What a time in human history! Ever think about that at all? Last night, before calling it a day, I captured this image, from CoinMarketCap, showing the first time we have reached a $2 trillion market cap, in this remarkable new digital asset class:

^{Source: Total Market Capitalization page on CoinMarketCap.com}

I was inspired by this and went to bed thinking I might set aside the time to write another post, in the morning. I always have largely enjoyed writing them and, as much as anything else, they represent a "bookmark" in my personal history. To which I or any other interested party can refer back to in the future ...

^{Source: The post of one of our Hive blockchain witnesses, Marky}

A combination of this and reading the "How Did You Get Here and Why are you still here? post of Hive account@themarkymark this morning, put me "over the line." I decided to set aside what I am working on, to write a post about my thoughts on this historic "first day of the rest of your life!"

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Before writing a bit on his #whyamihere initiative, I have to first capture some thoughts about what makes all of this possible. A blockchain supported by / running on independent nodes all over the world! Where did the come from?

Let's take a closer look ... 🧐

From the Beginning to a $2 Trillion Market Cap!

The so-called "Genesis Block" of the Bitcoin blockchain was created on 3 January 2009 @ 1:15 p.m. EST.

^{Source: The "A Deep Dive Into Satoshi's 11-Year Old Bitcoin Genesis Block" article on Bitcoin.com}

Whoever (a person?) or whatever (a team? / an organization?) the legendary Satoshi Nakamoto was (is?), can we imagine what they (it?) might be thinking today? How many of us have dreams / aspirations of what might be and ever see them come close to ultimately "coming to life" at all?

And, of those who persevere through the inevitable challenges of doing this, how many achieve an outcome like this?

We all know the answer ...

Endless posts, articles, books have been written about it. Only a short time ago, this brilliant inspiration reached a total market cap of $1 trillion! 😲🚀

^{Source: Total Market Capitalization page on CoinMarketCap.com}

Very few ever experience anything remotely close to this level of success. But ... Wait a minute! Isn't the transformational power of this inspiration just getting started?

More opportunities lay ahead, in the view of many. A lot is being written about the idea "we" are actually just getting started! Exciting times ahead!!

^{Source: Hive account@roleerob's Excel Spreadsheet Calc ...}

4,386 days to achieve the first $1 trillion. And only 93 days to achieve the second $ trillion. Wow ... Again, I am sure many posts, articles, books have been written about it already, with an endless number to follow ...

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What has this remarkable accomplishment meant to me and my beloved lifemate? Here are some brief highlights, since I made my first investment in August 2017:

Barely "out of the gate," a global "shudder" hit the cryptocurrency markets on learning China had "declared war" on them. Resulting in a swift 50% loss, in response ...

Good grief! 😲 What had I gotten us into? 🤔😒

"Shaking it off," I continued to invest steadily through the end of 2017 via my history of taking a DCA approach ... A highlight amongst others (given what is happening now ...) being the purchase of hundreds of BNB. Which is now the #3 token on CMC ...

We experienced the "thrill of victory" and the "agony of defeat," in a remarkably short time frame, at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. Up 6 figures briefly, it was very short-lived ...

We learned, the hard way, what it takes to be "successful" investing in this new digital asset class. While tempted many times to do otherwise, we nonetheless never one time sold any of our cryptos. In fact, we "bought the dips" more than once, although there were opportunities all along that we missed. Why? With what we had gone through, up to that point, we hesitated ...🤷‍♂️

Through the long, hard, cold "crypto winter," from 2017 to 2020, we got down to where we had "lost" 85% of the capital we had invested. "Paper losses" they are often referred to, since you didn't really "lose" anything, until you actually sell it. We never did ...

The rush of so-called "institutional" or "smart" (take your pick) money into the markets in late 2020 finally lifted us up out of the "sea of red ink." We are amazed at how much the markets have changed over the last 4 months.

We are grateful to have experienced what we have so far. We are Christian people and do not view the funds we now have as our own. Instead, we view ourselves as stewards of what He has allowed us to obtain. Lots and lots of thoughts about what all of this represents, but I'll save that for another day / post.

