Hi Readers! I've been encouraged by so many friends to write my story for Steemfest Dreams.

Warning!

This is a long text as my entry to the amazing, the great, the unequaled @steemfestdreams initiative to bring a Steemian to the Steemfest 2018 in Kraków - Poland. For me, this is the most important text since my ~~useless~~ graduation thesis; it's the most important text since the history of Holy texts. I'm sure there are loads of Steemians out there who deserve it too, but I'll touch your heart deep inside, and if I don't make you laugh at least I tried. I just want to explain who I am and how I'll NEVER lose enthusiasm and happiness, because those are my most valuable possessions.

Check out the official announcement below.

Win a Free Ticket to SteemFest in Krakow Poland! (And Possibly an All Expense Paid Trip depending on Support for these Posts)

When I was first introduced to Steemfest a couple weeks ago by my beloved friends and colleagues at the Steemit Traveller's Discord, my first reaction was of pure excitement. I absolutely need to go! - I thought.

Being able to attend the festival represents the golden opportunity to meet incredible people who think alike, who think ahead of our time and envision life with a different and inovative approach, a fine group of entrepreneurs who want a better world. At the Steemfest I will be closer to this amazing community, whom I've never imagined would be so united and strong.

It is also the greatest opportunity to represent my country, Brazil, and share the culture of my state Rio Grande do Sul. I'll be able to bring to the world the costumes of the gauchos, a people who've been working hard to fight all the difficulties, without losing the biggest power we have - the smile.

Being there, I'll also be glad to represent @travelfeed with my colleagues and represent @cyclefeed - this one being a project passionately run by me @robmolecule and @twowheeledmonkey, where our main goal is to encourage people into using a bicycle, thus contributing for a healthier, cleaner and happier world. By the way, I'll make sure to go by bicycle to the festival everyday.

But reality soon struck me...

Hold on a second.. it's in Poland! How the heck will I get there? I can't simply hitchhike over the Atlantic, nor can I swim. And I'm not even close to being able to pay for such a journey. - I though.

That's how @steemfestdreams will be a life change!

I cannot submit my entry without introducing myself; I cannot introduce myself without writing a big text. So here we go!

I'm Arthur, a 30 year old brazilian guy trying as hard as I can to become independent and self suficient. I graduated as an Technician in Industrial Mechanic in 2010, a period where the world was still suffering the 2008 crisis, that meant finding a job in Brazil was harder than me going to Steemfest 2018. In 2016 I graduated in Mechanical Engineering, where I worked as an intern for a couple of companies, nice jobs that taught me a lot. But they also taught me that the industrial work was not for me; being locked inside a room, where I could barely see the sun consumed my soul and I started to feel depressed and weak.

My first contact with entrepreneurship was just after university. I gathered all the money I managed to save in my previous work and put into the dream of starting my own company. Plans were to develop Sim Racing Pedals, since the imported ones were way above a price the brazilians could pay. I worked hard on that for at least one year burrying all my money into a working prototype, just to discover that the project was completely inviable economically due to over taxation by the government. Soon after creating the prototype my working notebook burned completely; I was now left without money, without a computer and a prototype that I couldn't use. Goddammit.

All I wanted was to put a backpack in my shoulders and go... and I did!

^{Selling power bars in Chile.}

During 62 days I hitchhiked more than 10.000 kilometers in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile with only 300USD - which soon ended, leaving me with nothing. On that trip I learned gratitude, I learned to respect, to truly contemplate, to be humble, to value money. I worked as gardener, painter and I even sold power bars in order to keep on going - valuable lessons that I'll always carry and teach the younger.

Coming back, I decided to give engineering life a break and experiment with something else, I changed my lifestyle completely and found a job as English teacher at a local school. Motivation kicked back in because I was now able to, not only teach something to someone else, but I could also learn in the process. I became a friend to all those kids, who taught me a lot over the period of two years I taught.

I also wanted to start a blog to document my 2 months journey in order to motivate people that everything is possible when you truly want it. How to do it?

