The Last Lockdown Was Practice

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It didn’t feel like practice when it happened.

It felt like the world snapping in half.

Borders slammed shut.

Gyms went dark.

Airports emptied.

Careers evaporated in real time.

No warning.

No playbook.

No mercy.

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What most people still don’t want to admit is this: COVID wasn’t a freak event. It was a stress test. A rehearsal. A live-fire drill that exposed how fragile our income, careers, and identities actually are.

And most people failed it.

I know I did.

I had just returned to North America after 10 years living and working in China. Ten years in a purely physical profession. Two practices a day. Six days a week. Sweat equity. Talent development. On the court. In the gym. Always moving. Always producing value with my body.

No remote option.

No laptop leverage.

No “pivot.”

Then the doors closed.

No IRL opportunities.

No gyms.

No offices.

No travel.

Only “essential workers” survived.

Everything else vanished.

Overnight, the world split in two: people who already lived online… and people who suddenly realized they had no way to eat without showing up in person.

I was in the second group.

That moment permanently rewired my brain.

Because while people love to say “we’re back to normal,” nothing actually changed. The system didn’t become safer. Jobs didn’t become more secure. Careers didn’t become future-proof.

We just reopened the doors and pretended the building wasn’t structurally unsound.

Let me remind you.

History doesn’t repeat — it accelerates.

Last time it was a virus.

Next time? Who knows.

Supply chains.

AI displacement.

Economic freezes.

GeopoliTRICKS.

Automation.

Digital currencies.

Social unrest.

Pick your poison.

And let’s not kid ourselves — every time Trump is in office, something chaotic hits the system. That’s not poliTRICKS. That’s pattern recognition.

So no, I’m not “negative.”

I’m not “fear-mongering.”

I’m prepared.

That’s why I’ve been relentlessly building online — not because it’s trendy, not because it’s fun, but because I refuse to ever be that exposed again.

Online assets.

Digital skills.

Monetizable attention.

Platforms I control.

Work that doesn’t disappear when the doors lock.

Because comfort is the most dangerous drug in the economy.

So let me ask you something — not politely, not rhetorically:

Are you monetizing online?

Or are you just scrolling for comfort?

Are you “comfortable” in your job?

Or completely dependent on it?

Did COVID benefit you?

Or did it expose you?

Were you waiting on a pension?

Government handouts?

A system that already showed you it doesn’t care?

And if it happens again — because now we know it can — will you be ready?

Or will you be scrambling, hoping the same structure that failed you last time somehow saves you next time?

I’m not building online because I’m optimistic.

I’m building online because I remember.

The last shutdown was practice.

I’m training for the next one.

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