Join me in Kauai and in my Life Reboot on Steemit!

Hello Steemit world!

Ok, so while this isn’t my very first post on Steemit, it IS my first post where I’m just going to try actually being my genuine self. So here’s the story; a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine told me about Steemit, tried to explain it to me, and that he was seeing people make money by posting stories, blogs and articles.

So, being the lifelong entrepreneur that I am, and currently unemployed (more on that later), I decided to check it out. Wow - regular people actually DID appear to be making real money on this platform! I also mentioned it to my teenage daughter (who is admittedly more plugged into social media). My daughter took about a half hour to write a couple of posts to test the waters. We went to a pet store down the street to do some shopping and while we were there, she logged into her Steemit account and showed me how her first 2 posts had done.

My daughter with her instant Steemit success

Uhhhhh….seriously??! Her second post had already generated $232 in the first 27 minutes! Ok, now I had to give this a try. Here’s what I think my problem was: I approached it with the intention of making money. I did some quick brainstorming on what I thought would be attention grabbing titles and topics, did some research, and proceeded to post a couple of articles. Then I sat with my eyes glued to my articles as the first few seconds passed by. Nothing yet. That’s ok, let’s give it some time. 5 minutes, then 10, then 2 hours later, 2 upvotes and $0.00 generated. What am I doing wrong??

Getting ready to land in paradise!

First, let me tell you where I am right now. So at this moment while I am writing this new “hello” post you are reading, I am sitting in an incredible room in Kauai, Hawaii. We have had this family vacation planned for 2 years, and on the flight from Los Angeles here yesterday, I decided I would make this trip the "reboot" starting point for the second half of my life. I’ve made a TON of bad decisions in the first part of my life, and have far too many regrets. So I’m using this vacation as a new start over point. From now forward I’ve decided to make GOOD decisions, be more open minded, take life less seriously, be a nicer, happier person in general and go after the things that truly make me happy. Kind of like a new year’s resolution, but in July.

The walkway outside our beach front hotel. Beautiful.

What does all this have to do with Steemit and what I think I was doing wrong on the platform? Well, in order to fully commit to this “new me” and actually do it, I needed a way to document my progress and keep myself motivated in a positive way. Steemit is a great place to do that. It is easy to use, it is brand new and fresh without all of the clutter of the other social media platforms, and has a great community of contributors and users. So from this point forward, instead of seeking to use Steemit as a way to generate income, I’m going to approach it as a way to track my life’s journey forward. I’m not focusing on “trying” to generate money through the platform, I’m just going to write about my life experiences and document my progress.

Getting back to the unemployed thing, yes, I’m in Kauai, Hawaii with my extended family on a trip that’s been in planning for a long while, and I’m jobless. Today is Day 1 and they are all out at the beach right now while I stayed at the room to write this post. I needed to start my new life process right away. About 7 months ago I was laid off from a corporate cubicle job of 10 years.

I did the whole unemployment thing the first 6 months and after that ran out, I have been using my Prius as a taxi through Uber just to get by. It’s not a glamorous life, but that’s where I am at the moment. The last thing I want to do is go back to a 9 to 5 office job where it feels like my life is slowly slipping away. I’m determined to do something that makes me feel fulfilled, allows me to pay my bills, and doesn’t make me want to drive my car into a brick wall at the end of each work day! :)

So I’ll have to figure out what that reality will be, but right now, I’m in such a beautiful place here in Kauai, surrounded by family and intent on having an amazing vacation! I hope you’ll join me along the way! Let me know if you have any questions about what it’s like here, the people, the sights, or anything at all!

Oh yeah - last thing - why “KGBDave” as my user name? “Teddy KGB” is a famous character in the poker movie “Rounders” with John Malkovich and Matt Damon. I loved his character and the movie. I even think I look a little like him when I grow out a beard, and am an aspiring poker pro myself. (I have a long way to go to make that happen but it is one of my “dream” ways to make a living).

Teddy "KGB"

I plan on playing many more poker tournaments in the near future and continually trying to improve my skills. I’ve made live tournament final tables in the past with 900+ players, and the feeling when you get there is indescribable. It is the greatest adrenaline high you can imagine. So I’m sure some of my posts will include my poker playing adventures here and there. But right now, I think I need to crack open a cold beer and hit the pool (which is amazing here with waterslides and all)! I’ll continue posting some pics and stories from this trip all week.

Take care and be good to yourself! Do what you love and love what you do!