Hi there my Hivean friends and followers!
Yesterday, I got a notification from @hivebuzz that I have been here on this chain for five years. I know. Although my memory sucks quite bad sometimes, I remember very clearly the day I signed up to this unknown blogging platform that a friend of mine told me about called Steemit. It was a hot and sunny November afternoon on the Mayan Riviera, Mexico where we lived back then in 2017. That´s where it all began for me...
On my previous "blockchain birthdays", I usually tended to sum up the past year(s) through some stats and numbers like how many posts and comments I wrote, how greatly or not so greatly I managed to increase my HP and fan base etc. This year, however, I will take a look back at my Hive journey from a bit different perspective.
As I already mentioned, I became a member of this community in late November 2017, just before the colossal crypto bull run that took place at the turn of December 2017 and January 2018. Just weeks after my registration, the price of our coin (again, it was still Steem back then) skyrocketed to over 8 USD, the payouts of many authors here on the chain were thus worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars and being a blogger here looked like a dream job. Impressed (naively) by all of that and lacking any knowledge of how the blockchain and crypto in general work, I quickly made the decision to become a fulltime blogger here...
If you look at my profile info right now, it still says "Fulltime Hiver" and that´s right. I haven´t had any other significant sources of income than Hive over those five years as I abandoned my then career of a freelance writer and translator when I made the decision to go fulltime hiving.
As we all know, a lot has happened over those five years. We separated from the original blockchain (under circumstances that are well known not just here but in most of the crypto space as well) and created this amazing world called Hive, we experienced many ups and many downs, not just in terms of the price of our coin...
Having been a fulltimer, I had to make some withdrawals over those years but the truth is I have only done that a few times including just one partial power down, which, combined with the mostly low price of the coin (I haven´t been a successful trader to say the least), simply couldn´t have been enough for me to really live off it, no matter how low cost and minimalist my lifestyle has always been...
That being said, the vast majority of the funds needed to cover my expenses over those five years have come from my life (fiat) savings. The problem is that those fiat savings are almost completely gone by now, which means that very soon, I will face a very unpleasant dilemma: either power down and sell most of my stake (no matter how low the price will be) to maintain my fulltime Hiver status or give up on the status and find a regular job.
Honestly, I hate either of these options but when it really comes down to this decision, I will most probably go for the second one. I have been actually told to find a regular job by my family and my friends for a long time already, over and over again, and honestly, it has been increasingly difficult to provide some reasonable arguments for them as to why I have been trying to stick to my "Hive job" so desperately and despite my worsening personal financial situation.
I can see that this post is slowly turning into a little personal rant / freewrite but that was not really the original intention. I was just going to tell you that while those five years on this chain have been absolutely amazing and I´m still loving it here so much, I might soon have to abandon my fulltime Hiver status (that I was so proud of) and change / cut down my Hive routine that has been based on posting several times per week and daily engagement and curation.
I know it will be hard. I have actually had some minor gigs lately, which was also why I sometimes had less time for Hive and it felt really weird and kind of sad not to be able to read and comment on your posts and reply to your comments under my posts for a day or two, sometimes even more... Therefore, I cannot even imagine what it will feel like to kind of push Hive to the sidelines and regularly miss out on all the things, happenings and engagements here that I hardly ever did in the past. I will just have to get used to it I guess...
Having been a lifelong optimist though, I want to wrap up this post on a more positive note. Over those five years, I have learned a lot about this place and this community and I still believe that Hive has an enormous potential to make it big not only in the crypto world but in the real world too. With so many amazing people here, so much knowledge, skills, passion, drive, dedication and enthusiasm, Hive totally has the potential to eventually make a real difference and start changing people´s lives on a mass and international level.
I have done some calculations and in my particular case, the price of Hive between just 2 and 3 USD would be enough for me to live off my author liquid rewards only, without having to power down, sell the curation rewards, interests or anything else. That would be a fully sustainable mode allowing me to make a living here while still increasing my stake and supporting the community. And not just in my case I´m sure. I can imagine many other Hivers doing the same. I suppose in some parts of the world, authors could do this with just $1 Hive or maybe even less...
