Around late 2016, I first stumbled on STEEM blockchain.
Little was I aware then, this virtual place will completely redesign my life as I knew it.
In my first month of meeting Steemit, I barely earned a single upvote...
I thought "this place is not for me", some people are earning so much and I'm failing to make a penny.
It was a looser mentality, of a complete noob, but some interesting events turned this story for me and changed my life path completely.
2 months later I realized this guy from my hood 
Runicar taught me how to effectively use bid-bots in my advantage. All of a sudden I figured a way to maximize my earnings and visibility at the same time.
Considering I didn't have a big sum of money, precisely broke, I invested all I had ($50) in SBD and used it on bid bots for that introduction post.
Instantly I felt like I was thriving all of a sudden! Life was good!😎 I earned my first virtual dollars simply by properly timing auction on a bid-bot, which as well provided visibility to my introduction post. That sh*t felt awesome!
Many wild commenters appeared on my post, people from all over the world. Suddenly I thought, damn, this place actually feels good! My journey kickstarted, at least 100 people followed me, and that meant a fucking lot! I basically invested a chump change of my money, and STEEM already gave something back, I thought. Lol
This allowed me to gain my first followers, as well as some upvotes from investors who had better positioning on the platform.
"So I can earn something for random thoughts coming out of my head" I thought to myself. Nice feeling though. :D
Unlike anything I've experienced before, this kind of tasted like some extent of freedom. I guess.
And that's why I said STEEM completely redesigned my life. After coming here, experiencing just for a moment what freedom feels like - I instantly knew what I wanted to do with my life and what I didn't want to do.
Working for some fat guy who is egotripping and convinced he the smartest in the room... when he is really not. That was really not my cup of tea. Especially when I became a crypto chad. 😎
My life started changing, all of a sudden. The mindset performed a switch. For the first time ever, the thought of smart investments crossed my mind. A whole new world opened in front of my very eyes.
A world which fascinates me to this day. Still, I am a crypto chad. Much more experienced than I ever was, and you just keep levelling up. Its all about how hard you want it, if you really want it - eventually you'll get it.
You see, I was never taught what to do with my money. It is how it is, but I was programmed since the very beginning, not to think in a big way but rather chase degrees and interests that didn't quite interest me. So it was kind of a rabbit hole I needed to get out of, and it took me quite a bit.
I have a strong feeling we must teach our kids everything investing and finances related. Those are invaluable life tips and ones that will greatly impact the quality of their lifestyles. Obviously money is not everything, but its too important in the matrix not to pay attention to it. Soon, the times will come, when you'll be forced to do all kinds of BS and you won't be able to say no - if you won't have the money.
For example, everyone with free minds should recognize the idiocy behind Co-Vid passports and what they really are about. Control. The story goes like this, you don't get vaccinated - you can't fly. Wanna fly on your own? Buy a private jet. This is a clear example of the power of money.
You know, some people do it for the things... I'm not saying things are bad, things are good. Owning nice things feels amazing... at least for a period of time. But what I'm trying to say is, financial literacy allows you much more than obtaining things. It actually allows you to start living your life in a way, that if you play your cards right - you should be able to build an empire. And I'm not speaking about building an empire to satisfy the ego, or anything like that.
Build an empire because of the future generations and everyone around you. Build that empire because of everything that was taken from you, and it should have been yours by default. Take everything back.
Through the broken monetary system, so much was stolen from our closest ones. They kind of put them in a jail. "You will stay here, do your crappy job - live that ordinary life, don't forget to pay the taxes."
But that's not how life should really work. We are much more than that, you see. By definition, we are miles closer to freedom than to non-freedom. Freedom is our very essence, and just like that - we love to be free and it feels good.
By controlling the monetary system and not providing the right information, the masses have been put in boxes. Boxes that sadly, seem like too much of a burden for most. That's why they never go on to chase their dreams, build an empire... simply cause they've been programmed to do something which they are not.
We are much more entrepreneurs by our nature, than beings who should do repetitive work. We not built like that. We are creative powerhouses, and we should utilize our creativity. Preferably in a way that rewards us monetary.
All of this, and much more, is what STEEM taught me. Being early adopter of these currencies was definitely not an easy ride, but it gave so much priceless life experience that will inevitably lead to much greater things. That's why I'm super grateful to STEEM and even though I'm a Hiver (bee) now, I needed to use words STEEM this many times cause HIVE didn't exist back then. We actually created it out of revolt, in tune with all the values I mentioned in this post. We just wanted to be free. :)
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