When I started on Steemit seven months ago I had no idea it was going to change my life forever! I'm somewhat of a unique story on the platform. Most members here lean to the techy or crypto investor side of things. I couldn't be more opposite! I tried to avoid using computers my entire life. All I did was email and a little research on various subjects. HTML formatting, uploading photos, using steemit.chat, it was all way over my head. Not to even mention how to turn steem into spendable cash! It has been a huge learning experience for me.
My skill sets come directly from life experience. I built a business teaching English in S. Korea at age twenty then sold it and bought a house at age twenty two. I then sold that after studying investing on my own and figuring out how to live frugally off my interest while traveling the world. I've never had a real job or a boss and have never even graduated college.
Quite frankly I really haven't worked in over ten years! I've just been enjoying my life and budget traveling around the world for more than a decade, gaining life/travel experience and knowledge since my early 20's; I'm now 35. I was attracted to steemit as I knew I had great writing and communication skills and an incredible wealth of budget travel knowledge and experience that needed to be shared.
I first heard of steemit from Gregory Mannarino's (@marketreport) you tube channel that I've been following for years. Shortly after I started traveling from Ecuador to Mexico for my own personal pleasure I found myself sitting in a hotel in Medellin Colombia studying the platform. I soon decided to join and give blogging a try just to give me something productive to do with hopes of earning a little money for my efforts.
Fast forward to to day, steemit has become an intricate part of my life. Giving me a livable salary and the ability to address the question of what do you do by replying "I'm a travel blogger for Steemit!" The reactions I get always put a smile on my face!
When I first joined I had basically zero experience with social media. I joined facebook two years ago, and never posted anything there and have to this day less than 50 face book friends. In the beginning I had a very hard time understanding why anyone would care about me or my blog, and why I should care about anyone else's.
My answer to that issue was if I'm going to be on steemit I need to be me and interact with people in a personal way as if I just met them on the street. This is the only way I know how to interact with people. This is why I use my real name Dan and I am so open about who I am and what I do.
When I communicate with others I try to do it in a personal way, to bring a realness to the conversation. Being thousands of miles away from the person I'm communicating with is enough distance. I feel it's necessary to close that gap by communicating with a personal touch.
When I first joined I really didn't understand I was joining a community to begin with. I thought of it as starting a website. I just planned to share my travel knowledge, help people, and get paid for it. Well, I've accomplished all three of these goals now, but the most valuable thing I've learned was the one I was most clueless about from the start.
I'm talking about the community, the people I've met on the platform. The relationships I've built which many have spilled over into real life. Yes the money is nice, but it's the people that have filled my heart and truly made my success here possible. I'd like to give a huge thank you to the creators of steemit. True geniuses that have changed the lives of more people than they could ever possibly know. Thank you Ned Scott and Dan Larimer! I look forward to shaking your hand at the next steemfest wherever that is...I'm going!
As mentioned I'm not a computer person, and try to live an active life and build relationships in person. With my travel lifestyle I've been able to meet steemit friends and turn them into life long friends from the real world.
This photo was taken one month after joining steemit at @luczypher home in Playa del Carmen Mexico along with @mithrilweed and @donnaincancun (from left to right). @luzcypher was the veteran member of steemit and he gave the three of us great inspirational knowlege about the platform and crypto currencies in general. He told me I would go far if I stuck with it. He's been helping me and supporting me along the way from the very start. Thank you @luczypher!
Here I am just last month in Bangkok Thailand, where I've met up several times with @fitinfun (Sharon). We've become good friends and email each other back and forth regularly, discussing more private things best left off the block chain.
That is Angelo @theywillkill you on the right. We were keeping in touch for months knowing that our paths would cross when I was back in Bangkok as he recently moved there for business. Angelo is a very kind person, highly intelligent, and a very successful youtuber with about 1 million subscribers!
This photos was taken my very last night in Thailand. I'm so happy I got to spend it with some good friends I met on steemit before leaving the country. Angelo and I keep in touch and may be working on a project together in the future.
Now a Big Thank You to My Steemit Friends!
@lukestokes- A steemit witness, father, husband, successful business man, and big time player on the platform. I reached out to Luke when things were not going so well for me around my third month. I was ready to quit. I was putting lots of time into my blog and averaging less than 50 cents a post. Luke noticed my quality work, and has had my back and been supporting me ever since. Without Luke I would have certainly quit. I owe so much to this all around role model. Thank you @lukestokes!
@gavvet- another whale of a steemian who saw my quality work and threw his support behind me. He began up-voting my blog posts giving me enough money to keep me going and motivated! Thank you @gavvet.
@natureofbeing- I saw her one year steemit experience post resteemed by @oldtimer. I was blown away by what she wrote as I could slowly feel my experience starting to mimic what she described. I was four months on steemit at the time. I commented on her post and we really hit it off.
Since then we've been as good friends as can be without meeting in person. But I feel our paths will cross soon hopefully in 2018. Ruth did me one of the biggest favors anyone in my life has ever done for me. Ruth thought so highly of me, my travel knowledge, and my blog that she nominated me to be part of the @sndbox incubator program, which is a big deal! Thank you Ruth!
Michael and Kirk from @sndbox- These guys run one of the most impressive and ambitious organizations on the steemit platform and are based out of New York City. From @naturofbeing's nomination they agreed to put me in their incubator program. They help lift up talented bloggers like myself with their powerful up-votes, coaching, and support. I'm looking forward to graduating from their system with the ability to give back and make a serious difference to the lives of many; just as they have made a huge difference for me.
