I Saw Your Dance Video And Now I Know You're Rich!
I posted the video from my last Steemit post on Facebook and it already has 604+ views. Under the video, I wrote a simple sentence saying I made more than 150,000$ in my last year on Steemit. (Link)
Congratulation For Steemit!
So yesterday around 22h30, I hop in my car and head up downtown. The first person I came across, told me: “Hey I saw your dance video and now I know you're rich!" She then admitted that she really enjoyed seeing me dancing. All I could think then was: "Yeah! This is my new life and I love it!" What else could I be thinking really?
Also she didn't just throw this at me, I mean, she had greeted me with her usual amenities prior to this. Anyway, she's a really awesome person and that whole thing really felt like I was on to have a great night. I then proceeded to talk to 3 friends there, one of which I had already talk to about Steem. First thing I mentioned was how much my account was worth and how awesome it felt. For some reasons I didn't even try to talked them into signing up.
I walked away a couple of steps and was greeted by another friend. It's a pretty small town. Without skipping a beat this guy told me: "Hey! Félicitation pour Steemit!" which literally translates to "Congratulation for Steemit!" I told to myself: "What a nice way to put it and to greet me!"
We then proceeded to talk about cryptocurrencies and for some reasons I don't quite remember, he asked me if I was thinking to invest some of my new wealth into Wall Street, to which I answered that I didn't knew anything about Wall Street but I knew a heck a lot about crypto since I was into it since mid-2011.
He then told me he wanted to buy Bitcoin back then when it was much cheaper and you know, the usual stuff that happened to most of us who heard about Bitcoin in its early days. I didn't tried to talk him into signing up on Steemit either. I used to try to embark some of my friends to joined but for some reasons I haven't tried that even once yesterday.
Get On Steemit!
Anyway, the whole place was packed with people and I thought to myself, how awesome would it be if all those people were on Steemit. If that was the case I could be reading about everyone's perspectives of that night and their perspectives about everything really or just infer it from what they would be voting on. Now, I think that's just a question of time before it happens.
Overall it was an okay night. I got back early at around midnight so I was there around 1h30. Now I think to myself how different things my get if the price of Steem shot up 2 or 3 times higher. 3 times and I would be worth close to half a million. This would probably do quite some waves around me and pretty much every Steemians or I should say more waves than Steem has already produced.
I wrote 90% of this text Saturday.
I Never Really Sold Any Steem
Every Steem I ever sold I reinvested back in. I might have truly withdrawn around 1,000$ worth of Steem into Bitcoin but that's pretty much it. The whole Steeem thing seems surreal at this point. 3 months prior to the day, Steem reached its all-time low of 7 cents, back then I owned around 4,000$ worth of Steem I think. Its price has gone up more than 35 times since or double around 5 times.
I knew anything could happened back then, that's why I reinvested all the money I had previously made on Steem and withdrawn into Bitcoin, back into Steem. I know this still holds true today. Anything can happen. Steem price could go up or down quite a lot, I could have my Steem password hacked, a bug in Bitcoin or Steem might make the price to plummet, etc. Though I think these have very low probability of happening, I know these are very real possibilities.
New Paradigms Are Emerging!
Most people I've talked to about my cryptocurrency investments have told me to cash out. Yet almost none of them have tried to understand what my investments were about or what my motivations were. (Beside 1-2 friends, I'm not really sure how many of my friends read me on Steemit.) I sure do talk a lot about money but that's not my primary motivation. "Money is just a tool and not an end in itself."
Now, that's pretty easy for me to say as I'm not dying over the lack of this made up "resource" called fiat money. For some, the reality is very different but I can see new paradigms emerging. As time passes, more resources are being produced for the same amount of effort and it will become easier for people to have access to those resources with and ever lessening interference from governments and corporations.
Those governments and corporations have interests of their own. Those interests always prime over the interests of the individual that constitute them. This is a fundamental problem humanity is faced with.
Because, as time pass, there's more resources being produce with the same amount of effort, there's more for everyone and on the whole everyone is better off than in the current situation. This is so as long as there's no abuse. Abuse is always a bad thing but in the current system abuse is an inevitable feature.
The Attention And Trust Economy!
