Sergio Ruiz (known as "Serudda")

For a long time, I lived trapped in what I now call the “golden handcuffs.” During my time at Eden, I was earning $11,000 a month, a privileged figure for anyone in Colombia, but it was costing me my life. I felt obsolete. The Sergio who was once athletic, impatient to create, and full of curiosity had turned into someone scraping the bottom of a job that no longer inspired him, driven solely by an intrinsic fear of bankruptcy. The breaking point came in an office, trying to negotiate a raise that, deep down, I knew I didn’t deserve—because the company had turned me gray. Having to lower my head in front of a boss who asked me to “put your ass in” for six more months to prove my worth was the spark. At 40 years old, I realized I couldn’t spend what little energy I have left building someone else’s dream. I decided my time was worth more than those green bills. Today, I have “bought back my time.” I’ve reduced my income to reclaim my freedom. My day starts at 5:30 a.m., not to meet a schedule, but to strengthen my core: I read, write, take notes, and rebuild my intellectual foundations. I’ve gone from being a developer who felt obsolete to a constant learner who understands that, in a world saturated with artificial intelligence, human authenticity is the scarcest and most valuable asset. My mission now is to help others give themselves that space to grow—to stop selling their time for crumbs of security and to build a voice of their own that transcends technique and touches something real.