Well, it's a short note about how to not to become a billionaire.

The first time I heard about bitcoin was in 2009. Yeah, the same year Mr. Satoshi published his paper. No, back then I didn't inspect that manuscript back and forth trying to learn the magic math behind it. I rather watched some forum threads full of enthusiastic ideas on how BTC would make everybody rich by the coming year. I was quite a bit skeptical about it (and I'm still pretty much skeptical about it) but tried to delve at least into practical application.

Back then it was not so easy as it is now when you can download and install a ready-made wallet or a miner in a yes-yes-ok style of Windows. Back then wallets, miners, everything was piles of half-ready Linux code that needed to be fixed, patched and compiled before you got something somehow working. Back then I had both tech skills and time to set everything up (not globally but for my own use) -- the only thing I lacked was a real interest in the project, I wasn't curious enough. I patched and compiled, then again and again, with little success -- and soon I gave it up before I could get my first bitcoins...

After that I hadn't cared about all bitcoin stuff up to crypto-hype of 2017. Then I jumped in again and could do some pennies. But it's still nothing compared to who I could have been if I had started mining bitcoins in 2009 and sold them in 2017...

So what's the moral? Curiosity can make you rich, or alternatively, Lack of curiosity will keep you poor.

PS. Or better yet, Grab every opportunity, and especially the ones that come for free.