Build Your Digital Empire and Escape the Proxy Trap — Here's How

“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”—Pablo Picasso “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”—Pablo Picasso A provocative statement, especially coming from a genius who understood the profound difference between answers and questions. Answers are finite; they close doors. Questions, however, open worlds. They dismantle assumptions. They are the seeds of every paradigm shift. answers questions For most of human history, the very questions we could ask were constrained by our economic reality: Hunting-and-Gathering Societies: Survival was the dominant question: What are we going to eat? How will we protect our families? What will shelter us? Answers were found in the immediate environment. Innovation was slow, collective, and often reactive. The "vote" was cast by the largest, strongest, and highest-status group, deciding the hunt, the migration, and so on. Agricultural Societies: Stability became the new question: How to grow more, settle more, and build more? Answers lay in land ownership, organized labour, and centralised power structures. The "vote" here was concentrated in the hands of the landowners, priests, and monarchs. The majority toiled, but their individual "votes" were often silent, subsumed by the few who controlled the means of production. Industrial Societies: The question shifted to efficiency, mass production, and scale. Answers emerged from factories, corporations, and nation-states. Here, the idea of the "majority vote" gained prominence – mass markets, mass media, and democratic processes. Yet, even here, the true architects of change, the innovators and disruptors, were always a distinct minority. The "majority vote" often followed trends, consumed outputs, and solidified the status quo. Hunting-and-Gathering Societies: Survival was the dominant question: What are we going to eat? How will we protect our families? What will shelter us? Answers were found in the immediate environment. Innovation was slow, collective, and often reactive. The "vote" was cast by the largest, strongest, and highest-status group, deciding the hunt, the migration, and so on. Hunting-and-Gathering Societies: What are we going to eat? How will we protect our families? What will shelter us? Agricultural Societies: Stability became the new question: How to grow more, settle more, and build more? Answers lay in land ownership, organized labour, and centralised power structures. The "vote" here was concentrated in the hands of the landowners, priests, and monarchs. The majority toiled, but their individual "votes" were often silent, subsumed by the few who controlled the means of production. Agricultural Societies: How to grow more, settle more, and build more? Industrial Societies: The question shifted to efficiency, mass production, and scale. Answers emerged from factories, corporations, and nation-states. Here, the idea of the "majority vote" gained prominence – mass markets, mass media, and democratic processes. Yet, even here, the true architects of change, the innovators and disruptors, were always a distinct minority. The "majority vote" often followed trends, consumed outputs, and solidified the status quo. Industrial Societies: The Information Society Picasso's wisdom resonates deeply as we stand at the precipice of a new, fourth stage: the Information Society. In this era, the most dangerous trap isn't a lack of answers; it's the overwhelming abundance of them. Information Society Algorithms optimise for the majority. Social media amplifies consensus. News cycles reinforce popular narratives. Everything seems designed to give us answers – what to think, what to buy, what's trending. This creates an insidious illusion of collective wisdom, a feeling that "the majority carries the vote" and therefore knows best. But if you pay attention, "it’s pretty clear that people are coming up with new [awful, horrible, useless, comically stupid, and embarrassingly] bad ideas all the time." The majority, by definition, gives answers to yesterday's questions. Why Traditional Work is Dead and You Need to Become a Sovereign Creator NOW We are witnessing the twilight of the industrial-era nation-state, and with it, the erosion of every safety net you were taught to rely on. This is not theoretical. It's happening right now. You can see it everywhere around you. It is impacting your ability to prosper and truly live on your own terms. We're not just experiencing economic disruption. We're witnessing the violent birth of a new form of human organization. We're not just experiencing economic disruption. We're witnessing the violent birth of a new form of human organization. The old world is ending. The question isn't whether these changes will happen—they're already here. The question is whether you'll be among the sovereigns who thrive in this new reality, or among the masses who become economically extinct. The Proxy Trap Before I show you how to escape the collapsing system, you need to understand how it captured you in the first place. Everything you were taught to chase—money, diplomas, votes, approval—are proxies. Symbols that once pointed to real things but now exist only to extract value from you. Money became paper backed by promises. Diplomas became expensive wallpaper divorced from actual skill. Votes became popularity contests detached from real power. Jobs became elaborate forms of adult daycare. (Read my essay on The Proxy Problem to get the full picture.) Money became paper backed by promises. Diplomas became expensive wallpaper divorced from actual skill. Votes became popularity contests detached from real power. Jobs became