I’ve been struggling to figure out how to make money lately. I used to be a software engineer, you see, but that line of work isn’t holding my interest these days the way it used to. In my younger years, people joked about me being a robot. I’d always been somewhat fixated on logical rigor, and while that cognitive habit sometimes held me back in matters of friendship, it made programming easy and fun.

In these Really, as a cascading project that started over a decade ago. however, I’ve become far more social. As I’ve poured my efforts into becoming gracious and gregarious, the parts of my mind that were thrilled by programming have moved aside to make way for new passions. I haven’t forgotten the skill of writing code, but I’m no longer drawn to it.

This rewiring hasn’t been for nothing, of course. The effects of my growing interest in people have been drastic. I find friendly interactions everywhere I go, and I’m blessed with a wide circle of friends. I bring good vibes, emotional support, and a steady upbeatness, and people are vocal in their appreciation. My less-extroverted friends sometimes find themselves baffled by the way my social battery seems to never run out. Just as I can spot an error in code, I can spot subtle emotional expressions in people, and gently maneuver social situations toward happiness and comfort. My spiritual connection to what I do has shifted from logical, machine-like thinking, to emotional embodiment and intuition for relationships between people.

My community brings me great joy in life, and I’m glad I’ve developed my social skills. However, I’m out of work, and I haven’t yet figured out how to monetize my new flavor of insanity. I have full faith that I’ll find a My leading contender right now is event operations generalist. I'm intrinsically interested in making great parties happen, and a lot of the work involved is just knowing the right people and talking to them, which I love doing anyway. On another possible path, I have a lot of fun cooking food that people enjoy! but in the meantime, being broke sucks. I can’t live where I want to, travel without depending on others, afford the luxuries I used to enjoy, or be spontaneously generous to my friends as I wish I could. Love is all I need, but it sure would be nice to have money as well.

The modern economy is set up to reward specialization, and I think it’s a great system. Nothing about my situation is unjust; indeed, I’m privileged to have enough slack to take time to find work I’m aligned with. The incentives are working as intended, to push me to find ways to be more directly productive. However, I do believe I bring real value to people’s lives, in a diffuse, non-professional manner. I also think, in this transitional period, I could do more of that with a little more money; an Uber here, an event ticket there, letting me show up more and bring my classic cheer and readiness to help out.

That brings us to the eponymous topic of this post: why I made a Patreon. The direct inspiration came when my friend Aaron bought me a ticket to Vibecamp, a community event I was excited about but otherwise priced out of attending.

Just days after I posted that, Aaron approached me to express interest in making it possible for me to go. This was incredibly generous of him, I had a fantastic time at Vibecamp, and I’m very grateful. It also got me thinking: if one person showed me such generosity, perhaps you’ll want to as well. You might appreciate my community impact, want to enable my authentic lifestyle, take interest in banking my I certainly owe Aaron a favor! or simply feel a sense of noblesse oblige.

If you want to give me money, whatever your reason, I want to make that easy for you. That’s why I set up a Patreon: to reduce the friction of showing appreciation with financial support. Thanks to my family, I’m at no risk of finding myself homeless or hungry; there is no dire need here. However, if you find value in supporting me, you can do that right now: just click here!