I'm loving all the challenges going on right now as it usually gives me something easy to talk about it when I'm trying to post consistently and am having some writer's block. Currently, @snook has a challenge going on called the Snookmademedoit Challenge and is asking people to write about "How they got here?" and "Why are they still here?". To see all here rules head over to here post.

Source

How Did I get Here?

I wish I would have covered this in my introductory post, but sadly I did not and I don't remember what first brought me to the Steemit platform and the Steem blockchain. I can say I am always looking for more ways to earn "free" cryptocurrency. I've claimed some cryptocurrency from faucets, used advertising to earn from the bitcointalk forum, and probably lost more than I gained in trading.

It was probably trading that brought me to Steem if I had to guess because I'm sure I was watching some video on YouTube that talked about earning Steem on Steemit and after trying to create my own website and blog a few months to a year earlier, seemed like a great bridge to start blogging and help me earn crypto.

If I had to make a wild guess I would say it might have been Louis Thomas from YouTube that first got me interested in Steem as he creates some great videos on cryptocurrency and gives a shoutout to Steem especially in his Investing Strategy videos.

Why am I Still Here

1. The "Free Crypto"

I should probably stop calling it free because it isn't, but it does not require me to invest money for crypto, but instead, I can invest time for crypto.

2. The Knowledge

For better or worse it gives me some liquid crypto which I can use to trade for other tokens. This allows me to check out other platforms such as Eth, EOS, Tron, and district0x to name a few. One thing I've noticed though is I always keep selling the tokens for Steem and coming back to Steemit.

3. The Passive Income

I've talked about it recently earning through curation and earning through D-lease, but it's nice to dream that one day I would be able to use the passive revenue from Steem to either live or at the leas retire off of.

4. The Content

We have some great writers, artists, and general content creators on the platform. One of the reasons I wanted to join and become an OCD curator in the first place is to better support those on the platform. I also love reading about crypto, investing, and new technology and this is definitely a great place to find that content.

5. The Communities

I have been able to join and be a part of some great communities. They've definitely helped me get my foot in the door if you will on Steem and meet some great people. Some of which have stayed on the platform and others have left and I've lost contact with, unfortunately.

6. The People

I've never met some of the people I interact with on almost a daily basis, but feel like they would be some good even great real-life friends if we ever met in person. Supporting them, growing together, and helping them in any way I can is very fulfilling and keeps me coming back, even if it's just to check in on some of their latest articles when I get really busy.

7. Splinterlands

I'm not going to lie, after I found Alpha Investments on YouTube, from watching one of the last Crypto Investor Videos (now rebranded Truth Investor) I was wanting to invest in a TCG game. Once Splinterlands was released I knew this is a game I would want to be invested in and probably play as well. Not sure if I'll keep playing into the future, but I'll definitely keep investing in the future of the game.

8. Steem Engine

Has been a great way for me to practice trading and trying different strategies for small trades. When I say small I mean a few dollars worth and making a 10 - 20 cents worth of profit. Definitely, nothing to write home about, but nothing I'll sweat over either if it goes to 0.

9. The Growth

Everything on this platform is growing so fast currently it's hard to stay away. If I miss a month or two it feels like I'm completely behind on what's going on and everything just feels different. Sometimes it feels like everything grows so slow in crypto, but right now on Steem it seems like the speed of growth is increasing exponentially every day.

10. The Future

I think blockchain and cryptocurrencies are the future and I'm not sure if Steem will be here 10, 20, 30 years from now, but think it has a very strong chance it will be and I want to be a part of this bright future.

In Summary

The chance of crypto going to the moon is a large part of what keeps me on the platform. The idea that if I keep growing here I could one day retire a year to ten years earlier from my 9 - 5 seems like a great idea to spend more time with my kids and watching them grow is really inspiring for me.

If it was just the money though I would have burned out and quit a few months after I started. Those that I've met, the communities that have come and gone, and the knowledge that I've learned from being here is more than any amount of money I will earn here.

I'm not the best writer by any means, but it was fun to go through old articles to see how far I've come as a writer and a content creator and can't wait to see what kind of writer and creator I can become a few years from now.

If you have a chance I highly recommend you participate in the contest because it's great to see where you started, why you came, and why you're still here. If you do create a post for the contest, please feel free to share in the comments below.