Over the years there has been plenty of talk about the grind in order to earn on HIVE, which if looking to do it without buying in, can be a long process that requires a lot of work. But not for everyone. For some people, "the grind" is not a grind at all, because while it is a lot of work, it is work on a hobby, rather than work for a salary.
My neighbor puts a huge amount of work into her garden with no return other than a lovely garden to enjoy in the summer. Another friend spends most of his income on skiing equipment and experiences, with no return other than the feeling of conquering slopes in the winter. A third friend spends a huge amount of time at the gym and watching everything he eats, despite never looking to compete, never looking to earn. For me, I am one of the lucky few who enjoys the writing on Hive and I am able to get a potential financial return on it, on top of the feeling feedback I get from the writing itself.
I am not the only one of course, most of the earners on Hive actually like what they are doing here, as it is a hobby or even perhaps, a profession for them already. Some are artists and poets, some are authors, others are gamers and developers - but the ones who last aren't the ones who create for the money alone, they are the ones who enjoy what they do and would do it even if there was no Hive.
I came late to the writing game, as other than a few things I wrote (business orientated) for my work, I had never written much before. Like many people, I have always wanted to write a book - and like many people, I haven't even tried - yet once I started writing, I couldn't really stop, quickly making what I had never attempted before, a daily hobby, a leisure activity, a space for processing my thoughts, something I create and own daily.
As most people know, we value the things we create ourselves more than what we buy, even if they are of a lower quality standard. My neighbor spends the time in her garden, rather than hiring a landscaper (she leverages her husband for slave labor of course) - because when we invest ourselves, we appreciate the results of our labor more. A crappy spice rack built in the backyard shed will be held longer than one bought from IKEA - and even if it is replaced, it will be a long time before it is thrown away.
There is satisfaction in the creation and I have a hobby like the hobbies above, one made up of short-term goals that add up to long-term goals. It is like going to the gym to get into better shape, one or two sessions isn't enough, it is a continual opting-in to exercise near daily. A good workout can be felt and part of that feeling is that it adds to the long-term goals.
Each day I get the satisfaction of creating something unique and mine, while simultaneously adding a fraction of mass to my long-term goals. Each post, each comment, each transaction, gives me a "daily return" through my activity and continues the line of experience and development in the hobby I value. The reason that most people who burnout do so, is because they don't see this as a hobby to enjoy, they see it as work. Unless an addict, most people never burnout from their hobbies, but many burnout from their jobs.
While I can talk about the daily grind on Hive, it is in a way like a person says, "I have to go to the gym" even though they know they enjoy it and it adds value to their experience. Most people's New Year's resolutions to get fit fail, because they do it because they feel they must, not because they like the process and really want to do it daily. On Hive, most of the people who have the intention to grind purely for income, will fail too, because not only will they lose motivation fast (money is a terrible motivator for increasing activity long-term), they will also likely struggle for content as well as come across as inauthentic. This means that consistency won't be there and even if it is, the audience will unlikely engage, as there isn't the passion.
As I have mentioned before long ago, I see making money like chopping wood. I have a student who loves chopping wood, even though he doesn't need it for himself personally. So, he chops it and it builds up into piles, like money might for someone who loves the games in business. For him, he converts it to money as he sells it to friends and family also, since there is no reason to have so much chopped wood. The love isn't in the result, it is in the process.
He is 60+ and in incredible shape for his age too - so there is a secondary payoff for him, as well as it helps him tend to the forest he owns - which will bring in money when he sells the trees to a paper company every few decades - In Finland, the paper companies buy most of their wood from private land owners who look after their forests. This creates another stream of generational wealth and is far better for the environment too, as the incentives are to care for the forest, not clear-cut and move on.
Are you on Hive chopping wood because you love wielding an axe, or do you need the wood to keep yourself warm?
The difference is whether this is a hobby or a job and while it can serve as both, if a person spends too much time in the "have to do it" category, they are likely going to burnout or lose interest, as it is a process of force, which requires willpower. A hobby doesn't require willpower to do, as it is already desirable. The process of improvement and spending time learning about and doing secondary supportive tasks might require willpower though.
But, this is no different than in the real world of earning potential also, with those who do something purely for the money rarely being able to maintain themselves long term. Of course, there are times where there are "stepping stone" positions where for some period of time (potentially several years), undesirable jobs can be performed as they are a tract into a desirable position - but with these types of jobs, most people would take the offer of a fast-track if available.
On Hive, I would of course be pretty happy if someone said "here's a million dollars" -but would I stop writing once I got into that position? Unlikely and if anything, the advantage money would get me is the space to do more of what I want, opportunity to create more of my own work - to be able to do what I love by choice, not what I have to do for a paycheck. I wonder how many artists would give up their art if they were financially secure and didn't have to sell a piece at all? How many would produce more, increase their skill further, experiment with mediums and styles?
Hobbies don't have to be easy, they don't have to even be fun - they can be super frustrating - like my friend who is trying to decrease his golf handicap to zero. Years of work and cross-training and he already knows that he probably will never get there, but the process of attempting to get there is rewarding.
If the focus is only on the end-goal reward and the "daily grind" processes aren't appreciated daily, how many will ever reach anywhere near their potential? A lot of the time we look at the hyper successful and evaluate their success based on their pinnacle position, yet what we fail to realize is that they were successful day in and day out, as they were dedicated to their craft or career in a way that most people aren't a most people don't dedicate themselves fully to what they consider a job.
For the successful, it generally isn't a job, it is a way life. It is not a default position, it is intentional and intentionally improved. Sure, there is a lot of luck involved too across many areas, but luck in itself isn't enough. So while you are grinding away or struggling for what you are going to do next, think about where you want to be and all of the daily things it is likely going to take to get there. If you don't see yourself enjoying the daily grind of it, you are unlikely to reach the long term goal, no matter how much you desire it.
If you were where you wanted to be today, would you still want to do the hobby tasks of it?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