To sum up how we view our experience:

We are very glad to be
experiencing this in our "golden years"
vs.
as a "20 something" young adult.

We are much better
prepared to "handle it!"

If you don't have any idea why I would write this, dear reader, well ... Just give it a few years ... 😉🙂

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So ... Moving right along ...

How did this "proud baby" grow up to become what it is today? You are encouraged, dear reader, to read the well-written article linked below one of its nice illustrations.

^{Source: The "A Deep Dive Into Satoshi's 11-Year Old Bitcoin Genesis Block" article on Bitcoin.com}

Where does this "baby" go now that it is all grown up, on its "journey" from here through this world? Having "spawned" another 9,192 (as this is written and counting ...) blockchains? Like our Hive blockchain, the foundation upon which you are now reading this post?

We are living in a remarkable time in human history. And many of you reading this will live to find out.

Who are you? And what do you want?

Okay, that might not be exactly the way Marky phrased it, in his #whyamihere initiative, but it's sort of an "inside joke" to those who know me ... 😉

It all began long, long ago, in a land far, far away ...

^{Source: The "Genesis Block" of Hive account@roleerob's Steem Hive blockchain "journey"}

Here is where it all began. And why, dear reader, you and I ever "met." Hmmm. 22.493 ~~STEEM~~ HIVE ... As all can see, I started out from humble beginnings. If one chooses to go into the blockchain and look, my first transactions were DCA steps into this new "virtual world" ...

As stated in my comment on Marky's post:

"As an investor, a paid subscription to a service that recommended STEEM is what brought me here"

and

"Not until May 2018, as a decision based on more due diligence in understanding the "user case" for the investments I had made into this new digital asset class, did I write my first post. Dutifully, my introductory post ..."

As I have written many times since, I had sworn to family and friends I would never have an online presence. What you are reading today is from the one account I now have online. Having learned to never say never, I will still say it is very unlikely I will have another one ...

^{Source: Post on Hive account@roleerob's retirement party on17 Jan 2019}

Happily retired now, I still "work" most every day, just not to any else's deadlines or expectations. So ... I am free to continue to work on creating financial independence for my beloved lifemate and I for our future together.

The day is coming (and its ... a little closer ... than it used to be ... 😉), when no matter how well-intentioned I might still be, it is unlikely I will be able to do much of any real value. 🤷‍♂️

An inescapable part of life ...

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Until then, although I still have my reservations about what this new "virtual world" truly represents, it is the fascination I have with the experience of interacting with others all over the world that keeps me here.

That is my simple answer to Mark's "Why are you still here?" question. Although a part-timer, I do not currently see that changing ...

Closing

An essential part (in our view) of successful investing is the belief that you are supporting something of genuine value. Based on trust, integrity and hard work (amazing how many people endlessly "work" to skip over that last one ...) - the foundations of good business.

After that? You just have to be patient. And let time work for you, in spite of all of the temptations you will almost certainly encounter, along the way, to doubt your original premise for making an investment.

Putting these "fundamentals" together, we are thankful to have found the LeoFinance community in July 2020. With their latest "geyser" LEO payout and staking most of them, we are now on the bottom of page 1 of its "Rich List!" What does the future hold? Along with many of you, we are looking forward to finding out! 🦁🚀

With that and my latest "POL" post now "in the books," I will go on with my day.

I’d love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide.

Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build up our Hive Communities and add increasing value to our Hive blockchain! 👍 😊

Respectfully,
Blogger Hive account@roleerob
Hive "Dolphin" 🐬, LeoFinance "Whale" 🐋, & Man Cave "Dragon" 🐉

🐝 🍯 🐝

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P.S. I am not a financial adviser. Please consider this post as financial information and / or opinion only. Please perform your own due diligence, in whatever manner you seems best to you, if you have found it to be beneficial.

________________________

🌲 No trees were harmed in the publishing of this post! 🌲

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