Powering down and living life Steemlessly
A conversation I haven't had for a very long time is on my powerdowns. The reason I haven't talked about my powerdowns for so long is because, I can't remember the last time I actually powered down. I think it was mid-2017. Even then, I wasn't actually powering down properly, because I was powering it straight back up. The reason I did this was because it meant that I was always closer to getting something out than the 7-days for a cycle. The reason I stopped doing it was because it was pointed out that many people just see the powerdown and make assumptions, they don't look at the powering up.
The reason I bring this up now is because last week and after almost three years, I started a powerdown again based on the TRON news. Because I as uncertain what was going to happen (still am), I decided to take the safe approach and recall some delegations as well as start a powerdown until I figured out what to do. In 21 hours, the first powerdown cycle should mature.
But fuck it.
I am going to stop the powerdown and take the risk. The reason is that while it is a defensive move, what the hell is 1000 dollars really going to do for me in this life at this time? I don't mean that to sound like I am rubbing it in because I know that is a lot of money in some plaes, but I live in Finland, and it really isn't that much. I want life changing and that doesn't do much to even change my month.
One day, I hope it will be though.
Yeah, I of course hope that Steem will do all the great financial things, but in order for me to actually benefit, I have to have Steem. Selling at 22 cents out of fear just so I get something isn't really what I have worked so hard for. And as I have said, it is to the stars - or the gutter.
If it is to the gutter, so be it. This is the risk right? Sure, I can play it safe and take the little I have and put it into Bitcoin and watch it climb steadily over the next 5 years, but that is what I can do with my fiat if I choose. With my Steem, I am able to use it here and add a few extra cents around the place and perhaps add some smiles and even some value to people.
Sure, one day I will have to cash something out, but I am hoping that when that time comes, it is going to make a significant difference to whatever the conditions of my life are. For instance, if I was able to pay-out my mortgage in 5 years, the rest of my and my family's financial life would be quite a lot easier as our monthly costs will decrease enormously. I don't need a Lambo. I wouldn't even want one.
Simple pleasures, bills paid without having to feel the belt tighten, a gadget occasionally to test out new tech perhaps, and a trip to Australia with my family so we can all be together for once in a blue moon. I think like most people in life, I am pretty tired of the economic struggle, and I feel that cashing out any no is supporting its continuance. Instead, I will support the crypto life, at least for now.
I know that there are quite a few large accounts powering down and they might even dump. A lot of people will get upset at this, but don't as it is great for distribution and if you thought you missed your chance to buy at the lows, you might get another swing. Those large accounts might not need the funds even, but that also means that they don't need the highs to have that life changing amount, it would just be nice for them.
For me, if I could sell my entire stake now, I would get around 16,000 dollars, which after paying what I must in tax, likely leaves me with a few months of addition salary. That is really nice to have, but a year or two from now, it would be like it never happened as it would be absorbed into life, a distant memory - like the feeling of a holiday a few weeks after returning to work.
Powering up and holding Steem is a risky position in relationship to having "cash in the hand" that can be spent now, but it is also an act of defiance of some kind and a support for all those who are to come in the future. Some might only care about the dollar value, but I do have a sense that there is more at stake than what I am able to buy.
If Steem dies, I might lament not taking something, but I do not think I will dwell on it for too long and will rather get on with my life, Steemlessly. After all, I have lived my life Steemlessly til now, so I will manage a little further.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
I definitely started a power down as well and stopped it after calmer heads prevailed.
After Steemit had the big layoff and some of the large accounts that left just made me realize that as you stated out, it's just another step to help decentralize the platform for the long term.
In the end, the more large accounts powerdown, the better it is for everyone else. While no one likes the hit to the price, at the end of the day it has to happen and at least at these prices, more people have the opportunity to buy if they choose. Better than them dumping at 10 dollars :D
!ENGAGE 20
Slow run up in price just means a higher and stronger base for the next bull run!
Yes, I am hoping for stronger floors, and that doesn't happen with skittish investors
Ha I think everyone that is still currently around has some pretty strong hands, but I guess we will see next bear market (assuming we really are out of this bear market)
@gniksivart you have received
20 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
I'm powering down for the same reason, but don't intend to sell any at this point. If I had a million or more STEEM, it would be more like leverage. I could be vocal about staying liquid until some more clarity and safeguards are put in place. At my level, I just want the flexibility to step back and watch. Hell, with the right clarity and safeguards, I'd even consider buying more. Maybe it's a curse to be somewhat informed about the history of Tron, and I feel that many of the cheerleaders of the "partnership" are not.