While I don´t have any doubts about the power and potential of Hive, it does feel like the crypto industry as a whole has been having some unexpectedly (and unfairly) hard times lately, which is something that makes me quite uncertain about when the conditions on the crypto market will be favorable and stable enough for Hive to shine, allowing us to make our dreams come true. Hopefully soon :)
Thanks for your attention guys and I´m sorry that the post got so lengthy. Like I already said, it has been amazing five years by your side. Here is to another five and also a $5 Hive! :)
This post was created by me for the Hive blockchain exclusively. All rights reserved.
As a Fulltime Hiver, maybe you would consider holding local meetups in your area at local businesses and/or meeting with merchants and see if they would consider accepting Hive at their business? You can actually earn a bit as a PalmPay Ambassador too. :)
Our new Marketing Proposal is up.
https://peakd.com/hive-148441/@kencode/bringing-more-merchants-to-hive-marketing-proposal-dhf
Please consider supporting Hive Marketing with your vote.
Peakd: https://peakd.com/me/proposals/249
Ecency: https://ecency.com/proposals/249
Hive.blog: https://wallet.hive.blog/proposals
Any questions, we're always here. Thank you!
on matrix: agorise.chat
Thanks, I will check it out :)
getting back to freelancing after 5 years sounds hard, selling crypto in a bear marked sounds harder :D
Thanks for your compassion mate :D
Hey man!
Congratulations on your 5 years! If I am not mistaken, I will have my 5 years on 6th of January. I still remember how I was just watching my co-worker back then when he was active on Steemit (back then) and how he introduced me into this World. For month or two, I didn't believe in it and didn't create account, but more and more I was intersted about it. He was telling me that my photos would be perfect for this place. I will be grateful to him forever for this as I don't know how to live without Hive/NFT/Crypto anymore. Sure I am up and down, but it is such a fun ecosystem and so much better tham other social media in my opinion.
Well, enought about me. Congrats again! You are second person who reintroduced me again after a break and then I really started to live that life. So thank you very much Petr and hope you will come to visit in Slovenia once as I would love to meet you in person as well.
Have a good one!
@tipu curate 5
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 5/55) Liquid rewards.
Aww, thank you so much Andy! I remember those old days, there was a bunch of us late 2017ers and early 2018ers and we kept inspiring each other. Everything was new to us, it was fun to learn how everything worked etc... I wonder if that person who introduced you to Steem back then is still active :) Sadly, most of those guys from the old days are not. But that´s life. I´m really glad that you are still around though, always a pleasure to stop by your astonishing photos and chat with you. Hope to meet up with you in real life too one day ;)
Thanks for your kind feedback, wishes and support Andy!
Good old days! I had much more time back then. Well, this person is not active anymore. He was only active few months after. I also don't have any contacts with him anymore, but if I will meet him ever again, I will say thank you!
See you around I guess :)
I don’t know what it’ll be like going back to your old job after a while of vacating it, but I assume it won’t be easy to get back into your mojo. I think you can do it though.
Congrats on 5 years here, man! Maybe in 5 years, the rest of us toddlers will celebrate our own 5 years too:) cheers to that $5 HIVE.
Thanks man! Of yourse you will be celebrating your fifth birthday here too! I´m actually very happy about the latest generations of Hivers from 2020 to 2022, there are so many amazing and talented new bloggers here like yourself. Definitely one of the reasons why I´m so optimistic about the future of Hive ;) Keep it up guys!
Thanks for the nice words, man. Appreciate:D
Are we brothers separated after birth? I'm facing exactly the same issue.
Problem is that getting a decent job after our experience traveling around is fucking hard, and it sounds boring as fuck. It's funny though that I've worked as gardener/painter in Argentina, as delivery cyclist in London, as a teacher at home... but now I can't find the same motivation. Wtf is going on?
