Stroke of Fortune

I have mentioned before, I am struggling to keep up with everything these days, even though it isn't any more than what I have done in the past. The stroke is affecting my capabilities in so many ways, but what option is there but to keep doing what I can each day in the hope it is enough?

"Enough" is a very subjective term and the topic in question is going to determine intuitions about what is too little and what is too much. When it comes to money, I reckon we all have fantasized about having more and considered what enough may be, even though we probably haven't really thought it through so much. This is also going to depend on other factors, like where we live.

My wife mentioned something interesting about her interview process and one of the questions she asks is,

If you had all the money you could want, what would you do?

She noted that there are clear differences depending on cultural background, where for example, most people from Finland have answered along the lines of, "Travel, build a house and car, start painting" kinds of things. But people who may be from less wealthy countries it is, "Spend time with my family, buy my parent's a house".

I found it interesting, but unlike my wife, unsurprising. The reason is that people who tend to come from wealthier societies, high education, low crime and relative economic equality, generally have the luxury to have basics taken care of, so material goods become the focus. And because of the various kinds of privilege, individualism can be explored to the point of being wholly selfish. In cultures that are economically or socially disadvantaged, it is hard to make it through as an individual, so family and culture take precedence.

But I think, this brings up an interesting thing about crypto, as while we might often talk in US dollar values for ease of conversation, one satoshi is one satoshi, one HIVE, one HIVE. While it doesn't matter where in the world someone is, the local value of earning on Hive for example through one of the revenue streams, is going to shift heavily depending on where one lives. For instance, tonight I went to the store and bought a liter of milk (3 HIVE), bread (6 HIVE) and a liter of ice cream for wife, as she isn't feeling well (8 HIVE). The bread is gluten free (as that is all my daughter can eat), but 15€ is pretty costly. However, what can that buy in other countries?

In my last post I used an example of putting some various sums of money into DeFi pools for yield farming, but those amounts are far too high for most people on earth, but they have to be looked at in relation to local conditions. One of the brilliant things about crypto is that it is borderless and it can be earned in various ways and from anywhere - but one satoshi is one satoshi.

What I mean by this is that while someone can put 50K into a pool and earn 10K a year, another person can put 500 dollars in and earn 100, and a third could put 50 in and earn 10. While there are fees to consider which would affect how often withdrawing should be done, the pool doesn't care about where anyone is from, their background, skin color, sexual orientation or which if any, religion they subscribe too. This evens the playing field in many ways and gives people access to wealth creation tools, no matter the size of the account.

I think Hive has shown how valuable this has been, where people from all over the world have been able to have access to earning potential on an equal footing. If people are able to prove they can add demanded value in some way, they will generally earn something and if they do it consistently, they will earn consistently. For example, I know quite a few people from Nigeria, Venezuela, India and Philippines who have been able to add vast amounts into their revenue streams that well outperform the local salaries. This isn't always through posting of course, as there are other ways too, including playing Splinterlands, commenting and whatever else. The amounts might be large or small, but when cross-referenced at the local prices, it might be highly lucrative. I really hope it is.

But, this is not a charity, there has to be trade activity, meaning in general, for someone to earn consistently, they have to offer value consistently to trade. Some like me might trade words ad ideas, others might trade their playing skills on Splinterlands, or their coding skills for a community - but rewards, have to be earned.

But then, what is done with those rewards matters too, where using myself as an example, I chose to keep investing mine, instead of using it to buy ice cream, which is pretty much all my earnings would have covered early on. But, as I invested myself deeper in, I learned a lot, improved a lot, proved a lot and also, kept investing further in and outside of Hive. This means that today, I can enjoy a relatively good incoming stream that I still do not use, because it isn't enough.

As said, "enough" is a subjective and a relative term and since I am living in Finland for the foreseeable future, I don't have enough to live off without working, at least not without whittling away at my investments, which will lead to a decreasing gain and eventually, no potential for gain at all.

My enough has gone up since the stroke because my earning potential and ability to expand my working income has reduced, making the future far less financially certain for me and therefore my family. This means that it will be even longer before I would feel comfortable taking any out, as I currently think that building is more important in order to mitigate the risks of unemployment or incapability to earn an adequate income. In the past, I have always been able to fall back on my work ethic and willingness to work, but that is no longer a "guaranteed" option.

But this doesn't mean my work still can't earn, it just limits my employment opportunity even further. I am still able to find alternate streams and work on crypto assets, which essentially gives me a safety net if my real life opportunities fall apart and, allows me the opportunity to keep investing in, in the hope that one day, it will be enough to underpin whatever I want to do, or cover me for if I can't do. I don't know what enough is, but it has to have some chance to provide for my family, in case I can't.

Having the stroke has left a lot of my brain in a fog, but perhaps in some regards, it was a fortunate event, as it has made me rethink strategy, take some risks and hopefully, have a stronger foundation to stand on. There is so much opportunity for people from all kinds of backgrounds to get involved and build for their future, but what I have continually learned is, the thing that stands in the way of most people, is themselves.

Too many place material, over what matters.

Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ]