While everyone is on the hunt for passive income, what is great about Hive is it offers passive adjacent income through staking and voting, playing games and posting all kinds of content and comments. In the grand scheme of things, not many are likely going to be able to live off it, though there will be some who invested in early, bought up big enough or actively mined the token in the formative years, these years.
It has been good for me - the writing has been cathartic, the earnings have allowed me to powerup and earn on curation, as well as diversify into some other areas. And, I can do this at any time of the day or night, between my jobs, when I have a moment to tap out some thoughts - right now it is close to 2 in the morning and my family have been asleep for hours. It has been common over the last four years.
But, as many people know, it is about having more than a single source of income in order to be able to build effectively and, have enough income coming in that there is enough left over to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Starting from nothing means first getting something, having something gives the possibility to invest it, earn on it and reinvest it in to earn more than it was originally worth when first made. When these amounts are small, it takes time to invest with very little return on what is invested, as percentages might be large, but the capital small and mistakes can set back efforts weeks, months or potentially years.
But, consistently learning, trying, diversifying, redistributing and rolling back in, can see small gains trickle increasingly toward larger streams, until they are significant enough that in some areas, risk can be reduced, because the volume is able to yield enough. I see my HIVE stake as low risk, not because of the lack of volatility or any kind of future guarantee, but I know it is there, safe and as long as Hive exists, it will have some kind of value.
It would be nice if that value was at 5 dollars a token, or 10 or 50 - 2 dollars would be a decent return on the risk of powering up. People had the opportunity for a very long time to buy cheap HIVE, most didn't. If it goes to 2 dollars, those who did will of course be able to sell their tokens for a very large gain, but if that was the floor price, it would likely be more lucrative to earn the 15-20% a year in additional tokens through curation.
On top of that, there is possibly the potential to earn passively on HBD coming too, where the yearly earnings could be 10-20% after hardfork 25 for HBD held in the wallet. Compared to the yield of some DeFi pools, that is not very much, but the risk is also much lower and potentially for those who are earning through posting, this would compound their earnings significantly over time.
However, a lot of people want to get rich quick, so buy weekly lottery tickets, while the slow and steady path of investing continuously to compound is seen as "too risky". It is too much work also, as there is learning involved, while buying a lottery ticket is brainless, s easy you can get it at the corner shop from someone earning minimum wage. There is nothing wrong with earning minimum wage.
I think that one of the "keys to my success" in crypto is that I have multiple jobs and work a lot not in crypto. Essentially, it is the biblical rule of "Don't get high, off your own supply". The work I put into earning crypto isn't going to be reduced by spending what I earn, while I still have the ability to earn from other sources. I think a lot of people came into Hive to earn, many whom didn't have a job at all, living off social security and the additional revenue from Hive bought them slightly better conditions.
But conditions in crypto are always in flux, so having alternative or in my case, main sources of income that are relatively stable and secure is a feature, not a flaw. Multiple revenue streams and "gainful employment" is something to be grateful for and work for, at least until there is enough alternative revenue streams that are diverse and deep enough to be able to give up the employee life and still keep earning consistently. In this day and age, many people don't take or give up stable employment because it doesn't yield enough for the effort, without seeing that that incoming revenue can absolutely change their life if invested well.
Why work 40 hours a week for minimum wage? Because it allows you to buy more or not spend crypto.
I see some people giving up a lot in order to chase APR now, and while I understand the will for risk exposure, it seems that many are getting caught in the trap of "easy money" without risk evaluation or having stability in other areas. They let their alternate revenue streams shrivel up and die, with the mistaken belief that the higher ROI will be consistent. Some people will have enough income in there that even if the APR drops by many factors, they will still be earning significantly for their lives - while others are looking at the percentage gain without considering the capital invested.
500% APR on 100 dollars doesn't change my life at all, while 20% on 100K would be massive. Factor in that I am able to work so I wouldn't have to spend any of that and even as the percentage drops over time, the capital can keep compounding. For those on minimum wage, a few hundred dollars into the right thing at the right time, and they would happily be able to work that job and through passive investment, double their "salary".
The funny thing about all of the talk of "passive income" is, it isn't actually very passive at all, as the work still had to be done, even though it might not be done at the time the earnings are coming in without work. The work done at a crappy job, the sacrifices made in order to have some available income to invest, the time learning, the risks taken, the nights awake, the mistakes made - none of it is passive.
Sure, at some point it becomes largely self-perpetuating, but for most of us, the investment capital will never be large enough to provide enough yield as a single source of income to sustain us. But, it can be significant enough to create additional opportunity, well-being, peace of mind and some revenue security to a range of sources of income and if we are active, we could use it to continually improve our position.
A lot of people see the talk about money and earnings as a base trait, but I have learned that it is not, it is necessary. Most of us are uncomfortable around money, because we have been taught not to talk about it, even though it weighs heavy on our mind as it is largely required for much of the opportunity in society. Talking about money can bring clarity and change in understanding and behavior to improve the relationship we have with money, so that we are able to use it well, as the tool it is.
Having multiple irons in the fire is a good thing, but of course, too many can spread us too thin, leaving us unable to pay enough attention to each, leaving us feel drained. But, not having enough irons, will leave us exposed to risk and potentially, working hard at something that is just not worth our time and effort. The value of a minimum wage job is lessened when what is earned or the time left to think is not utilized well. Life is full of opportunities and at any one time, we have an array of choice laid out in front of us. Some choices take more work than others and yield is not always tied to effort, but that doesn't mean the work isn't wort doing.
At the end of the day, there is no such thing as passive - everything we do or don't do, has a consequence.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
It is now 3 in the morning. Was it worth staying up to write this post, was it worth taking the estimated 7 minutes to read? It all depends on perspective and personal circumstances.