Should we buy a hut in Argentina and invite a bunch of friends over and just enjoy life in Patagonia?
Heh, sounds familiar indeed! Ironically, I´m currently based in Prague where people from all over the country and even from abroad flock into because of those tons of job opportunities available in here. But I don´t want join the rat race and give up on the freedom that I have been used to for so many years... Hard to adopt their lifestyle and mindset after all those years of freedom and traveling. I think you know what I mean ;)
That hut in Patagonia sounds good! I will think about it :D
I may know. It's a really awkward feeling of not fitting anymore. How do you handle it? At least you have your girlfriend to exchange ideas and plan life. I have nobody to talk about that since no one around me has had that wild experience of being free -- they simply don't understand and keep on saying that I should apply for some government shit job.
I hear you buddy. Well, we are a couple, that´s right, but it comes with both advantages and disadvantages, as everything in life... We (me and my girlfriend) are actually very different as individuals in many aspects, which makes the planning quite challenging sometimes. So when it comes to pursuing the lifestyle of absolute freedom, being alone might actually be more suitable for that. But again, there are pros and cons about everything. Everyone need to consider what is the best thing to do for them in their particular and unique situation. I just hope you will be alright man :)
Congrats Petr! Time really does fly doesn't it! I'm sure we'd be looking back to our first decade before we realise it.
If you used to do freelance, maybe it will be quite easy to go back and do that as a part time till things pickup? Living off cyrpto is so risky, I would never dare to do that, so hats off to you for being so brave. I know a few Hivers have tried and aren't managing too well, but perhaps those who do, don't shill about it, so I guess it works both ways.
Anyway, congrats on your 5 years here!
Thanks a lot Pauline! Yeah, living off crypto is risky indeed, seems that I have been learning it the hard way, kind of :D :/ You are right, it shouldn´t be that difficut to get back to freelancing but it will surely be hard to get used to the fact that I cannot be here with you guys every day anymore. It has always felt much more like fun than job being here actually...
Let’s see your wishes become true! I think Hive price of around $3 would work quite well for me too! Of course $5 would be better!
Of course Hive is an awesome place for all of us, especially when we are on this platform for 5+ years. It’s been like a roller coaster. I haven’t got your success, but the last year has been very inspiring for me and I managed to build up a lot of HP. Cheers for many more years!
Thanks buddy! $3 Hive would be sweet! But we have already been there and I´m sure we will make it even higher, much higher. The only question is when :) Glad to hear that you have managed to grow your stake lately, keep up the momentum!
How strong to read that situation, part of the blame is due to the strong fall that the crypto have had... if the hive were at $1 or more, the story might be different...
And right now is the worst time to sell the coins that you have worked so hard to obtain... I think the best option is to get a job while hive prices go up again... then you could return to this job that we all love.
In Venezuela the costs of living are much lower than in Europe, here I can support myself even with hive and splinterlands, between the two I have an income to be able to live this cryptonian lifestyle.
Right, I would hate to sell. I remember how hard it was to press the power down button even when the prices were much higher. It kind of feels like betraying the community. But if one wants to do this as a job, you simply have to cash out something sometimes of course... Like I mentioned in the post, the best scenario would be if we could just live off the liquid rewards without selling any HP. But that would require much higher price than where we are right now...
Anyway, I´m really glad to know that you in Venezuela have been able to make your living through Hive and Splinterlands! That´s awesome man, congrats! So when Hive hits 10 dollars, you will be one of the richest people in your country :D
I really understand what you mean is not easy to power down after that many years of effort feels like destroying the thing u builded. But maybe you could only power down the earnings from now and on and let the old hp sitted in there... maybe that plus the liquid could help... I dont know, you have to do the maths...
I'm right now where u started years ago.. using all the hive rewards to build Hive power.
