Sunday Ramble: Patience, Persistence, New Steem, Success and Reaching Maximum Density...

Success takes many shapes.

In this world of ours, we tend to look at "moon shots" where someone accomplished something extraordinary in a remarkably easy and short way and then equate that with "success."

Around here, we could use the example of 2017, where we saw the price of Steem as low as 7.1 cents on March 12th, only to reach as high as 8.28 dollars on January 3rd, 2018... equal to a 116-fold increase in a matter of nine months.

Fall leaves in our garden

That's not "reality!"

Whereas there were some people who made a lot of money, that's not really what you'd call success, or suceeding, for that matter.

In short, it's "winning the lottery."

In another great boom-bust cycle — the Internet, itself — there were also some people who made ridiculous amounts of money by backing a couple of high tech stocks that went to the Moon... and then crashed back down.

I remember a (now defunct) company called TheGlobe.com see its stock go from 97 dollars a share to less than 10 cents a share during the bust.

Steem has a long long way to go before seeing such a decline.

Fall leaves in our garden

What's My Point, Here?

Emerging industries; emerging technologies are notoriously volatile and unpredictable. This would — for example — include blockchain technology, of which we are just one tiny little corner.

During the early days of the Internet, the boom-bust cycle represented a giant "sorting" of viable products/ideas from the half-baked garbage. When we look back from today, there were lots of companies — eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, etc. — whose valued were decimated by the bust, but in the long run, those who invested in their stocks became multi-millionaires.

I see a similar "sorting" process happening in the crypto/blockchain industry... as Warren Buffett once allegedly said "When the tide goes out, you discover who's been swimming naked."

Fall leaves in our garden

Sound Technology: Sorting Out What's What

It seems like almost every day I come across some news snippet mentioning Bitcoin and cryptocurrency and blockchain technology finding some new application.

You can now buy Bitcoin at the Coinstar change machine at my local supermarket.

The Premier of China recently spoke to the idea of "adopting blockchain technology" in the People's Republic.

A lot of people seem to agree that this is going to be A Really Big Thing, and I'm inclined to agree.

And when I talk about "sorting out what's what," I'm talking about separating the soundness of the underlying technology — which is definitely here to stay — from the fantasy that if you throw $1000 at anything that has the word "blockchain" in it, you'll become a multi-millionaire.

Ain't gonna happen!

Fall leaves in our garden

A Time Consolidation: Patience and Persistence

This strikes me as a time when we pick and back winners in the long run. NOT projects we think will increase 10-fold in value next week, but the projects that will earn us great gains because we're invested now, and plan to hold on for five years.

In the case of our little microcosm known as "The World of Steem" (with blogs, dApps, SCOT tribes and soon-to-be SMTs, etc.), I believe the rewards will come to those who just keep plugging along, authentically "doing their thing," rather than trying to chase down the next harebrained "scheme" to somehow milk the system for short-term gains.

It doesn't really matter what your approach might be: Blogger, artist, musician, gamer, nutritionist, cook, travel vlogger... the point here — as it has always been on the greater web — is that it will be those who have persisted in building their "personal brand" in spite of all the surrounding chaos who'll come out on top of the pile when the next growth phase comes.

Fall leaves in our garden

"Growth" vs. Boom

I'll be the first to admit that being part of a huge boom is fun and exciting, but — be that as it may — it's also not sustainable.

We've already been through that cycle... and now we are entering a new phase.

I'm not sure what folks will be talking about at SteemFest this year, but I am hoping they will be putting their energy, ideas and creativity in to a focus on growth, rather than getting myopic over ideas like "how to double the price of Steem."

Thing is, if we present something good and worthwhile to the world, the price of Steem will mind its own business, because people will want to be part of the project!

And personally? I'm sort of done with the rollercoaster ride!

Thanks for reading!

(Another #creativecoin creative non-fiction post)

What do YOU think? What do you think the future holds... for blockchain technology in general... and for Steem, in particular? Will SMTs add another layer of utility here? Or make no difference? What is YOUR personal strategy? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 191027 16:46 PDT
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