How you steem your way out of poverty?

This morning, I woke up at 6 am and it was dark outside.Yesterday weather forecasted that there will be rain shower this morning. I usually spend my time grabbing a book to read or listen to my daily dose of uplifting mojo from my motivational youtube collection. Instead, I somehow , found myself scrolling through my Facebook page and came across a post from my friend Maximillian about a 8 year old boy from Yunnan China, trudging 4.5 km in the thick snow to school. There was a classroom headshot photo of him with his frosted hair taken by his school teacher that went viral. It caught the attention of people in china as well as people around the globe. He was given the nickname "ice boy”.

His story is not uncommon. Despite the rise in China economic prosperity, there still 43 million people living on US$0.95 a day. My purpose in doing this write up is not to highlight poverty by giving statistic and demographic data of places where poverty is prevailing. I prefer to understand the root of the problem and then finding ways how we can solve it together. Giving money and things is only a temporary aid to their situation. We need a more sustainable approach.

The thought that came to my mind this morning is about how can we use steemit as a platform to reduce or ideally eliminate poverty.

Before we go into searching for the solution, we need to grasp hold why poverty could happen to anyone of us. Yes, you heard me right, I have seen friends who were well off and overtime became poor. on the other hand, I have also seen people who are poor and homeless became successful later in life . I am sure you have your fair share of stories to tell and even perhaps you were once experience living in this kind of circumstances yourself.

I firmly believe that poverty is a state of mind rather than a circumstances. Can a poor man be rich? The answer is Yes and No. Yes, if the poor person has chosen the path of simplistic living and forego craving for materialistic needs. The franciscan monks who chosen the path of poverty but has rich spiritual life. Can a rich man be poor? The answer again is Yes and No. There are people who is wealthy and yet live a life of scarcity. They are afraid of losing out to others and worry people conspiring to steal their money which put them on guard all the time. They are robbed of their inner peace.

Me and my siblings was raise by my parents who are both teachers, Teachers in the 70’s were not highly paid. We were neither rich nor poor. My dad had to work two jobs to support the family and eating out was a luxury. As a child I was denied of many things so I was not able to keep up with the trendy toys that my friends had. I was condition since young not to spend unnecessary. So much so, now I put a condition whenever we were to eat in a restaurant it must be for a very special occasion. Actually its not that I could not afford it but rather a conditional mindset that I forge into my belief system. I must feel that I deserve it before I would spend a little more on myself. Realising this now, I am still work in progress. Do you have conditional mindset that is keeping you feeling poor?

My definition of poverty is not about the lack of money but rather the absence of the few following traits .I believe that these personal traits is the root cause of the poverty state in a person.

1. Lack of resourcefulness
   We are surrounded by resources. It may not be within our current reach but we may know someone who has the resources that can help us to solve our problem. We need to be more and more resourceful in getting things done. Don’t be like the fox that tried to grab the grapes that is hanging high up in the tree. After many fail attempts of jumping , growing weary, he says to himself the grape must be sour and walk off. Don’t lose hope but find ways how to get the grapes. Perhaps make friends with a tall person or find ways to climb the tree and etc.

2. Trapped poverty mindset
   Our mind is such a powerful tool. It can be use to generate amazing ideas, solve complex problems and make the world a wonderful place to live in. However if we are always telling ourselves how we do not deserve wealth, how we are not worthy to be more than what we are. Absolutely nothing will change. Its like putting a wet blanket over the burning desire to attract wealth . The poverty mindset will also lead to lack of self confidence. Making things impossible for you in life. Your lack of self confidence constantly feeds negative vibes to your whole being and thus choke any desire to change. Base on psychology , we will change because we want to avoid pain or pursue pleasure. It depends what will motivate you more.

3. Lack of inner grit
   Angela Duckworth, an author and university professor define grit as "sticking with things over the very long term until you master them." In can also be define as perserverance and passion for long term goal. It takes time to break free from your current status quo to the next. Sticking through to the routine boring stuff until you see the desired result.

Now, getting back to the question, How do you steem your way out of poverty?

I have spend some time pondering on this question and these are my answer. Firstly, It is going back to basic, polishing your writing flair, put out a great and highly valued content for the readers. Does it mean you must be a a proficient writer to succeed? Personally , It would definitely help but it is not a prerequisite criteria. Instead you could use other form of media to get your ideas or message across. Try video , podcast or even photography which ever channel that you will feel comfortable. On steemit platform , it is about mining for new Ideas . It is free and readily available if you take an interest in discovering it. Read other people post and hopefully you will discover the gem from it. It only takes one simple idea if properly executed can bring riches beyond your wildest dream.

Secondly build a community of followers. Take time to teach and guide others on steemit. By giving your time in building up other steemians, you are also creating more and more value in the steemit eco system. We need each other to grow. The more steemians come on board , the more ideas and creativity can be expressed through this platform. After few months on steemit, I came to a powerful realisation that it is not about me but it is about us.

Thirdly, have the grit to build your reputation and voting influence. Only by becoming more successful yourself than you can help others to be successful too. Keep on finding ways to power up quickly through steem delegation, leasing, organise or participate contest challenge and etc. But whatever you do, make it fun. Unless you enjoy what you are doing it won't last very long. Build your reputation by engaging with other steemians. Offer help and give away tips on how they can write better and grow faster.

So, fellow steemians quickly build your wealth on this platform and remember to help others in your journey. Yes, poverty must be eradicate so that we are free to experience life to the fullest. Like the young people say " You only live once (YOLO)" so make it great.