How Do You Teach Experience? What Will Your Cryptocurrency Story Be?
As those who follow me know, I've educated people about cryptocurrency since I first learned about it in 2013. Everyone from family, to friends, to acquaintances, to co-workers, to people I've had relational challenges with are contacting me asking cryptocurrency-related questions. I send them to http://understandingblockchainfreedom.com or posts like this which have plenty of links to other posts.
The more people I try to help, the more I realize text and video isn't enough. You can't read a book and expect to be a good athlete. Just learning about the blockchain won't help you fully understand how it works and why it's important.
It's something you have to feel and experience.
As of next month, I've been involved in cryptocurrency for 5 years. During that time, I've made a lot of silly mistakes, and I've had some really great wins. I've put in my time to learn when there weren't many people to learn from. Mostly, you had to read through bitcointalk.org for hours and hours and hours, trying to figure out what was meaningful and what was garbage. I literally read posts for days.
As I've been getting countless phone calls, texts, IMs, and lunch requests lately, I was reminded of how the people I look up to most in the cryptocurrency space are the types of people who just figure things out. They don't have a single source they go to with all their questions. The world is their source. If they have a question, they search for answers first and ask questions of many different individuals later.
On the surface, this may seem ineffecient. Why not just ask the person you know who probably has the answer?
Well, from my perspective, that approach can short-change your education and leave you somewhat crippled in your understanding. When you need to find an answer and you're sifting through site after site and post after post, you will spend a lot more time, but you'll also learn a bunch of other things you didn't even know were important.
The next time you have a question, you might remember, "Oh, I know about that. I skimmed a post the other day which talked about it as I was looking for a different answer." You'll have something no teacher can give you: personal experience.
The first time you send bitcoin to a paper wallet will increase your blood pressure to really uncomfortable levels.
The first time you import or sweep a paper wallet into Electrum, you'll think you did ten things wrong (though it may have only been five).
The first time you're asked to sign a message with your bitcoin private key, you'll think it's impossible.
The first time you use a Ledger Nano S with myetherwallet.com, you'll want to throw your computer across the room and curse at the damn technologists who make everything so hard.
These things start out feeling impossible. You'll be tempted to just ask your tech nerd friend to do it for you.
Don't.
Don't miss out on the experience and how that experience will benefit you in the future. Yes, at first, it'll be hard. Over time, it'll be just like riding a bike, and you'll wonder why everyone else is so confused.
When you get there, you'll be so glad you didn't take a shortcut but instead did the hard work to do your own research and understand from personal experience how things work.
How Will You Tell Your Cryptocurrency Story?
A time is coming when those who invested early in cryptocurrency will be in a much better financial place than those who didn't. For some, that time is already here. How will you explain to your family, your friends, and your neighbors how you got where you are? When they ask you, "Why didn't you tell me about this?!?", what will you say?
Learning about cryptocurrency may be one of the most important skills for someone's financial future, and if you're reading this post on Steemit, you may already know more than most.
Share that knowledge as best you can. Help people find their path to understanding and experience. I'm quite proud of the fact I've been talking about this stuff for a while now and everyone who knows me knows I wasn't accumulating cryptocurrency in secret. I won't have people asking me, "Why didn't you tell me about this?" but instead it'll be more like, "Now I understand why you wouldn't shut up about this."
In closing, my encouragement to you is two-fold:
Be an educator. When you visit your friends and family this holiday season, share what you've learned. Make sure they don't ask you years from now why you didn't let them in on what you've discovered.
Learn by experience and research. Don't just ask questions of people you know, but dig in deep and really try to understand. Don't be afraid of mistakes. They teach you like nothing else can.
For anyone and everyone who has ever asked me a question about cryptocurrency, please understand this isn't directed at you as a correction. I love answering your questions. I truly enjoy it and am honored and thankful every time someone looks to me for help. What I'm realizing more and more is that, in some cases, I'm doing people a disservice if I just give them the answers they want without teaching them how to find them. I want to give out fishing poles, not fish.
