I had a day. I am going to try to tie these concepts together because it seems to work together. So please stick with me through this... it is an example of how these patterns are found everywhere and we can learn about one seemingly different thing by observing a totally different system... the factors at play, however, are the same.
I quit my job, you can read about it in one of my blogs. The last straw was that my boss grabbed my co-workers ass. Pretty cut and dry. I am done. The thing is, I had a meeting with my previous employer 3 weeks before the incident to tell him that I was ready to go. The money was not there, the responsibility that I had was too much and I was not enjoying myself.
My previous employer was a good enough guy, but was a business man of the classic type. He would find me work and reward me well for a job well done. He, however, only had to find me the work and he got paid. It seemed that he got paid well.
In contract work, I get rewarded for a job done right in good time. The longer I take on a project, the more wage I need to pay, and thus, the less money I make. My previous employer would take a percentage off the top in exchange for providing me with tools, and employees and to handle the administrative tasks. Fair enough. I wanted to build houses, not balance books. This was a good arrangement - for a time.
When I did good on a house, he made his percent. When I did bad on a house, he made his percent. When I worked in the rain, he stayed dry and made his percent. When I froze outside, he stayed warm and made his percent. He made his percent. There would be the odd job that would end up in the red, and he would cover that, and I was grateful. Looking back, it is a small price to pay to keep your bitcoin miner online and willing to hash away. Without me, and the other people that know how to build a house, manage a crew and keep jobs running profitably, he makes no money. He is nothing but a man in an office without skilled people willing to work for him.
When I mentioned to him that I didn't have much keeping me on, he scrambled. He wanted to do whatever he could to keep me on "long term." Go figure, I was his meal ticket.
My issue was that I had a really good framer who deserved top dollar but the jobs I was getting didn't have enough money to support us both. When an apprentice gets to the point where he can build a house by himself and ends up a liability to your job, the only thing to do is to set him up to do jobs for himself. You grow the company and turn situations of liability back into profitable situations. It was a simple solution.
I told my employer that we needed to set up a second tool trailer and I would oversee two builds at a time to make the company function optimally. He liked the idea but had no drive to make it so. He was making his percent. He was happy. I was not making good money and became miserable at my job.
I have since quit, formed a company with my top notch apprentice and we are set up to build two houses at once. It is going to work. We have gone over the numbers, studied our blueprints and see no way that our company is not going to succeed. Life is good.
BUT... the plot thickens.
I called a former co-worker to check in. This man taught me everything I know and is one of the best in the business. He has been working for my previous employer for a LOOONNNNNG time. He has troubles managing money, has dependants, is putting his lady through post secondary and has dealt with bankruptcy. His hands are very tied. My previous employer has bought him a company truck and that is what is keeping him there. He has not made enough money to sustain himself and is also miserable. The boss makes his percentage and keeps his guys running the track, providing just enough to keep them healthy but not enough to buy themselves out of the rut. This is the economic system as a whole reflected in a small framing business.
One man reaps most of the rewards without needing to do too much while the rest toil. The man on top makes it seem like he is doing a great service to all of his workers while in reality the fangs are deep in the neck.
Back to the phone call. We talked, we laughed, we shared a few stories and got up to speed. Nothing has changed in the company. He told me that he could see the end of it... everything is going downhill and he needs to slave through the bitter cold to make ends meet.
I told him how we have a great setup and that we are looking at a fairly certain success. He was happy for me but was obviously not too happy about his situation. I told him that the door was open for him.
He said that he couldn't because he needs his truck and can't afford to leave because of it. I mentioned that he was stuck in a mobius loop, which is essentially an infinite never-ending cycle. He can't afford a truck so he works for an employer who doesn't pay him enough to afford a truck.
Take my advice. If you need a truck and can't afford one, quit your job. Find a job that will pay you so that you can afford a truck. My previous employer has had my friend trapped in this loop. He cannot afford to go and can barely afford to live. Not an ideal situation.
I don't know what came over me, but I told him that I am so confident in his ability and in our company that we will buy his way out of the mobius loop and set him up with us. The idea is quite simple. If we can build a few houses in good time, and put a bit of money in the bank, we should be able to afford another setup of tools to run a third crew. We will front him the setup and he can buy his way into the company when he gets his financial life in order. We will carpool and make it work until he can afford a truck of his own, with NO STRINGS ATTACHED (or fangs).
Without the hands in the cookie jar, there is a lot more money available to the people who are actually doing valuable work. The man who sat in an office, played golf and took the percent was the real liability to the company. He is fired.
My old friend got pumped up and loves the business model that we are working to build. He is still going to have to pay some money into the company, because being in business costs money, but it is going to be his company. This is not about exploitation, it is about freedom from exploitation.
There is a tyranny in the capitalist system. The victims of it that are the most hard done by it will need help out. I am going to provide him with that help, because without the help that he provided me, I would not be in the position that I am in to help him. To help him out is the right thing to do.