Yeah, but at the end of the day, the amounts that I have aren't going to do much for me, especially at plunging prices. If they plunge enough, I will definitely be buying more :) Who knows what the TRON whatever it is will do, but if it is going to die because of this, my account will go down with it.
!ENGAGE 20
@joshman you have received
20 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
I did exactly the same a couple of days ago...
Let’s pray for the best as a result of this joint.
Praying might help, but I think activity helps more. May as well be active with my stake in hand. :)
!ENGAGE 20
@toofasteddie you have received
20 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
I thought about a power down, but the 13 week wait made me think a little longer and things started to look better. I probably have 1/10th the stake you do so it would also not make a large difference to today's budget. So I HODL and wait for the mythical $10 STEEM, by then my stake will be larger and who knows curation might give me some spending money.
The mythical 10 would be pretty amazing. Can you imagine what the atmosphere would be like?
Not really, but it would sure be electric.
I think I saw a stat that powerdowns increased by about 8 million STEEM on the day tronit was announced. I have to admit that I felt the FUD everyone else did in the moment. I still feel it to some degree because of the unpredictability of Justin Sun, but it’s dampened a lot since more news from Steemit and community members has been released.
I think we all need to make our peace with this right now. For some, that means powering down and diversifying into other coins. For others, it means selling all their Steem. Others may not do anything differently and others still may decide to double down as Justin could be bullish for Steem in a way that Ned never could.
In the end, I’m here for the moonshot as well. I can make my “$16k” elsewhere. This is the shot of a lifetime, hit or miss.
Posted via Steemleo
Hi Dear Friend @tarazkp.
I'm sure you've made a wise decision to stop the powerdown.
We have already truly discovered what steemit is all about. And it's not about money. You agree with me?
We suffered with a steem at 0.07 usd almost 3 years ago. Why leave the ship now when surely positive things are coming for everyone?
Let's go ahead and enjoy the landscape. As you say, let's enjoy life Steemlessly.
pd: I could see that your RCs are very low. Would you know why this is due? Just curious.
All best, Piotr.
When Steem was 7 cents, I had no idea what the price of Steem was.
I create account tokens with my RCs.
Yeah and u may suffer again if the coin swap happens and STEEM goes to ZERO!! Imagine the panic and the price of TRON spikes and the price of STEEM drops if they announce that!! The guys that powered down are shorting STEEM now, maybe they know it's because the coin swap in inevitable just for that reason, for their big STEEM short!!! OMG!!!!! If Justin decides to use his votes against the witnesses it's pretty much a sealed deal. I'm sure EOS or somebody would reimburse him to do it!!! lol STEEM would go to ZERO and TRON-STEEM would go from ZERO to 20 cents or something! Would be a nightmare for us, and a dream come true for Justin and his little TRON cronies!!
I wonder what do you think about current situation now ?
ps.
I would need to ask you for little favour. Recently I've decided to join small contest called "Community of the week" and I desribed our project.hope hive/community. Would you mind helping me out and RESTEEM this post - just to get some extra exposure? Your valuable comment would be also appreciated.
Link to my post: on steemit or on steempeak
Thanks :)
Yours, Piotr
I’m not too worried about the situation. STEEM basically failed already in price over the years, were in a funky range between 30 cents and 10 cents, so only 10 more cents of risk to go under that! I think change is good, so hopefully Justin Sun will help us get back on track.
$trdo
!BEER
i actually powered up to over 5000 just hours before the Justin announcement and with all that talk about coin swap i thought, o crap :) but never hit the power down. If you compare Finland and Serbia i am maybe in the same position as you are. At current prices it would be few months of average serbian income.
As i said steem at 100$ (and i kinda believe that will never happen) i would be able to say that my life is changed for 180. Steem at 5-10$ would probably mean something that i was thinking about when i joined steem (it was 4-5$), being able to buy some camera or other tech, travel somewhere and cover part of it with steem... And that sounds good enough for me. Here we don't have roads for Lambos, so nah i don't need it.
Steem at 4-5 and I would be able to pay off my house with a full PD. But, would I? I didn't last time :D
I do want something worthwhile, and if it isn't, I am prepped to take nothing at all :)
!ENGAGE 25
@bil.prag you have received
25 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
Honestly, a powerdown never cross my mind as I still feel like my stake is a part of what I do to engage here... If it doesn’t play out with the upcoming changes; then it is more like a lottery ticket (thousands of them). As you said, my stake will not make a difference in my lifestyle if I cash it in.
Posted using Partiko iOS
Yep, It was a defensive move and as I said to the people I talked to about it, I can always stop it before it matures. The lottery ticket effect is strong on Steem :) Hope you are well mate.