If 10$ hive does ever happens the thing I would do is to travel all Venezuela and live wonderfull experiences to Share with you all in here
Awesome :) I think that 10$ Hive would be (let´s say will be :D) life changing for most of us, if not all of us. Cannot wait for the day to come :)
Hive at 10$ would give you a half million worth of usd... a insane amount hahaha
You could retire to a peace country start a bussines and live a good life and keep doing hive too
Wohoo 👏👏🥰🥳🥳🎉🎉🎉
5 good solid years in hive...this is massive.
Thanks for your review about hive, it's so encouraging to me. I just turned one year on hive this last October and I hope to keep growing here till many years to come.
Congratulations @phortun 🎉🎉
Thanks! You have been doing very well so far, keep it up and before you know it, you will be celebrating your fifth Hive birthday here too, maybe as a big fat whale, everything is possible here! :D :)
Hehehe 😂
This one really got me
This will be answered prayers then 😅
I wish to grow and become a whale one day 😂
.
Motivation or inspiration has actually never really been a problem for me, reducing the posting frequency from posting daily to some 4 posts per week has helped a lot with taking some pressure away too I guess ;)
I actually used the #leo tag, I think it counts cause I can see this post in the Leo community. Can´t you?
Yeah sorry I see it now :)
Happy Anniversary and Congrats mate! Mine will be five years old soon in January. However, I can say that I have been active here mostly for the last one and a half years. Hope to be here for long times.
Thank you! Seeing your remarkable progress in the past year, I think you must have regretted not being so active earlier :D But it´s all good mate, better late than never, we all still are the early birds on Hive / crypto after all :)
Let's say the pandemic has made me more active here :)
As we say here in my country: "There is something good in everything bad" ;)
We say the same :)
Congratulations on your five year anniversary mate. As it seems, keeping in mind the inflation that has hit the world recently, it's almost impossible to survive with a single job. I really hope that you find your way out of this dilemma very soon as I love to read your posts. Your nature pictures, pictures of your locality etc, gives me a ray of hope. Even I'm not sure why, probably because my soul is really really attached to the nature.
I'm feeling a bit down using Hive these days as it seems very hard to be accepted on this platform. Imagine the scenario from my perspective. A guy who loves blogging and knows nothing about crypto or Blockchain blogging sites and is introduced to one by a close friend starts to post on a specific site. After that he gets to know about Hive from THERE and he joins Hive but starts getting contstant downvotes just because he was a part of another platform before joining Hive. Seems pretty cruel to me. This has turned into a personal rant comment 😂😂 but I had to leave my heart out somewhere. Sorry for ruining your post.
Once again congratulations on this milestone. The uncertainty in the crypto market really is an alarming situation and I hope you figure it out very soon.
Thanks for the kind words and wishes man, I really appreciate it. But your situation sounds really alarming. I guess I need to look into this case, it sounds so unfair... Hit me up on Discord and if you really have trustworthy proofs that your persecution here on this chain has been unjust, I will inform people who might be able to help you kind of get whitelisted.
Sure man. Can you provide me with your discord username?
phortun#6162
Sent you a friend request
Congratulations @phortun 🎉🎉🥳🥳 an your 5 years on Hive! Yay…
So great to read a bit more about you and what you did for the last 5 years. Wow full time Hiver.
Hope it all works out further and we get some relief when the price goes up again.
Great to read you are so confident in Hive, I am too.
Up to many more years 🎉🎉🥳🥳
Thank you Little Bee! Well, I usually don´t share personal stuff here but I feel like this is not just about me but also about my Hive friends and followers as the possible changes to my routine might have an impact on my regular series, contests and giveaways that have got pretty popular over the years. So I think those who participate in them deserve to know :) But I still hope that I won´t have to cancel any of them. We will see what happens in the next few weeks and months...
You are so welcome @phortun 👋🏻😊 I fully understand. It’s nice when people make it a bit more personal. It speaks to more people, even though you are already connected to them for longer.
Let’s hope for the best and keep thinking positive.
We will see what happens in the next weeks and months.
