A Letter to the NFT Community on the Dawn of The Planet of the $APE
4:30AM CST
3.17.22
Dear NFT Community,
For those who haven’t met me yet, I am Lion, it is very nice to meet you. I have been lucky enough to call Web3 my workplace for almost a year now, I work too much honestly, a problem I know many of us suffer from, but I just love it with all of my being. This is why I write to you today. It is a big deal kind of day, one that shall hopefully begin the next leg of our evolution. I speak of course, of $APE.
Along my journey, I have developed some amazing friendships with people from all over the world, in every type of project or community we have here. Of those I consider my 10 closest friends, 5 of them are Apes. I have never felt excluded or looked down upon, they carried an exclusivity but in a way that drove me to work harder, smarter, and be forward thinking. To (OG) Ape-In was my goal, still is, and I believe I share this goal with many others.
With the $APE coin about to drop, I feel I need to address some things to everyone in this community. Some topics will be directed specifically at certain groups, others will be more general, but in my opinion this event is a watershed moment and how each one of us responds will determine a course that will shape our future. This community still has the ability to pivot, shift and change directions, this allows us to choose who we are and what we represent, not in our words, but our actions.
I want to celebrate with my friends tomorrow, cheer for their good fortune, hug and high five them. I hope by now, none of you consider yourself just in the right place at the right time, that was true up until June ’21. If you have held until now, your conviction proves that you are so much more than just a lucky story. I hope each and everyone of you are proud, you deserve it, and don’t stop grinding because this adventure is far from over.
Those who are in my community know, I lay my truths out for all to see, wins and losses, good days and bad. I have a confession for the whole NFT Community; I am so incredibly jealous of my Ape friends right now, I envy them so much. I am a believer in the idea that emotions and feelings aren’t bad, they are reactions, how you choose to act based on those emotions, that is what defines your character. So to my friends, I will cheer, but if I get quiet, or you don’t hear from me for a bit, just know this is why. You deserve to be happy and as a friend I will support you anyway I can, even if that means being a little more quiet today. I also want you to know, I am not alone. There are so many of us that did not get that Ape yet, so many of the community that are grinding, bit by bit, because for them, for us it is the only way.
@BoredApeYC members, you now have the choice, after the launch party, do the apes stay part of the community, or do you let your pride hold you above the rest of us. This is where you as a group and as individuals choose what you represent, not with words, but with actions. Is the era of WAGMI over now that the divide has been solidified? I hope not, it would be soul crushing to many of us.
I offer this advice to the general community, if you feel the jealousy I feel, do not allow it to transform into negative action. If you are trying to pop holes in their parade balloons, your actions hurt the community as a whole, not just the focal point of your envy. Try to avoid spreading beliefs, raising doubts, or my least favorite back handed compliments and passively aggressive responses. For one it isn’t nice, and two, no one likes that, you sound like a child.
Our community, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that big. We don’t have to all like each other, but we have to understand our common goal, and be accepting of each others personal goals. If we divide ourselves, we will fall and we will only have ourselves to blame.
Apes, please watch the posts that are beginning to look like D-Measuring contests. I am sick to my stomach over the fact that I don’t have one Ape, seeing 10’s of millions of USD worth of such a sacred thing to me, well it definitely makes it harder to look in the mirror with confidence.
Finally, how many Apes have spoken recently about the lack of “Ape follow Ape”? These tokens you are about to receive, each one of them carries the power to control the path you take. Do you know who is all holding Apes right now? How could you, it changes constantly. If you forget about the responsibility that comes with these tokens, believe me, there are some powerful companies and individuals that are just waiting to get not only a seat at the table, but the head seat. Being a leader means being a target, 2 sides of the same coin.
Now Apes, I want you to stand tall; Hold your chin high; Walk with the knowledge that the pride of the entire community is at your back, and when you finish up with your party today, come on back down with the rest of us, we’re your friends and we want to hear all about it.
~Lion
✌❤😂🦁
