If you know what bitcoin is, you’re a pioneer. Seriously. How do I know? I’ll tell you.
On Sunday afternoons, my family has a pleasant tradition that’s been going on for longer than I’ve been a part of it. On my wife’s side, we would spend Sunday lunch “at the farm” her grandfather’s rural property about 30 minutes outside Oklahoma City. There would be food, volleyball, stories, cards and family.
Now, some of my own kids are grown, her grandfather is gone and the “farm” was downsized for a 15 acre plot 10 minutes from town where her mom, grandmother and one aunt all have homes. It’s great.
I have to tell you that I have the world’s greatest mother-in-law, hands down. Without this amazing woman, I really don’t know how we would have survived our younger years. She has rescued us more times than I can count. And, she’s smart. Really smart. While I don’t know that she realizes it, she’s in the top percentile in her financial acumen.
I know this, because she’s passed all of her SEC tests, up to and including a broker’s license, but doesn’t want that stress.
She manages an office for a highly successful investment broker and has for over 20 years. That’s why it shocked me when my wife called me in to the “poker” table (yes, this woman, with all of her knowledge about money, still loves to play poker and blackjack, and typically for money) in her den and asked me to explain steemit to my mother in law.
“It’s like bitcoin,” I started.
“Well, I know that, but I don’t really know anything about bitcoin.”
I had to collect myself to keep my jaw from hitting the table. It had never really occurred to me until that very moment how in the dark people are about the modern world. Here is a woman that deals in investments, and as she went on to explain, no one in their office knew a single thing about bitcoin.
WHAT??
This might not come as that much of a shock, except, the IRS just approved an IRA that can hold bitcoin as a part of its portfolio. Yep, someone in this office, with sixteen brokers, in one of the most affluent bedroom communities in America, should really know a thing or two about bitcoin.
So, I explained what I could. She’s way smarter than me, knows how to read candlestick charts, like I read play scripts. She seemed baffled by how crypto is generated. But, then I compared it to fiat and the lights came on.
“Sure, I see what you’re saying I guess, I mean paper money doesn’t have much behind it either.”
BINGO!
So, for those out here, working in steemit, and using exchanges to cash out their crypto currency, you should realize, you are a pioneer. Someday, a hundred years from now, when the monetary system has hopefully returned to its libertarian roots, and currencies are ALL decentralized, history teachers will talk about us.
Maybe they won’t mention us by name, but we’ll be there, in that story about how the world changed from a government controlled monetary system to one that was more fair and harder to corrupt. That will be us, there, in the foundation of the blockchain, smiling into the future.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world thinks we’re crazy. How do I know? Because they call me crazy all the time. I post on Facebook that I just got my first $1000 plus article on steemit for about thirty minutes of work, and immediately the naysayers come out and start talking about how it’s not real money, then they point out, of course you do, you’re a writer, and on it goes.
But the best part is the inbox messages with people warning me about the tax implications and how unstable it all is and how careful I should be. Seriously? Fine, you sit there with your depreciating paper fiat that will get you nothing when you go to the bank. I’m good.
At the moment, my only issues with crypto lie in how infantile the industry is at the moment. I’m blocked. My power down payment yesterday is in limbo on Poloniex, so I move some coin to Bittrex and send it to my coinbase wallet, where, two hours later it’s still pending without a single confirmation!
Now, most days, mind you, it’s great and it’s not as if banking errors never happen outside of crypto land. Oh no, they do, like Sunday for example when Ross Dress For Less suspended a transaction after debiting $116 from my wife’s account and then would not give her the merchandise, although she could prove they had her money and we had to call the cops the get the woman to give us documentation of the error, because she wanted us to leave with no money and no merch.
Yeah.
But, out here on the digital frontier, things should be different, and maybe they will soon. But, I swear, one more Wallstreet type suggests centralized banking needs to involve themselves to make Bitcoin more acceptable and I’m gonna start throat punching people, NO! It’s just like the Children of Israel, having escaped Pharaoh, begging Moses to take them back into slavery, HELL NO!
To be perfectly honest, at this point, I only convert to fiat out of necessity. If I could spend my steem straight from my wallet, I would. I love everything about the idea of crypto, imagine wealth without government intervention! What a concept.
If I had to pick my favorite feature, it’s got to be the transparency of a blockchain. Being able to see every single transaction here on Steemit is what convinced me to join, where could you hide all the fraud everyone out there keeps claiming is happening in here, while they are part of the biggest scam of all time, an entire monetary system based on phony paper money!
So here’s to all you wagon trainers, heading out into the digital west. May your boots stay dry, your whiskey wet and may you always see the rattlers before they see you.
Thanks for sharing I find stuff like this motivating to remind us to keep trying. Every day now this is what I think of what all of those negative friends with things such as Steem taking off.
Love it. Keep that attitude.
Thank you. Back at you. ^_^ I keep telling all of my friends and family about steem. Figure those who ignore it can miss out. Like you said we're making history.
Man, it's too bad people don't pay attention. Anyone that invested $200 in bitcoin In Jan 16 is a millionaire now, that could change entire generations right there.