Some people might argue that the wealthiest person today are better off in the current situation than in the situation I just briefly described but I tend to disagree. Under the current situation, wealth is accumulated at the expanse of the masses, the more some own, the less there is for everyone else and thus the more the wealthiest own, the more energy they need to defend from those whom they abuse.
A lot of the abuse happening in the world is done through deception or make believe. To deceive someone you first need to get their attention and then their trust. I see Steemit currently becoming the biggest attention and trust economy platform that ever existed.
Steem has value. It is very valuable as it can influence people's attention toward certain information and it might be on its way to become the most influential value management platform there is. Not only Steem influence people's attention but it also influence people to disseminate the information they most agree with. It incentivize people to best communicate what are their most pressing matters.
Be True And Life Will Reward You!
Steem has built in incentives for people to be their truest self and to learn about other people's truest self. I prefer to keep my Steem which incentivize people to be true rather than exchange them for fiat money which are created by a small group of people for their own benefits at the expanse of everyone else. The current systems of money creation have wrong more than enough people already.
Also, I prefer trying to avoid selling my Steem for Bitcoin or other POW cryptocurrencies which incentivized big corporations to plug in and maintain hardware miners at the lowest cost possible. There's rumors NVDIA and AMD will be putting out graphic cards expressively for cryptocurrency mining purpose. Whether it's true or not, all companies have incentives to reduce their production cost as much as possible thus there's always a very real possibility slave labor might end up being used by these companies.
Let's just take gold mining for example. Held as slaves, children in Peru forced to work in mines that produce much of world's gold (Gold is use in the manufacturing processes that goes into building those hardware.) Sign me up for another reality please. Surely no company ever incentivized decentralization and empowerment of the individual but inevitably exert the exact opposite influence.
Back With Some Awesome Steem Stats!
As I pointed out in a previous post, around 86,000 Steem are being created every day. At a price of $2,37 this equal roughly 200,000$. As it used to be the case back then this is only a very few percent of what is being transacted in the last 24h which is equal to more than $13M. The same stands true for power down, as only $6M is being power down this week (Top 200 account). This seems to indicate a very bright outlook for the Steem price. One other interesting fact is that most of these Steem bought in the last 3 months haven't gone out of the exchanges.
There's more than $60M worth of liquid Steem sitting on Poloniex. I really doubt these investors are looking to make a quick buck, hoping more people will buy Steem and power them up so that those early investors can sell at a profit while everyone else have their Steem lock up.
The much more rational and mathematically sound explanation I found is that, Steem being on its way to becoming the world most trusted and consulted information platform, has made some very powerful people really interested in it. Think about it. Rich people control every other information platform there is. The largest newspapers, television channels and Hollywood studio are owned by rich people and they are the one deciding what information get spread there. As for the control of information on the internet, this is done through very different means commonly referred to as astroturfing.
If Your Wealth Can't Influence Anyone Then You're Not Wealthy!
Using Steem to deceive people will only become harder to achieve as an ever growing number of people join and make their truth and needs known. The current wealthy elite can stand aside and try not to interfere but this means they won't have much say on the most trusted information platform ever which I doubt would be good for them knowing how much abuse and deception their wealth is made of.
Also if you're not the wealthy one who's buying Steem right now then it will probably be end up being the one next to you who does so. What we are seeing is mostly wealthy crypto investors cautiously investing and diversifying into Steem so they aren't left out which leads to the competition and rising prices we're seeing. Also Steemians have incentives to see the price go up, they would rather keep their Steem and growing influence than sell at a discount.
The Power To Influence Is Wealth!
I tend to think wealthy people will do pretty much anything they can to expand their influence over what people say about them or anything really. It seems, a couple dozen millions thrown at Steem isn't that much for billionaires. In fact the more dollars are thrown at Steem the more influential and wealthy its owners become. (Two billionaires #1 #2 have come out saying they own Bitcoin one of them admitting he owns more than 10% of his wealth in Bitcoin meaning more than $100M.)
Just to give a bit more context to this, many companies and governmental institutions run software which alert them whenever someone tags or mentions them on most social networks so they can do damage control whenever it's needed. We don't know exactly how far these companies and governments are willing to go to achieve their ends nor do we know exactly what those ends are which is very problematic as I've already mentioned many times here on Steemit.