Remember, this movement isn't just about digital money. It's about a paradigm shift away from violence-backed, centralized authority to cryptographically-secure, global consensus via voluntary competing ledgers.
I hope my posts continue to be useful to you and help you on your journey.
On a personal note, the family and I are hopping on a plane tomorrow to head out to California to visit family for the holidays. The kids are pretty excited, and I'm looking forward to disconnecting from work and just being free to do whatever I feel like. I'm not sure how active I'll be on Steemit, so if you don't hear from me as much, that's why.
Great post, as always. Everyone who knows me thinks of me every time they see bitcoin on the news.
They tell me how dumb they feel for not buying at $50 like I suggested.
Funny thing is, I never told them to invest.
I've only ever told people to learn.
It's art performed in maths.
The feedback loops; the magnificent simplicity and complexity.
Personally benefitting seems almost crass. I feel like a kalahari bushman looking up at a cathedral.
Yes, it can shelter a lot of cows, but that's an afterthought.
Look how incredible it is.
Beautifully said. :)
It's the same with me. For a while people would email me or message me any time they would see a news article about bitcoin. I'd smile and thank them. Inside, I'd be thinking, "Have you learned anything more about it yet? Are you onboard with understanding?"
exactly. It takes < 1 hour to really dive in and start learning this stuff now since there's countless resources online, yet ppl just wanna learn about the price. I guess this is how bubbles are formed and I'm completely OK w/ that. Some ppl want to learn and grow, others want to get rich quick. The latter typically fails and the former is richer b/c of the new knowledge and perspective.
The knowledge is also largely transferable.
If you 'get' PoW, then it's simple to understand DPoS. Then you see the differences and possibilities, and understand the tech a little better.
When the next thing comes along, you chip away at it until you 'get' the differences.
Before too long, the guy who only knows what the bitcoin price is doing, thinks you're some kind of wizard.
YES!
Indeed this revolution is much more than a get rich Ponzi scheme like the fiat controllers operate. The block chain represents social contract through voluntary participation, which will give it infinitely more value than anything enforced with fear and threats of violence.
We are just beginning to see how much prosperity is available when we stop wasting our energy on violence, imaginary hierarchies of abuse via artificial scarcity, and incredulous middle men!
I talk about crypto with everyone possible. Imagine a decentralized consensus engine running on block chain...voter fraud would be impossible.
Thank you!
Well said!
You're a good man Luke. I feel lucky to be one of your followers and for those who don't know you yet they'll feel the same once they're on board. There's always great wisdom in your words and within your message. You are right Experience is key. One has to experience to learn. Whether it's the simplest task in the world or the most difficult the physical act of completing it builds the confidence to know and move forward. Enjoyed my friend! These are good days! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thank you for your kind words!
I appreciate your willingness to teach and our lunch a few months ago. 🍽️
Reading your experiences has helped me to navigate a lot of this space.
Dayne, you are a perfect example of someone who dove in headfirst and not only has been learning and researching non-stop, but you're also doing and teaching others. If everyone got it like you, the world would be full of cryptocurrency pros in no time.
"The first time you send bitcoin to a paper wallet will increase your blood pressure to really uncomfortable levels." hahaha I "KNOW" that feeling :D
To your point, I understand the importance of educating people as I personally am an educator in life, but financial literacy differs from people to people (same as religion, if you wish), so I would not go into war battle of defending crypto in "what is that new pyramid, or scheme" - an usual response form the ignorant. Or the feeling I get I am a dirty marketer trying to hook them up on something... "illegal". I talk crypto only with crypto-minded people. :) They understand. Of course when the hype hits and everything is going up people tend to be more "understanding" and willing to listen...
Really a great post but you will be shocked to listen that bitcoin has not been a legal currency in India till now. Indian govt are filing case against those who invest in bitcoin.
The violent authoritarians are struggling to keep their power over others.
