Not on the train, already at the station

My daughter is restlessly trying not to sleep while I sit in the rocking chair humming Summertime. I wonder how many times in the last 2.5 years I have sung this same song, it must be thousands.

When she was very small and the allergies were at their worst, she would scream all night and the only way I could get her to rest and nap was to hold her against my chest on the bed as I lay and rock her as I sang. It is silly but, I sometimes miss those nights.

It is hard to predict the future on an individual level as there are so many variables in play that interact together to influence or direction. On a mass scale we could see trends but at the personal level, do we know what will get us to where we want to be, do we know where we may want to even be?

For me, Steem is my plan of economic opportunity and one that I am fortunate to be somewhat suited to in terms of ability and willingness to work at it. It is often luck to find what we are suited for but I do feel that the will to work at it is something that is much less innate, and we are able to improve ourselves.

Improvement is akin to evolution and in a lifetime of unknown length, it is our own responsibility to grow our resources, that includes our mental abilities, our knowledge.

Someone said that I should let school teach my daughter the skills she needs but, tell me, how many schools teach for actual needs? Most people in this world suffer from economic hardship, health issues and addictions of various kinds yet, booked of these things are approached from an educational standpoint, at least at an adequate level.

Schools in my eyes fail students because they teach what is important to learn in their view, not how to learn. And their view of one of centralised governance and control through authority with information that is outdated and is far from having practical value by the time the students become adults.

Learning how to learn of the key to always having the possibility to reskill and generally means that the work is always ongoing rather than becoming high hurdles to overcome.

We all know people who are middle aged yet are uncomfortable using technology, unable to solve even minor issues. How? I am 40 and it was obvious when I was under 10 that computing was going to be a fundamental requirement of the future yet, many did not learn even the basics.

I feel it will be the same with Blockchain and digital assets where the majority will take so long to get onboard with the idea that those with skills and knowledge will have already taken a strong position in the industry. I see it on Steel now where the people who likely need the future possibility the most are the ones who are not learning the most about how it all works and, where it is going.

When I was a kid I played hockey and while the small kids would chase the ball, I was pretty good at reading where the ball was going to be. Not only that, I was pretty good at manoeuvring myself into a position where others would then put the ball.

There is an important distinction between playing where the ball will be and influencing play to have the ball be where you are. I think Steem is slowly positioning itself to be in a position where people will find Steem rather than Steem needing to chase the ball or look for where the ball will be. The reason is that when mainstreaming of Blockchain and crypto happens, people are going to look for a place they can feed the ball and there are very few options that are as versatile and easy to get into as Steem.

The simplification has to go further of course, as does the continued distribution of applications and Steem but, it is happening slowly. The "proof-of-work" done now will be when the masses come in and look to buy or earn stake in the system. Right now we are in the development stage of the process and getting ready for the train to arrive at the station.

We are not the train, we are the city and the applications and use cases are the stations that the masses will commute through to get to where they want to go. The beauty of Steem is that the stations can come and go and even change their position in the city without construction bottlenecking and restricting the flow of feet through other stations.

People are concerned with the the level of walk-in traffic without recognising that at the moment, the trains from the central stations are still in place but, conditions are changing and soon, they will leave and look for new platforms to call home.

Steem isn't the end of the line, it is the start of the evolution of personalized skill and the responsibility of self-directed living. The schools teach none of it which is good because, it is up to us to make the play and break away and into space so we are free to receive the ball.

Those of is here can likely see where the ball could be, but the running we do now is to make sure that is where it is going to be because, it is the best option available.

Don't worry about the masses, make sure you have the skills and stamina to keep running.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
_{(posted from phone by daughter's bed)}