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The last few weeks have been busy with work and I have started ramping up my own business again after  the summer on top of it. Then because of some changes in the workplace, I will likely have to add more training events to my workload and that means more travel. Sunday I am off again and won't be back til Wednesday evening, and Thursday morning I will have a delivery in Finland. 

But, no matter how much I work, I have the feeling that I am not going to get to where I *need to be* before I have to be there. Making up for time wasted is not something I enjoy doing and, I have wasted most of my life. While some people like to believe that we are all equal, the only think I believe we are equal in is our potential to use our individual resources the best way we can, even though there is a high degree of variation in availability. 

https://i.imgur.com/PUmuEzn.jpg

I have wasted most of my resources and I believe that if someone else had them, they could have accomplished much more than I. *Someone* else, not *anyone else.* 

If 100 people were given the conditions of my life there would likely be w whole range of outcomes, and while it is nearly impossible to know for sure, I likely have performed above-averagely under the circumstances. But I wonder what it would look like if one was able to perform flawlessly, where every decision made, was the best decision possible in the circumstances. 

Of course, it would be relatively easy to predict what my financial situation might be if I had bought those 30 bitcoin for 10 dollars each, learned about the industry and tech and traded perfectly. But, what would it look like if everyone did the same, where everyone made the best decision possible for them in the same economy that I am making the best decision for myself. 

>I wonder if it would be a marketplace of competition, or collaboration?

This is what I wonder on Steem at times and while I know it isn't likely to happen completely, I think a Steem marketplace of collaboration would far outperform one of competition. Of course, this has been and will continue to happen among smaller communities on Steem, and likely the ones that are going to make the biggest drive and attempt will be the highest staked users and those who are  looking long as that requires the health of Steem in more ways than one. 

People generally don't like acknowledging that the highest staked users are also the ones that are doing a great deal of the heavy listing and when they do credit it, is is pushed as if it is *their job* to do the work because of their stake. While I agree that they should be active, I take the perspective of there are no handouts in life and if you want something, you have to proactively learn what is required and adjust oneself to align with what will get you there. 

Too many people believe that while they want to move, they are entitled to have someone else do the work to get them there. This sense that the world owes us something is growing in society and it is making people increasingly passive as they wait for their *entitlement benefits* to roll in. While being patient is a virtue, being inactive is not as life is about movement. 

I know there are plenty of people on Steem that over the years they have complained about many aspects of the distribution, but one thing they haven't done is changed their approach. There is a lot of "I will do what I want" on Steem, and then get upset when the outcomes do not meet the expectations. 

It is a strange position if applied to essentially any other area. For example in sports, while some might dream about being a star, very few are under the illusion that sitting on the couch and doing nothing is the way to get there as there are prerequisites that must be performed just to have a chance. 

>How many people have considered the prerequisites to accomplish their desired Steem outcomes?

Personally, I explore Steem and therefore complete some of the prerequisites in the process as at least in my view, on average, it will be those who have an understanding of Steem who will perform the most consistently. On top of of that, it will also provide skills and network in the process. As I have said before, it is hard to take people's grievances seriously when rather than learning about the ecosystem, they want their desires fulfilled by others. This is not just on Steem of course, this plagues the world.

Rather than learn a craft, we want others to buy our toys and fix them when they break. This means that while we don't lean the handicraft or maintenance processes, we outsource the responsibility of provision to others and then wonder at why we live in a world of authority that continually takes excessive advantage. 

It is this that makes me so keen to get some ownership of digital resources as I see it as my responsibility to take for looking after myself and others. Collaboration between owners is generally going to get a better result than collaboration between owners and non-owners as the power dynamic changes, as do the costs due to the difference in levels of skin in the game. 

Having skin in the game is important in my opinion as it means that it is a conscious opt-in decision and when that happens, one is more likely to work better for an improved result. I know that on Steem, I started paying more attention to my learning and processes when I started *paying* for Steem - buying it on exchanges.

I am pretty sure that the people who pay upfront to post onto services like @threespeak are going to treat their content and therefore the platform with a greater level of consideration. I think that in time, a lot of the platforms are going to go to a premium model because have *some barrier* of entry means there is more chance that what people will treat the platforms with more respect. A sense of ownership tends to do that. 

While people might not agree, the sweet spot price is when it is low enough for many to enter, but high enough to create the sense of ownership so that *most* participants do not take membership to the group for granted. And, then once there is the feeling of ownership coupled with the potential to increase wealth, the collaboration with other owners to increase the value is a no-brainer. 

I keep working as hard as I can so that I can keep opting into an ecosystem I believe will help to make the world a better place. 

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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