I could go deeper into this analysis but I'll just stop here, adding the Steem Genius is out of the bottle. Let's all communicate our greatest wishes/needs and work to accomplish them and maybe someday there might be no more people dying of imaginary insufficient funds.
Alexa.com
If you are using Chrome or Firefox, add those add-ons and see how fast Steem popularity is growing day by day. It's simply exhilarating.
What Kind of Money Would You Rather Hold?
US Dollars!
N.B. The purchasing power of the US Dollar is less than 5% of what it was in 1913. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
I had a lot of fun writing this post. I didn't knew exactly where I was going when I began writing it. Most of what I wrote was thought out while writing it. I still don't know where I'm going with all of this. Are my intents getting clearer and am I becoming a better person? If the price of Steem double then I might have enough to live with the standard of life I've been currently living but without needing to ever work again, heck I might even have enough already. Yet it doesn't matter how much wealth we supposedly own if we aren't healthy. Wealth is just a tool, not an end in itself. Joy is what I'm all about and this Joy stems from health, truth and freedom. It stems from helping each other and every little magical moments’ life brings us. It stems from the incomprehensible beauty of this universe. Joy can also stem from when we get back up from a terrible sadness or sorrow. Joy can stem from everywhere and hopefully it can stem from the heart of everyone currently reading this. If I was a billionaire, I'd still be Steeming and one of the only rare difference that would really matter to me is that I would own a heck lot more Steem. Let's work to stop abuse and deception so that everyone receive what they merit and everything and everyone will be much better. This also stand true for self-abuse and self-deception. I think truthfulness and compassion are what we should focus on. For those of you who wonder how can they make thousands of dollars on their Steemit post, should ask themselves if they would be willing to risk holding tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of Steem. This is a big part of it. High risks are usually equal to greater reward opportunities while lower risks are usually equal to lower possible rewards. Think about it this way, if the price of Steem goes up or down 4% in a day then it means I lose or gain around $6,000 which hardly any post reward can make up for. The individual success of the largest Steem holders doesn't depend much on the success of their posts but a lot more on the overall success of the Steem platform. This will only become truer to a growing number of people as Steem grows. Be true and you won't ever be deceived. I'm here helping in the creation of decentralized systems which empower and bring Joy to all. Wealth is just a tool and not an end in itself. Joy is what I'm all about. I got 20 more votes to my witness since my last post. Thank you to everyone who voted! "What Are Steem Witnesses And Why You Should Support Them!" https://steemit.com/~witnesses Thank you for reading and for your comments! I read them all! Most of your answers can be found here: "Steem: An In-Depth Overview!" Get on the chats. Not in private messages but in the chat rooms. These are some of the best places to makes some meaningful Steem friends.Cryptocurrencies!
Joy Is What I'm All About!
If I Was A Billionaire
Truthfulness And Compassion!
One More Thing!
Wealth Is Just A Tool!
Approving My Witness
Thank you!
Chat
Find Out More!
I am so glad you put out the dance video. I am also so glad I messaged you how it has made me smile and feel since you did that LOL.
Because it was powerful.
Maybe some people watching it of course do not know you like some of us, and likely some know you better.
But it conveyed pure happiness, not that you are chasing money -- like you clearly convey here.
Line after line in every post you ever write is full of nuggets of gold and hard hitting truth.
--
-and also, who cannot like a guy who has a whole room of mangoes in a dance video anyways?????
Love you man, you are a great
#Steembassador
Posts like this give me inspiration i can see the quality in your posts! The very best of luck with your steem success!:)
This is such a nice comment! I love it! You're a blessing Barry!
The mango part really cracked me up!
That's the sole reason for my upvote.
I'm not a very good liar, am I?