So, there is my story about freeing myself from the first tyranny... the tyranny or the capitalist employer. The owner of the means of production who makes money off of the sweat of his workers. I am no longer a worker for him. I am now a worker for myself, but I am not fooled. There are many more tyrants that I have yet to face and free myself of. I am walking my way through it with awareness.
Now, onto part 2 of this piece. How does this relate to Bitcoin?
Under the current system, where there is money, there is power. But not always vice versa. We have power as people even if we have no money. We just need to KNOW that we have power. We need to know how IMPORTANT our knowledge of this power is. This is what living in a real democratic society is. There is no elected leader or outside centralized force here to take care of things for us. We are in control of how things in life and society are going to play out.
If you don't like something, change it. If you see something you think is wrong, let it be known.
In life, there is a constant flux, almost a dance between tyranny and liberation. Liberating forces take power and then power turns tyrannical. The dance continues.
Blockchain technology, decentralized means of governing, transacting and interacting are the way of the future, and present for the brave and blessed. Bitcoin, steem and the rest of these fine technologies are liberating forces. They are threatening to free us from tyrannical governments and the banks that own them. This is a beautiful thing.
Bitcoin gains value and influence. The mainstream adoption is well underway and the liberating force has found itself into a position of power. There are centralized forces that are well entrenched into the marketplace and Bitcoin is a multibillion dollar industry. The dance continues.
The free crypto market holds tons of liberating puzzle pieces. If one falls under the spell of power and tyranny overtakes it, we can freely devalue it and assign value elsewhere. Whatever serves to keep us free. We must keep in mind that the instrument that liberated us was not a sequence of computer code. It was us. Blockchain technology merely provides the insight and the spark to show us the way out of tyranny and into freedom.
If we think it is Bitcoin that will set off a revolution, we will never be free. We will fall into the next tyrant. It is not over for Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency because we are here and we are aware of our responsibility as a human being alive in this great time of liberation. We drive this ship collectively to freedom. We might need to drive this ship with a small group of people away from the collective to freedom. We need this awareness to get us free and keep us free.
What does this mean? It means that we need to know WHO we are and WHY we are in this space. What is our role?
I see far too many investors and far too few revolutionaries. If we are going to get to the other side of this cryptocurrency revolution with a shred of humanity, we need to be more than millionaires... we need to be FREE.
We drive this whole space forward. I for one have fallen into the trap of investing. It is a trap. We are sitting at the cusp of a great transition of power. The forces in power want to stay in power. The tyrants are running the turntables at the dance, and the tune is "get rich". I am a Hiphoppa and I see through get rich. I relate with those freedom fighters who would rather get free. Crypto can liberate us but we need to be aware. We need to be aware of more than just the charts and the potential gains. We need to know that the potential gains are our freedom... and the potential losses are the same. The dance continues.
What are we doing for our blockchain? What are we doing for our block? What are we providing to our people? There is value in blockchain and part of that is showing us the value that we have been robbed of through the current tyrannies. Our labour is worth more than we are paid for it. Our voice is worth more than what we are being told it is worth (and steem is showing that to us).
Let's not forget that blockchain is a revolution, not a get rich quick scheme. There are central forces at work trying to stay in power. There are other forces trying to steal that power. There are many of us that want to free ourselves from all power and reclaim our own.
If we are not careful, we could wake up and our favourite crypto is the world currency and 99% of it will be owned by 1 % of the population. The faces of that 1% could be different, but the story will be much the same. The dance is not over.
What can you do? Know where you stand. Investing is fine, but don't just invest your money. Invest your time in things that will move us forward, that will move you forward and that will bring us to a better place.
I await your comments, resteems and upvotes, but mostly your comments. Thank you!
Such a nice feeling to be free from the tyranny of capitalists...but that is just the beginning. Know thy enemy.
Indeed. Thanks for reading.
It doesn't matter what your opinion is about bitcoin. It will remain the backbone of crypto for a while.
I am not slandering bitcoin, I am fighting for it... and you are correct, my opinion is just that. I am more concerned with how people are behaving in crypto, sometimes just blindly believing in things without doing any homework. Bitcoin should be relevant for years to come... If we are not careful it could become another currency that we only see a trickle of due to centralization and backroom deals shrouded in secrecy. For me, I believe that crypto is meant to liberate us from that situation (that is currently very evident with fiat).
Yeah, I wasn't talking about you. I was saying that in general.
Great post. Informative article. Bitcoin is the beginning of cryptocurrency. Thanks for sharing such an informative article.
It is the beginning. I am watching to see with open eyes where things go from here.
Great article brother, bitcoin will always be recognized as the pioneer cryptocurrency. I will always have my respect. Upvoted.
Bitcoin will always be the first, nothing can take that away. Decentralized currencies are never guaranteed to stay the same, and we need to be aware of what is happening if it is to stay a liberating force.
article super
thanks!
Good luck every1🤑💰
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