![](https://media.giphy.com/media/ehtr0A3IhmXPq/giphy.gif) 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. ![](https://media.giphy.com/media/BT33Hk6FMYHV6/giphy.gif) For those of you in the U.S., I hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving. Thank you for reading, Eric (Gifs sourced from Giphy.com) --- [![alt text](https://i.imgur.com/r7Qyv7Sm.jpg)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2018/03/29/is-crypto-the-future-of-film-funding/#1acfebf046fb) ![](https://s14.postimg.org/llrwmq9g1/fancyline600png1.png) [![alt text](https://s18.postimg.org/vkrxp2zwp/unnamed.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pause-Meditating-Your-Ultimate-ebook/dp/B071X5TD4P/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) *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.](http://www.ericvancewalton.net) Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared. [Alarm Clock Dawn](https://www.amazon.com/Alarm-Clock-Dawn-Vance-Walton/dp/150851335X), one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found [HERE](https://www.amazon.com/Alarm-Clock-Dawn-Vance-Walton/dp/150851335X). Or [Click Here](https://steemit.com/steemit/@dreemit/table-of-contents-for-the-first-novel-ever-published-on-the-blockchain-alarm-clock-dawn-by-eric-vance-walton-if-you-have-yet-to) to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain My book on meditation, [The Perfect Pause,](https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pause-Meditating-Your-Ultimate/dp/154708295X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) is priced at $12.99 (paperback) and $4.99 (eBook). 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