Something tells me it will be some exciting times 🤩😎
Have a great evening. Good night!
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I hope your feelings about exciting times will prove to be right, we need some positive vibes :) Have a nice day too!
Let’s wait and see… we sure need positive vibes… and they are still there, just checked 😉😁
Thank you kindly @phortun
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
5 years, maan..congrats..
get some part time job, freelancing could be handy.. dont sell it dis days, its your 5 years payment so wait for right time..
if u get part time and some spare money, u can actually buy more, still black Friday on crypto man..
Thanks pal! Yeah, sounds like a reasonable approach. Will do my best :) See you around!
Gratulace! :)
Dziekuje bardzo! :)
It is a great success to exist on such a platform for 5 years.
I think existing alone is not that much of a success but thank you ;)
Congratulations!
Thanks!
Congratulations, @photun!
Thank you! :)
Congratulations
Thank you :)
Good luck in any case.
Thanks buddy!
Congrats 5-year anniversary on the blockchain :) That's an impressive milestone, and I wish you many more years of enjoyment and blogging in the future :)
Aww, thank you Trang! Very kind of you. Have a nice day :)
Congratulations for your 5 years anniversary in hive.
You have such good memories with this and the previous blockchain.
I hope I'll also have time to gain some good memories of my own.
Thank you :) Good memories indeed. But it´s not over yet! Quite the opposite, we are still just getting started. It´s just the current crypto winter that makes it so hard to live off crypto for many. But after every winter, there is a spring and then a summer ;)
Congratulations on your five years of work in hive, I think it's not a small time to hang in here.
I've only been in hive for two years, but I've had a lot of experience here.
After I got to know many friends around the world, I came to know this is the work that must be done every day and must be focused.
I hope to continue to survive here.
You're a great person man.
Thanks for your kind feedback and also for sharing your experience with Hive :) It´s an amazing place to be indeed. Just try to be consistent with your activities regardless of the coin price, it wdill pay off in the long run ;) Cheers!
Happy cryptobirthday! I'm sure you'll be able to handle it, I've been between Hive and my freelance jobs, sometimes it's not easy to keep up in the platform and post regularly but that is preferable to having to spend valuable HP.
Thank you Sofia! You are right. I might just do it like you ;) I will think about becoming a freelance journalist like you and your sister :D
Caramba amigo felicitaciones🎉por un año más en esta gran familia,que sigan los éxitos y mucha salud son mis mayores deseos💕🎂🥂un abrazo desde ve nezuela se le aprecia
Muchas gracias Petra! Saludos! :)
Doba je zlá, nejen v kryptu :). Snad to je jen období, které brzo přejde a budeš se moci brzo vrátit k full time blogovaní :).
Ani jsem nečekal, že se někdo z #cesky staví. Překvapils a potěšils, díky :) Taky doufám, že pokud to tady budu muset jako fulltimer zabalit, tak ne na dlouho ;)
Congratulations, your post has been upvoted by @dsc-r2cornell, which is the curating account for @R2cornell's Discord Community.
Thank you so much guys!
Ke čtení Tvého článku jsem se dostal až teď. Kdyby nic jiného, tak sis těch pět let alespoň užil, jak píšeš... A nesmyslný propad může být vystřídán stejně nesmyslným růstem.
Užil. Ještě to nebalím, ještě chvilku vydržím, ale pomalu se to asi blíží... Ale jak říkáš, po nečekaném pádu může přijít nečekaný růst. Uvidíme. Díky, že ses stavil.
Kdyby mi bylo 25-30 a neměl bych rodinu, bylo by i pro mě vzrušující být hiveánem na plný úvazek.
Já už jsem teda nějaký ten rok za touhle věkovou kategorií, ale vzrušující to bylo i tak. A snad ještě bude :)
Congratulations, you have done amazing. I like reading your blogs and replying !
