Fears of Steem failure

I am doing my monthly train trip to the middle of nowhere to train at a client company location. It gives me about an hour of semi-travel sickness writing time which is just enough to reflect upon thoughts that bounce around in my head. Does this class as meditation?

I joined Steemit in January 2017 and since that time have grown to put a great deal of my time into my work and the community in the hope that one day, we will be able to have a place that is both economically viable and supportive of improving real experience for us as humans. There is no guarantee to either of these things though and at times it does worry me that all of the work I have put in will amount to nought.

So, since January 29th there has been:

• 619 days
• 88 weeks
• 20 months

This is taken from @Steemitboard

• 46% of the days I have been on the platform I have posted at least 4 posts.
• 91% of the weeks I have published every day of the week
• 85% of the months I have published every day of the month

Yes, it does worry me at times that the literally thousands of hours I have spent here will wind up coming to nothing financially as it is a absolute mass of time spent. Bur, I see this as an investment and one that although high risk, has the potential for astronomical return over the next years.

When it comes to this place there seems to be two core approaches to the risk involved; take all you can while you can because it might fail, work all you can while you can because it might succeed. There are obviously positions in between this but I tend to err more on the extreme end of the work tail because I do think that what we do here has an influence over the success of the platform and the more it decentralizes, the more affect we as individuals can have.

The reason is that while the platform continues to decentralize away from Steemit Inc's sphere of control, the app developers and content creators have more responsibility and therefore more influence over direction. Not necessarily the direction of the infrastructure for all but, the personal approach and movement of where we as users and investors choose to take matters. This gives each of us an opportunity to take some control over our future.

Opportunity is uncertainty, there is no guarantee but for most of us at least, what we are currently doing in the world has very little chance of satisfying our personal ambitions nor improving the experience much for others. The reason is that for most of us, we are working in jobs that support the current economic and societal norms that we are trying to break free from. We keep repeating the habits that got us here expecting to be somewhere else.

For me at least, Steem offers an opportunity to observe, learn and adjust my behaviors to break away from that system in an environment that it is possible to also help others do the same. This rippling has a groundswell effect that by the time it reaches the shore, can be a tidal wave that destroys the coastlines. The coastlines I speak of here are the constructed paradigm and institutional frameworks that keep us separated and in constant conflict while a sliver of the population benefit from the turmoil.

I am of the belief that there are better ways for us to manage and enrich our lives and one of those is going to be blockchain technology as it gives us the ability to work globally and locally simultaneously with precision. It also facilitates the transactional resource needs without limitation rather than being bound by systems developed in a one size fits all environment. The time investment I have put in is a small price to pay if it does lead to the improvement of life for many don't you think?

Of course, there is risk involved in this position, personal and as a group because the nature of what this could potentially could become over the coming years is going to question the core of the status quo and they are not prone to giving in easily. Their best bet is to keep brainwashing the population under the belief that nothing can change so, just keep taking while you can. That is modus operandi isn't it? Take all while it is there for the taking.

The economics of Steem are of vital importance to the success of the platform and the entire cryptosphere because it becomes value that can be used to further the decentralization and influence the blockchain world can have. It can be used to empower key people and fund projects that will undermine and replace the current frameworks and become the foundations of a more equitable system.

Or, the value can be used as the status quo controllers would prefer it to be used, and that is to buy-in to the system they have developed. The cry of Lambo! is them winning as it is representative that we haven't grown, we haven't learned, we are just trying to find another way to cement ourselves into their economic model. I wonder what would happen if we chose to only by products that are purchasable through direct crypto, how fast would adoption be?

Anyway, I am approaching the station soon so I have to finish this train of thought (dad joke?) but every day I do have fears that this is all going to be a waste and I am going to look like an idiot to my friends and family and all those who powered down and sold out along the way. It is a risk I am willing to take though because I think that there is so much more potential in Steem and the larger industry yet to come and where we are now is just a drop in the ocean of where it could be in 2-5-10 years down the track.

The idea of a decentralized system is the ability to have freedom and responsibility for the self which also means the consequences of our actions. This is true no matter where we are or the experiences we have had, have or will have. The choice is ours how we behave and who and what we support through the buying decisions we make and where we are willing to invest our value and most importantly, ourselves.

This is the world in which we live and we all pay the cost of how we live it.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]