If it wasn't for @HiveBuzz, this momentous occasion would have probably passed me by.

I know I have been on Steem Hive for a long time, but 4 years? I am probably an OG by now and it is genuinely an incredible achievement on my part.

Looking back to my very first post, I remember I went by the name, Ever an Optimist, and what you could call my philosophy backed that.

"My name is Denis and I am a Freelance Web Developer and a mega wildlife enthusiast from Kenya. Having grown up around the beauty of nature, I have been inspired to advocate for wildlife and their habitats and especially against the constant threat of poaching." Heey Steemit - Introducing myself Ever-An-Optimist. I already love it here!

While I have not been doing a lot of web development, I have maintained my love for wildlife especially in a country that is blessed with loads of amazing animals and scenery. While the covid outbreak did affect the finances that go towards conservation, the interesting fact is that most of the animal populations have increased.

It is plainly obvious why. The travel restrictions that were imposed helped stifle poaching and game hunting in the country.

Learning Crypto

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Looking back four years ago, I remember I barely understood crypto.

At one point Bitcoin was worth about $700 and while I couldn't afford it on my minuscule campus budget, I probably wouldn't have bought it anyway.

I didn't think it was a scam but the idea of HODLing had not yet taken root in my mind.

Thus, when I discovered Steemit, I saw it as an opportunity to earn crypto rather than spend money to buy and that was really working well for me.

However, during the previous bull run a couple of years back that saw bitcoin hit $20,000, I pretty much dumped everything and then started from scratch again.

I repeated that mistake at least twice more and now looking back at those decisions I feel desperately stupid. I would have had so much more Hive staked at the moment if only I held on.

It wasn't until 3 years later when the idea of HODLing finally clicked.

This coincided with the Covid outbreak where my siblings and I decided to take a break from the capital city and go to our farm to wait out the storm.

As a result my spending went down significantly. The only thing I was paying was rent for my apartment. All the funds from the internet bill, food, and entertainment went into investing in crypto. The cherry on the cake was the latest bull run that came around this time, 10Xing my small investment.

Now here I am 4 years later, an extra bit wiser with close to 6000 Hive staked, and more invested in Cub Defi and the little change invested in trading on the exchanges.

What I learned

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If I could go back four years, there would be one major change I would make to my approach to crypto.

Don't treat crypto as your day job!

The amount of money you make with crypto should not be used to pay bills unless it is an emergency.

Do not quit your job to focus on crypto. That is a sure way of dropping the anchor on your investment. Instead, focus on your day job, take any extra cash and put it in Hive or any other good project and just HODL!

In the end you will be able to pull at least $10,000 out, while leaving some invested, and put it towards a project or an investment like land and change your life and that of your family in a massive way.

In the meantime, here is to the next 4 years. Cheers!

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