I have just paid my rent with Steem Dollars! Well I had to convert them twice; once to Bitcoin and then once more to Euros. In fact, technically, it was 3 times, as once the Euros were in my account; my bank converted them to GBP (Great British Pounds).
Clearly, I am very happy and very grateful to Steemit; not just because the money I've earned on Steemit has kept a roof over my head. I am very much appreciative of the fact that I am part of a social experiment, which has given me one hell of a ride so far.
Escaping The Grind
When 
Clearly the voices in my head represent the left and right side of my brain; the left, is the sensible, pragmatic, logical Preacher and the right, the more excitable, creative, Puppy.
In these last 6 weeks, I've been more aware of their presence than in anytime in recent memory.
Week 1 - The Preacher Has Spoken!
May 13: Last day at job, assess the situation; I have roughly $4000 in commission, some money over from last month's paycheck and the last one to come. All in all after bills and paying for half the Christmas holiday. We have enough for the family to live as normal, pay the bills till the end of June, before it starts to get uncomfortable, bordering on critical.
The Preacher tells me to concentrate on getting the new website up and to carry on with the new project I have been setting up outside of work. He tells me that I am aiming to make another $3000 by the end of June, or get another job.
The Puppy waits, silently, and patiently in the background.
Week 2 - The Rise Of The Puppy
"Is that real money?"
Yep.
"Real, real, money?"
"Yep."
"Yeah, but, real, real, real money; like, real world, buy a pint of milk with it money?"
"Yep."
"It can't be, that's just, internet fantasy dollars right; not American dollars?"
"They're worth the same; start an account, read the whitepaper, check it out..."
####...Start a Steemit account, read the whitepaper...
Interesting!
OK, let's try this out, post a meme, try and make it funny, let's see
Nothing...
Hmm..
OK, Steemit Forward The Revolution
$1300! WOW!
The Puppy is now in full control, he is wagging his tail excitedly and saying that I should throw everything into this, as this is clearly going to be amazing!
The Preacher isn't so sure, he is claiming that whilst it looks good, you should concentrate on the very real funds that you can generate now.
"They're paying out on July 4th, concentrate on generating funds now!..."
The Preacher gets me to do some due dillegence on Steemit
Research Ned
Not much on Ned on the old Google...watch crypto-show...listen to podcast...read whitepaper again...post some more.
Research Dan
More to read....Bitshares....Reddit thread....read whitepaper again...hmm, think I understand a bit less this time...the puppy tells me to just post some more articles and worry about the technicalities later.
Okey dokey.
Week 3 - The Quckening
The Preacher seems to think I'm spending too much time on Steemit, he seems to be doing an OK job keeping me focused on non-Steem related issues, but I can tell he feels he's fighting a losing battle.
The Puppy on the other hand, is loving Steemit, he has me convinced that the July 4th payout will allow me to pay rent, bills and have money left over to fund other stuff and by then these other freelance gigs will have come in by then. Oh and I'll probably become a millionaire from Steemit!
Woohoo!
The Puppy sounds very relaxed and confident as he's telling me all these wonderful things, he always sounds relaxed and confident; which is probably why I listen to him so much. The Preacher on the other hand, sounded worried and concerned, which is almost definitely why I ignored him.
The discovery of dilution, the phenomena of losing money on a post, because of the votes being more spread out, only serves to make me more determined. I read; Daniel Larimer - Co-Founder of BitShares & Steemit and I'm even more convinced that Steemit is the worth all this time I'm putting in.
Preacher: Be Careful
Yeah....yeah...yeah...
Puppy: Keep posting
Okey dokey...
Week 4 - Got Any Steem Buddy?
I have given up pretending that I'm even trying to get on with non-Steem related issues, I have half-hearted attempts to engage in other things, but everything always seems to come back to Steem.
It is the first thing I think of every morning and the last thing at night. It is the first website I login to. If I am not on the phone to
"Hello everyone; my name is CryptoGee and I'm addicted to Steem"
-- Cryptogee
Somehow, I manage to get a ghostwriting gig for a forensic psychotherapist, it's a sweet gig, it won't pay all the bills. But the Puppy insists that spending all my time on Steemit is beginning to pay dividends. I can feel the Preacher in the background, putting his head in his hands as The Puppy says this.
I also manage to apply for a comedy producer role at a TV company, a friend tips me off to a job going and encourages me to apply. Even though I don't want to work in a corporate environment, working in a creative one as part of a team, appeals to me, so I apply.
The Preacher approves, but is still worried, it doesn't matter, the Puppy is in full control now, he is the only one I'm listening to really.
Week 6 - A New Dawn
Funds are critically low and rent and bills are coming up, the Preacher is tut-tutting away in my head, telling me that I've been a fool for putting all my efforts into Steemit.
"What if they don't pay out?"
"What if they do and there's no demand for Steem? Then you'll just have a useless cryptocurrency; then where will you be?"
At points like these, I would encourage the Puppy to speak up and quell the doubts of the Preacher; everything was going to be fine...
SID (Steem Independence Day)
Get the last few articles out...squeeze every last drop...
POW! SID!!!!
It takes me 2 days of just staring at the payout, it's happened, it's really happened; the Puppy is sitting smugly in the corner of my brain, with an, I-told-you-so-look, on his face. The Preacher, simply stands back and gives a slow hand clap.
But now my priorities are different; sure I've still got to pay those bills, but now, it's more than just a means to an end. I'm not going to get another payout like this till I've got half a million dollars in there, I need $104,000 to get a payout of a grand a week. But that's the beauty, I'm invested in this now; the Puppy and the Preacher are in perfect harmony.
I am not trying to madly fight dilution anymore, the payouts happen every 24 hours, which means that every day, my investment in this wonderful social experiment, is growing.
Great things are happening, I will write more, I will read, vote and comment more; I'm starting what I'm sure will be an excellent collaboration with 
This is a new dawn, the news is spreading, Steemit paid out, some people have cashed out and used that money towards things in their lives.
"Hey how did that Steem thing you were talking about go?"
"Great, I got the payout as they promised".
"Is it real money though?"
"I paid my rent with it; is that real enough for you?"
I am an early adopter, and for someone who has always felt like he is late to the party, it feels wonderful. I believe in Steemit, hopefully Dan and Ned and the rest of the founders will become billionaires. Because that will mean I become a Steemit Millionaire, because I'm in this for the long haul.
The Preacher now wants me to post, but in moderation and the Puppy, wants me to tell the world about Steemit. He wants me to put everything into it, my heart, my soul, my life. One thing is for sure, is we know that this crazy ride is just beginning.
So join me, the Puppy and the Preacher, as we raise a glass to all my fellow Steemers!
Long Live Steemit - CHEERS!!
Were you part of the payout? Have you bought anything with your rewards? Let me know in the comments below!!