It happened! It has finally happened! I have been delivered into the lap of digital nomadism like never before! Since 1998 I have made money solely from web development, and I have worked for myself as well as many companies. I have been lucky enough to have had my last job for the last 12 years, and have been busy making websites on the side, whilst simultaneously holding workshops and doing the things I really want to do. That job has been dwindling for 2 years now, and step by step the company that I worked for have seen their business fail. Three days ago I got the final nail in the coffin to that part of my life, as the company have now stopped paying me quite suddenly, and are moving on to greener pastures.
In April last year my boss was encouraging me to learn how to make animated motion graphics for advertisements using the latest 3D rendering programs. I went to youtube and had a look at them, and there was simply one thought, maybe two, in my head...
1. I'm too old for this shit!
2. I really don't want to spend the next 10 years of my life glued to a screen trying to make top notch animations for a company selling something that I have zero interest in.
The learning curve would have been immense, and I just face palmed at the idea of learning all this for a bit of money. NO WAY! At the Very same time, I had just turned my attention toward Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. I stumbled upon a youtube from @jerrybanfield and before long I was watching endless hours of incredible information about the new world that is being born, all based on blockchain. I got it! Suddenly what seemed like just a currency called Bitcoin that you could use to buy drugs on-line had morphed into a phenomena that was changing everything from the ground up. This blockchain tech is going to do what even the Internet couldn't.. The bigger picture had become clear, and before long at all I bought my first Bitcoin, about $3,000 worth in April 2017. Whilst that may not sound like long ago to many people, for me it feels like a life time!
My whole perspective on the future and how it may take shape has changed. Being involved in the whole cryptocurrency game has almost entirely taken my attention away from Facebook, Mainstream Media etc. I used to interact with them out of boredom really, I don't believe a word i hear on the news.. but used to be interested to see what was going on and where the zeitgeist was at. I still do check them today, but its a very brief scan of the main news rather than reading all the nonsense that they are dredging up.
By June 2017 I had bough a bit of Ethereum and was busy learning more about these alt coins. I didn't have much in the way of savings at ALL, and I also couldn't bare watching what few thousand pounds I did have simply lose value because of the weakness of the pound and the pathetic interest rates of the UK banks.. Less than 1%! Then one day I stumbled upon a youtube from @jerrbanfield, harping on about this Steemit thing.. He created a good buildup and intrigue because he made us wait for him to reveal which cryptocurrency he was going ALL IN on! I had no idea really, and had never even noticed Steem, and had no idea that there was a flourishing new ecosystem based on all the best principals of decentralized Anarcho-Capitalism called Steemit.
I think i signed up a few days later. As I am sure most of you reading this will understand, my life hasn't been the same since! What the heck! This place is full of amazing people. I thought the whole world was asleep, content with this current paradigm, at least that's how it seemed from my Facebook feeds! I have been living in a remote part of India on the side of mountain since 12 years, so its fair to say I only really see the world and connect through the Internet. I wasn't expecting to find amazing people here at every turn. My initial idea was to just write about my eco building experiences, and hopefully get some rewards. I had never written about ALL my experiences because I was just TOO overloaded at the time to document it properly, and never had the impulse to write.
Once I started writing, and connecting with people, I was on a high! My poor wife @clara-andriessen lost me for a while there, and i was just totally absorbed in discovering more, reading more, and having REAL connections and comments with people. After about a month I was totally used to things, and I can remember going to Facebook and checking in. I felt like WHAT was the point of liking anything? What an ego-trip waste of time! It all just felt SO shallow and empty and soulless.
As I started to write my first story of eco-building, the creation of Earthship Karuna, all the memories of that 15 year journey came back to me, and it was a powerful and cathartic experience. This had been my life's dream, and took everything I had to manifest it. I can remember crying and being able to let go of so many emotions associated with the whole story. I was LOVING writing, and can't really remember ever having written much beyond dissertations and academic stuff way back in 1992! Now there are times when I have to stop myself writing!
Steemit was amazing, yes, and I simply had to find a way to get my friends involved, this was just too compelling. Before long I had dreamed up the idea of the @ecotrain, and was totally enthused and inspired to bring in some amazing people that I knew into Steemit and start helping make the world a better place. @ecoTrain is a whole other story, and today we are a small community of around 15 people who are just beautiful people with big hearts and each with their own message to share. It has been an honor and joy to watch us all evolve on Steemit, and to be able to support people with my comments and up-votes. I can really make a difference to peoples lives here, and in so many ways.
I am now 7 months old on Steemit, and since the last 3 days, my relationship to is has changed a little. This is because, i have just lost my only other source of income, and despite three years of soul searching and efforts in many directions, i have not found my path. Since i have had no idea how to move forward, I have simply continued doing what is working, and see what happens. I have spent days on upwork.com submitting proposals for web work, and it has been almost fruitless, and also very boring. Whilst I was applying for jobs, I could feel that I really didn't want to do it, and my heart was just not in it. My heart was and is in Steemit, and there was NOTHING to compare between the two!
How the F8ck can a 'website' be this compelling, amazing, life changing and totally different to anything that has preceded it? I guess we can thank technology, and visionary people like @dan and @Ned know i certainly can. Thank you to ALL of you who are here, involved, posting, supporting, commenting, and making Steemit the coolest place to be on the Internet.
My life is now supported entirely by this 'crazy' place! Whilst I am slightly nervous about being so dependent or vulnerable, what with the looming SBD drop that may or may not come, I feel a tingle of freedom surging up, because how AMAZING would it be if i could share, write, and engage in all the things I am passionate about .. AND that be my source of income too! I have never felt such a freedom to express myself, in just about any way I like. This feels like a very safe space, despite it being totally open to anyone and everyone. How ironic is that!? I have been inspired by so many people, and I am in awe of so many people's consistent dedication to finding and curating great writers and important themes.
SO Thank you for saving my ass Steemit, thank you for showing us this new paradigm that I hope and trust will take this world and US along with it for a very amazing ride!
STEEM ON MY BROTHERS & SISTERS! LET'S DO THIS!
Thanks for being here with me and the @ecotrain!
We are a small community that support each other because we love what we write!
check our our ecoTrain magazine at @ecotrain
