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It's obvious the crypto markets are down right now pretty bad, FUD is everywhere we look, and it seems in general people are just worried or doubtful that we'll ever recover.  Well after seeing @meno's post ( [click here](https://steemit.com/philosophy/@meno/crypto-or-bust-for-me-absolutely-no-plan-b) ) I decided to share my thoughts as well.  I don't usually worry much, but the last dip was seriously rough and I don't think anyone I've talked to got away from that unscathed.

Am I worried about the crypto markets?  I would say in general, no, but I can't pretend that I'm not a little disappointing at where we're sitting right now.  I've written quite a bit about the fact that I'm all in on crypto and as of right now I can tell you that about 60% of my overall financials are tied into STEEM either on site or off.  Personally I'd like to see the crypto market doing better, but overall it's not about the money to me.  I know most people think that when people say that they are being cliche or idealistic, but in this case I'm not.  Allow me to explain.
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I left my relatively safe job in March of 2017.  I am educated and have experience in business and I could realistically be running or be pretty high up the corporate ladder in some big corporations.  This isn't a humble brag, I'm just trying to paint the picture of my alleged options.  The truth is I have zero faith in the corporate world and I think it's a never ending cycle of greed based on enslaving people.  It's all based on scarcity mindset and it's sold on the premise that money and power give you control or in some way make you better than or at least better off than others.  I think it's garbage.

If you've ever heard the old cliche that 'money can't buy happiness,' I would say I'm living proof of that.  I went from blowing twenty plus dollars on meals every day and throwing money at all of my own emptiness for most of my life to surviving off often less than twenty dollars a day.  I realize in some parts of the world even that's pretty luxurious, but in the U.S. it doesn't even really cover the ability to keep a roof over your head inside of the corporate system, much less feed yourself or do anything for fun.  So how do I manage?  I cut out a lot of shit that doesn't matter and worked on fixing my own expectations.  I made it work.
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Honestly, much like my friend @meno, I have no backup plan.  There is no parachute on this leap of faith.  I believe entirely that crypto and decentralization are the future and if this fails then I'll be like one of those little baby birds that tried to learn to fly and failed.  Personally I don't see that as an option and I'm not going to start preparing for failure.  From my perspective, preparing for failure is expecting to fail and being willing to compromise my own beliefs for the illusion of security and complacency.  I firmly believe that this is a paradigm shift and we are changing the world into a more collaborate and cooperative one that is less based on scarcity and greed.  I never expected that to be a smooth ride at all times.

Obviously there are still people in crypto that are in it for the money first and foremost.  I can't really fault them, I'm living off what I earn here as well.  I'd much rather see a more equal rewards distribution and I wish everyone could have been an early adopter, but it doesn't work like that.  Is it a risk to live like this?  Sure, but the only alternative that I see is to live like a slave and I refuse to do that.  I'd rather live as long as I can freely than to wish I was dead everyday that I was wearing invisible shackles.  No exit strategy.  Namaste.
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