I know I'm so jealous, lol. I heard about Etheruem but left life distract me so dropped the ball there. Was late and ended up getting when it was $50 a coin. I have a considerable amount of money in it and Steem. Which I had been smart to do sooner but I'm just figuring, "Eh better late then never," thankfully the ship hasn't sailed on eth yet. Can't wait for the big payout.
Steem was what finally got me in. With a big family, having money to "invest" isn't much of a thing, so being able to earn steem is great.
Makes perfect sense. I still have yet to hit any big success on steem but I'm trying. I do like this platform a lot.
Excellent writing, and I love the pioneer analogy. But it's not all rosy. We must keep in mind the thousands of pioneers that died on the trail heading west. With over 700 cryptos on the move, only the strongest and the luckiest will survive. Hopefully steem is both :)
nice, thanks you for sharing
my pleasure
Exciting times!
I know, it's pretty amazing, right?
I have to admit it took me a while to wrap my head around cryptocurrency, because I was trying to conform it to the rules of fiat money without realizing the best thing about crypto is that it is not fiat money. After realizing those rules did not apply it became much more interesting and much easier to understand. Steemit has just made me even more excited for its potential in the future.
Now, if we can keep Uncle Sam's greedy fingers out of the pie, we might just have something.
I am loving the fact that NOW my friends come to me to teach them about Crypto Currency when they literally ignore me about the subject .
Great post.
Well, some people are slow to catch on. It had my attention way back when some guy had a computer in a Paris apartment holding millions of bitcoin when it hit $700 the first time!
Wow! great story to tell.
Yeah, it was kind of cool that I got to share with her a little of what it's all about.
A good read indeed, lucky you for having a smart mother inlaw. Thanks for sharing
You have no idea.
I think that she is great and can help you take over crypto space..if you bring her fully in
Ha, well, the upshot of the conversation was, with her knowledge and love of gambling, it might quickly become an addiction. LOL
Good point...hence why you should take control
Good post. Im new to both Steemit and crypto, and still learning about powering down and up, when to do what, etc etc. Hopefully this train keeps rollong.
Well, let me add to your knowledge a bit. You can withdraw roughly half your rewards in Steem dollars, so you don't need to power down to get some value.
I havent taken a payout yet. Ive been using my steem dollars to buy more steem on the internal market, then putting it into steem power. Not sure at what point i should actually take a payout. Lol. Im learning. Slowly but surely.
Well, after hardfork 19 even the baby minnows contribute a penny with each vote. I have roughly 10k SP at the moment and powering some down to buy a used car, but if the payouts keep going like they are, I won't need to power done much more.
You're absolutely right! Great post.
Followed :)
what a great motivational post. We are the dawn of a new age!
love how you ended the post with a wild-west farewell!
Thanks, Fraenk, glad you enjoyed it. It's a pretty amazing place to be in history.
Quantumly, everything you do makes history.
But...
That's a nice bit of history.
Yeah, yeah, but they only write about the exciting bits.
Mark, this is a great article, especially for introducing people to crypto currency. I am just beginning a project to educate my friends and family on what is happening in this incredible space. I hope it is okay to share your post on my Facebook page. In the mean time, keep up the great work. My new business card is going to say Crypto Currency Educator. Cheers.
yes, please do.
You're so right in every respect. And I think you touch on the most revolutionary aspect of all. Steemit automates fair governance of social exchanges while rewarding Steemians for their actual contributions to the system. Check out Why Steemit is the most important leap in 1,000 years.
I both upvote and follow you.
Thanks, and welcome to the party!
well stated, i really enjoy your pieces and anticipate the next pearl of wisdom 😉
Absolutely correct. I think most people i know know what butcoin is, but thet cannot understand it. Neither do they understand fiat or gold. How is this possible? Easy. It was not desireable to let people know, so the school system failed to teach us. After school most people are busy with job , redecorating and they generally just read and watch mainstream stuff. So they are totally in the dark and left behind. This world of crypto is still super fresh. And im so glad. I thought i lost out in 2011 when i decided not to buy 10,000 bitcoins..great article! Followed
Love this @markmorrisjr! Thanks so much for sharing the story, I think we all have some version of that happening to us right now.
The question that always gets me is, "What made you invest in Bitcoin/Steemit/ETH etc?" I always wonder, what made you NOT invest? I mean, it's just money that you (might) lose, but think of all the knowledge you gain, no matter what!
Again, thanks for sharing the story, rad to hear that blockchain tech is becoming a more normal part of life.
Rock on.
True true. Many people are still in the dark on crypto. But it's just like most things in life, people are afraid of what they don't understand!
'Wealth without government intervention', transparency, freedom from the enslavement by central banks---yes, that's what cryptocurrency means! Your comparison of the early adopters of crypto to the pioneers/wagon trainers is so spot on! Is the risk level high? Yes. Are there hidden dangers yet to emerge? Yes. Might there be setbacks or casualties along the journey Yes.
Finally, the most important question--Is it worth it? Emphatically, yes !
So has your mother in law bought her first Bitcoins yet?
I'm so glad I came across this post. Following!
I don't know that she will. She's very close a very comfortable retirement. Not sure if she's up for a new adventure at this point, and I'm not sure I blame her.