Hello friends!
A quick introduction is probably in order.
My name is Sterling Long. I'm a programmer, gamer, game creator, freelance dev, who enjoys some solid yoga. Yesterday I tried out sauna yoga. Let me tell you, that was horrible, and invigorating at the same time. Don't ask me how. It was.
There are some other details about me that the above adjectives and nouns don't really encompass but that's alright. Hopefully we will get to know each other as we build together.
Now, on to the purpose of this post.
My brother owns this fantastic piece of art that was written and signed by Bruce Lee, the Dragon himself. Behold, it's greatness and glory.
This piece can be verified to have been written and signed by Bruce Lee himself.
For those who don't speak or read Chinese, the writing says, reading from right to left, top to bottom, because that's the Chinese way:
Xue1 gui2 lü4.
Shou3 gui2 lü4.
Hua4 gui2 lü4.
Those little dots above the "U" mean you make a really nasally "U" sound. Try to be french, you'll get it.
For those who can't read pinyin either, here is it in english:
Study the law.
Observe the law.
Be the law.
If you're like me, you probably couldn't read that until you got to the english bit.
When I first tried to read this, I recognized the character 学 (Xue), which is the first word. Got me excited, things were going good. Then I tried to read the next one... I immediately gave up and asked my brother. I could tell you that the bottom two characters in each phrase were the same, but most children could probably do that as well, so that's not doing me any favors...
If you're still like me you also probably looked up each word to know its true meaning. Good for you. You might have found that 化 doesn't actually mean "Be". You would be right. It means to change, transform, dissolve, convert, digest (like food) or to -ize something. Like magnetize. In brief, there isn't a great translation for this bad boy in this context. Turning into the law, transforming into the law, being the law, is the best way to describe it. You could also say that Bruce was trying to say that once we have understood and abided by the law, we should transform it to suit us. This is another very interesting idea, but I'll stick with the other interpretation for the sake of brevity in this already rather long article.
Let's just take a moment and in what Bruce wrote. Isn't that just an amazing set of phrases? I believe that every domain of life has laws that are attached to it, that govern it: Physics, health, relationships, business, programming, game design... By studying the laws that govern the domain we want to flourish in, we can begin to function in that domain. By consistently abiding by the laws we have studied, they become habitual, which makes them part of us. Once those habits become second nature, we will have become the law. None of the steps are easy, but each is quite rewarding in its own right. Ok, that's my ted talk.
So, here we are. We now all know what this beautiful piece of art says, and that it was written and signed by Bruce Lee himself. Who cares?
Well, I care.
And Bruce Lee wrote it, so he cared.
It was memorialized by my dad so he cared.
That's three people that care.
Chuck Norris was in a movie with Bruce Lee, and if that isn't enough to make you care I don't know what is. I'll continue for your sake though.
Hopefully I can give you a reason to care (other than Chuck Norris) so we can at least have five of us. Here it goes.
I would like to turn this bad boy in to an NFT, and then host a competition to have people create pieces of art based on this original by Bruce Lee. We will then proceed to NFT the art that wins the competition, and auction it off. Each piece of art that is created, that is approved, will be digitally signed by me, the pseudo-digital owner of this document (Remember, by brother owns it, I'm just the digital owner). As the pseudo-digital owner, I will make 20% of the sale value of the artwork that is auctioned, unless I make my own art and sign it, in which case I make 100% for obvious reasons.
My brother will also get some of that, but I'm not going to say how much because he's my brother. It's gotta be a surprise.
Do you care about it yet? That's about all the details I have right now, so if you aren't on board yet, I'm not sure what I can do for you. Hopefully you're on board.
One thing to note so that it is not misunderstood: I am NOT selling the physical piece of art. There. It's been noted.
With the above details in place, there is still quite a bit to figure out here that I need help with.
I'll make a list:
I can write the smart contract, but I still have to figure it out. That's honestly one of the main reasons I'm doing this. 😄
Hopefully you're an artist. If you aren't, bring your friends. Let's make some cool stuff together!
Honestly, a competition might not be necessary, but I think it would be fun.
Lastly, running an auction is going to be interesting. No idea how to do that digitally.
There's a lot here that I've never done before, and I'm certain there's quite a bit more to figure out that I am missing. Either way, I'm excited to tackle it all with you!
It has been a joy writing this for you.
I hope you have found it informational, helpful, and has given you the details you needed to make the decision to stay, watch a Bruce Lee movie, and enjoy the greatness that was the Dragon.
Study the law, observe the law, be the law, my friends.
Now it's time for my mantra, that I'm still ironing out:
Live fearlessly, love unconditionally, and bring the fetching joy.
Sterling Long!
