Hive is not just a blogging platform, it's much more than that... For some, it serves as a personal diary; for some, a place to practice writing skills; and for some, a place to share their musical creativity. For me, it depends on my mood... 馃槂 But, everything I share here represents part of me, sometimes showing my good sides, sometimes my bad sides... I suppose that I'm not the only one who "feels" some strange vibes coming from HIVE, and the "wind of change" is upon us... I can't say I didn't want to see something like that, since I've mentioned many times that we need to steer the boat in a different direction... So, I would use my personal blog for "venting out" things that bother me... And it looks like it will be a longer series of posts... 馃槀
Created on Canva.com, using my photo as a background
To get inspiration for a topic, usually some old memories come to my mind, and somehow, they connect, leading to a story... Today, we have 3 things that clicked... One financial term, one Hivian, and one priest... Financial term is up in the title, the word HEDGE... The Hivian is 
I'm an introvert... I'm not a politician... I don't know how to do small talk... I don't promise things I can't fulfill... I'm never 100% sure I will do something... I don't believe in 100%... But 99%, yes... Because of all that, every time I try to build something, I'm going through the hard route, on the hard way... You know the easy way, don't you? You go out, tell some fairy tale stories about how you will change the world, make everyone happy and rich, and the ball starts rolling much faster... People like "sweet talk", even though they sometimes know they aren't true... On the other side, those who exploit them know exactly how to do it... Their way is faster, but usually lasts shorter... My way is longer, but it lasts longer too... and it brings some prizes on the journey too!
The beginnings are the hardest, and the journey is long... As not everyone shares the same views as you, there will be hurdles and bumps on the road... When I left University, I came back to my hometown and opened my first PC shop... It was my hometown, but I had 0 connections and a small group of friends (introvert problems 馃槀), which meant that I had to build those connections and nurture them... Investing all my attention to every single client, and trying to leave a good impression (that wasn't a problem, as that was the premise)... I was a "rookie" in my own town... I wasn't asked for anything, and my word didn't mean anything... That's similar to any other profession, or journey, or even your account here on HIVE... We all began from zero...
After building the foundation, the influence slowly grows... People start to recommend you, recognize you on the street, say some nice words about the experience they had with you... But also, you have the other side, where some try to undermine your work, to make your life harder by spreading fake rumours, and such... All in all, a positive attitude and fair play usually lead to making your influence bigger... On that point, the split happens... One continued building as they were, one began to "hedge" their influence to get shady things, and another quit because of the bumps on the road...
When you continue building despite all the bumps, that's the last corner, the last turn you have to make to succeed! Of course, the other question is... What is success to you?
That's where the "real growth" begins... When you survived some ugly things with the help of the friends and community around you, you are aware who are those you can lean on, and who are those that are not worth your time... I mentioned "prizes" in this post... These PEOPLE are those prizes! You didn't grow by accident, you grew thanks to them! You grow together! That's when your "network growth" and personal growth happen at the same time!
That's the reason why I think every Hivian is important... It's not about me trying to lure you into some shady investment to get my money back... It's not about convincing you how my thing is super great because I get money from it...
It's about recognizing the good work of people in our network and supporting them... It doesn't have to be money, as a matter of fact, it's much better to be in other ways of support... A nice word can open so many doors, and a bad word can close even more!
Hedge your influence, and use it for personal and network growth! We need more than ever good influencers, and fewer bad actors... We can do it!
Thank you for your time.
--ph--
None of this is financial advice!!!
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