At this point, there is nothing that will stop us from making the dream to go to SteemFest a reality. I have switched to 50/50 SP/SBD posts for the last 2 months in my effort to save money for the trip to Lisbon. 
Luckily, we have anticipated our expenses and are just under a thousand dollars away from having the minimum for the trip. We have found a much cheaper place to stay in Lisbon that is close enough to the hotel to walk there in the morning and this is nothing compared to what we are willing to do to make this happen!
Why Not Just Power Down?
It's true that I could power down to reach the amount I need, but I am avoiding that if at all possible. Only powering up 50% goes against my goals here as it is. My long term plan is building my influence/SP on this platform into the bright future that exists for this community. This thing is just getting started and I feel incredibly thankful to be a part of it.
Steemit Posting Strategy
Quality - Orignial Content on Steem/Crypto/Life/Travel
Consistency - Post regularly. This can be the most difficult for me, because I am focused primarily on quality, but I am reaffirming now that I will regularly and consistently provide value with every post and project that I undertake.
Projects
Meetups
We've had two Austin Steemit Meetups now and there are several good things already coming out of the monthly meetup. Besides educating new Steemians, we are beginning to see the power of Steemians coming together! At the last meetup, we sparked the idea that turned into the 
@Harveryrelieffund - 1st donation
The next post will have the details for the time, place, and content of the next meetup, And the photos for everyone to see exactly where their Steem is going to help out the relief efforts as 
@SteemFestDreams
This year we helped finance 
Steem Across America
My long term goals of being able to run my businesses from my laptop and travel are becoming a reality in part thanks to Steemit. In the next few months, I will announce the details of a huge roadtrip that
Steemit has helped make our dreams come true and it only makes sense to spread the word and document our journey through 
I am grateful to continue working on these projects and more and want to say thank you to all my followers and upvoters for all the support along the way!
See you in Lisbon!
We are almost there, but could use your upvote to help get us there.
If we earn enough(we will), we promise to:
- Cover the event extensively and take plenty of photos
- Get an interview with at least one speaker!
and - Have the time of our lives and continue to promote Steemit all the way!
I have gotten to know several awesome Steemians on SteemSpeak/Discord/Steemit.Chat over the last year that I am really looking forward to talking to in person. You know who you are!
Have you seen the latest SteemFest update?
