Five years. One thousand, eight hundred, and twenty-five days, give or take. Although it’s hardly long enough to consider myself a crypto OG, sometimes I feel like I’ve been in this space for an eternity. In those five years I’ve lived through the euphoria of a few massive gains, the despair of significant losses, hacks, lost wallets, made new friends, and lost some old ones. I certainly have the gray hairs/wrinkles and the occasional nervous twitch to prove it.
Seriously, cryptocurrency has transformed my life in a number of ways. It’s afforded me freedom, allowed me to achieve many of my dreams, it’s also allowed me to see through some of the smoke and mirrors of our extremely dysfunctional and unfair society. That last one is a true blessing and, sometimes, a curse. I now realize how severely the deck is stacked against most people who follow the traditional track to success. It’s hard to watch hordes of people in lock step walking towards a cliff but not being able to divert them from their course.
We’ve seen a pretty massive correction in the last twenty-four hours but I think this bull run is far from over. I’ve seen so many “normies” jumping on this crazy train in the past few months. Recently, I’ve been contemplating the ups and downs of my own crypto journey and thinking about what bits of valuable advice I wished someone would have told me back in 2016.
If I had access to a time machine these the things I would want to tell myself in 2016:
Crypto Is A Life-Raft (with a single seat)
When you first start to succeed in cryptocurrency, you’ll want everyone you know to experience the same success. Your first instinct will be to “save” others from their lives of toil and drudgery. Resist this urge.
The hard truth is, you can introduce people to crypto but you just can’t save anyone (but yourself). If you try it will be nothing but a fast track to burn-out and misery. Most people, despite what they are willing to admit, might not be happy with their lives but they feel content. Most people live their lives how they are because, in their minds, they don't have to face their fears and, at least in their own minds, they aren’t risking anything.
Paradigm shifts and unpredictable changes that accompany them terrify most people. People, in general, won’t want to learn and will want you to do all the work for them. In turn, you will be their hero when your advice pays off handsomely for them but you’ll just as quickly become the villain when it doesn’t (this happens more often than not). The sooner you learn this, the happier you’ll be. You can still help but it’s best to do so anonymously.
Surviving In The World of Crypto Investing Is Ninety-Five Percentage Psychology (and you are almost always your worst enemy)
Find things that ground you. Always remember, success doesn’t necessarily equal intelligence or superiority. Most often success just means you are luckier than the average person or were in the right place at the right time. Stay humble. Fight every urge to believe yourself to be some kind of an expert with a crystal ball.
Have Interests and Friends Outside Of Crypto
The world of crypto can easily consume you and cannibalize your happiness and your dreams. Take stock in the people and things that brought you joy before you found cryptocurrency and continue those friendships and activities. Don’t allow yourself to get caught in an echo-chamber. Balance is important. Too much of anything is unhealthy.
Experiences > Material Things (every time)
As your portfolio grows, choose experiences over material things, you won’t regret it. The joy of material things fade with time but the joy brought about by experiences will grow exponentially as the years go by.
When you are eighty years old and sitting in that recliner, memories of an overseas trip, an amazing dinner, or breathtaking hike will be better than any material thing you could ever buy.
It’s Even More Difficult To Keep Wealth Than It Is To Make It
Crypto is mercurial. Bull cycles never last forever, remember that. Set aside more than you think you’ll need for tough times. Decide what your Freedom Number is. By Freedom Number, I mean how much money you will need to live the rest of your life without having to work for someone else after all your debt is paid off. Be realistic.
“Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and overindulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth, remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success.” - Rick Pitino
Once your number is achieved and debt is paid off, guard that nestegg as though your life depended on it, because it very much will. Learn all the ways in which you can put that nest egg to work for you. Stake coins for passive income, seek out stable and safe traditional investments. Use your imagination. Diversify.
Don’t Ever Try To Time The Market
Don’t let greed get the best of you. Don’t let gains mesmerize you into thinking they’ll never end. The markets are cyclical. Dollar cost average out of the market (sell) during bull runs, selling small portions at regular intervals all the way up.The exact opposite is true during bear markets, cost-average into the market (buy) in small portions as prices are dropping. This is far less anxiety inducing and, in the end, most investors see better returns this way.
There Are Countless Ways To Lose Your Coins
Mt. Gox. Bitgrail. Cryptopia. Need I say more?
Don’t needlessly expose yourself to more risk than you need to. Don’t keep any crypto on exchanges unless you plan on immediately selling them.
Make sure you own your keys. Also, save your seed phrases and passwords somewhere extremely safe. Practice logging into cold storage wallets and exchanges at least once every couple of weeks to make sure everything is fresh in your memory. If you use 2FA on your mobile phone, make sure you understand how to transfer it when you get a new device.
