Hello Steemians, still in the spirit of being new, I’d like to share my cryptocurrency story. I can bet that there are very few people here who have such an extensive knowledge of how the market works.
While introducing myself (which can be found here https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@designzeus/hello-steemit-crypto-investor-and-writer-here), I noted that I have been in the crypto space since 2016. Actually, I got to know about Bitcoin in 2015, and I was skeptical to invest in it because the platform on which it was introduced appeared to be a scam. And yes, my instincts were right, the Ponzi scheme ended up crashing, leaving thousands of people in debts in my country, Nigeria.
Lesson 1
So, here’s the first lesson I learned, even though I soon forgot this. If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it is probably a duck. Never believe in schemes promising to make you rich by doing close to nothing. Making money is hard. If it wasn’t, a lot of people would be rich.
Back to the Story
With that said, in 2016, I read about Bitcoin and I was interested in the underlying technology, blockchain. I decided it was time to invest. And like an eager child, I’d use a percentage of my monthly income to buy Bitcoin. I did this consistently for about 5 months.
Something unfortunate happened in 2017 at the peak of my life. I felt I had everything under control. Like most young people, I believed I had my life planned out. I was earning a lot as a freelance writer and animator on popular freelancing site, Fiverr. I was in the middle of buying and developing a property. I had vacation trips all line up for the entire year. I never envisaged anything to go wrong at that point.
But guess what? It did, and all at the same week. Right in the middle of inspecting a property, I needed to purchase, my job account for over 2 years was deactivated for no tangible reasons. 3 days later, in a bid to search for passive income, I stumbled upon a gambling site, I tried it out for 2 days (this was my first-time gambling), and on the third day, there was an error in a transaction I did which flung me into huge debts - $7000, equivalent to 3.75 BTC at that time (bitcoin was probably $1800). I saw my entire life crumble before me.
Lesson 2
There is absolutely nothing like quick money. Although some others may have their reservations, I despise gambling. I have seen countless young people run their lives on the table of being lucky. Looking back, it is easy to see that gambling is addictive – it always feels good when you are winning, but ultimately, you lose. Avoid gambling.
Also, life happens, deal with it. $7000 was a huge amount for me considering the fact that I had lost my job. It was really a tough time because all those I counted on left me to fix my mess. Know this, nobody owes you anything. I slowly picked up bits of my life and in telling this story, I am excited that I am back on my feet.
Finally, always have a backup plan. Have multiple streams of income. One of my favorite scriptures, Proverbs 11: 1-2 says "Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, [be diligently active, make thoughtful decisions], for you will [a]find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, or even [divide it] to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth."
Back to the Story
After losing so much, I had to start all over to build a profile as a freelance writer and animator. My exceptional skills and vast experience has come in handy in the last one year. In the midst of debts, I still dedicated a percentage of my income (70% monthly) to buying cryptos. From Bitcoin, I moved to Ethereum and then got some Ripple at $0.2, and a couple of others. I also had to learn how to read the charts (RSI and MACD, yeah, right!).
Fate probably saw my resilience and gave me a stroke of luck when Ripple moved to $3. I exited the market at $2.1, and I was somewhat of a free man.
Now, I spend most of my time, writing for a host of blogs and news sites. I have been privileged to work with some blockchain projects too and have them all pay me in cryptocurrencies.
Just like everyone else, I am sitting and waiting for us to MOON!!!
While this may not be the most intriguing story, it is a fragment of having my fair share of life… I will keep sharing some more experiences with time.
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Hello man, you’re quite interesting, welcome to steemit! I am @ichie1 and I’ll love to see your progress and success here.
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Thanks bro, I hope to interact more with the community.
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Thanks, I will check it out.
welcome to steemit designzeus. good luck and have a great prosperity
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Thanks, I wish you the same.
WOW!! hello fellow newbie it will be a pleasure to follow each other HIT ME UP @Imjasit #bantusteemitIndonesia
Absolutely.
Welcome to Steemit! Hope we can learn from each other!
You are great.
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