Let’s be honest, people who work with joy probably won’t give me a buck. I’m speaking to the others. The ones for whom the pursuit of the “American Dream” feels more like a slow-motion nightmare. The ones who were never asleep to begin with. The ones who’ve watched, with equal parts horror and sadness, as their society becomes ever more obsessed with productivity—moving faster and faster just to stay in the same place. A treadmill of exhaustion that strips away the joy and wonder of simply being. The ones who look at the material trappings and the endless pursuit of “more” and think, surely this can’t be all there is.

I’m fully aware of the irony in asking another weary worker to give a buck so that I can breathe a little easier while they’re still overworked and underpaid. I make this ask with head bowed, sincerely and with the deepest humility. I’m hoping you’ll give—not in the spirit of compassion or pity, but in the spirit of solidarity. Like a brother or sister in arms rebelling against the cult of productivity and the madness of always striving for more.

I’m asking for a single dollar, and if enough kind souls offer one, I’ll have enough to live simply, without worry. And when that day comes—when the amount in the alms bowl is more than I need—I’ll share that bounty with someone else. That’s what the Do-Nothing Scholarship is about. You can read about it on the “Future Goals” page, but the point is simple: I’ll be passing on the generosity I receive. Because this project isn’t just about me. It’s about all of us, and the possibility of a world where joy isn’t hoarded but shared.

And finally, this just may be the most compelling argument for giving me a buck: unlike the social media scammers who insult your intelligence or take advantage of people facing desperate situations by selling “secret life hacks”, false hope, and empty promises of easy riches—I’m not here to con you. I’m not offering you a course on how to level up, because you’re fine right where you are. I’m not upselling you a “mastermind” class. I’m not peddling “manifestation breathwork” or “abundance coaching”. And I am most definitely not promising you millions if you grind harder. I’m offering you nothing but honesty and truth. The simple truth that your buck could help someone step out of the same rigged game we’re all stuck in, if just for a while longer.

So that’s my ask. That’s my pitch. That’s why I believe—and I hope you do as well—that it’s worth it to throw a buck in the alms bowl. We may not be able to stop the work-obsessed culture that grinds us down, but maybe—just maybe—one by one, we can slow it. Maybe we can help each other step off the treadmill, even if only for a moment. And if your buck helps buy one person a little more time to breathe, to rest, to simply be, then I believe it’s a worthy investment.

“They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.”

—Kahlil Gibran