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I Believe… [Keeping the Tip]
Jun 16, 2025
Don Hall
I Believe… [Keeping the Tip]
Jun 16, 2025
Don Hall

...that if being a prostitute is just ‘sex work’ then why is it awkward if your manager at the local Starbucks offers you a raise for a blow job? It’s just work, right? “I’ll have a Chai Latte and a rim job. I’ll keep the tip.”

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Jun 16, 2025
Don Hall

 ARCHIVE OF ARTICLES

 

I Believe… [Keeping the Tip]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 6/16/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 6/16/25

I Believe… [Keeping the Tip]

...that if being a prostitute is just ‘sex work’ then why is it awkward if your manager at the local Starbucks offers you a raise for a blow job? It’s just work, right? “I’ll have a Chai Latte and a rim job. I’ll keep the tip.”

Read More
Hope Has a Headboard
Don Hall Don Hall 6/12/25 Don Hall Don Hall 6/12/25

Hope Has a Headboard

I might be shattered, but I’m still going to be comfortable. I might be alone, but I’m not going to sleep in a coffin.

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I Believe… [Fairy Tale Finance Bros]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 6/9/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 6/9/25

I Believe… [Fairy Tale Finance Bros]

...that the perfect fairy tale that exemplifies the cryptocurrency movement is ‘Jack and Beanstalk.’ “Hey. Gimme that valuable animal you own and I’ll give you some magic beans.”

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I Like to Watch | A Tale of Two Cities (with Dancing)
Don Hall, I Like to Watch Don Hall 6/3/25 Don Hall, I Like to Watch Don Hall 6/3/25

I Like to Watch | A Tale of Two Cities (with Dancing)

Let's compare a symphony to a saxophone solo in a dive bar. Both are beautiful. Both are necessary. Both are true.

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I Believe… [Hugging Ambiguity]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 6/2/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 6/2/25

I Believe… [Hugging Ambiguity]

...that we are all trapeze artists swinging between “this is incredible” and “what fresh hell is this?” Maturity and wisdom is embracing ambiguity as your co-pilot instead of trying to stuff it in the trunk.

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If the Art Is Important, Now Is the Time to Do It for Free
Don Hall Don Hall 5/28/25 Don Hall Don Hall 5/28/25

If the Art Is Important, Now Is the Time to Do It for Free

When the world is burning, you don’t sell the water. You spray it everywhere and hope some of it catches.

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I Believe… [Inconvenient Kindness]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/26/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/26/25

I Believe… [Inconvenient Kindness]

...that kindness is only virtuous when it’s inconvenient. Anyone can be nice when the cameras are on and the tip jar is full. Try being kind when it costs you something — your time, your pride, your precious moral high ground. That’s character. The rest is theater.I Believe…

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How I Learned About Optimism from the Pantheon of Low Budget Film
Don Hall, I Like to Watch Don Hall 5/21/25 Don Hall, I Like to Watch Don Hall 5/21/25

How I Learned About Optimism from the Pantheon of Low Budget Film

You don’t become optimistic because life is good. You become optimistic so that life can be.

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I Believe… [Freedom is a Dirty Word]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/19/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/19/25

I Believe… [Freedom is a Dirty Word]

...that freedom makes people nervous. It upends structure, pokes at authority, and refuses to follow the goddamn script. It’s the wrench in the gears, the chaos in the order, the idea that you might not need permission to exist exactly as you are.

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The Bloat, the Noise, and the Narcissist: Why We Don’t Need Half the Shit We Think We Do
Don Hall Don Hall 5/14/25 Don Hall Don Hall 5/14/25

The Bloat, the Noise, and the Narcissist: Why We Don’t Need Half the Shit We Think We Do

The world around you is a circus designed to keep you juggling cheeseburgers, TikToks, and desperate thirst traps until you collapse.

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I Believe… [Boundaries]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/12/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/12/25

I Believe… [Boundaries]

...that without a strong ethical boundary dictating your life decisions, the invitation to slippery slopes and relinquishing autonomy is a Hallmark card designed to disappear into the mud.

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I Believe… [Latest Version]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/5/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 5/5/25

I Believe… [Latest Version]

...that reinvention is not about becoming something you’re not—it’s about becoming the latest version of what you are.

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You Are Not the Target. You’re Just the Background Noise
Don Hall Don Hall 5/4/25 Don Hall Don Hall 5/4/25

You Are Not the Target. You’re Just the Background Noise

The world doesn’t need more judgment. It needs more awareness.

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I Believe… [It Becomes About Naps]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/28/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/28/25

I Believe… [It Becomes About Naps]

...that, as I continue down the path of time, it is sleep that seems most important and elusive.

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I Believe… [The Future Doesn’t Love You]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/21/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/21/25

I Believe… [The Future Doesn’t Love You]

...that both hope and fear are just emotional hallucinations projected on a reality that doesn’t care. The future is a rabid dog. It doesn’t love you. It doesn’t hate you. It just bites.

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The Futility of Relitigating the Past: Embracing Forward Momentum
Don Hall Don Hall 4/19/25 Don Hall Don Hall 4/19/25

The Futility of Relitigating the Past: Embracing Forward Momentum

The goal is to build upon past foundations, not to dwell within them.

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I Believe… [Leave the Past Where It Is]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/14/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/14/25

I Believe… [Leave the Past Where It Is]

...that religating the past is a Sisyphean task that distracts from the imperative of progress.

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Gold-Plated Failure: Why Chasing Money Isn’t the Same as Succeeding at Life
Don Hall Don Hall 4/12/25 Don Hall Don Hall 4/12/25

Gold-Plated Failure: Why Chasing Money Isn’t the Same as Succeeding at Life

If you find yourself quoting Gordon Gekko like he’s a life coach, go outside, hug a tree, and punch yourself in the throat.

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I Believe… [Excusing Evil]
Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/7/25 Don Hall, I Believe... Don Hall 4/7/25

I Believe… [Excusing Evil]

...that the trend to create justification back stories for villainous characters is directly connected to our need to rationalize our own shitty behavior.

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The Soul-Sucking Curse of Too Much Empathy
Don Hall Don Hall 4/5/25 Don Hall Don Hall 4/5/25

The Soul-Sucking Curse of Too Much Empathy

You’re not helping anyone—you’re just bleeding empathy in every direction like a sprinkler system built in hell.

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