elaborate forms of adult daycare. Read my essay on The Proxy Problem to get the full picture The proxy economy will collapse—not because people are smart, but because it can't sustain itself. You can only sell inflated illusions for so long before reality comes to collect. When the map becomes more important than the territory, people start crashing into trees. Hard. Problem #1: The Waning Power of the State & Your Shrinking Pie For decades, we relied on the nation-state for stability, infrastructure, and collective security. But in the Information Age, wealth has become increasingly mobile and untaxable. It's like cows kept around a fenced field to eat grass, and now the cows can fly. The "winged cows" of capital—digital assets, intellectual property, global services—can simply fly over borders. This leaves governments desperate to maintain their grip on a dwindling tax base. Higher taxes, fewer services. As governments struggle to fund their obligations, they resort to increasing taxes on those who can't easily escape—you, the fixed income earners, the small businesses, the creators whose assets are still tied to specific jurisdictions. Inflation as silent theft. Governments print money to cover deficits. Your savings, your wages, the value of your assets—they subtly but surely lose purchasing power. You work harder just to stay in the same place. Higher taxes, fewer services. As governments struggle to fund their obligations, they resort to increasing taxes on those who can't easily escape—you, the fixed income earners, the small businesses, the creators whose assets are still tied to specific jurisdictions. Higher taxes, fewer services. can't Inflation as silent theft. Governments print money to cover deficits. Your savings, your wages, the value of your assets—they subtly but surely lose purchasing power. You work harder just to stay in the same place. Inflation as silent theft. While governments thrash around trying to tax the old economy, you can build sovereign businesses in the digital realm. You can serve customers globally, accept payments in crypto, and structure your business across multiple jurisdictions. The old rules don't apply to you anymore—if you refuse to play by them. if Problem #2: Employment Genocide Traditional employment isn't just becoming obsolete—it's being systematically murdered by three forces: AI automation, global competition, and the impossibility of creating real value inside bureaucratic structures. The middle class is being hollowed out. Cognitive work is becoming commoditized. Only the top 1% of performers in any field can command premium prices in the traditional economy. Problem #3: The New Luddites & The Consensus Trap The term Luddites originally refers to a social movement that emerged in early 19th-century England around 1811-1816. The Luddites were primarily skilled textile workers who protested against the mechanical weaving machines and other industrial innovations that threatened their jobs and traditional ways of life. They often expressed their resistance through protests, machine-breaking, and riots. Luddites Today, the term Luddites is used more broadly to describe individuals or groups who are skeptical of or oppose technological change or innovation, especially when they believe such changes threaten their jobs, cultures, or social stability. The word often carries a connotation of resistance to progress or technological advances. Luddites The industrial age created Luddites who resisted new technology. Today, a new kind of "New Luddite" emerges: those who cling to outdated models of work, wealth, and community, failing to adapt to the realities of the Information Age. The 9-to-5 cage: Traditional employment, while offering perceived safety, ties you to a fixed location, fixed hours, and fixed income. Your time is literally owned by someone else. But worse—it makes you acutely vulnerable to economic downturns, automation, and corporate whims. The 9-to-5 cage: Following consensus to oblivion: The majority, optimised for yesterday's answers, continues to consume, follow trends, build on rented platforms. This path leads not to innovation or sovereignty, but to obsolescence and increased vulnerability. Following consensus to oblivion: They are sleepwalking into a future where their "vote" means less and less. If you keep doing what everyone else is doing, you're heading for a cliff. The crowd is always wrong at exactly the moment when being wrong becomes fatal. You win if you're right first, to be first, you can't wait for consensus. Ask people in Rome at the time the Roman empire fell "when did the Roman empire fall?" And they'll tell you a much later date than the Historians would. If you wait for the news, you're either wrong or late You win if you're right first, to be first, you can't wait for consensus. Ask people in Rome at the time the Roman empire fell "when did the Roman empire fall?" And they'll tell you a much later date than the Historians would. If you wait for the news, you're either wrong or late Problem #4: Violent Inequality The Information Age creates winner-take-all dynamics that make historical inequality look quaint. The top 0.1% will control 90% of the wealth because information products scale infinitely with near-zero marginal costs. Everyone else becomes economically irrelevant. This isn't a bug—it's a feature you can exploit. This isn't a bug—it's a feature you can exploit. Instead of fighting the power law, you become the power law. In every niche, the top creators capture disproportionate value. The key is picking your battlefield and becoming the undisputed champion of your micro-niche. Problem #5: Fiat Currency Apocalypse & Democratic Delusion