Sshh!
When success comes, fight the urge to broadcast or brag about your success. This will attract unwanted attention from nefarious elements and it will also make those people closest to you resentful.
Don't just learn, experience. Don't just read, absorb. Don't just change, transform. Don't just relate, advocate. Don't just promise, prove. Don't just criticize, encourage. Don't just think, ponder. Don't just take, give. Don't just see, feel. Don’t just dream, do. Don't just hear, listen. Don't just talk, act. Don't just tell, show. Don't just exist, live.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Crypto's True Gift
What’s even more scarce than Bitcoin? Your time. When you no longer have to trade your time for money you will quickly realize that time, and the newfound freedom it affords, are the most valuable commodities there are. Without a doubt, this is cryptocurrency’s greatest gift to us all.
Freedom can be very disorienting at first. Why? Because we’ve been conditioned to believe what we do for a living defines who we are. Survival monopolizes so much of our time most of us don’t really have the chance to realize who we really are. Once you become accustomed to freedom, you realize it affords you the greatest luxury, the opportunity to explore your inner and outer world. You can discover who it is you really are. You can live your life your own way.
You can only watch so much television. Use your time wisely. Travel, learn new skills, new languages. Be grateful. Make a list of all the things you’ve ever wanted to do and check them off, one by one. Eventually all of this exploration will lead you to find your greater purpose. Each of us has our own unique way we can give back to humanity, this is the best legacy anyone can leave.
Enjoy your week, your lives, and, most importantly, your freedom.
(Gif sourced from Giphy.com)
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
The opinions expressed in the Blog are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations.
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Let’s Keep In Touch
I sure wish I had known you when I came in Jen 2017, although I took out and invested a little less than half of what I have. That much every person should do, and you can still grow your account.
I bit the coin, and, yes, I cash out some of it. But, am I ready to lose it all? Yes! I say that with confidence. Do I want to? No. But, it was free money and this is fun! :))
Seriously, this is such a great post! I sure wish this site (steem anyway) had come with directions. :) And the gaeway to crypto is soooo right!!!!
Thank you @dswigle! Without communities circles were so tight back then. I don't think we crossed paths until 2019 or so. I really struggled at first with powering down and trading with my Steem at first but I'm so glad I did. It was really a once (or hopefully twice) in a lifetime opportunity for many of us.
That's a great article you wrote there! Many of the advice I had to learn the hard way. One thing I did from day one, tell my friends, colleagues (some of them), and family (very few of them, only my direct family) that I play around in crypto, but never talk about it, only when they asked. Mostly they don't ask unless BTC is hitting the mainstream news again. I usually don't give advice, I let anybody in my life make their own decisions, but ask a single question: Are you prepared to lose everything? They don't have to answer :) Some stepped in the last few months, some didn't :)
Need to start learning the dollar averaging in the bull phase. Maybe also in the Bear phases :) Question is, when do the Bears on steroids come and play :)
Thank you @edje! You were very, very wise to not volunteer crypto advice. I became a bit of an evangelist in that first year. Are you prepared to lose everything is a super spot on question.
I often wondered why Hive doesn't promote itself as a gateway to crypto, I mean if you use some of your blog earnings to invest in other coins it can absolutely change your life and none of the money comes out of your own pocket. It seems like an effective way to market this platform to me, especially during bull markets.
If I had to guess I'd say that we have about another 8-10 months to make hay while the sun shines before the bears come back. I think it could get pretty epic as we get deeper into 2021.
That is some very sage advice. I am going to share this post so that hopefully it reaches more people. I started just at the tail end of 2017, so this is all very new to me. I am hoping I can draw on the wisdom of those that went before to hopefully make my life a little better.
Thanks for sharing it! Wow, you have some years under your belt too. The last bull cycle was beginning to peak around then.
Yeah, I was around to see Steem hit that $8 mark, but then my account was so small and my reach so insignificant that it didn't really matter. I wasn't in a position to be able to fully take advantage and I didn't have the capital or the moral grayness to utilize the bid bots.
The eighteen or so months building up to that $8 is when people were able to grow their accounts and cash out enough to reinvest in other things before that last market peak. It was a crazy time, I'm not sure we'll ever see that kind of opportunity again on a social media platform. I never used the bid bots either, lots of people did. I think that marked the end of widespread, genuine engagement on that platform. It certainly was when it became less fun for me.
We better see something like that again otherwise I have been spending way too much of my time on this platform! :) Honestly, I think I did use a couple of bid bots before I realized what they were and how damaging to the platform they were.
It's definitely not impossible and I hope it happens. It would be great to see another wave of people find freedom.
I agree!
