Nobody’s paying me to do this. I’m doing it anyway.
Why the “51st state” nonsense flipped a switch in me... and why I’m working harder now than when I was getting paid
Let me clear up some things right off the hop… this is not exactly how I look. (It’s an AI me)
I often get asked how I use AI… which I talk about but more often folks ask me
“Fred… why are you working this hard on Canada Strong?”
It’s a fair question…
There’s no sponsor.
No grant.
No government cheque.
No secret pile of ad money.
It’s just me at my Lenovo Legion, with a tumbler of coffee, and two fingers pecking away at the keyboard like a woodpecker with an opinion.
So why bother?
Simple…
Something snapped.
It was that “51st state” troll talk that Trump started throwing around…
You know the one.
That smug little shrug like…
“Eh… you guys might as well just join us.”
Like Canada’s an empty lot.
Like we’re a coupon code.
Like 40 million people, an economy, and a history are just optional accessories.
That one.
It didn’t make me mad.
It made me insulted.
The kind of insult where someone walks into your house, looks around, and says:
“Nice place. We’ll take it.”
Nah.
Not today.
Here’s what I’ve learned after 70+ years of living, building, failing, rebuilding, and starting more projects than I can count:
If you don’t tell your own story…
Someone else will.
And they won’t get it right.
They’ll flatten it.
Spin it.
Or sell it back to you.
So I started doing what I’ve always done.
Not waving flags.
Not yelling slogans.
Just…
Explaining.
Breaking down the numbers.
Translating the government-speak.
Calling out nonsense when I smell it.
Turning complicated junk into plain English.
Because that’s my lane.
I’m not a politician.
I’m not a pundit.
I’m a sense-maker.
I take messy stuff and say…
“Here. This is what it actually means.”
Some days it probably sounds like an old guy ranting on the porch.
Fair enough 😄
But if even a handful of people read one post and think…
“Ahhh… now that makes sense.”
Then it’s worth it.
Every time.
Because clarity beats noise.
Every day of the week.
And no… this isn’t about money.
If I wanted easy money, I’d just crank out another PLR product or build another funnel.
Way less typing.
Way less stress.
This?
This is personal.
This is backbone.
This is me saying…
“You don’t get to casually erase us.”
Not on my watch.
So if you’re wondering why I keep showing up…
Why there’s another post…
Why I’m digging through reports and writing like a man with a deadline…
That’s why.
Nobody asked me to.
I just decided somebody should.
And apparently that somebody is me.
Glad you’re here with me.
— Fred
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Glad you are here too - two fingers and all. Always good to have someone put in words what we all feel.
Fred, I’m very glad you and your two fingers have jumped on Substack. You do a great job of sorting the heap of confusion we constantly face into bins of clarity.