45 days into Steemit and positively addicted: A Dreamers intro

Hi my name is Irwin and I'm a dreamer.

And a dork as you can see from this pic. Lol

I've been on Steemit for 45 days.

Yet honestly it feels like years. Reminds me of the book, "The lion, the whitch, and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis . A.k.a. The chronicles if Narnia. I love that book.

I've interacted with some wonderful people on steemit, and I've gained considerable respect towards them:
@tattoodjay is one person who's been there since I started always supporting my post. Very much appreciated.

@hopehuggs hosted a poetry contest that was my reminder that I could write poetry and her contest was the first one I'd ever won anything on in a long time. The 2 sbd she gave me came at the perfect time.

@aggroed comes off as a hard hitting individual, yet when reading this persons post the passion and heart for the steemit community is clear. The post on avoiding flag wars gave me great perspective on what to avoid as I progress in steemit

@worldclassplayer is exactly what the name suggest. Absolutely reliable.

@goldmatters hosted a contest where his generosity and passion inspired me to new levels. Participating in his contest was life changing. I wasn't sure if I'd earn anything yet I worked my butt off promoting and supporting the contest and the results were worth the effort.

Here are the three post that earned me 95 sbd and put me months ahead of where I thought I could be:

https://steemit.com/goldmoneywashere/@dreamingirwin/where-in-the-world-is-goldmoney-contest-entry-ri-style

https://steemit.com/goldmoneywashere/@dreamingirwin/where-in-the-world-is-gold-money-contest-entry-2-0-adventure-fun-family

https://steemit.com/goldmoneywashere/@dreamingirwin/whereintheworldisgoldmoney-entry-2-25

To see the contest and all it's entries check out #goldmoneywashere or #whereintheworldisgoldmoney

There are a couple communities that I have grown appreciation for also.

#mydailypost is a very close knit community that supports each other.

#whalepower is also a great community to be a part of.

It's amazing how fast you can progress in this community. I originally joined because I wanted to enter the crpto market and steemit provided a way to earn myself in. I put what little extra money I have into silver, so I really couldn't invest in criptos as well. My funds were to small. So why not earn some on steemit I thought.

I heard about steemit from listening to @roguemoney on youtube. They are a great source off world events.After hearing them talk about steemit I decided to give it a try. So glad I did.

My first post got me hooked. I hadn't written in so long, my creativity became electrified. Similar to Frankenstein, there was a dead part of my brain that suddenly awoke. I loved doing creative things yet never had a platform for it. I was hooked.

I have several years experience in community building from my different business ventures. I found that the same rules that apply in that field also apply on steemit. In order to grow, you must be willing to help others grow. Dreamers helping dreamers.

It's not easy being a dreamer in a world run by routine and misguided expectations. I've been a dreamer all my life. Yet in my younger days I thought the world would embrace my dream. Especially because I dreamed of making a positive impact and leaving a legacy. I thought my friends and family would be by my side, as I strived to create a business that would allow me the funds to lift myself out of mediocrity.
It did not help that when I started my quest there were diciplines I lacked and had no clue I needed. I've heard it said that the attributes of a leader are tough skin and a soft heart. That quote has proven itself right time and time again. It's too easy to grow bitter as you walk the path of a dreamer.

It's taken time to understand that my friends and family only want the best for me. They see me investing or "wasting" in their eyes money and time in things they just don't understand. Why would a broke man spend money to drive twelve hours for a leadership convention, or spend money on books, cds, and other things. It has never made sense to them. They look at my failures and see it as proof that I'm a hopeless dreamer.

One of my biggest obstacles has been keeping a soft heart. It's challenging when the people you love are the obstacles you have to overcome. It's taken me years to replace my frustration with Love. Love is ever lasting. It perservers. It's never harsh or belittling. It's never self-serving or prideful. Corinthians 13 is a biblical chapter that I've studied for years. Yet everyday is a new chance to gain understanding.

It's seems that life is set to test you. To prove and provide you with the skills you need to accomplish your dreams. Yet life is a mean teacher. She punishes first then teaches the lesson. Yet once you discover that your dreams are possible, there is no going back to mediocrity. Trust me I've tried. I've been studying business, leadership, and economics for a long time.

There are so many lies in this world. Yet there's something about truth that stirs your soul. Once you've been introduced to truth, accepting lies becomes impossible. I've had a few successes in my life, yet many more failures. My biggest problem is that I give people more value then myself. I've spent my life helping my family and my friends. Yet I've put my dreams on hold for too long.

Dreams have expiration dates. The forces of this world know that and they desperately try to distract you from your path. They whisper lies like "Don't worry you can do that tomorrow", or "Who are you to dream a big dream". Yet that's life testing you, helping you to develop the tough skin needed to achieve your dreams.

I've heard it said that if you are not facing any struggles there's a good chance you aren't chasing a dream. I've given up on my dream several times. Yet I see the struggles my family and friends face and realize the consequences of quiting on your dreams. I've even been blessed to have moments of recognition, where I was shown what would have happened if I had accomplish the goals that were set yet never reached.

I know that Faith is a building block for success. You need a strong faith based to help you stay grounded when the storms come. I don't chase faith for the rules and practises but for the relationship and loving strength it gives me.

The biggest challenge in studying and learning is not allowing it to boost your ego. It's to easy to try to show others how much you know or to correct others based on what your studies have proven to be wrong. Yet love requires humility, and accepting people where they are. It's not my place to correct people who don't want my advise, and honestly who am I to teach them. I've learned that regret is worse then looking stupid. Regrets eats at the soul, and leaves a man hollow.

I'm struggling because I want something better. So therefore my actions have to be different and maybe more challenging then of those who don't know better is available. Yet I know that what I have is a blessing. My biggest dream is to get myself in a position economically where I can be an influence. Yet the world wants to convince me that my struggles are pointless. I keep facing the same giants. They continue to come back into my life in different waves. Yet I know that life will teach me how to defeat them.

My biggest fear is that I won't have the time to accomplish my dreams. That I've sat on the sidelines for to long. Unfortunately no matter how hard it is to push forward I don't have a choice, I know there's an economic storm coming. I refuse to be the guy that despite knowing a flood was coming, was to busy to prepare and build his arc. Yet I also don't want to be the only guy on the boat. I'm not sure where the road ahead will lead me yet steemit had absolutely made a positive impact on my life.