An Educative Session with @papa-pepper... Wild-man... Encourager... Homesteader...Deep Thinker...Come To Papa.. Part Two

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Today on The Rainmakers we have an educative session with community builder @papa-pepper, who have been a source of support and encouragement to a lot of Steemians, I have had encounters with him and i must say that heis a very humble Man and has taken time out of his busy schedule to grant this interview. The first part of the Interview was Posted on Monday and you can read it Here

Ladies and Gentlemen, i give you the second part of the interview with @papa-pepper
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Ogochukwu: You are someone who have organised a lot of contests how do you think it can help in community growth?

Papa-Pepper: My contests have many goals. For one, it gives us all a great chance to interact. Also, sometimes users may struggle with thinking of post ideas, so if they enter the contest and make a post about it, then it helps them make a post.

That also gives them two chances to get paid, once in the contest and once for their post. When the contests span a wide range of categories, it allows more users to interact. Also, it gives them something more interactive to do on the platform.

One of the biggest reasons that I like running contests is that it gives me a chance to give back to the community. I think if people can have fun and interact more, then the community also has more of a draw.

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Ogochukwu: What’s the best advice you ever received?

Papa-Pepper: The best advice I’ve ever received comes from the Bible, but it is hard to pinpoint a specific.

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Ogochukwu: Who are your biggest influences? Who do you admire most?

Papa-Pepper: I think that two of my biggest influences are Jesus Christ and my dad, @grandpa-pepper.

Jesus lived a sacrificial and loving life to benefit others. Despite what they were up to and how they lived, He chose to love them. He even loved me. Jesus esteemed others more highly than Himself, and I admire that.

My dad is a solid man. He is caring, loving, and honest, and he is an incredible hard worker who has blessed a lot of people. He loves children and is just a fun guy to be around.

I am glad that I had him as a role model growing up, even if it took me years to appreciate it.

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Ogochukwu: Who or what inspired you to do what you’re doing now? (Both Within and Outside Steemit)

Papa-Pepper: Outside of steemit, my life has become a kind of counter-culture one family revolution. I think that the current “normal way of life” in the American society is basically a big attempt to divide and conquer the family. Dad goes to work, Mom goes to work, and the kids go to school.

Often dads spend just a few minutes with their children on a daily basis and then eventually the children turn 18 and they get kicked out. God has put a different lifestyle on my heart and it is that call on my life that has become my focus. Since God made me and Jesus bought me with His blood, I let Him call the shots.

There is a certain life laid out in scripture that I believe is the life that God wants me to be living. It involves a family being together with the parents teaching their own children and taking responsibility for them.

On steemit, it is just an overflow of the rest of my life. I think that the self-sufficient lifestyle is attractive to many, even if they will never try it themselves. I just try to share my life and encourage others to live their lives to the best of their capability.

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Ogochukwu: What is still your biggest challenge?

Papa-Pepper: Adjusting to properly leading my family as a man should. There are not a lot of good examples out there and real fathers and husbands are becoming ever scarcer these days.

I think that too many of us are trained to serve ourselves and be selfish, so spouses and children are too often seen as inconveniences, which is probably why I never wanted to get married or have children before. To go from being self-centered and alone to leading a large(er) family is a big adjustment.

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Ogochukwu: What are your favorite books or movies on Agriculture?

Papa-Pepper: Though I have not read a lot of them, I like the stuff that Joel Salatin has put out. He understands that God created the plants and animals a certain way with certain purposes, and when we understand that we can utilize their created characteristics in amazing ways to benefit both the animals and us.

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Ogochukwu: You have done some gift exchanges with some Steemians how do you think it will help foster community?

Papa-Pepper: I think it all started many months ago when I did the first steemit garden seed giveaway. Several users were interested and some started sending some back, so I started the steemit seed swap.

Since then I’ve also mailed artwork, T-shirts, CDs, and even fresh grown super-hot peppers across the country and around the world. I think that this type of interaction increases the tangible community and takes our interaction to a completely different level It helps to build lasting friendships and endear us to one another.

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Ogochukwu: What’s your best advice for handling criticism?

Papa-Pepper: My best advice is to humble yourself and allow for the possibility that there could be at least some truth in it. Too often our pride puts up a barrier where we resist all criticism and never improve on things because of our ignorance and arrogance.

Often a fresh set of eyes looking at things from a different perspective can provide insight that we would otherwise miss. Sometimes haters just wanna hate, but that is not always the case.

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Ogochukwu: What surprising lessons have you learned along the way on Steemit?

Papa-Pepper: I think that it has helped my people skills and understanding of others a lot. Written comments do not come with audible tone, so things can easily be misinterpreted. Also, suddenly being exposed to people from all over the world is good for learning more about interacting with others.

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Ogochukwu: What do you find are Steemians biggest stumbling blocks and what are the best ways you’ve found to overcome them?

Papa-Pepper: Discouragement is the biggest. It can come from anywhere or nowhere, but sometimes things just get tough and people feel like quitting, myself included. The relationships and investment in the lives of others kept me going though. I wouldn’t bail on any of my other friends, so why would I bail on the steemians. You guys are amazing and wonderful and I appreciate you more than you know. We can support, educate, encourage, and inspire one another.

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Ogochukwu: What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered?

Papa-Pepper: I would like to be a good example of what the Lord can do for people here on earth. Obviously eternity is a different matter, but the testimony of a man on earth can testify of the power of God too. I was a drug addicted, drunk lying thief who would lie, cheat and steal all day long.

I lived for my own pleasure even if it hurt others, and I left a long trail of destruction behind me. These days I am a sober, kind man who loves others and truly cares about them. I want to invest in my family to leave a lasting legacy and work hard in my life to set them up for their future. If my children follow in my footsteps, that would be wonderful, but I cannot force that or require that.

I can just set the best example that I can and teach them. I’ll have to work very hard to set it up, but if they want to continue on where I leave off, it’ll be much easier for them.

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Ogochukwu: How do you balance work and family demands?

Papa-Pepper: Unfortunately, work is needed to meet the family demands. As we buy our land, build our house out of pocket, and grow and raise more of our own food, the actual amount of money needed to live life will be drastically reduced. Hopefully I’ll be able to make whatever money we still need from home with my family, and then be able to live out our lives alongside one another. That’s the goal, and the plan

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Thank you all for reading, follow this blog for more educative interviews with The Rainmakers on Steemit.

Our guest for next week is some one who is very knowledgeable when it comes to crypto-currency, it is no ther person than @kingscrown. The interview would no doubt be interesting.`

In what way has @papa-pepper been an inspiration and support to you,let us know in the comment section below.