STEEMIT, Thanks for my 1st Bitcoin, for 380 Followers and for the Invaluable Experience

10 months ago I could not imagine that I will have 1 btc in my wallet. Yes, I knew about crypto-currencies, but was far from this topic. It seemed to me that it is more money for the guys from Silicon Valley. Before I started to work IT-engineer, two years ago, all this looked for me like magic things from The Matrix or Johnny Mnemonic.

Thanks to Steemit, many things has changed for me.

It is human nature to compare your results with others, so I was very upset that my first posts has not gained popularity, although I tried hard. I'm not an artist, not a writer, not a photographer and my English is poor… But I liked being in this community and just writing about what I'm interested in.

At some point I realized that I'm getting here something more than an opportunity to earn some money. The mentality of people from different countries, and the mentality of the community as a whole were so unique and enjoyable, that I were spending almost all my free time on Steemit. I wanted to be a part of this community.

Have I attained that?- I don't know, it is not for me to decide.

I'm not the most active and well-known user here, rather a standard member. I rarely write articles or comment on other people's posts, because of the language barrier, but I love to read all what you publish here!

Your photos carry me in a thousand different places on the planet. Your recipes allow me to "taste" and see the food of all peoples of the world. Your thoughts, stories and poetry expand the horizons of my thinking.

All this has really affected my life...

In February, I decided to take a little risk and change my job. I was tired of working in a large company with a good outlook in 2-3 years, tired of routine and strict rules. Moreover, my discontent with work intensified against the background of the boundless world, which I saw here.

It doesn't sound risky to many of you, there is nothing special about changing jobs. But given the current situation in my country (Russia), to leave a promising job in a reliable company is not the most objective decision… according to my wife, friends and relatives :)

Money, that I earned here, helped me make the final decision about dismissal. By February I had about 1500$ that I earned by selling steem. At that time the exchange rate was quite low, something around 14-18 cents per coin. I paid off the rest of the loan for the wedding, and still had a small airbag of money. It was one of the decisive factors, which allowed me to leave and find a place for the soul.

In April I became the head of IT department, in a small company of 40 people, and I like here everything! Interesting tasks, participation in the life of the company, team, the opportunity for growth. For 4 months I learned more than for 2 years in my old job. Now my salary level is higher than in the company, which I left.

The right upper corner, in a shirt in a cage, with a palm instead of a face- it's Me :p

Most importantly- I get great pleasure from work and take a direct part in choosing the way in which we go. This is very valuable - to feel involved.

In my language there is a saying "a spoon of tar in barrel of honey". In this story there is a spoon of tar...

People tend to think simultaneously about the past, present and future. I am no exception. Of course I thought about the fact that 4,000 of steem, which I sold for 0.7 btc, cost today 3.4 btc, it is almost $ 9.000. Of course I think about how much it might cost in the future. But, I did what I thought was right at that moment… it was worth it.

Could I achieve this result without Seemit?

I think Yes, definitely Yes. But certainly not today, and without 1 bitcoin in my wallet, which I can use for further growth capital step by step. At this stage, I trade carefully, earning about $50-70 a week.

the value of btc fell, while I was preparing this post :)

Two weeks ago I started mining Zcash on PCs in office. Mining brings 0,01 ZEC every two days, it's 0.15 zec in a month or almost 2 zec per year, or 0.3 btc. And it's only when I use 20% of available equipment.

Yesterday we bought new servers with E5-2600, will see what they can give me. I started to learn Python in order to optimize miners for continuous and unobtrusive operation with no harm to the network.

Why am I telling this? It's simple, I want you to understand for what I say Thank You.

Thanks to the developers who created this place!
Thanks to the authors who inspired me to move forward!
Thank to my followers and everyone who voted for my articles, thereby enabling me to realize my desires!

Steemit opened for me a magic door into a wonderful world of cryptocurrencies. The community continues to keep that door open for hundreds of people every day. The main thing is not to be afraid to cross the threshold and continue to go forward. In the end, where else will you be able to obtain crypto-currency without technical skills and equipment?

---

P.S. This week I will finish powerdown, I'll spend these money on tickets to GOA, we plan to visit India in August. Last 10 months were intense, and apparently everything is just beginning. It will be useful to relax before the new achievements ;)

---