Thanks for your kind words! Really appreciate :)
!BEER
Thanks & cheers! :)
To mě fakt mrzí. Rád bych pomohl, ale s mojí power toho moc nezmůžu a tím méně proti ekonomický krizi :/ :D
Jen teda doufám, že pokud se rozhodneš pro druhou možnost, tak budeš v budoucnu náležitě odměněn cenou Hive a tenhle krok se ti mnohonásobně vrátí! :)
Hlavně ti přeju, aby ti to v rámci možností vyšlo co nejlépe to jde!
Díky moc! Jsem tady ze všech těch reakcí docela naměkko musím říct :D Ale jako ještě to nebalím, ještě tomu chvilku dám a uvidíme ;) Každopádně nějaký masovější prodej té tolik let pracně budované HP je fakt jako až ta poslední varianta ;)
Congratulations @phortun! You received a personal badge!
Wait until the end of Power Up Day to find out the size of your Power-Bee.
May the Hive Power be with you!
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Thanks you guys and thanks for that birthday notification and badge too! ;)
You're welcome. Happy Hive PUD @phortun 💪🐝
A huge success! Congratulations, mi amor and here we go. Big things ahead!
We are stronger than we think! 2024!!!!🔥💙💙💙
Děkuju a gratuluju i k tvojí hiverské pětiletce ;) :*
Kéž se to zas obrátí. Nejraději bych taky byl jen Hiver.
Jak by to bylo krásné, kdyby se každý mohl živit tím, že bude psát, fotit nebo točit to, co ho baví, že? :) Snad se nám jednou Hajvík usadí na té hodnotě alespoň několika dolarů trvale a tím pádem by si tenhle sen mohla žít spousta z nás...
Congratulations on your 5 years. It inspires me of the potentials in Hive and the opportunity to grow and learn more. Keep going and see you around here!
Thank you! Glad you found this post inspiring :) You have been doing very good for a newbie btw, keep up the momentum!
Thanks for the motivation and for noticing. Yeah, I will keep the momentum in here especially now that I know that there are many writers who've been here for a long time and make writing, not as a passion only but also as a source of living.
Yeah, when the prices were higher, there were more people here who were making their living through blogging and curating here. Good luck with your career! :)
Thank you and see you around. To more blogs to write!
5 great and memorable years on hive wow. Congratulations 🎉🎉.
I admire how our progress is been encouraged though I'm pretty new but I do get that heart warming notification from @hivebuzz telling me about my retention this gives me courage to keep going.
Thanks! Yeah, those notifications from @hivebuzz are cool :) We all enjoy a bit of extra gamification here on the chain :)
Very true. The community happiness is the happiness of the chain.
Well said!
Dodatečně přeju všechno nejlepší k narozeninám (dozvěděl jsem se o nich z Tvé odpovědi @krakonos) a díky i za zajímavou bilanci Tvého působení a nastínění dalších kroků. Škoda, že se z Tvého povolání bude muset na nějakou dobu stát jen koníček. Krypto má bohužel silného nepřítele v mocných, kteří se jím cítí být ohroženi a vyzdvihují ty negativní věci (samozřejmě, je to nástroj, který se dá zneužít) a vědomě opomíjejí tu úžasnou moc, kterou krypto v sobě má a to je to, že může pomoci miliardám lidí. Věřím, že lepší časy opět nastanou, a za pět let Tvůj komentář bude mnohem optimističtější !BEER
Pěkně napsáno, souhlasím. Mrzí mě, kolika mocným lidem leží krypto v žaludku a tak se ho snaží za každou cenu diskreditovat a házet mu klacky pod nohy. Pokud je ale ten koncept opravdu správný (a já pevně věřím, že ano), tak se krypto i přes všechny ty překážky dřív nebo později prosadí. A pak to i tady na Hive zase bude všechno mnohem veselejší a zajímavější :)
Díky za přání i za to, že jsi po čase zavítal na můj blog.
Ah! Very interesting. So this was 3 months ago. How has it been going? Have you had to take much time away from Hive?
No, not much has changed since then, just the big dilemma is getting closer and closer :/