Government currencies are being debased into worthlessness through money printing and debt accumulation. The dollar, euro, and other fiat currencies are in a race to the bottom. Simultaneously, democracy—designed for the Industrial Age where citizens in a geographical area shared common interests—becomes increasingly dysfunctional. You have more in common with your online tribe than your physical neighbours. Democracy would be transformed from a representative democracy (where you elect a politician to represent you, hire a lawyer to defend you, and so on.) to a decentralised democracy (where you can represent and defend yourself). Your purchasing power is being silently stolen while your political voice is being systematically diluted. You're being impoverished and disenfranchised simultaneously. The creator advantage: You can price your products in stable value units and earn in appreciating assets. Your products, content and audience are inflation-proof stores of value that actually appreciate over time. The creator advantage: More importantly, you can build your own micro-democracy around your values. Your audience votes with their attention and wallets. You're not subject to the tyranny of the majority—you serve your specific tribe with laser precision. Problem #6: The Infrastructure Vulnerability Crisis Our civilization depends on incredibly complex, fragile systems that can be disrupted by cyberattacks, supply chain failures, or social unrest. As these systems become more interconnected, single points of failure can cascade into civilizational collapse. Your advantage: Your business exists in the cloud, not physical infrastructure. While traditional businesses worry about supply chains, real estate, and physical security, your entire operation can be backed up and restored anywhere with an internet connection. Your advantage: The Solution is to Start Your Own Country – Building Your Digital Empire What is a Country? "a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory." - Oxford Dictionary "a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory." - Oxford Dictionary A nation is traditionally defined as a territory with recognised sovereignity, a government and a population. There are 4 key pillars that make a country: Territory, Sovereignity, Population and Government. Territory: Can be physical (land, property) or virtual (server farms, digital land in metaverses). Government: A governance structure based on transparent or shady, decentralized or centralized systems. Sovereignty: The exclusive right to govern oneself, ideally recognized by other nations or entities (though recognition is a complex and evolving process). Population Territory: Can be physical (land, property) or virtual (server farms, digital land in metaverses). Territory: Government: A governance structure based on transparent or shady, decentralized or centralized systems. Government: Sovereignty: The exclusive right to govern oneself, ideally recognized by other nations or entities (though recognition is a complex and evolving process). Sovereignty: Population Population It's not about physical borders or military might. In the Information Age, "starting your own country" means building and scaling your own digital empire. It's about consciously designing a self-owned, self-governing ecosystem for your creative work, your intellectual property, and your community. It's about establishing your personal sovereignty in a world increasingly hostile to independent thought and action. "starting your own country" means building and scaling your own digital empire. Here's how to do it, inspired by reading Balaji's principles in The Network State, and made practical for creators: Why You Should Start Your Own Country (Even If You Never Call It That) Here's what's really happening: You're not building a traditional country with borders and passports. You're building something more powerful—a sovereign economic and social entity that transcends geography. You're not building a traditional country with borders and passports. You're building something more powerful—a sovereign economic and social entity that transcends geography. Think of it this way: Every successful creator is already running a micro-nation. You have: Citizens (your audience who choose to follow you) An economy (your business model and revenue streams) A culture (your values, language, and shared beliefs) Governance (how you make decisions and resolve conflicts) Territory (your digital platforms and real-world gatherings) Citizens (your audience who choose to follow you) Citizens An economy (your business model and revenue streams) An economy A culture (your values, language, and shared beliefs) A culture Governance (how you make decisions and resolve conflicts) Governance Territory (your digital platforms and real-world gatherings) Territory The difference between you and a traditional country? Your "citizens" choose to be there. They can leave anytime. This makes you accountable in ways governments never are. The difference between you and a traditional country? Your "citizens" choose to be there. They can leave anytime. This makes you accountable in ways governments never are. Traditional countries are failing their citizens: Traditional countries are failing their citizens: Governments tax you for services you don't want Politicians make decisions that harm your interests You have no real voice in how things are run You can't easily exit if you disagree with the direction Governments tax you for services you don't want Politicians make decisions that harm your interests You have no real voice in how things are run You can't easily exit if you disagree with the direction