PPPPrice of Ownership (Four Ps #259)
Reclaiming Control in an Out-of-Control World
Ownership used to be simple. If your name was on the Trapper Keeper, it was yours.
Now? Platforms own our audiences, algorithms own our attention, ideologies own our inboxes… and don’t even get us started on identity.
Ownership, in all its glitchy glory, includes the moments we can’t control, the platforms we don’t actually own, the positivity that gaslights us, and the political “efficiency” that should come with a giant red flag emoji.
Because when the systems are off the rails, the real flex isn’t control.
It’s clarity.
THE PERSONAL: No Timeout Button for Feelings
I hadn’t lost a game in two years. Not one. Not a fluke bounce. Not a weather delay. Not even to that one team that plays a suspicious number of “12-year-old” fifth graders.
You already know I coach an 11U girls flag football team. And I say “coach” as an understatement. I spend my off hours designing plays, sub patterns, match-up algorithms, and brainstorming inspiring pre-game pep talks like I’m auditioning for Remember the Titans: Rec League Edition. I forgot what losing felt like.
Until last week.
Opening game of the season. Tie score. Final seconds. We have the ball. In the huddle, I promise ice cream to any kid who scores a touchdown.
Our star QB (let’s call her “AK47” because those are her initials, her jersey number, and she has a cannon for an arm) drops back. Primary receiver is covered. Secondary receiver might still be braiding a teammate’s hair.
So AK47 forces it. And by “forces it,” I mean she chucks a no-chance pass directly into a sea of defenders. One of them picks it off.
AK47 crumbles to her knees in the middle of the field like she just lost the Super Bowl and the Puppy Bowl at the same time as the defender cruises past her with the game-sealing pick-six.
She walks to the sideline, eyes wet, voice shaky, and asks:
“Was that my fault?”
Now pause. This is the moment. The real-time test. The parenting/coaching/career-management dilemma in miniature. What do you say?
These girls are eleven years old.
The actual correct answer is: Yes. You threw into traffic, didn’t chase down the flag, and we lost.
The other correct answer is: No. It was my fault. I didn’t prepare you better. I called the wrong play. Maybe I shouldn’t be running trips-right crossing patterns in a spread offense when half the team still thinks “blitz” is a gum flavor.
But what did I actually say?
Neither.
I paused. I made eye contact like a Modern Dad in a Subaru commercial. Then I said:
“It was a fluke. One of those weird plays. Not your fault. Happens to everyone.”
Was it a lie? Maybe. Was it necessary? Definitely.
Because we live in a culture where every mistake must be examined, optimized, debriefed, and therapized. Where every failure becomes a teachable moment, a branding opportunity, or worse, content.
But sometimes, especially for a kid with a cannon and a developing frontal lobe, a mistake can just be… a mistake.
No lesson. No lecture. No crisis.
The burnout loop starts early. School. Sports. Social media. It's all treated like a proving ground. Every slip-up a spotlight. Every game a referendum.
But not every play needs a TED Talk.
Sometimes the best move — the real growth — is in not making it a thing. Letting them feel it. Sit with it. Move through it without attaching shame, storylines, or “we’ll grow from this” narration.
Fast-forward to last weekend. Next game. First play. Same kid. Now on defense.
Pick-six. Touchdown. Full-field sprint. Celebration like she’d just won a million dollars and a puppy.
She ran to the sideline, beaming. I asked:
“Was that your redemption arc or mine?”
She shrugged.
“I have no idea what that means.”
Exactly.
So here’s the real takeaway: Not everything is a crisis.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do is let the moment breathe. Don’t overanalyze. Don’t overprotect. Just pause. Breathe.
Then buy the whole damn team ice cream anyway.
THE PRACTICAL: The Dark Truth About Positive Thinking
We’ve all heard it. Think positive. Manifest it. Visualize success. Say the affirmation. Make the vision board. Tape it to your fridge, whisper it to your coffee, and wait for the universe to deliver.
But here’s the inconvenient truth no one prints in gold foil script on a coffee mug: Positive thinking can be a trap.
Not always — but often enough that it’s worth examining. Because when your brain gets the dopamine hit from imagining success, it starts to believe the work is already done.
You get a little taste of the reward, emotionally speaking, without having to earn it. It’s like watching the trailer and feeling like you’ve already seen the movie. Or planning the vacation and forgetting you still need to book the flight. And when that happens, motivation quietly leaves the chat.
You think, “I’ve got this.” And that’s exactly when you don’t.
Blind optimism, especially the kind not backed by any past effort or honest assessment, is like emotional candy. It feels good in the moment, but crash hard later when reality shows up asking for receipts. We’re not just talking about productivity here. This false hope loop plays out across industries, companies, relationships — even entire economies.
Startup culture thrives on it. Just replace “dream big” with “scale fast” and “we’re changing the world” with “we're pre-revenue.” The cult of positivity at all costs can be just as dangerous as pessimism. Because at least pessimism forces you to prepare.
Optimism? It just keeps feeding you empty calories. And calling it resilience.
Now don’t get me wrong — this isn’t an argument for negativity. Hope matters. Confidence matters. But honesty matters more.
There’s a difference between earned confidence and emotional cosplay. Earned confidence is grounded in action, feedback, and repetition. It’s the athlete stepping up to the plate who’s hit .300 all season. Not the one who “believes in themselves” but hasn’t swung the bat since last July.
