Last year, me and my brother were competing to see who would be the first to hit $100,000 in our stock portfolios. Now, a mere 12 months later, we are neck and neck about to breach 10x this amount.
When I first moved to Cebu, Philippines I wasn't saving much. My salary was more than enough for my necessities, but month to month I never actually saved much. I guess from the years I spent in the Army; Struggling on a meager salary- I got used to living paycheck to paycheck, and never thinking too much about my financial future.
After about a year in Cebu, I met Gilaine, who at the time was living in Manila. Her profile read "Finding a good man, is like trying to nail Jell-o to a tree". I guess I took this as a challenge, and messaged her anyways. Obviously, she ignored my first few attempts, so I left my number and told her just to call me and give me 5 minutes. (I was an ex-used car salesman).
After that phone call, I was able to trick her into thinking I was a good guy (joke), and even went a step further and convinced her to let me get her a plane ticket to visit me here in Cebu. To give her a much needed break from the stress, pollution, and crowds of Manila.
Since that first visit, we hit it off- And have been sidekicks ever since. Meeting her gave me the absolute inspiration to buckle down and start saving for our future.
I started stocking away 90% of my salary and investing in the Philippines stock market, which didn't exactly fare terribly well for me. (It ended up being a low-yield savings account). A few mining companies I invested heavily in, ended up getting the contractual boot when the Philippines elected Mrs. Gina Lopez (A self-proclaimed environmentalist).
So, when I got into crypto, Bitcoin was about $1,200 and I sold every nickle I saved in the previous 5 years to buy as much as I could. This I guess can be attributed to my love and success of making bad decisions. Actually, I always walked a different path than anyone of my peers, so getting into crypto was a natural progression for me.
My gamble paid off, and along the way I made some good, and some bad trades. Thankfully, more good than bad. So, when I first saw Steemit more than 7 months ago, I knew it was a goldmine opportunity. I have always had good intuition, (obviously since I scored such a great girlfriend!)- I always seemed to have the ability to see through bullshit, and understand the underlying values and motives in different programs and people.
From here, where?
Well, in the next 6 months me and Gilaine will be moving to South America, splitting our time between Ecuador, and Peru. Spending our first real winter together in the Patagonia region of Chile. Now that I am a bit older, I understand why my parents loved the holidays and our birthdays so much, even as they got older. I for once am not selfish, and see the value of lighting other peoples eyes. To watch Gilaine's reaction when she is able to build a snowman, and to equally laugh when she is freezing her ass off- Is going to be priceless. And since I have gotten extremely lucky, I can rest-assured, that no matter what becomes of me- She will be taken care of along with any direct future generations that come after my departure from this earth.
I guess, the moral of this blog is to never give up, and don't be scared to take risks. I would suggest to everyone, to never take advice from anyone else, and to do your own research. After all, you can never not forgive yourself no matter what you do.
And to Gilaine- Thank you for your illumination. Before you- I was wandering without purpose, only thinking days, not years ahead.
_Rob
(This blog is just a memento to myself. I apologize in advance if there are any comments, and I cannot monetize them as 100% of my SP is delegated and my vote is only worth .01)
