What I learned about Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce: My First Two Weeks as a ChainCoin Hodler Inside the Crypto Community

Part 1 - Introduction to a Brave New World

I want to preface this article by stating outright that this is not an endorsement for ChainCoin or any other cryptocurrencies but rather my personal experiences with this new age movement as a whole. The point of this post is merely to share my experiences to those on the outside looking in. This isn't about how you should invest your money or how you should live, but an opinion piece with simple observations about the human experience. I wanted this article to be short and sweet, but explaining the human experience is anything but that. If you're looking to get lost and find your way, come along this journey with me.

Not unlike most people I have a day job, albeit it isn't an exact 9-5 as I would prefer, but it is a job I go to nonetheless. Again, not unlike most people I work in a field that I did not spend half a fortune to study, but right now thats where my life is. I have a graduate degree in psychology and work in tech sales which pays the bills and to a certain degree I might even enjoy it, but we all know there must be something more. As any person still in their 20's I have been looking for a way to make a living.

After spending several months, particularly on YouTube, learning how the monetary system works and I mean how it truly works, which is a whole different thing entirely, I came across passive incomes and assets. Simply put, these things can make you money without your time involved so you can enjoy your life. If you go to work, you trade your time for money. Pretty easy concept to understand. What you really want is something that can make you money while you sleep, just like Warren Buffet said. Everybody knows this, but how do you get or create one of these money trees? Some people have businesses, dividend paying stocks, make YouTube videos or even blog. If you're reading this now, I'm guessing you're into blogs in some form and I haven't bored you away yet. This is actually my first post on Steemit. I felt so strongly about whats happening now that I decided to come out of the safe shadows of the internet and like everyone else...post my opinion.

So what does this have to do with Hodling and cryptocurrencies? Like I mentioned earlier, this is about the human experience behind the curtain. Eventually, I rediscovered bitcoin as a possible method of making money as an investment. Even after studying this for months there are still some of the finer details of how this all works that are lost on me, but to explain it in short, it works like any other currency like the US dollar thats traded for value. Instead of being backed by an arbitrary government its backed by its technology, which I can't fully explain. All I know is people are making some serious money by getting involved in this.

Before you get too skeptical or weirded out by the idea of digital money, I want you to think about this. How do you think people felt when civilization as a whole went from bartering and trading goods and services to coins made of metal, and now pieces of paper. Think about it...money is just rock and paper. It is people that give it value. People are now giving value to digital software, so now could be the turning point of the change we as humans will see in our civilization. It didn't take a masters degree in psychology to learn this next fact. People don't like change. We ask for it, but we really don't want it because were afraid. Afraid of what you ask? The unexpected, but eventually we settle into a change until were comfortable and then things change again. Without digressing too far, think about this..10 years ago you found out that you needed an iPhone. You probably didn't buy your first smartphone 10 years ago though because who needs one, right? Right.

So thats where we are with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and my newest investment. These are all brand new ways to send people money. One of the reasons this digital money is so popular is because banks don't control it. It is something made by the people for the people. But lets be honest here. When I got into this brave new world I wasn't thinking too heavily about that. I wanted a way to enjoy my life without feeling I have to work a menial job to do so. Maybe I could get rich like with stocks and investing.

I started learning as much as a I could about the technology called the blockchain, which all this is based on as well as all of the various "coins" in existence and there are a TON of them. There's literally a coin for everything. Then I joined some investment communities that learned about these coins and how to invest and what to look out for. I made a couple investments and I got burnt on a couple, yet I'm still holding onto my bag of coins. Shoutout to Digibyte!

Having lost value but still interested in making money, I kept pushing along learning as much as I could, trying to find good investment opportunities. I even paid a British chap $10 for his expertise in the form of a Udemy course. Some people reading this know of the super fellow I am describing. I enjoyed watching his videos as he seemed knowledgable and honest. Worst thing I could say is that he did provide me entertainment with his videos. He's an excited fellow, while a bit loud, his passion for it is clear and I respect that. He had built a community that originated with him giving advice about what coins to buy that had evolved into its own organism with people helping others and of course there are always some that need their hands held the whole way. I didn't make too many more trades after getting initiated as a newcomer with my first pump and dump although I did eventually buy some coins in Steemit. I was confused about my next move and was looking for something more out there in this space. Something I could really sink my teeth into.

That group eventually led me to Chain Coin and everything changed...