Hi Luke👋🏻 Someone told me that I should follow you, and I am glad because you are pretty cool, judging only by this one post. I like the reminder about how hard it was to sign my first message with a btc Address. I actually had 4 heroes and a legendary all trying to explain the process and in semi broken English. I finally told them all I was not going to do it. I could not figure it out, and I sent a 1 minute video to the thread explaining to them that I am smart, and I know how to follow instructions, but signing the message was clearly an impossible task. They gave me a round of applause when finally, several days later I returned with a signed message. Miraculous! Then the leader of the pack says “ not this address -you didn’t stake it yet”. 🙀😌Then it was that hurdle. Lol . Now I Am a pro, but it isn’t the most useful skill. Not yet anyway. I may employ a secret system of notes someday.. for fun. Just to use that interesting blockchain feature.
Oh, by the way my name is Lori. 🤭
Thanks so much, Lori. Isn't it amazing how we can go from impossible to pro with some effort and experience? :)
Amazing. It’s truly an opportunity for the people who have been involved with Crypto in any way for a very short time (a year ? Six months ? ) to be the leaders of a new economy and a planet altering movement. Since isn’t even past its infancy yet, the cryptosphere is going to NEED us to take the steering wheel and share what knowledge we can offer. You are doing a spectacular job at this. Rock out with you stock out. Lol 🤩🤪
like always I love your post, the first time I nearly made my underwear dirty was when I put sbd over to steem... My eyes focused on what is going to happen, oh no where is it gone, with a other voice inside me, oh its only play money it does not cost you anything... On this moment i can hardly sleep, lol the day before yesterday i told my daughter, oh look, when i change over my estimated account it is worth 407 euro !! and now not even 48 hours after it is 695... ohmy... I would love to buy a little house in Crete, and if possible also in Hungary :-) and I do start believing my dream again :-) Just to dream is allready so much fun, i feel younger more actif just because of steem. :-) Luke i want to wish you a enormous nice holiday, with all the warmth to be happy, joy love and laughter. Wishing you and all your loved ones in the first place good health, without that there is nothing, thank you for all your input ! X
Thank you for such a warm comment. :)
I love hearing stories like this.
Love hearing yours! Itook some pictures during our Catan game, planning to make a blog about it, when i took the pictures I was thinking about you, lol how crazy! i do not know you of hair or feathers. :-)
My experience will no doubt be tied to steemit. I had only heard of a few coins and didn't understand the long term potential of any of this up until joining steemit. Steemit also gave me the opportunity to invest in crypto, despite having no real amount of fiat to my name. I'm still just starting, I made my first investment 2 weeks ago as that big jump as starting and have yet to do any real trading between currencies.
Looking to sign up to bittrex once they open back up. Just been using exodus, jaxx and blocktrades so far. Once I get familiar with bittrex and binance I'll look into a nano ledger
Very cool! Don't forget about BitShares, the decentralized exchange. Here's my referral link: https://wallet.bitshares.org/?r=luke-stokes
The link under the "posts like this" text has a lot more information as well. Good luck on your journey of knowledge and congratulations on what you've already accomplished. You have a lot to teach others already.
I agree, I always tell people you learn more by making mistakes, especially costly ones.
You will never get comfortable or good at something if you arent trying it.
I am a "read the instructions" guy and like to have as much knowledge as possible when doing things. There arent always instructions available for new things like Crypto. I remember when I first made a transfer feeling extremely uncomfortable and worried about why was taking so long.
Can you imagine if they were like, "Here's a pole. You read the manual, now go vault." That would have been bad. I too want to learn as much as I can, but as you said, that emotional response is a real one and that can only be dealt with through experience. Glad to have you here on this journey, Darryl. :)
Good point with the Pole Vault comparison. I will one up you with the high jump, if we only used the manual we would never have seen the Fosbury Flop! Only experience and trying things will advance you to the next level.
Hahah! Totallly!