Recently @aggroed held a contest to send one lucky minnow to SteemFest 2 in Lisbon, Portugal this November. It is an amazing opportunity and I am very grateful to be considered one of the 13 finalists in this contest.

@aggroed has laid out the guidelines for the final phase of the contest in this post: https://steemit.com/steemfest/@aggroed/13-finalists-for-steemfest-minnow-show-these-minnows-some-love

Challenge: Get Free

I strongly believe that everyone can work to make themselves a bit more free. Whether it be an oppressive government regime, another person in your life or even your own self, everyone has something that is holding them back from living completely free. What does it mean to be free? Being free is the essence of happiness. The ability to do as you wish in a peaceful manner without repercussions. It is a virtue that carries a never-ending battle. The fight to get free is never over, the battle is never won. It is an on-going task that requires a life-long supply of hard work and effort. As one objective is accomplished, another lies ahead. It is a challenge that we all face as humans on this planet and I hope to live in a world full of people that are willing stand up to this challenge.

How to Get Free

The first step to living a free life is to understand and realize the shackles that you have around you. Know what is holding you back and try to learn more about it. Education is an amazing tool to help people get free. The more you dig down deeper into the root of your constraints, the easier it becomes to free yourself. What stands between you and the things that make you happy? Dissect it. Investigate the cause of your problem and devise a set of plans to mitigate the negative effect it is having on your life. Once we establish the degree-of-free that we are satisfied with, there will be plenty of work to be done to maintain it. Life brings along many obstacles, we never know what sort of challenge we will be facing next. I hope everyone can find the willpower to overcome these challenges to help free themselves from the invisible shackles of their everyday life.

Mission Statement:

Get free.

it's the mission of a lifetime

My Goals for SteemFest 2

Meet as many Steemian's as possible!

I hope to meet EVERYONE attending SteemFest 2. It is an amazing opportunity to be able to network IN REAL LIFE with other people that use this platform. It will be the largest gathering of Steemians on Earth and I definitely do not want to miss out! I think it will be great to be able to put a face to some usernames.

Learn more about the STEEM network!

With such a large group of Steemians in one little place, the abundance of brainpower will be incredible. The city of Lisbon will be overflowing with brilliance during these days. I hope to take in as much knowledge as I can from fellow Steemians during my trip to SteemFest. Talking face to face with others will be a priceless experience. I am far from being the most technologically talented user and I hope to use this experience to help advance my skills and learn better ways to expand my reach.

Gain friends from around the world 

STEEM is an international phenomenon. It does not have boundaries. SteemFest is the one time each year where people travel from all around the world to celebrate the success of this amazing platform. I would love to be a part of this years celebration and have the chance to meet and create lasting friendships with STEEM users from around the globe.

Feast with the Foodies

STEEM is full of food lovers like myself. I love trying new foods and flavors. I hope to go out to eat with fellow STEEM foodies in Lisbon and try the traditional Portuguese food. It would be fun to get together to eat with the people I have been communicating with online.

Explore with the Travelers

I want to make the most of my trip to SteemFest. It will be in a city and country that I have never visited and I will be surrounded by people that love to travel. STEEM is the perfect outlet for a traveler to write about their journeys. I plan on meeting many Steemians that also like to explore and I want to go on adventures through Portugal with them.

How I will achieve my goals

I will be my self. In order to make the most of SteemFest I will have to put myself out there and socialize with many different people. For some, we are already internet friends. For others, we will arrive as strangers but I hope to leave as worldly friends. We share the same interest in progressing this platform. It would be great to create a friendship with many. The only way to do that is to open up and talk with others.

Budget

Here is my original entry to @aggroed's contest: https://steemit.com/steemfest/@jeffjagoe/here-goes-nothing-entering-the-steemfest-minnow-contest-thank-you-for-the-opportunity-aggroed

Best of luck to all of the fellow minnows competing in this awesome contest. A special thanks to @aggroed for holding this. It has been very fun along the way!

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