I am not surprised that you are a writer and book publisher. I mean after reading such an article, I kept wondering and saying Wow!
It really did feel like I was reading a book on Crypto Advice
You may not call it an advice but this is the way I see it and I am not ashamed to say this.
I have lost myself in a few things you have mentioned here not to and most people around me have done the same.
I am sure that these things or most of them are ones you have experienced before and you are warning us against there. I would really put this article into consideration.
Thanks for sharing your worth and knowledge with us.
I think so many really have to read this, I wonder why you didn't post this to the leofinance community. It would have gotten a wider audience of Crypto minded species.
Thanks for the kind words, @zellypearl. I should have posted this in Leofinance. I subscribe to them but, for some reason never think to post there. Mainly, I think, because I rarely write about finance. I hope your week is going well!
Oh alright then, I understand.
Yes, my week is going fine.
How about yours?
Glad to hear it! We are just unthawing here in Minnesota. We've been in the double digits below zero for almost three solid weeks but spring is on the horizon!
This is incredible advice Eric. Everything hit a chord and I've been in crypto a mere 3 years (Xmas 2017) but feel like it's been a lot longer and definitely learning strong lessons still! The biggest lessons were to not try and save people - they either won't listen, won't care or mock you for your efforts. So you have to focus on yourself, keep your mouth shut and crack on!
Thanks, so glad you found some value in it. The markets are so wild and stressful that one year in crypto is like five years in the regular world so you're already over fifteen years in! Lol. That was a hard lesson for me to, not to try to save people. You can help others in other ways after you've found your own freedom.
Hahaha, too right! I feel like when I step away from crypto, everything is in that slow motion bullet time!
Yeah I've gone for the "lead the horse to water but you can't make them drink it" approach. Show them how to use the tools to access crypto and news to do research should they want to but don't tell anything more - they'll make their own journey and I find that works pretty well.
Excellent your post, I read it and I completely agree, crypto has given me freedom too and like you I don't consider myself an expert I just try to learn from past mistakes and make good decisions. Wonderful advice @ericvancewalton
Thank you! I'm happy to hear you found freedom as well!
What a great information @ericvancewalton, very very informative post and also very helpful. I really want to know more about this.✨✨✨🌺🌺🌺
Thanks a lot for sharing this post with us. ✨
You're welcome. Thanks for reading!
like it very much!
Thank you!
hello dear friend @ericvancewalton good afternoon
excellent pots, you say very true things, you have learned a lot in the last five years, and the best of all is that you know how to share, you say the right, motivating and thoughtful words. Without a doubt, freedom and time is the best gift one can receive.
I want the magic of cryptography to touch me, I want to know the world and grow old in that recliner, telling the anecdotes of my travels.
I really appreciate that you shared these wise words.
May success always be with you
Thank you @jlufer! I hope you're having a wonderful week so far!
Howdy @ericvancewalton! @fairytalelife gave me the inspiration this morning to at least look at my account lol.
Your post is excellent as always and full of sage nuggets that reflect many and myriad experiences. I ready your timely words and am reminded to be mindful about my re-entry here - better to create something I can sustain than to be a momentary flash.
It's been 2 years + since I've had a meaningful presence here and have been feeling the gravitational pull to be writing again. The practice of writing about various aspects of work and life was golden and I really miss it. Think I just didn't have the bandwidth for the past few years with all of the intense transition happening in my own microworld. Too much to digest! I'm going to see if the writing flows and begin with simply reading and upvoting for the moment.
Ruth! I'm glad Johie coaxed you back! There aren't many of us 1st Gen writers left but Hive has preserved some of the essence of the early days of Steemit. I don't write as much as I used to but try to commit to at least a couple of posts a week. I can totally understand your break from blogging, especially during a transitional time like you've gone through. Glad to hear you're well and I hope to see an occasional post from you.
Thank you for writing this Eric, you really should consider writing a book about your journey with crypto.
I'm just a novice but know from what my son told me that patience is vital, so I just kept on blogging through the ups and the downs but last year as you know, this $Hive became my life-raft during our hard lockdown and I will forever be thankful for people like you, always encouraging and a prime example of what this journey can be like if you persevere!
Thank you my friend!
You're welcome, my friend. I've definitely considered recording the details of my journey, for family history at least. It is certainly a very unique and unlikely story. I'm still flabbergasted at how lucky I've been and I hope that feeling never leaves me.
I'm very glad you had your Hive earnings as a safety net. When you are able to exchange crypto-earnings for real life needs is when crypto becomes very real to you. I believe that many folks will be discovering this in the next few years as the traditional financial markets begin their decline.
This was such an amazing read and exactly, like, exactly what I needed to hear right now. Thank you so much.
You're very welcome. Thanks for dropping by!
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