!ENGAGE 25
@newageinv you have received
25 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
I saw your headline and thought NO, don't do it. Happy to see you're not!
Posted using Partiko Android
yeah, not planning on leaving, but I will eventually have to take something.
!ENGAGE 25
@atma.love you have received
25 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
I have been powering down too. I would love to see a reduced powerdown period. 13 weeks are too much. Now that communities are alive. Let's hope to see great things.
I haven't powered down, I stopped it. I figure it is better to take the risk than take whatever I can get.
Yeah, I read full article. In Finland, your 80k SPs won't give you much. However, in my country it is indeed a lot. With my current salary, it will take me well over 10 years to make that much money. If only steem could quadruple its current value, my SPs are enough to make some of my dreams come true.
A risky year it would seem for you. Buying a home, move out from apartment dwelling, all the work travel, new renovations, new home, new steem, new a lot of things to think about. 5 years is not that long of a time, as you know and I know there is no guarantees to the future. In America ever since I started working along time ago, the doom and gloomers of retirement kept trying to convince people that the Social Security System would be so broke that no one would get anything, It's still around, The doom and gloomers are still around. If steem is still around in 5 years, you will have even more of it than you have. Even if it is still worth only a dime you will have more dimes to play with in the future.
Lol yeah - there is a lot going on at the moment - damn :D
Btw, healthcare systems that cover everyone will be cheaper in the US. You guys pay ridiculously for healthcare in comparison to the rest of the world. :)
!ENGAGE 25
@bashadow you have received
25 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
"With my Steem, I am able to use it here and add a few extra cents around the place and perhaps add some smiles and even some value to people."
I am new here but can already tell a big difference between this crypto-currency to Tron and others.
This was a good read! Looking forward to learn more!
Welcome in! Are you entering in from Tron?
There are lots of things to get the head around here to begin with, but also lots of things to fall in love with if willing to give it a go. Good luck!
!ENGAGE 25 < these are one of the tokens on steem-engine.com. They have some value, but not much and are just a little thank you for commenting around the ecosystem. There will be a link in the automated message (I think) :)
I have many different bags, Tron is one I've actively followed and it lead me to this hidden gem. :-)
Thank you for the tokens!!
Nice to hear this, welcome :)
Thank you! :-)
You think I am a hidden gem? :*
I am guessing you mean Steem - there is a lot to love here, it is evolving day by day and has the chance to become something brilliant :)
Ha ha, I did mean STEEM, but you are one of the first accounts I started following so I guess you could say both. ;-)
@darthknight you have received
25 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
You should diversify.
Buy some Tron, hehe.
Posted via Steemleo
I have had tron for years... it is a dog ;D
I thought about it and that's as far as I got because a) I'm lazy and don't think there's enough for it to be worth the effort and b) I'm unreasonably stubborn and that's going to be my downfall if pride doesn't get me first :)
When I did the math on its current worth - I don't think I could sell it anyway. Having it liquid doesn't do much for me, but it takes away my chance to do with it.
!ENGAGE 25
Takes away your chance to do with it? o_O [not smart enough to understand] XD
you know, vote, buy some accounts, add some value to someone somewhere. I would have powered down the equivalent of a dolphin account. Though the value is low in price, it still give a little bit of Steem to those who might earn it.
@ryivhnn you have received
25 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
Just cause u power down don't mean u have to sell it immediately. Maybe hold it and wait for spikes! U gotta be ready to sell if the bull market matures, and powering down then won't be quick enough. I'm powering down but going to wait and see. Hope no shocking news comes in while I wait. If the price runs up I will be able to hold onto my steem on the side even easier!! If it keeps going down i will have to trade spikes along the way.I'm not getting out for the money, I'm getting out cause I see all the crap posts everywhere milking, and it looks bad!! Your initial gut feeling to power down was probably the correct one!!! If when there is this big moonshot u all talking about, i'll be selling it for sure!! Reality is seems like the moonshot was behind us, and this is all JS scams to keep people powered up and like sheeple! Thanks for helping to keep the herd in so I can sell first ! lol thanks!! Steem supply is pretty unlimited, i know inflation decreases over time, but look at how much everybody has, and growing. If it ever goes ups, it surely will come down too! And if the coin swap is ever finalized, STEEM price will go to ZERO!! OMG! sucks!!! The more I think about it, it's just seeming too risky for me to stay powered up. I could trade this 20K in and make 2k on a 10% alt coin pop daily if I put my mind to it!! Good Luck, & stay powered up!!
p.s. i simply flag everybody now too cause they advertise my smart steem blacklist, and i'm pissed as hell! That's the main reason I powered down! Best u power that steem back up since you're not on any black lists!!!!