STEEMIT

I found Steemit searching the web, it was love at first sight! I had not only a ready to use platform, but it would also reward me for writing. I immediately joined and started working with my heart. I remember when I got over 1$ on my introduction, I also remember the first time I had a picture chosen at @photocontests - I called even my dog to tell it. I remember the first words of encouragement and the first time I met my valuable friends, those who I'll meet in person thanks to @steemfestdreams.

I've been working with heart and soul ever since without losing passion and enthusiasm! ~~Without taking a penny out of it.~~

My main idea when I first started, was to motivate and share happiness - I admit payout sometimes was depressing, but I just had to stick to my principles.

"If at least one person says that my texts motivate him/her; then I'll have at least one good reason to keep on posting"

Surprisingly, the number of Steemians around me increased, the words of encouragement kept on appearing on my comment section and without noticing I became part of this amazing community.

Becoming an everyday cyclist and advocating the importance of cycling.

Shortly after joining Steemit I managed to buy a bicycle with money I saved for over a year of teaching. I wanted to be able exercise and move quickly inside the city, I never imagined I would become an advocate of cyclism. A simple and rudimentar kind of transportation that completely changed my life.

The @cyclefeed was born, a place where I passionately envision as a media to not only encourage people to cycle, but a way to reward them for that. If there is a reason for my main account to be going slow with the postings, that is @cyclefeed. Along with @robmolecule we read and manually curate dozens of posts a day, bringing happiness and hope to our fellow cyclists. We are here for you guys!

Why should I go to Steemfest 2018?

I quit my job to dedicate full time on Steemit, without even knowing if it would be possible to live of it.

Last month I quit my job to decicate full time to my Steemit projects, I'm now working as @mrprofessor, as moderator for the Steemit Traveller's Discord, as creator and curator at @cyclefeed, as part of the big @travelfeed family, as a representative of Brazil, as a dedicated supporter for those who need help. I don't know how I will survive when my last 500 dollars run out, but I'll figure it out.

What makes me better than the guy next door? I must admit that I'm not good at self-promotion, it's quite possible that I spend more time giving tips on how to get better views than actually doing it myself.

Being a representative of Brazil at the event will place me in the middle of a hurricate called CREATIVITY, I'll be surrounded by great content producers, photographers, investors and entrepreneurs. It'll be a great opportunity to spread the bike word to a larger audience, to encourage you Steemians into using a cleaner way of transportation. It'll be great to explore Europe on my bike and discover every single aspect of its History. It'll be great to spread the Steem blockchain to all the travellers I meet along the way and bring them to our side.

What kind of help I need?

Basically the most expensive aspect of such a trip would be the plane ticket from Brazil to Europe, that itself would cost something around 500 usd, an amount of money I can't afford.

When it comes to food and shelter I can pretty much live from Pasta with Tuna fish; or Rice with Tuna; or Bread with Tuna; or Tuna with Tuna. For acomodation I'd need a piece of land to place my tent and that's it. A shower is optional, if you don't want a stinky guy near you \o\

I can find my way with the cheapest plane ticket for any place in Western Europe, I believe they are the most affordable ones for someone coming from Brazil. The Netherlands would be the perfect match, as I believe my friend @guchtere is going by car from there, whom I believe will give me a ride.

What can I offer?

Happiness; Friendship; a Smile
I can teach basic Portuguese
I can motivate
I can tell funny Travel Stories that will make you laugh
I can work on maintenance; clean bathrooms; paint; sweep
I can work as a translator for Portuguese, Spanish (intermediate level) and English
I can teach you how to ride a bicycle; clean; give maintenance

Fun Facts About This Text.

It took 17 hours to write
Computer froze 5 times (yes, it's a potato powered old notebook)
1 liter of coffee was consumed
I annoyed 3 friends to read it
I almost lost everything 2 times
I forgot to eat 2 times

I'm sorry for being overly dramatic, I hope I have achieved my goal to make you laugh. Have a great week and thank you for reading.

If you liked this post, please, consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.

~Love ya all,

Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.