Bitcoin is decentralized, resistant to censorship, resistant to confiscation..."

He felt restless and nervous, he still didn't understand what he had seen. The next day, on the way to work, he was listening to some more of Andreas' audios and decided to buy his book called "The Internet of Money." It didn't take more than two days to finish it. The shock was such that he had difficulty sleeping for several days. He was totally fascinated.

He couldn't stop talking to everyone about Bitcoin. There were things that he was unable to explain in words. He felt helpless because people didn't understand him, they gave him strange faces, they rejected him. It's the same thing he had done in the past with a friend who was talking to him about Bitcoin. In fact, he stopped talking to her because it was annoying.

He decided not to continue acquiring more gold and threw himself into buying more Bitcoin, since the properties that Bitcoin had were superior in his opinion. He went to the same centralized exchange 1 where he had previously been verified to trade cryptocurrencies, bought bitcoin, and left it in that account. That night he went to bed excited, wanting to acquire more little by little.

He was aware that, leaving it on a centralized exchange 1 , he was not actually the holder of that amount of bitcoin that he saw on the screen. To possess it he had to have the "keys", which is what the experts said, but for that he needed to have his own wallet . It was important that it be a cold wallet generated by a device dedicated to it, a hardware wallet 3 . He learned the difference with respect to hot wallets, generated on mobile phones or computers, which were only for expenses.

It was an odyssey for him to find one. According to what he read on Twitter, some recommended some and others others, making it very confusing to choose the right one. The one he used to see the most was the Ledger device, so, guided by many social media influencers, he decided to buy it. He made the payment from his card and shared his personal information to receive the order.

After the device arrived, it generated its keys as the instructions indicated. He then created an account using the device's native application. After saving the backup 4 , you “sent” the funds from your exchange account 1 to your device. He felt satisfied, but a little insecure since he did not fully master the process.

He already had his plan defined: save and invest in an asset safely and privately. He could now have bitcoin outside the hands and eyes of another. He was calm and happy to have done all the steps to get there. It seemed that everything was done and that he could continue with his plan.

The problem was that there were many things that he was unaware of that hindered the fulfillment of his plan. His story really began here.

Every skill acquisition phase consists of 4 phases according to the learning ladder . As a bitcoiner, he was at stage 1 of the learning ladder: unconscious incompetence. Let's define this phase:

Javier was doing things the wrong way in many ways if he was looking to create a private and secure digital haven, but he wasn't aware of it. His ignorance did not allow him to see. He didn't know what he needed to learn.

Some in this phase will show excessive confidence believing that it is easy to do it and that they do not need help. Others will be reluctant to learn for fear of not understanding it or not being capable.

For Javier to move on to the next phase, a mental click was necessary , an awakening of what he had been ignoring until now. Without that click he would not be aware that he needed to learn.

After reading texts and watching videos, he realized the large number of things he did not know. He was also aware of the mistakes made. That created discomfort and discomfort. It was a shock for him to discover some painful truths, as they went against his initial vision. In fact, he had moments of denial for a while until he decided to delve deeper into the issue. What did he discover?

Without a doubt, something in his mind "clicked" and brought to light what he had ignored. She asked herself some of these questions:

What was he doing now with the funds he had purchased on a centralized exchange 1 ? How did you get privacy of your transactions and funds? How did you manage a wallet in the best way? How to reverse what you did wrong? How to undo KYC? How to delete all shared personal data? How could she have ignored all of this?

Javier moved on to the next phase, conscious incompetence.

Javier realized what he didn't know. At this stage many become discouraged, disillusioned and lose confidence. They doubt that they can learn this ability, calling it complicated or because they don't understand anything. They know they need to learn and they need help.

At first it was a disappointment for him to realize this , since he had walked to a point that took time and energy, and now he envisioned an even longer path. She surpassed him and overwhelmed him. He was with that feeling of disappointment for a while until he began to feel a new energy to overcome the obstacles. He was determined to do it again, and he wasn't going to stop until he got it.

He immersed himself in social networks, messaging groups, readings, podcasts, videos, training, etc. It took time and effort, just as much as it takes for someone to get a driver's license, learn a language, or acquire some specific skill.

What did you want to learn?

Once he started learning about these topics, Javier entered the next phase:

Javier was able to use different means to use Bitcoin, but it took reflection and concentration to decide what to do. He had mixed emotions because he did not have complete confidence that he was doing well despite having improved. This stage required a lot of practice to integrate everything learned.

Building his own node was one of the most complicated tasks for him. He had no idea how to use it. He saw how some users even used the terminal with strange commands to interact with the server. He had no idea how that went. In fact, he had not even used Linux. After that period of confrontation, he decided to purchase the hardware and chose to install a user-friendly node implementation. He only intended to be able to connect his wallet to his node, and so he did. After successfully achieving it, over time, he went deeper into it.

Privacy was also a tough nut to crack. From the beginning it caused him a lot of rejection, he didn't even understand what a transaction in Bitcoin was like. Discovering this theme was a complete rabbit hole. Learning about Bitcoin transactions helped him link to privacy tools to avoid surveillance by third parties and those he interacted with in payments.

Regarding custody, he realized that the issue was deeper than it seemed. Although she had backup 4 of his wallet, she did not know exactly how to interact with his wallet . She was afraid and insecure about touching something she didn't understand, she didn't want to bother her. After a while she dominated custody. This was the learning process that allowed him to sleep more peacefully. He now had security and confidence to guard her funds.

Learning all of this required a lot of attention, energy, and outside help. She knew he had to practice and practice until it all came together. He was grateful to have some mentors on hand who supported him in developing. He also made use of test wallets , using them repeatedly without having to put real funds into play.

When he looked back he couldn't believe what he had achieved. Everything seemed so uphill that she didn't believe she could learn it. He remembered his excuses: "I don't come from this world", "I'm not a computer scientist", "it's too difficult", "those who are in this world are just geeks", etc. He had overcome the obstacles and now he had confidence and judgment. He was no longer upset by any news about prices, regulations or any drama.

He had created his own safe and private digital haven, despite not getting off to as good a start as he would have liked. Those mistakes were largely an impulse. Part of these problems were solved thanks to the help of some more advanced users. He promised himself that he would help others who were in the situation he was in. He would not go to anyone, but rather he would focus on those who needed the help. He knew that he couldn't waste time on those who wouldn't listen.

He had been drawn to Bitcoin to use it as an investment vehicle and ended up seeing it as a means of freedom for the times to come. Without dependencies, maintaining custody and privacy of your funds.

Everything that was related to the use of Bitcoin came out in a simple way, there was no effort in it . He went from being unconsciously incompetent (he didn't know what he was doing) to unconsciously competent (he did it without thinking, like someone who drives a car).

Javier knew how to use Bitcoin with clarity and confidence, it was basically an automatic process. He was so integrated into his mind that at times he didn't understand how others weren't able to.

Javier is not a special being, he is like you and me. He alone followed the path motivated by his needs, first with awareness and then with learning and practice. He put focus and effort into achieving a great goal: nothing more and nothing less than creating a safe and private digital refuge.

After reaching this fourth phase it will be necessary to stay updated, otherwise there is a risk of falling into complacency. “The individual could be left behind using tools or methods that may have become obsolete. If so, his personal competence should be assessed (perhaps against the new standard) and regressed to the stage of conscious competence until mastery is achieved once again. Complacency provides a useful warning to those who think they have reached the limit of mastery. (Addy, 2004).