Joy stems from health, truth and freedom! I know I might be 24 days late replying to this post and to be honest I'm actually quite mad with myself that I didn't know about steemit well before you wrote those words above, as they are very powerful. I'm still unsure how to use steemit for myself but I'm already fantasizing how it can be used to help others. As I try and rapidly skim through it, trying to work out if I need to change paper money in to steem, which I think it might be a good idea to invest 10 or 20k (which is a question you might be able to help me with). It's kinda like standing on the grand canal in Venice, it doesn't seem real. When I look at Steemit, I see a platform that can host so many positive niches, giving everyone the chance to become the flower of their dreams. It doesn't stop there though because if you don't posses textual beauty, like myself it doesn't mean you can't become an important part of the Steemit garden of eden. Steemit needs and welcomes honey bees and understands that honey bees are just as important. Steemit gives everyone the opportunity to become something real. We need real people. Myself, I'm thinking how can we move the plant based community here. I mean as an instagrammer, I've just spent 4 years of free labor to feed their feed. I've never faked any followers and only have 33 thousand. But I get 50 comments per photo on average, I'm connected with real people. We've helped change and help so many people transforming over to a plant based diet, Which is why we do it! A diet that not only extends your life and saves animals. But it's a diet that opens the eyes of many, allowing them to see a clear view of what has happened! Now as those people move onwards with their plant based lifestyles a large majority of them, start to understand that it's up to us as individuals, to make the change, not governments. We hold the power! And that power we have is much more powerful that we realise. We could actually change this primitive shithole in to something beyond our dreams, and I see it as a reality that is happening faster than we think! What does all that have to do with steemit? Steemit is a city that can host an unlimited amount of plantbased/lifechanger inhabitants. Steemit is also a virtual planet that can feed anyone with a connection to it. It's like the Vegan diet, once you've discovered it, you want to share it with everyone. I mean you're aware of all this, I'm not telling you anything new, but me... I know you can't stop Bitcoin, now with that fact, I'm opening my eyes and understanding very clearly what Steemit can become. Course I'm just referring to building a city for my like minded people. Steemit doesn't differentiate, you can build countries within steemit and live of each other in peace. That is a reality, right here, right now! And I'd like to thank the steemit god and the universe for making it possible. This is the beginning of an empire. Sorry, I think i've just ranted my thoughts out loud. Sorry and thank you at the same time for being a part of it. I think it's time for me to dance!
Hahaha! It is time indeed for us to dance. You're comment is clearly one of the best comment I ever read and I'm not surprised it comes from a vegan. I'll talk and go into much more details about some of the stuff you mentioned in your comment.
By the way, make sure to invite all your instagram followers. Post about it here on Steemit and I'll give you nice upvote. Don't promise them anything you can't be sure of. Don't oversell, just make some honest invitations.
Have fun!
Hi great post man. I am new to steem so i wish one day i could post a summary like you about how i started and how i become sucessful. One thing i learn from your regret is not to cash out something you truly believe in this early and i want to thank you for that.
I try not to have too much regret and stay focus on what's really important no matter where I am or what I'm doing.
Post 2/2 here for you on this -- shared on the Twitter. I could not remember which of the 2 of your accts was the current one LOL, sorry.
https://twitter.com/BarryDutton/status/874071506845925376
bit.ly/2rfW3hf
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
Thank for sharing! This is awesome!
I did not even mention your nice choice of tags, and especially the 5th one.
Classy guy with a nice soul you have brother.
We are all better off knowing you.
Thank you.
In French we say: "Tu es un bon vivant Barry!" which I would somewhat translate to "You're a good jack Barry!"
Aw man. Thanks buddy.
Bro hug.
LOL!
I almost didn't put that tag. I hesitated to chose truthfulness instead but I felt like compassion was more meaningful. Everything is true so...
That took you to underline that word and special attention I put there in the choice of my tags. Take care Barry!
You are truly one of the most interesting people here on Steemit and even outside of here IMHO.
My 3-in 1 milestone post went up earlier today and you have been a part of that, so thanks again my man, for everything.
I really liked the image about what assets would you rather hold on to. I never looked at it like that before and its honestly changed my perception even more. Why hold on to an assets that is trillions in debt instead of holding on to one that can be used world wide and holds its value!
Awesome comment! I couldn't put it more clearly.
Pretty incredible what you've accomplished!
Hey thanks! Your comment feels awesome!
Oh hell yeah, man! Dance the night away!
Don't get me too excited!!
O_O;
@shayne
Wow, another awesome piece!
Thanks a bunch for sharing all this information and being such an inspiration with it all. All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
You got nice mangoes! Awesome video and what amazing ride it has been. Steem On!
It sure is an amazing ride! Enjoy @runridefly!
I got into Steem, May 2016 as well because my friend came across it while he was doing research on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Very nice seeing the community grow! Great post :)