Moreover @sndbox specialize in steem funded projects turning steem into real life things. They recently opened a steemit funded public park in NYC! They are currently working with steemit members and other organizations all around the world, helping fund projects and simply make the world a better place without the need of any centralized government or fiat currency. Thank you guys and keep up the great work!
@gringalicious- Being a fellow foodie and having lived in Chile we had an instant connection. We both share Spanish as a second language, the love of travel, and food! Not only does she make incredible things to eat, she photographs them with the quality that could be used in any magazine. I think she has the best food blog on the platform. "Gringa" really enjoys my style of travel blog as I focus on bringing the real life of what is beyond the borders of the United States. Something she wishes more Americans knew about and understood. She's been supporting me for a while now and it's greatly appreciated! Thank you @gringalicious!
@sweetsssj- If there was such a thing as an A list celebrity on this site she would be it. We recently have made a connection as we are both travelers with much in common. At first I didn't understand what the big deal was with her. Quite frankly I was jealous. I even told her that. But after learning the platform, I grew an appreciation for who she is and what she does here. @sweetsssj has been a real inspiration for me. With her busy schedule she has found time to throw some support behind my blog with her massive steem power. Thank you @sweetsssj.
@qurator- Run by @scrooger is a curating organization helping lift up talented bloggers with their ever growing steem power. They are fairly new and with little investment money they are leasing almost 50,000 in steem power and making a difference for new authors who need the support the most. Thank you and keep up the great work!
@Karenmckersie- If there was ever a team player on the platform she would be it. With a heart of gold, who else better to create and run the POP (power of positivity) contest here on steemit. During my first month while in a hotel in Nicaragua she took the time to teach me how to upload my image photo, then a couple months later while in Laos she taught me how to do my cover photo. We've gone back and forth from my very start, and she has really found my blog of high quality and fascinating. She has resteemed probably over a dozen of my posts to almost 3,000 followers! -Thank you Karen!
@flipstar- Responding to my intro seven months ago he instantly saw that I'm the real deal when it comes to travel knowledge and experience. Being a smart guy with a thirst for knowlege he questioned me about whether to stay in Thailand or go to Bali to train martial arts; I recommended him stay in Thailand and he is still there. @flipstar was one of my very first followers that pulled some weight around here. His wise decision to invest in the platform has already paid off in spades, and everyone in his influence of Flipstar-Power has benefited with his handsome up-votes. Besides that he is a real nice guy and is taking some of his new found wealth and opening a school for the less fortunate in Thailand. Class act all around! Thank you @flipstar!
@heyithaas - I can't help but love this guy. He is friend and a fan of my blog. A traveler at heart yet stuck in a J-O-B in Holland. Haas has been commenting and supporting my blog form day one. He's been the inspiration of several of my posts. He's a good friend of Angelo @theywillkillyou and put us intouch where we met in person n Bangkok. @heyithaas has invited me to stay at his apartment when I make it to Holland next summer. I certainly plan on taking him up on his offer. Thank you Haas!
@joythewander- A fellow travel blogger who arrived on the steemit scene almost a year before I did. She and I have gone back in forth in conversation for some time now. Being my steemit Senior, she has taken it upon herself to support my efforts here and it's greatly appreciated! Thank you Joy!
@magicmonk- He does great instructional youtube videos and much more. Also the creator of mysteemitfriends.online. He is a Math teacher and basketball enthusiast from Australia and someone I looked up to and reached out to back when I was just a couple months on the platform. At the time I was writing blog posts for 25 cents an hour. He noticed my ability and we quickly became steemit friends. He's been supporting my work ever since. -Thank you @magicmonk!
@eturnerx- This is one very special member of the steemit community. He is all about lifting up undervalued members like myself not too long ago. We once had a conversation where I compared steemit to a third world country out of frustration. He was more than intrigued. As I described the steemit community several months ago as having a whale/dolphin to minnow ratio of a third world country. Meaning no middle class! Either rich or super poor. Being a whale himself this conversation inspired him to take matters into his own hands and he's been on a mission to make steemit's middle class grow, applying all sorts of strategies including lending out his steem power. He's been supporting my work for a long time now. Thank you @eturnerx!
@gtg- A Steemit witness and original member of the platform holding a tonne of influence. I reached out to him for advice during my first month on how I can improve my blog. Not only did he reply to me within minutes giving me great advice, he gave me my very first $20 up-vote! I was thrilled all day. Since then he's advised me and supported me every so often. He is a very busy guy dealing with some serious business high up on the steemit platform. Thank you @gtg!
@twinner- Another big investor on the platform. He saw my quality work several months ago and must have noticed how underpaid I was. He was up-voting me with multiple accounts for quite a while. This really kept me motivated to stay in the game. Thank you @twinner!
@choogirl and @steemitmap - This girl is new on the scene relatively speaking but she runs things like she's been here from day one. I get the impression that she is a social media and computer wiz. Some serious skills that I'm lacking. She has created www.steemitworldmap.com. A place that couldn't be more perfect for my blog. If you're looking for steemit blog post about places all around the world just go to her map. You'll see me speckled all throughout Thailand, Laos, Ecuador, and soon to be many more places. A real asset to the platform. Thank you @choogirl and keep up the good work!
Some other Steemit friends I'd like to mention are @boncnutz, @margeretwise, @itsmikechoo, @fanstaff, @oldtimer, @kevinwong, @enki, @enlil, @aburmeseabroad, @pfunk, @darthnava, @extremeromance, @firepower, @solarsupermama, @janusface, @makeithappen.
Last but not least a big thank you to @yankee-statman. This is my father. He's been there for me and encouraged me to succeed in everything I do throughout my entire life. I could not have accomplished so much without his love and support. Thank you Dad!
Thank You Steemit!
