Introduction (Story) In 2017, I found myself at a serious crossroads in life. I was deeply confused and exhausted. From the outside, my life looked successful: we had started businesses, some had succeeded, others had collapsed. At one point, I had even convinced investors to commit millions of dollars to projects I believed in. But there was a painful pattern . Every single time something seemed like it was finally going to work, something would pull it apart. Delays. Conflicts. Closed doors. Sudden losses. It felt as though I was constantly almost there, but never quite arriving. During this season, I led a group of women intercessors called Soul Garage, and together we decided to go on a 21-day prayer and fasting journey. We were praying about many things, but for me, one question burned louder than all the others. At the end of the fast, I cried out to God honestly and painfully: “Lord, why are You doing this to me? Why won’t You let me succeed?” The Revelation God’s response surprised me. He said: “This has nothing to do with Me. I love you.” Then He showed me a picture—a vision I will never forget. I saw a person trying to climb up a river, pushing against the water with all their strength. It was exhausting. It was painful. It made no sense. And the Lord said: “You are working against the grain. You are walking up the river, instead of flowing with it.” He explained that the reason everything felt so hard was not because He was opposing me, but because I was fighting the direction He had designed for me. He said: “The little success you have had is because of My grace. Without it, you would not have made it this far. But if you go with the flow I have set for you, things will be easier. You will use less energy. You will enjoy what you are doing.” The Lesson This experience taught me an important truth: Hard work is not always a sign of God’s will. Sometimes struggle is a sign of misalignment. Going against the flow leads to: Constant frustration

Hello everyone, I’m James Odom, and I’m excited to officially kick off Blockchain University. Our first course is now live: BHS 101 – The Birth of Bitcoin. This is a primary-source based course focused on Bitcoin’s origin story as a historical and technical event. We cover the problem Bitcoin was solving, early digital cash experiments, Satoshi’s design priorities, the whitepaper’s key decisions, the genesis block, early mining, and what Bitcoin’s early years teach us about security, decentralization, and scalability. If you’re new here, start at the Introduction and work your way down the lesson list at your own pace. If you’re experienced, you’ll still get value from revisiting the original context and seeing how the early design tradeoffs shaped everything that came after. Quick intro questions: Comment below with (1) your background level (new, intermediate, advanced) and (2) what you want to learn most in crypto right now. Glad you’re here. Let’s build more amazing content moving forward!