Do you need Steem to survive?
This question works on two levels, the survival of Steem, and the survival through Steem.
I had a conversation with someone recently who said that they need Steem to perform in order to pay their mortgage. While I understand the position, I think it is a dangerous one as an investor as I believe that one shouldn't need an investment to perform in order to pay for everyday costs of life.
While I don't mind people attempting to live off Steem and some successfully do, the thing with having to rely on it to pay for things that would be considered ordinary costs is strange. For example, a mortgage is about 25 years long on average and that means that if one needs Steem to pay it, what was the initial thinking in taking the loan? If it was a preexisting loan, what was the *non-Steem contingency?
Of course, I want Steem to be able to pay off my house too, but I cannot rely on any investment to do that as all carry a measure of risk. The conflict that I have found on Steem that I haven't come across in other areas is the concept of the "salary" of it, as if there is some kind of guarantee on earnings. Even with large amounts of Steem, there is going to be fluctuation in value that can pay bills for example.
But, while people talk about needing Steem for this and that, I have never heard anyone say, I really need my Apple stocks to perform in order to pay my bills. Not once. Why?
Steem is not even four years old as a platform yet people already seem to rely on it for parts of their income as if it has already reached some stability. What I have always questioned is how so many people have in what is a relatively short period of time got accustomed to the "extra" income and count it toward their monthly. Don't get me wrong, I know how tempting this position is.
With my family buying a house that needs heavy renovation, a few weeks ago I said to my wife that if the worst happens, I can use my liquids from Steem to close some gaps. For example, I could buy some paint or wallpaper with it each month to keep the renovation ticking over.
And then, the TRON announcement.
Essentially, that was a slap to say, "wake up, relying on Steem to close gaps is not a viable option, even if it is possible". Yes, I could still do it, but I have to understand that the flow of Steem income I might get today, can end at any point. If my mortgage relied on a few hundred dollars from Steem each month and it ended, what would I then do?
No - I have to be able to cover my life with my life and consider an investment as I always have, already lost. I think this is one of the only ways to actually invest in a healthy way as it doesn't tie immediate life conditions to an investment outcome. Of course, if in the future the investment performs very well, conditions can change, but even then, it has to be covered by life.
Over the years on Steem, what I have noticed is that those who feel they need Steem to survive tend to lose their way and direction more often than those who are here without the attachment. This is a general statement and there are a few exceptions, but not many. Those who need Steem seem to have a very high fallout rate as well as can venture into the territory of what would likely be considered poor behavior as they try to maximize all of their earnings.
Due to their need, they will be able to justify all kinds of behaviors internally such as running multiple alts they self-vote upon, voting upon their own comments, begging for votes in multiple ways, and posting shit content for the Steem alone. That last one might not sound that bad, but the problem with it is often that for the people who post because they feel they need to in order to earn, Steem becomes a job - and not a fun one.
I see need from the perspective of relationships and in case you didn't know, not many people like needy partners that rely on them to provide continuously. While the idea of "I need you" might be great in songs, the fact is that needy people are manipulative and will use their need to justify getting what they want by any means necessary. When someone says "I need Steem", it sends up warning bells that the person is heading off their purpose in order to satisfy the needs, and that often comes carrying various forms of abusive and destructive behavior.
Again, from a relationship stand point, needy people tend to use guilt tripping in order to get attention from a partner, they also tend to be jealous and have mood swings when they do not get their way. From observation, this seems to be pretty common place behavior for many on Steem with one of the main traits of the needy person being a way to make their need someone else's problem. Needy people have to do this of course, as they can't satisfy their own needs, because if they could, they wouldn't be needy.
Reliance on others and external sources is a position of chosen slavery, as while it may be necessary at times, the more frequent it occurs, the more frequently it will. And, other people and external conditions like Steem are always outside of the locus of control, meaning one must go where pushed or, manipulate to change the direction to where one wants to go. Any way you look at it, if needy, one is forced to act, even if one doesn't want to act that way.
As said, I would be super grateful if one day Steem hit the stars in price and I was able to pay off my mortgage with a portion and use the rest to support myself through the curation and support of others, but that Steem can't be my financial solution. The reason is that not only is it early in the industry and lifecycle and therefore creating a lot of uncertainty, but there are so many factors outside of my control, including the community.
As I have said before, I do run my blog from the perspective of a business, but that doesn't mean it is where I try to maximize my earnings because I need them to live my life. Currently, I live my life "Steem-free", although I put as much effort as I possibly can into my Steem journey. The reason is that I see Steem as an investment with a future return, and if I need it now, it means I am not investing into my future. To be able to actually invest, one has to have resource availability.
I do not.
However, I have made sure that I have time availability in order to write for my investment, which leads me to my last point and gripe. For the people who say things like "I could earn more working at McDonald's or a grocery store", you are most probably right. If you need the money, I highly recommend you go and get that job as soon as possible and stop spending your time and energy trying to earn for your needs on Steem.
The reason is three-fold. Firstly, secure your life first and if you have anything left over, buy some Steem and curate instead. Secondly, Steem is far to volatile for anyone to rely on unless highly risk-seeking. Thirdly, needy people often don't get a lot of consistent traction because people very soon realize that they are being manipulated and move away - they end the relationship.
People quite like being saviors. Few people like having to save the same person over and over and over.
If you can't swim, stop jumping into the deep end.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
