July 5th will mark my four year anniversary of blogging on this blockchain (and another one that begins with “S” that shall remain nameless). Those 1,460 days have been the most exciting time of my life. Along the way I’ve experienced both dizzying highs of euphoria, the disorienting sorrow of deep sadness, and every single emotion in between. Listed below are some things I’ve learned in my journey.
Most Of Us Grossly Underestimated…
….how long it would take to reach mass adoption. We also underestimated how hard it would be to wake people up and how scary change is for most of them. Unless people have no choice, most will choose their usual routine over change every time, even if their current reality causes them pain or discomfort. This is why change in this world takes such an excruciatingly long amount of time.
We were naive, filled with passion and excitement. We could see into the future so clearly and realized the role distributed ledger tech and cryptocurrency could play in creating a better and more equitable world. Believe me when I say this technology is still changing the world a little every single day. It’s also still going to change our world on a monumentally large scale, albeit at a slower pace than we thought.
The Crypto World's Like...
Imagine experiencing the most euphoric moment of your life. Now think of a time when you've felt your deepest sorrow. Imagine experiencing both in one twenty-four hour period. This can happen any given day in the world of crypto. This is precisely why it’s so ripe with opportunity. Stay in this crypto realm long enough and it will eventually break you down. This isn’t as dire as it sounds. You’ll eventually recover and it will feel like you were reborn. This “new you” will be wiser, stronger, and much more aware.
Market dips, forgotten passwords, market rises, hacks, government regulation, scammy ICOs. I sprouted many gray hairs before I learned investing in cryptocurrency is a lot like Jedi training. You must learn to remain emotionally stable in all circumstances. It will teach you how to exist calmly, in the eye of the storm, while chaos is raging all around you. You must find a way to create your own "cocoon of order" amidst the chaos. This is a helpful skill to have in every area of your life. It will not only teach you to gracefully accept losses, but more importantly it will teach you to accept wins humbly. After all, wins are nothing more than fuel to make dreams come true.
Online Friendships Can Be As Rewarding As Face-to-Face Ones
They can also lead to real friendships. I have so many memories that will be with me for my entire life, thanks to this platform. Dutch pancakes being prepared for us by a Dutch family (many thanks @roelandp). English friends showing us museums, and wild parakeets in Kensington Park (thank you @opheliafu) and taking an entire afternoon to have a meal, drinks, and show you around Portobello Market and their amazing neighborhood (thanks @cryptogee).
Incredible times in Lisbon and New York City (thanks @dougkarr, @ezzy, @exyle, @hilarski, @mammasitta). Life-enriching and educational online interactions with @sultnpapper, @lizelle, @bozz, and many, many others. I feel like I’ve gained a global family and this is the single most incredible part of the journey.
Scammers Abound
Insidious and unscrupulous folks in every variety imaginable are attracted to profit/power like moths to a porch light. For example, just look at Washington and Wall Street. The crypto world is no different. There are many people to be weary of in the cryptocurrency realm, watch your back carefully. I’ve learned those who ooze charisma and huge promises are usually the ones to watch out for. Not all charismatic people are scammers but all the scammers I’ve crossed paths with are very charismatic.
33.3% Hard Work + 33.3% Networking + 33.3% Timing = 99.999% Success
I’m no business guru but this is the formula for success in any creative endeavor in my experience. You can control the first two elements but that last 33.3% is left largely to happenstance. Make it your life’s mission to work hard at the things that fill you with joy and purpose and don’t let anyone or anything divert you from this.
Don’t be afraid to share your work and your story. Work equally as hard to prepare yourself, as best you can, psychologically for when your time comes. Success is nothing like I imagined. It doesn’t magically make all of the problems go away, it presents you with a new set of them. Success does provide freedom, time, and the chance to live your life as you wish. Make sure to have a clear vision of what that kind of life you wish for or success won’t be an easy road.
I worked for over twenty years writing things that most people never read. I watched all my peers fly past me on the ladder of success while I worked towards a dream that felt like it might never come true. Shortly after July 5th, 2016 the door to success that had previously been locked finally opened. As luck would have it, I had a backlog of over twenty years of material to share with all of you. My life has never been the same.
Many thanks to all of you who’ve supported me throughout these past four years. I also thank so many who've been generous with their time and knowledge to teach this old dog some new tricks. You’ll never know how much joy this journey has brought me. I’m looking forward to many more years to come.
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Alarm Clock Dawn, one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found HERE. Or Click Here to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain
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Congratulations on your fours years of working the "chain gang" , I really enjoy your take on life and the way you put it into words with your poetry and stories. I'm really glad that we ran onto each other and look forward to many more years of our friendship.
