Four years ago, I got introduced to a Catalan movie director to talk about a very interesting project that sadly didn’t take off.
During our first conversation, he confessed to me that he always believed that he couldn’t write if his life depended on it.
Motion picture however, that was his domain. That’s where he feels passionate, that’s where his inspiration strikes, and for him, that’s where the magic happens.
But then one day, as some thoughts started haunting him, he felt the need to express himself to let them out. Although, he never thought of himself as a writer, he figured that the time has come to put all those thoughts to paper…
That was only days before we met.
Do you wanna read it? He says to me.
At this point, I don’t know what to expect and the best thing to do in these situations is to not expect anything at all.
Yes of course. I genuinely said to him.
It wasn’t too long, two pages. But I didn’t want the story to end. I still remember the title to this day: No es fácil ser pionero.
In his own words, he recounts how easy it is to think of ourselves as mavericks and revolutionaries... To think that we are among the rare group of contrarians that never follow the masses just because it’s easier.
That we zig when society zags and that we always take the road less travelled (or any equivalent bumper-sticker line).
Reality on the other hand, shows that these things are easier said than done.
He recounts how his friends tried to convince him to get into Bitcoin two years earlier when it was at its very beginning.
But he didn’t.
He describes how at the end of the day knowing means nothing and executing means everything.
After all, it’s useless to have friends that introduce you to new revolutionary technologies if you never act on the information they gave you.
“I knew” is the easiest word in the world, he says.
I’m not gonna lie, it was a little uncomfortable to read, because I too have been through the same.
So I bought some Bitcoin the very same day, I knew about Bitcoin before I just was postponing while saying to myself that I will get into that later.. Bullshiting myself so to speak.
So yes, I bought some Bitcoin, it’s never too late to be a pioneer I said to myself.
Where did I store them you ask? Mt.Gox.
Lesson #1: Diversify where you hold.
A few months after that, January 2014 if I remember correctly Bitcoin reached the $1000 mark for the first time and the first feeling I had was regret.
The regret not buying more. So cliché, I know.
We all have these annoying little habits that are hard to get rid off. For some it’s nail-biting for others it’s the Snooze button, for me it was time-travel.
Whenever I regret not doing something I wanted to do, I would just imagine the whole situation again, only this time I have a set of brass balls to do the things I didn’t have the courage to do in real life.
That girl I dated for a couple of weeks but then I had to leave? Well, I just imagine the same situation only this time I postponed my plans and stayed with her one more week. It wasn’t so hard, now was it?
The truth is, I realized that there’s always something you can do about it, you just don’t see it at the time.
And in that case it was Bitcoin, the first crypto-currency of its kind. I started to imagine going back in time a few weeks earlier and investing in Bitcoin before the spike.
Or better yet, going back in time a few years and buying shitloads.
Till I realized, this isn’t over. I still have time to do something about it.
I waited for the correction - without even knowing if there would be one - and then I invested in Bitcoin.
Since that day, I started little by little accumulating cryptocurrencies, because after all, many of them will see the same growth than Bitcoin, from a few cents to thousands of dollars.
So here I am today, telling you that it’s not too late.
After that spike that slapped me in the face, I started to buy new crypto-currencies that came out, even if it’s just $10 bucks, doesn’t matter.
All that matter is to start putting one shoe in front of the other and start walking.
Then I started adding little by little to one or the other depending on several factors.
To this day, I still put some money in different cryptocurrencies to hold in different wallets obviously. It’s like a savings account without any intention of touching it in the near future.
I think we all have seen that meme that seems to be dominating the web lately that says…
Well, a picture is worth a thousand words:
Of course if there’s a cardinal rule in investing is this one: Never invest more than you can afford to lose.
The good thing is we are still at the very beginning of this trend, a trend that can change the world in ways we haven’t expected merely a few years ago.
One thing is sure, it is not too late, in fact it seems to be only the beginning.
And you can be part of it too.
P.S: I’m not trying to give any investment advice here, but mainly sharing what I learned and that is:
I hope you’re all enjoying this amazing ride in the blockchain world, but meanwhile I leave you with an interesting thought:
Can you imagine watching steem taking on the world merely a few years from now, and watching it conquering milestone after milestone?
It would be priceless, would it not?
Needless to say, if there’s anything we can do to push it forward if only a tiny bit, I have no doubt it that it will be well worth it in the end.
“Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future.” ― Steve Jobs.