The run up is going to take a few weeks at least and I am not planning on selling more than 20% of what I hold, which is less than what I have bought in the last 1.5 years with fiat. Taking a couple weeks of Powerdowns should be fine for the run for me, plus I have already bought a bit of Steem on the exchanges that I can swing a little with if needs be.
Good luck out there!
I don't expect the final run ups to be until next year, providing there aren't any surprises along the way! Thanks!!
I still haven't decided. Last week, I initiated my very first powerdown since I came here. The numbers are not so significant as yours, of course :0)
I never had any plans on taking the Steem out, I just wanted to be able to in case the situation made it necessary.
Now one week has passed, and the dust has settles a little, I'm starting to doubt. I liked supporting others with my stake, either through delegations or votes. Is it worth it to give that all up in order to 'save' what is only a small fraction of what I've invested? I'm starting to lean towards canceling the powerdown, and just go with the flow again. My stake isn't even that big, it's not that it would make such a huge difference in my personal finances.
I guess I'll keep it going for a bit longer, to make sure I have at least some liquid Steem again, since I've been posting so little that I've run out of that.
< Is it worth it to give that all up in order to 'save' what is only a small fraction of what I've invested?
This is what I thought about and came to the conclusion, it is not. My time here is worth more than whatever I can sell at now, and for some time to come by the looks.
!ENGAGE 30
@simplymike you have received
30 ENGAGEfrom @tarazkp!View and trade the tokens on Steem Engine.
Good for you. I must confess that I was quite surprised/despondent when I heard that you were powering down. You're not the only one amongst some of the larger and most faithful stakeholders, for sure.
Not normally one to follow the herd but it prompted me to hit that button too. I don't have anywhere near the stake you do so your reasoning is even more relevant to me to stop it. In for a penny....
Yep.
It wasn't a kneejerk reaction for me, I thought it through and decided that it was better to start, as it gave me the 7 days to consider if I wanted to continue. I didn't :)
Congratulations @tarazkp!
Your post was mentioned in the Steem Hit Parade in the following category:
....and spread a bit of confidence. That I would say is important coming for you, not for myself personally as I have minimal stake in the game, but for those holding a weightier sum, people come to view you as a man with a lot of self confidence, if you are feeling confident with your decision to them it could project a healthy belief in the new management....for now at least.
no risk = no reward
i just powered up - made it to 500SP LOL
it wouldn't be very 'life changing' at the moment - so i'll let it ride ;)
Hi @tarazkp
I just read your post. They weren’t in my feed for a while and I wondered what happened. But glitches happen.
In regards to your post. I also haven’t powered down in quite a while, I think I powered down to buy Steem-Engine Tokens. But with the bad vibes everyone was giving off about the Token going to zero.., I hit the Power Down Button. I hate to admit it...but there it is....the prospect of getting caught by the 13 week power down cycle and not being able to swap to Tron worried me, as well as losing my entire investment. ... So I can relate to what your saying. I felt and feel the same way.
But I thought it over. This has never been about a small gain. It’s been about a life changing nomad soul existence. Anything less doesn’t pay off my bills and change my life.
Besides what has really changed my life is writing, interacting and evolving into a me 2.0 from all that I have learned about the blockchain.
So I stopped my power down. It was tough. Fiscally imprudent and maybe irresponsible, but like @newageinv said, these are like lottery tickets to a better life.
Steem on straight ahead into the unknown to either the moon or crashing in a ditch, life is not a destination, it’s a journey, let’s enjoy the ride!
✍️
Yep. Some people will take the something over the nothing and by doing so, miss the everything.
Do you find how affected we are by others? This is actually a good thing if we can find people we trust enough to be affected by. I think many are affected by anybody - and this is the internet :)
Yes, glitches do happen.
Yes. I am definitely affected by others here. Normally I don’t react on here and think carefully about my response. But the initially overwhelming negativity by people I read made me feel like Powering down for the swap was the best thing to do....I actually thought all was lost. I figured I better start because it takes weeks.
You convinced me to stop it. You reminded me of my underlying reason for being here. A life changing experience, so I stopped my power down.
Just don't blame me later :D
But, as we have both concluded, cashing out now doesn't really do much long-term for anyone. As someone said yesterday, in for a penny, in for a pound. =)
No worries. I am responsible for both wins and losses. Freedom gives me choices, but as my dad said, the freedom to choose my actions come with consequences, and I have to own them both. 👍