All the best and take care,
Sult
"The chain gang" Lol. That's how it felt those last few months on "S". Thanks, I really appreciate your friendship too, Sult! I hope you have a great Independence Day weekend!
What a post!!!
The greatest i have read in one week. It reminds of 2017. I thought crypto was going to the moon and it was never going to ever come down. I bought more at all time highs.. i learnt my lesson the hard way.
I can tell for sure that online friends are as worth it as offline. I mean i have met some people in this platform and u already feel like meeting them offline. Someone like @steevc ,@joseduccus, @chekohler and @joetunex are one of the few friends on tus platform i really want to meet. They have helped in numerous ways.
This is the best part of this write up and i intend to apply it.
Wonderful post... =hive5
Thanks for giving me a tag on this one @bhoa, I am humbled my brother 🙂
Now I must say this is a sweet read, a kind of read you want to stick with till the end @ericvancewalton.
Some lines stood out for me
I can relate with the above line, they just have a way of showing that charismatic style and if you have been bitten on a number of occasions you can tell if it is worth giving it a try.
You just can't buy a global family can you?
Thank you! You just can't buy a global family can you? that is a very true statement. No amount of money will but you that.
You are welcome buddy, money just can't buy some things.
Thank you @bhoa! I hope you have a chance to meet some of these people in real life. There's nothing like meeting these online friends for the first time. It's almost like spending time with a long lost family member. Take care and enjoy the rest of your week!
Thank you. I am really having fun here
That’s very kind yeah I’ve also met some amazing people on HIVE that I’d love to meet too and discuss all sorts of things way into the night! Hopefully we can all attend the next HIVE fest
I hope so too
Congratulations on 4 years of blogging on this blockchain that thankfully was rescued by those who set up Hive! You have inspired so many here with your poetry and Mindful posts and I feel honoured to be part of your circle of friends, thank you Eric:)
Funny my third anniversary is also in July, on the 13th, and that was a lucky 13 for me as this has been the most exciting journey for me yet! My son who introduced me to the old S, stopped blogging before I joined but when I checked he had joined exactly a year before me, on 13 July 2016! He should have stayed but got more into mining and serious gaming among other things but he does regret stopping. He was more into blogging technical stuff.
Enjoy the journey further and thank you for being such a wonderful and inspirational online friend:)
Thank you so much @lizelle! I'm just glad people are still finding value in what I'm writing about. Coming up with new ideas to keep the blog going after I exhausted my backlog of material has definitely been good for the creativity muscles. I'm getting a least one more book published because of it. : ).
Yes, it all could've ended if it wasn't for this platform. Thankfully, we all have another chance. That's too bad he quit when he did. Is he writing on Hive now?
Your anniversary will be here in no time. Congratulations on that! It's no easy feat to keep a blog fresh for that long. Your posts are all so consistently good and pleasing to the eye. Thanks for your friendship and support throughout these years!
Hahaha, I saw what you did there.
I'm a newbie here and I hope I can stay as long as you. Cheers. Happy anniversary.
; ) Thank you very much!
You're welcome.
wow that sounds exiting. looking forward to ride this chaotic wave here on hive....finding my own cocoon ;) thank you for this
You're welcome, Lauren! Thanks!
They say that life is also what we leave in others. I remember once, the first time I read you, you were reviewing a trip, and I thought: I would love to travel and talk about my travels. From that moment on, more than an example, you were an inspiration to me. From your publications, I knew the drawings of @opheliafu, the reviews of @dougkarr, the dishes of @lizelle and the trips to Brazil of @exyle. It is as if you, in an indirect way, had introduced me to your friends and in one way or another, opened doors to incredible places. Today, after two years of reading you, I can not only feel that I know some things about you, but also that I admire the man, the husband, the son, the writer that you are. Nothing is coincidence! Everything is planned. The world has had to turn many times in order to coincide. Congratulations on this 4th anniversary, Eric! ;) Thank you for that and a greeting from Venezuela.
Thank you for the extremely kind words, Nancy! I really appreciate it. It makes me so happy to hear that people are still reading my work and appreciating what I do. It's amazing the level of high quality and talented people you can find here once you start connecting. I, too, believe that nothing is coincidence. Sometimes things just take longer than we realize but there's usually a good reason for the delayed dreams. I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!
What can I say but congratulations and over two years I've known you now, you've constantly been a a faithful patriot of this blockchain/blogsphere really and what can I say? 4 years has definitely be stunning and the Memoires has definitely been amazing.