Your sovereign creator "country" is different: Your sovereign creator "country" is different: People join because you provide real value They stay because you keep delivering results They leave if you stop serving their interests You succeed only by making your "citizens" better off People join because you provide real value They stay because you keep delivering results They leave if you stop serving their interests You succeed only by making your "citizens" better off This is governance by consent, not coercion. It's what democracy was supposed to be but never achieved. This is governance by consent, not coercion. It's what democracy was supposed to be but never achieved. When you build a thriving creator business, you're not just building a revenue stream. You're building: Economic sovereignty: Your income doesn't depend on a single employer, government, or economic system. You serve people directly. Economic sovereignty: Social sovereignty: Your community shares your values. You're not forced to associate with people who fundamentally disagree with your vision of the good life. Social sovereignty: Intellectual sovereignty: You can speak your mind without fear of being fired, canceled, or imprisoned. Your audience chose you because of your ideas, not in spite of them. Intellectual sovereignty: Geographic sovereignty: You can live wherever you want while serving your community globally. Your "country" exists in cyberspace and follows you wherever you go. Geographic sovereignty: This isn't just about making money. It's about creating the life you actually want to live, surrounded by people who share your vision, serving a mission that matters to you. This isn't just about making money. It's about creating the life you actually want to live, surrounded by people who share your vision, serving a mission that matters to you. How to Start Your Own Country =============================== There are at least six ways to start a new country. Election - Win control of an existing country and change the laws (slow, expensive, corrupted) Revolution - Violent overthrow (bloody, unpredictable, usually fails) War - Conquer a territory (requires armies, causes suffering) Micronations - Declare independence on unused land (mostly symbolic, it's boring, nobody cares) Seasteading - Build cities on the ocean (technologically complex, expensive) Space colonization - Explore to other planets (cool, but also expensive for you. Not you Elon, keep it up.) Network states - A network state is a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states. Election - Win control of an existing country and change the laws (slow, expensive, corrupted) Election Revolution - Violent overthrow (bloody, unpredictable, usually fails) Revolution War - Conquer a territory (requires armies, causes suffering) War Micronations - Declare independence on unused land (mostly symbolic, it's boring, nobody cares) Micronations Seasteading - Build cities on the ocean (technologically complex, expensive) Seasteading Space colonization - Explore to other planets (cool, but also expensive for you. Not you Elon, keep it up.) Space colonization Network states - A network state is a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states. Network states What we're going to be building is not necessarily a network state, but you can scale it into one if you like. A Network State in One image: A Network State in One image: Hold on, you know what that looks like?: Country Building in 3 Mins: Phase 1: Define Your Ethos: Phase 1: Define Your Ethos: Before you build anything, you need a core purpose, a shared ideal that will attract your citizens. What is the single, overarching idea or value your "country" (your digital empire) stands for? What problem are you uniquely solving? What future are you trying to build? Is it financial freedom for artists? Sustainable living through digital skills? Radical transparency in business? This becomes your guiding principle. Write it down. This will inform everything you create and attract the right people. Don't overthink it, you will refine it along the way. I wouldn't tell you there is no way getting it wrong, in fact, you're most likely going to get it wrong and that's okay. There're only 2 kinds of ideas, ideas that are wrong and ideas that are incomplete. There are infinite bad ideas, but they're essential. Your best work emerges from a mountain of failures. Notice how you leverage features, snippets, and elements from ideas that didn’t work to create what does. Phase 2: Build Your Digital Capital Phase 2: Build Your Digital Capital This is where you begin to accrue the "capital" of your new country: attention, trust, and your own intellectual property. Your audience isn't just followers; they are your potential citizens. Your email list is your first census. Your social channels are merely advertising for your sovereign territory. Focus on attracting individuals who resonate with your Ethos. Prioritize building an email list above all else. It's the ultimate place where you have more control on how you connect with your community. Use Substack or Beehiiv for this. They have a free tier you can start with. Use valuable lead magnets (like the way I have my AI Strategic Manager Prompt or Fundamental Principles Reading List) and these essays (yes, these are also lead magnets), to grow it. AI Strategic Manager Prompt Fundamental Principles Reading List Cultivate Moral Innovation: What unique perspective or solution are you offering that challenges the status quo? This is your "moral innovation" – your distinct cultural offering. Don't just regurgitate trends; ask new questions and provide new answers. Practical Step: Consistently publish