I've been having a conversation with another Steemit user recently, someone who allegedly makes a full living from Steemit. They're having trouble trying to understand that I don't want to make any money here. This is just a short post to explain my reasons.
In any kind of financial field, there's a conflict of interest. It could be your Bank telling you which of it's savings accounts might suit you, your financial advisor telling you which bonds to buy, or even your mortgage company suggesting which insurance company to use. Someone somewhere is making a buck off it.
I try to help other people make money, by learning from all the mistakes that I've made. In order to do that with a clear conscience, I must remain impartial. And to me, that means not asking or requesting money for the information, or any kind of reward.
If you follow me already, you know I always rail against YouTube University, the millions of 'learn to trade' videos on YouTube. The reason is because almost always, there's a link under each video to a broker, or an account manager, or a training course. That's a clear conflict of interest. The person giving you that information is trying to sell you a product, so how trusted is their information going to be ? Bear in mind that the vast majority of financial institutions are set up to make money, when you lose ! How good do you think that information is now ?
I know that if I suggest something to do someone, it could actually cause them to lose money, possibly money they can't afford to lose. I could never make a profit off that, it's just not me. That's why any money I make from Steemit is given to a charity, all out in the open and checkable, no secrets. I understand the permanent ledger, which is why I write at the bottom of every single post that I'm giving the proceeds to charity. That means that at any point in the future I can't secretly change my mind and pocket the money. The evidence is right there for everyone to see from day 1.
I believe in full transparency. If I'm giving advice that I think people might take, then I want them to know how much it's going to cost them. And in my case, it's provably nothing, zero, free. That way, you know that if I give anyone advice, it's genuine with no ulterior motive. It's because I genuinely believe what I'm saying, and it isn't just a con to take money off people. Compare that to other people who offer financial advice (here and elsewhere).
I love my job. It pays me very well, I could never hope to make 1/100 of what I do on Steemit, no matter how long I was here or how popular I got. I've worked extremely hard and sacrificed a lot to be in this position now, and I'm very grateful for it. I just have a lot of free time and I like talking to people, which is why I'm here. I also have a hatred for scammers and con artists, who prey on people who can't afford to lose. That's why I like to try and help people.
I would rather have comments on articles than upvotes. However, if you do upvote me, then at least you know that any money you give will go to a charity, that's who you're 'paying' for the information.
There is only one caveat to this, I'm currently trying to build up SP, so I can actually reward people for posting good content. My current vote is worth $0.00. It sickens me that someone can upvote their own spam post and make $800, when that could be spent on rewarding and encouraging 80,000 genuinely talented people with even a $0.01 each. Not much I know, but it's something. It's very easy living a spoiled Western lifestyle to forget that a couple dollars a day could be a lifesaving amount for someone else.
So that's it really, just wanted to clarify my reasons for not wanting to take any money from Steemit. Some people just can't get their head around it, like it's such an alien concept. I came to Steemit to hopefully share success, not try and find it.
Header image credit : wordpress.com, found via google image search
I'm a full time financial trader, mostly in Forex and Commodities. I write for fun and try to help beginner traders get started, avoiding all the mistakes that I made. I'm always happy to chat or discuss ideas so please just give me a shout in the comments !
I'm currently trying to build up SP but everything I earn from Steemit is donated to a Steemit charity or worthy user.