This is definitely true and quite an austere observation too. Many congratulations Eric it's been a ride
Thank you very much! It certainly has been a wild ride! Have a good rest of the week.
Definitely, you too as well
Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this reminder. It makes me realize that I just have to keep going and working hard doing what I love.
I have read your work in the past and enjoyed it. At last, happy blockchain anniversary !
Thank you @macchiata!
hello dear friend @ericvancewalton good night
What a great trip dear friend, I share his words a lot, you say great truths in them, this has been a unique experience, and best of all, it has just started, we have been four years, but it is insignificant compared to what will come
You are very right, the people here are really incredible, it is what makes the difference from other social networks
thank you very much for sharing the adventure of this trip
have a wonderful night. happy 4th anniversary
Thanks! It's been an amazing journey so far. I share your optimism. I think cryptocurrency will have a couple wonderful years in the near future. We're right on the cusp of an epic bill run. Have a great weekend!
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That has a been a long time I must say. 4 years I believe different things are learnt , lessons and knowledge are acuqired friendship are build and the perspective of seeing things have been changed. I am just celebrating 2 and half years on the blockchain blogging so I guess I should refer to you as my senior.
But these fee years I have been blogging, I have learnt a lot much more than I can imagined. I have build friendship much more I can dream of and more knowledge have been acuqire much more I can desired. It has been a long journey that if look back it is worth saying I is worth taking
I'm glad your journey has been a good one too! Thank you!
I am signing most of your messages from that story! Interesting I just discovered you after also 4 years here.
Awesome, I'm glad you did! Sometimes people just don't cross paths. I remember seeing your comments on other's posts that I follow.
Thanks mate - nice to meet you finally :-)
Likewise!
That definitely sounds like a proper roller coaster ride. How great that you have been able to learn and grow from all of the experiences that have been thrown at you. I don't know as though would have had the perseverance to strive forward in some of those situations. I am really glad that I stumbled across your blog all those months ago!
It certainly has been a roller coaster (and continues to be). Dealing with the ups and downs is still better than going back to my old life. I'm glad we made a connection too! Have a great 4th!
Thanks! You too!
I like online friendships too I believe they're as powerful as face to face ones,but a lot of people fail to understand that. I cant say I've gained much from the crypto world like many people but am open to learning and I have faith that it will be helpful to me soon.
They certainly can be. This is a good time to be learning about crypto. I think we're going to have a couple years of good growth.
Four years? Bet it must have felt like 40 at times! The crypto world will give you higher highs and lower lows than a lot of things but if you can survive the last 4 years, you can survive anything now!
Congratulations on enduring, I agree with the online friendship and I'd say some of my best friends I've met on Hive and talked about all kinds of things and shared stories. Really hope we get to meet one of these days!
Take care, and here is to the next 4 years 🍻
You can say that again. Crypto time compression is a thing. : ) My beard has seriously gone gray in these past four years, every gray whisker is the result of crypto in one way, shape, or form. Lol.
Thank you @nickyhavey! I doubt there will be a HiveFest this year due to the virus but if there's one next year I'll definitely try my best to make it there. I missed the last two SteemFests and have huge regrets about that. I see you're in London...the wife and I will definitely find our way back there soon.
Take care and thanks for the reply!
Hahaha, I think there are many with "crypto affected beards" like this 😆
Yeah I'll be trying my best to make it there as well, really would have loved to have gone to the Thailand one but these global meets have fallen on weeks I've not been able to join so would love to go to the first HIVE Fest!
London is the nearest big city that everyone's heard of, I live a bit out west by about 40 minutes to center via central line when I get there! Whereabouts are you heading back to?
No doubt! The crypto-sphere is full of gray hair! We would likely be spending at least part of our time in London. We were there last year and loved it!
Haha, grey hair coin should be a thing!
Nice one! Keep us posted on the visit, there's a few meet-ups I think that are happening in London each week on Hive that are being organised by Nathan Mars (@nathanmars) so worth keeping an eye on 😃
Lol. Definitely! Yeah, that would be fun! I'll keep an eye on those meet ups. We're still obviously on lockdown here in the US but hopefully we'll be opening up for international travel sometime next year. Enjoy your weekend!
Wow! This is really wealth of experience gathered together in one post.....Change only comes to those who wants it and people are scared of Change because of its uncertainty, It's just so unfortunate.
Thanks! It is unfortunate that so many are afraid to step outside of their realm of comfort. Many people suffer greatly because of that.
Very true
Awesome post, thank you for the inspiration!🌟
Thanks for the comment!
me encanto este post y lo voy a rebloguear
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We know that's how you get your upvotes.