I'm quite partial to Jack Mallers' quote:
The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to help create something that will. #Bitcoin
I'm not sure exactly why I like it. Maybe because it's so thought-provoking...
It's good to see ourselves in context. One day we'll be forgotten - I'm fine with that. This certainly can help keep us very humble.
All of our actions have consequences and I guess they will reverberate on forever (whether actions related to Bitcoin or not).
What I like about the quote is that it helps us to keep in mind what Bitcoin can achieve. After a while, when the price gets high enough, any fluctuation in the price will appear miniscule and so help Bitcoin to be seen as 'stable' and a viable currency. It would help people by getting rid of inflation. So it's a very worthwhile project to nurture.
I guess the one thing that troubled me is the idea of 'forever'. It's beyond my understanding. It somehow doesn't sit right with me - I don't know why.
As a thought exercise I associate these things:
Feeding something very big - to keep it alive.
Lot's of people feeding it to keep it alive.
Having deep faith in it (the math, the system).
Incentives for all parties for it to live on.
Making it a goal to keep it alive - and encouraging others to carry on caring for it after us.
We don't ever think of keeping the Dollar, the Yen or the Euro arrive forever. There's no need to keep them alive. I don't think we see them as 'living' things in the same way. We, US law at least, have considered companies to be living things - given rights as s person. Why not Bitcoin too?
There's a lot to unpick here. There's not much of a cohesive thread running through it. However, sometimes such questions and ideas can bring out more important ideas and thoughts in others.
It's certainly a great quote.
(Incidentally, I've just found that the original quote is attributed to the writer Chuck PalahnIuk, from his novel Diary. It was Maller who added the #Bitcoin part to it - to good effect.)