high-quality, thought-provoking content (your newsletter!) that reinforces your Ethos and differentiates you from the noise. Launch Your First Digital Product (Your "First Export"): This is your country's first economic output. It proves you can create value and exchange it for something tangible. It could be a simple guide, a template, a mini-course. Like my book. Practical Step: Identify one core problem your beginner audience has and create a concise, actionable digital product to solve it. This is your initial economic engine. Cultivate Moral Innovation: What unique perspective or solution are you offering that challenges the status quo? This is your "moral innovation" – your distinct cultural offering. Don't just regurgitate trends; ask new questions and provide new answers. Cultivate Moral Innovation: Practical Step: Consistently publish high-quality, thought-provoking content (your newsletter!) that reinforces your Ethos and differentiates you from the noise. Practical Step: Launch Your First Digital Product (Your "First Export"): This is your country's first economic output. It proves you can create value and exchange it for something tangible. It could be a simple guide, a template, a mini-course. Like my book. Launch Your First Digital Product (Your "First Export"): Like my book Practical Step: Identify one core problem your beginner audience has and create a concise, actionable digital product to solve it. This is your initial economic engine. Practical Step: Phase 3: Scale Your Digital Territory Phase 3: Scale Your Digital Territory Once you have a burgeoning community and proven value, it's time to consolidate and scale, moving from scattered outposts to a unified empire. Consolidate Your Digital Assets: Are your courses on Teachable, your email on ConvertKit, your blog on Medium, and your sales on Gumroad? This is like having your citizens, treasury, and public records scattered across foreign lands, subject to external rules. Bring it all under one roof. Practical Step: Migrate your content, courses, lead magnets, and sales funnels to for high-performance and full ownership. Optimize Your Sovereign Economy: Every transaction, every interaction within your digital empire should be streamlined, secure, and profitable. Minimize reliance on third-party fees and ensure you control the data. Practical Step: Implement robust e-commerce solutions, optimize payment gateways, and design user journeys that maximize conversions and engagement directly on your site. Build Your Digital Defenses: Protect your newfound sovereignty. This means robust security, independent analytics, and a clear strategy for content distribution that isn't reliant on single platforms. Practical Step: Make your empire custom-made, scalabile and flexible, allowing you to diversify your income streams and audience reach without external constraints. Consolidate Your Digital Assets: Are your courses on Teachable, your email on ConvertKit, your blog on Medium, and your sales on Gumroad? This is like having your citizens, treasury, and public records scattered across foreign lands, subject to external rules. Bring it all under one roof. Consolidate Your Digital Assets: Practical Step: Migrate your content, courses, lead magnets, and sales funnels to for high-performance and full ownership. Practical Step: Optimize Your Sovereign Economy: Every transaction, every interaction within your digital empire should be streamlined, secure, and profitable. Minimize reliance on third-party fees and ensure you control the data. Optimize Your Sovereign Economy: Practical Step: Implement robust e-commerce solutions, optimize payment gateways, and design user journeys that maximize conversions and engagement directly on your site. Practical Step: your Build Your Digital Defenses: Protect your newfound sovereignty. This means robust security, independent analytics, and a clear strategy for content distribution that isn't reliant on single platforms. Build Your Digital Defenses: Practical Step: Make your empire custom-made, scalabile and flexible, allowing you to diversify your income streams and audience reach without external constraints. Practical Step: Declare Your Digital Independence It is this minority – the visionaries, the risk-takers, the independent thinkers – that truly carries the vote for the future. Are you asking the questions that will define it? For too long, the internet promised freedom but delivered a new form of serfdom. It's time to reverse that. It's time to build your own digital empire and achieve true sovereignty. If you're ready to lay the foundation of your digital nation – to define your philosophy, attract your first 100 loyal citizens, and create your initial exports – my free newsletter is for you. free newsletter You'll get practical insights on: How to unlearn the old rules that keep you trapped in the "Proxy Trap." The step-by-step blueprint for building your first digital empire and creating new wealth. The systems to secure your economic and intellectual sovereignty in a world of increasing fragility. My free products and tools. ...and much more How to unlearn the old rules that keep you trapped in the "Proxy Trap." unlearn The step-by-step blueprint for building your first digital empire and creating new wealth. building your first digital empire The systems to secure your economic and intellectual sovereignty in a world of increasing fragility. economic and intellectual sovereignty My free products and tools. ...and much more Consider Subscribing here, or hitting subscribe on Hackernoon so I can add you. Consider Subscribing here, or hitting subscribe on Hackernoon so I can add you. Consider Subscribing here Cheers, Praise