Blockchain Memory Project - Journal Entry (8) - Taking Chances
Here we are again careening through the air in an aluminum tube, this time we’re Brooklyn-bound. I’m strung out from getting too little sleep, we nearly missed our flight, yet I couldn’t be more content. I inherited the vagabond gene from my father so this freedom to travel has been a dream come true. I'm beginning to get a little more comfortable existing within a vortex of chaos. Afterall, home isn't a place but a feeling you can carry around with you.
For the next two weeks the HardFork team will be working hard to further craft the script and work on other aspects of the project. My wife and I are just narrowly missing Consensus, hopefully we can catch that conference next year.
I’ve logged more airline miles since I discovered Steemit in 2016 than in my previous forty-four years combined. Every time I take off from Minneapolis it reminds me of my very first flight from Columbus to Minneapolis in 1995 when I was twenty-four years old.
I flew alone and had no idea what to expect. After takeoff, when the plane leveled to cruising altitude, it didn’t feel like it had enough velocity to stay airborne and my heart nearly beat out of my chest. I looked around to see if any of the other passengers were panicking and when I saw no one was I finally calmed down.
Little did I know boarding that flight would change the entire course of my life. To make a long story less of a bore, I met a girl (who ended up being my first wife.) After meeting online earlier that year we had a long distance relationship for five months.
The plan was she would come see me in Columbus for a week, I would visit her in Minnesota then we’d decide on our future. At the time I was just beginning to get published in some local Columbus newspapers, going to college, and working in a distribution center for clothing retailer, The Limited. During this weeklong trip to the Twin Cities I made the decision to take another chance…leave everything I had ever known to start a new life in Minnesota.
During the past few years I’ve often thought about how different the trajectory of my life would be now if I would’ve stayed in Ohio. As with every decision we make in life, there’ve been both good and bad aspects. Leaving everything that was familiar forced me out of my comfort zone. Who knows? If I hadn't taken that chance I likely would have been satisfied getting small pieces published in local papers and may have retired from The Limited.
Fast forward to the summer of 2016. I found out about this new social media site from a Facebook friend. She said you could get paid for your writing. I took a chance and registered in June but for some reason the password didn’t work and I forgot about it and carried on with my life.
Thankfully, something nagged away at me to give it another try in early July. I emailed Steemit support, they helped me get access and I began posting. I’ll never forget how exciting it was to be part of that first wave of writers on this platform! There was so much to learn -- markdown code, opening a crypto exchange account, a Coinbase account, and, sweet Jeezus, the anxiety-inducing experience of that first cryptocurrency transfer. Thankfully I had some amazing teachers.
Taking the chance with Steemit led to too many blessings to count. The most valuable blessings of them all are the wonderful people we've met.
“Success is a series of glorious defeats.” - Mahatma Ghandi
Where is all this rambling leading? Hopefully to something useful. If I had to choose the one bit of advice gleaned from my forty-seven years on Earth it would be to take as many chances as you can. In my experience the recipe for success is comprised of 1/4th’s talent, 1/4th’s hard work, and 2/4th’s luck. The more chances you take, the greater your odds. I don’t feel that I’m particularly talented, I simply got lucky. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.
Mahatma Ghandi said, “Success is a series of glorious defeats.” Never be afraid to stumble, failure lays the foundation of both humility and compassion. If you think you’re tough, if you feel you’re strong, like you have all of the confidence in the world and don’t need anyone’s help then I would venture a guess that you haven’t even began to test your limits.
How do you know you’re taking enough chances to find true success? Your whole being will tell you. You will feel butterflies in the pit of your stomach, your might brain may scream, “What the hell am I doing?”, or your heart could possibly feel like it will pound completely out of your chest from fear. If you’re experiencing something in the range of these emotions then I'd say, yep, you’re probably on the right track.
Yours in the Chain,
Eric
Steemit Blockchain Memory Project Rules of Engagement
- Share any significant memory you’d like to. Think about things that have shaped who you are or may be unique in some way. Think about memories you’d like your great-great-grandchildren to read about....now write posts about these memories in your Steemit blog.
- Use proper tags (see below)
- Share a link to this post in all of your Blockchain Memory Project posts so others can find the rules.
- Share your posts with your friends and family on external social media outlets (optional but encouraged).
Tag Suggestions
We want your memories to live on forever. We also want those memories to be searchable by those who might be looking for them in the future.
For this reason, I suggest the following tags for your first four - “Story Life Blog BlockchainMemoryProject”.
Your last tag should be very specific to what you’re writing about in your post, something that will help people who are searching for it on the internet.
I'll be sharing memories of my own along the way.
Prizes
Each month I will comb through the posts tagged with “BlockchainMemoryProject” and choose my favorites. The post owners will receive a surprise in their wallets...a portion of a monthly prize of 10 Steem! Note: all rules of engagement must be followed for your post to qualify.
As always, I thank you for reading.
Yours in the Chain,
Eric
Please follow our official Steemit account for the film series @hardfork-series. Did you miss our last post? If so CLICK HERE to read it!
*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.
My book on meditation, The Perfect Pause, is priced at $12.99 (paperback) and $4.99 (eBook). Buy the paperback and receive the eBook for free!
Connect with Me
Yeah. I agree with you. Home isn't really a building. It is a feeling you can surely takebaround with you.
I'm happy to read this experiences here.
I'm newbie on the platform. I left before and I'm back.
Happy to be here. And I must say that you have dished out great wisdom.
Sometimes, risk is actually risky but in the real sense,its really not very risky.
