Working and working for nothing

The worst thing about running on debt is that no matter how much work gets done or how well the work gets done, it all amounts to nothing financially and therefore feels like nothing was gained. This year has been another year filled with the chase, running while protecting the heels from collectors. Hopefully 2019 will be a little easier as I start working in the new job as well as my own. It is a lot of work but work is something I don't mind doing if it feels like it is leading to an improved somewhere.

Obviously on Steem and in crypto there is a lot of focus on the financial aspects of it as well as the dream possibilities but most likely, this isn't enough for people to stick through it long term as the time it will take for the work put in to have an impact is longer than many are willing to invest. This is part of the reason I think that Steem has an advantage over the speculation coins because there is actually something to show for the effort and investment, something tangible.

At least for me, I feel that there is a lot of decent work of mine put out into the world that will float around the internet for years to come and who knows, maybe it will fall into the eyeline of someone who finds value in it. It isn't all about the 7 day payout window despite what many seem to think. For those who are still caring about the content they put out into the world, the content itself is part of the value reward, the chance to create something.

Let's face it, for most people doing a job for money at the moment, very few are really doing anything that is valuable to do to the point that they would do it if it wasn't a job. For many, they are creating a small part of something on a production line that becomes a product that will be bought and then, soon disposed of, forgotten. It is a funny thing when it comes to what so many of us get paid to do that it is all pretty meaningless.

I feel differently here about Steem though, I feel that while it works toward something improved, a better financial position, easier lives for many etc, it is actually made up of the pieces of our work that matter to us, slivers of lives with meaning that come together to create something larger than any one of us could do alone. It is a collaboration of what we feel has value toward something of greater value and in time, it could even be quite enduring and add to a much larger stream of creativity. I find it interesting.

Sure, many people are in it for the financial aspects alone and their content is a means to an end but for others, there is value as soon as they start writing as it is a development of their thoughts that reflect their life i words and pictures. Content that connects who they are to others in the world. It can be very intimate in many ways, very personal.

If I am going to work for nothing, working toward something of meaning is better than something that will be disposed of at the next product version. One of the benefits of immutability is that for those who are putting themselves in various ways out there onto the blockchain, they have a snapshot of their lives, a memory of who they once were. It is going to be interesting that if all of this works we are going to have a chance to look back at our paths from very, very different life positions.

Will we like where we came from?

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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