One helps you move forward. The other lets you pretend you're already there.
So what’s the alternative?
Don’t throw out your vision. Just pair it with a brutally honest audit of what’s standing in your way — not out there, but in here.
Doubt. Procrastination. Insecurity. Fear of success (yes, that’s a real thing).
When you identify the real blockers — not the ones you post about, but the ones you avoid thinking about — you can start designing actual plans to work around them.
Visualize? Sure. But contrast that vision with reality.
Then write the plan. Do the thing. Get the reps.
Because success doesn’t come from saying the words. It comes from doing the work you were probably fantasizing about avoiding.
Bottom line? Thinking positive isn’t bad. But thinking positive without reality is just professionally branded self-sabotage.
So go ahead. Dream the dream. Just don’t let the dream replace the work.
You don’t need more affirmations. You need a better calendar. And probably less time on TikTok.
THE PROFESSIONAL: You Don’t Need a Castle. You Need a Moat.
Let’s be honest: we’ve all played the platform whack-a-mole game.
You build a following on Instagram? Whoops, algorithm change.
You grow engagement on TikTok? Sorry, banned in one country, shadowbanned in another.
You optimize for Facebook? Congrats, now you’re competing with grandma’s meatloaf video and your cousin’s MLM pitch.
We’ve been renting our audiences from landlords with no leases... and worse terms than a Florida timeshare.
But here’s the thing: the days of begging TikTok or Meta for crumbs are numbered. Because you don’t need to be Amazon or Walmart to build your own digital moat anymore.
The social operating system used to be out of reach. Owning your ecosystem meant hiring full dev teams, product managers, moderators, community leads, lawyers, and then praying to the VC gods that you’d scale before you ran out of money, time, or your last remaining shred of optimism.
Newsflash: that era is over.
You don’t need a 10-person engineering squad. You don’t need two years and $2 million. What you do need is a better question:
“How do I stop sending my audience to someone else’s party?”
Because right now, we’re all throwing content confetti into the algorithm void, hoping it sticks. But here’s a better idea: Build your own space. On your site. In your app. In your control.
The moat metaphor holds: big tech built castles with deep moats, high walls, and zero access. You don’t need to build a fortress… but you do need a backyard with a gate.
That’s where platforms like Genuin come in. (Yes, this is a plug. But also, it’s the truth.) We’ve taken the tools that were once only available to the top 1% — embeddable video feeds, community functionality, social interactions, monetization layers — and made them accessible to the other 99%.
No code? No problem. Limited budget? We know. Need it this quarter, not next year? That’s the point.
You can launch a branded, ownable video-powered community experience in days. Not months. No infrastructure migraines. No 7-figure line items. No chasing tech unicorns that ghost you after the pilot.
And here’s the kicker: you get to own the data, the experience, the engagement, the ROI. Not Meta. Not TikTok. Not whoever Elon hands X to next week.
Because here’s what no one tells you: renting reach is expensive. And unsustainable. It’s time to convert audiences into communities, impressions into interactions, and scrolls into something you actually own.
This isn’t about cutting out social. It’s about cutting through it.
Give your audience a reason to engage with you, not through someone else. Give them something worth staying for.
And give yourself a break from the whack-a-mole.
You're not trying to out-meta Meta. You’re trying to build something that actually works for you, for your brand, and for the people who care enough to show up.
So yeah… you shouldn’t have to be a tech giant to control your digital destiny. Now, you don’t have to.
Ready to launch your own embeddable video experience without the cost or complexity? Cool. We already did the hard part. Just bring your community.
We’ll help you build the moat. Without drowning in it..
THE POLITICAL: The Other Side of the Unchecked DOGE Coin
Forget the headlines. The real political drama isn't in the usual arenas.
It's unfolding quietly, buried in IRS and Department of Education dissolution. In AI task forces, data privacy laws, and terms of service updates no one reads.
Behind every "we care about your privacy" banner is a platform lobbying to protect itself, not you.
We've been discussing how blindly clicking "Accept" surrenders our digital autonomy. But what happens when this complacency extends beyond apps and into the very fabric of government?
Enter the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) helmed by none other than Elon Musk.
Initially, DOGE promised to slash waste and streamline operations. Sounds great, right? But while we were busy debating the merits of pineapple on pizza, DOGE was quietly expanding its reach. Sometimes in the headlines. Sometimes not.
From layoffs of federal workers to dismantling agencies like USAID, Musk's team has been operating with a "move fast and break things" mantra, except what's breaking are foundational government structures.
DOGE operatives have embedded themselves deep within federal agencies, gaining access to sensitive data, including Social Security numbers and income tax documents. All in the name of "efficiency."
Critics argue that DOGE's unchecked power is less about trimming fat and more about consolidating control.
Legal challenges are mounting, with concerns over blatant letal violations and conflicts of interest.
None of these people were elected. There is no Congressional oversight. It's ALL unconstitutional.
So, next time you vote for the person who has never run a successful company in his life, who turns around and gives full control to someone who has never cared about another human being in his life, all without reading the fine print, remember: it's not just your data at stake.
It's the blueprint of governance itself.
And maybe, just maybe, it's time we paid attention before DOGE decides efficiency means running the whole show.
Keep your heads up!
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