As humans, if your wings are down, its either u give up on flying again or think of how to regain new wings.
This is surely a helpful post my friend. Thanks for sharing
@ericvancewalton, That's really impressive to read your past history when you started steemit journey. Steem blockchain will be more awesome than other social media currently. I got massive knowledge from your contents. Your writing style fascinating to me and mmmm....others. You found steem blockchain using better discovered. It's great work.
That's a point. We earn lot more things from steemit. But most important thing also met greatest steemians (friends) around the world to me. I learned most of cultures, traditions, attitudes, traveling tips etc.... via steemit. So I recommend steem blockchain brilliant platform than other medias. Another thing is you started meditation process already i feel like much better to me. Thanks for wrote best memorable story. It's inspiring me lot. Triple gem bless you.
Thank you @madushanka! I agree, the relationships that Steemit sparks in our lives are the best part of it all. There's no better experience than going to SteemFest and meeting some of these people face-to-face. I hope you're having a great week!
Yep..Agreed...We'll meet someday via steem meet up. I'm waiting when will meet face to face. It's being remarkable moment. Sure.
It is great reading this entry. I feel inspired knowing that one day my investment in Steemit will pay off. Thanks for the support you've given writers like me so far.
Regards.
You're very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to drop by and read the post.
Always my pleasure sir. Full Steem ahead.
Awesome story from your memories . I think you feel better on steemit more than facebook . Mahatama gandhi quote on success is very true .
Thanks! Ghandi was a very wise man indeed!
Love that. The answer is already no if we don’t ask, so why not ask or take the chance?
Enjoying these traveling tidbits as you rack up those frequent flyer miles! :)
I'm glad you're enjoying this series, @lydon.sipe! I think I'll be staying home for a while after this trip. Summer in Minnesota passes in the blink of an eye and I don't want to miss it. Hope all is well!
@2ricvancewalton how are you
wow. first of all, you really deserve some accolades. unconsciously, each time i'm at work, and theres a post by you, i show them to my friends and i'm like take a look at this.
They aren't on steemit but they always get to ask me "any new stuff from @eric?" And the meditation article got all of them swept off their feet.
thats why i'll lend my voices to the available ones to urge you to write more often..
And to todays topic
i really praise your courage my friend. a lot of us are too scared to take risk. Maybe not just in business but even our daily lives, they just think about all of the negatives that would happen and end up not taking actions.
your story is a source of motivation
Bravo
That's very kind of you @ogatailor. I'm glad you're enjoying the posts! The real key to remember is everyone is afraid, even if they don't appear to be. Each time you confront your fears and push past them their grip loosens a little bit. If you do this enough eventually you'll be free from that particular fear.
Wow!. We carry home with us everywhere we go. You stepped out of your comfort zone, you moved on the unstirred water, you dared the impossible. When we do what we have never done before, we get to experience things we have never experienced before. This story is inspiring and I am glad to read this sir. I need to document how I got here on Steemit too. That should be my entry two.
Thanks a lot sir...for all you do.
Thanks, man! I was so young when I made that life-changing decision that I didn't think of the implications. Luckily, it all worked out in the end. Looking forward to reading your second entry!
Bravery sometimes require shunning the consequences. You followed your instinct and it led you right. I am happy with that. Thanks a lot for all you do, duly appreciated sir.
Personally, I'll love to share a personal experience.
I'm a fashion designer. And lets say surfing the net is one of my hobbies. And for quite a while I've given several internet money making platforms a shot. Some rewarding, and some fruitless.
Though I joined the platform this year. From the little spare time I have, I've been able to engage and can confidently say that this platform is one of the best I've seen.
It has helped my business tremendously (serving as a side income by helping with the challenges of start up)
Engagement, I've been able to make good and beautiful friends and you are one of them @eric.
Knowledge bank, a lot of authors has been so helpful. From the crypto tutorials to a more deeper knowledge (perfect pause, meditation and a lot others), you guys have really helped my knowledge bank. To mention a few, @dougkarr, I'm grateful. @eric, you've been super awesome.
Financially, this platform has been helpful.
Though not easy, but it has surely helped in refurbishing my little business outfit.
For the upvotes, I'm really grateful. And then a couple of times I get to see a 100% upvote, I feel the happiest. I'm really grateful for that.
Very soon, I hope to do a proper appreciation text.
To today's highlights, sometimes its risky not to take a risk. If the outcome favours you, you have won. If it doesn't, you have learnt.
There's always something at the back of every risk. Positive, negative, its always beautiful.
I'm so glad that you've had a positive experience on Steemit, so many people have! Also, thank you for the kind words.
I like how you put that..."To today's highlights, sometimes its risky not to take a risk. If the outcome favours you, you have won. If it doesn't, you have learnt."
It really does boil down to that. You have to live life, take risks, put yourself out there. Thanks for your comment, @eldahcee!
Should I get to share my own story too?
Lol.
Let me not bore @eric and other followers with too much to read.
I agree with you my friend. Steemit is a complete package.
And I'm truly happy I met a beautiful soul like you.
We've all faced defeats.
Let me throw back a little. When I was in highschool, I thought if I could make good grades, all my problems would be over.
Entrance exams into the University, I prayed to pass. That if God should answer just this one, I won't bore him with any other request ever. Many Times, many challenges, many promises.
We weren't broken, even if we did fail we didn't stop. We tried harder in exams and life so it was victory in the end.
This article is really an encouraging one my friend and I appreciate you for sharing
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.
Beautiful story from your memories . Your all stories are very well written . Mahatama Gandhi is a correct name .
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.