Last night my wife, Raymi, and I nestled in with a glass of wine and some popcorn and streamed the film, Crazy Rich Asians (which was better than I was expecting.) A single line of dialogue from the movie became lodged in my head and started endlessly looping…You don’t play to win, you play not to lose.
This line spoke volumes to me. Yesterday was a particularly challenging for me and the seemingly bottomless free-falling crypto market easily made everything feel five times worse.
But then serendipity struck again and we watched that film and I heard those words and they sparked an instant paradigm shift.
You see I “Lived Not To Lose” for over three decades and what it gave me was a life of barely getting by, one vacation per year (if I was lucky), days of regimented sameness, and working perpetually towards a dream instead of making an actionable plan that can manifest a new reality. I was conditioned to adopt a certain mindset, like a lot of us are, to be grateful for just being able to make the ends meet. What I’ve learned in the past few years is this attitude is bullshit and imposes limits on us that cause us to fail even before we begin.
"If you don't believe it or don't get it, I don't have the time to try to convince you, sorry." - Satoshi Nakamoto
These days our news feeds are clogged with article after article bashing cryptocurrency. This morning alone I read four extremely negative headlines on the topic pretty much all stating the bubble had finally burst and all was lost. This is, of course, complete and utter bullshit devised to get people to panic sell.
But I’m here to tell you my side of the story. If you think cryptocurrency is about getting rich you’ve missed the boat entirely. Cryptocurrency is really about freedom. Freedom to live your life in a way of your choosing. The community of individuals surrounding cryptocurrency are a revolutionary force, that if you unite with, will transform your life in unfathomable ways.
When I came to Steemit in July of 2016 I was a forty-five year old guy who hadn’t even heard of Bitcoin. I had a mentor, actually a few of them, who were patient with me and very generous with their knowledge. Steemit was a gateway into the crypto/blockchain sector for me and I soaked it up like a sponge. Meeting so many kind and intelligent folks face-to-face at the first SteemFest made me realize that blockchain was here to stay.
There were days that it was very difficult. Some days my brain hurt. I felt as though I was navigating uncharted, shark infested waters and couldn’t see a thing over the horizon.
I’ve lost bitcoin and ethereum through ICO scams, lost coins in botched transactions, and had more wealth than I ever thought I’d make in my life stolen during the Bitgrail hack. In the end, none of that matters. Even if it all goes to zero tomorrow, which I know it won’t, I’ve gained far more than I’ve lost. Infinitely more.
Two and a half years later I’m living to win. I’m making my dreams come true and I have Steemit, cryptocurrency, and all of you to thank. The ingenious pioneers who developed this technology gave us the greatest gift of all. This gift is a choice, to continue to exist within the rigid boundaries of the old world which is capped by an all-pervasive glass ceiling or to begin to live in a new one in which endless opportunities abound. I refuse to give up when the seas get a bit rough, will you?
The choice is ours.
Are you living to win or living not to lose?
HODL and stay strong Steemians.
For those of you in the U.S., I hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving.
Thank you for reading,
Eric
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Alarm Clock Dawn, one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found HERE. Or Click Here to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain
My book on meditation, The Perfect Pause, is priced at $12.99 (paperback) and $4.99 (eBook). Buy the paperback and receive the eBook for free!
Connect with Me
This is timely and it gave a mental shift. We can live with losing the good fight but we can't live not fighting it. Living not to lose is a life of just getting by, but living to win should be the motivation we need to get by in life.
Thanks and I'm glad it sparked a shift! I'm glad so many of you younger folks are learning the lesson early!
That's why i always enjoy reading from you sir. You pass valuable experiences to us all and I am not taking them for granted.
Thank you sir
Same my friend, same. Winners never quit.
I had to pause upon hearing the phrase living to win versus living to not lose. We all have talents, but holding them close to not lose them is the least fruitful way to live, and the least encouraging one to others. Thank you for the reminder, Eric. May you, and Raymi have a blessed Thanksgiving!
You are spot on when you say unfathomable. Peace love and respect out you have a massive following you must be doing things very right indeed.
The ultimate Live To Win anthem:
Your writing skills are known. It doesn’t matter if it is a poem, a short story or a novel....but this article Eric, speaks to the heart and it is my favorite so far.
It is what every Steemian and everyone who is investing in crypto currencies should read right now.
Nailed it 100%
Thank you very much @mindtrap! I wrote what I needed to hear last night and thought there might be others out there feeling the same way. I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving!
jajaja it very funny.
Haha, love it!
I'm here until the end. Whether that is a cultural and technological shift thats spreads wealth to the masses or we crash and burns in spectacular fashion at least it will be interesting to watch.
We are birds of a feather. Despite what happens, we can honestly say we shook up the establishment. I can't think of anything in history that scared the bejeezus out of the gatekeepers more than this.
Exactly. If nothing else we can shake up the establishment and try to take some of their power. All they care about is money so if we threaten that they sit up and take notice. What we need to do is get the people on our side. Momentum is huge in any situation so it will take a huge swing to get crypto back on the right track. We've seen how momentum has dragged down the markets all year so it will take something huge to swing that back. People need to be convinced of the benefits of a different system but that won't happen until we can show results.
Know way my friend l am in it for the long haul. The strong will always rise. Good post.
I completely agree with you, my friend and at first glance a cryptocurrency happens, but I think, I am even sure that these are manifestations of bear whales on the market. To make people panic and sell cheap, but their main task is always the case and this is normal market practice. Now the main thing is to show enduring patience and wait! Thank you Eric
Everyone got negative on crypto fall down . But you are still very positive . I like your this quality . And agree with these lines
This changed my mood completely. Playing to win does not mean "get rich quick" it means play the game you want to play the way you want to play it. And we are! And we will continue to! Thanks Eric!
I’m glad it helped! I really hit a metaphorical wall last night and this one line of dialogue shifted my entire perspective. Art has so much power to do that. I’m so looking forward to another year of freedom and bringing HardFork across the finish line with you.
Agreed with you . Great article on crypto currencies . " Cryptocurrency is really about freedom. Freedom to live your life in a way of your choosing."
Appreciate your article. It gives us postivity.
Thanks for the positive view.
Eric this is really a great post. Firstly I love your definition of "winning"
And your words here are the best ever. I am nodding emphatically and every cell in my body is resonating with the rightness of what you've captured so eloquently:
I was actually asked a question very similar to that in an interview once. The thinking behind it is that some people can still see the potential to win, even when things look rough. They focus on the good and the potential, so they're no as easily discouraged. Not victims, but overcomers.
That couldn't be more true! So much of where you end up in life is determined by the lens in which you see the world. A lot of people are their own worst enemies, many times by no fault of their own.
I agree .. :)
I agree with you and crypto is here to stay. A lot of people don't know what it is or how it works. We are ahead of the game. :) Stand strong @ericvancewalton we will all stand together. ❤️
Well said :)
Thanks, @skycorridors! I believe in it more and more every day. I hope all is well with you and your family has a wonderful Thanksgiving
I've thought of this a bunch. I think people literally have nothing better to do than take a position and write about it. Whether or not the bubble popped is sort of irrelevant, what is though, is a click bait head liner that gets people onto the website.
back on your topic though!
for the last 2 years, its been "living to not lose", but after struggling through the last 2 years of why ive been feeling that way, i picked up a book called extreme ownership by Jocko Willnick and realized that I put myself in that position. So I'll gladly say that Im going to put my self in the position of living to win! Largely because I have nothing to really lose at this point!
Good Post.
sehr gut
wow, the new Engrave site is awesome... and even easy to use for a computer slacker like me. (-: nifty