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Its March, the year of our Lord and Saviour 2020 and little did I know it but my life was about to change drastically. I was working as a sales broker for an up and coming logistics company and had only been on the job for 3 months when I first heard that dirty little C-word roll across someone's tongue. The pandemic had just started to make headlines and nobody had a clue what was coming next. The place was an absolute pipe dream of a work environment; sitting alongside guys almost half my age, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Drinks on the floor by 3:30, whiffs of marijuana from passing pens, and an ongoing rumor that someone had screwed the new girl in the bathroom.
It was a wild place for sure but I needed to buckle down and show them I could out-perform these younger guys using my work ethic. I had been feeding the company a steady diet of 80-100 calls a day with no bathroom breaks, and answering calls at 2:00 in the morning just to keep the customer happy. I was really busting my hump trying to succeed but at the end of the day I kept asking myself, "What the hell are you doing here?"
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There were two reasons honestly; I needed the money but more importantly, I was trying to prove something to myself. That I could take on a new adventure in my life and make it, 'Tally-ho' and all. The work was de-moralizing though, 10-15 hours a day on the phone trying to convince someone that you can do their job better than they can, all the while saying it with a smile on your face. Not to mention the fact that your potential clients had already received 5 other calls that week from brokers trying to sell them the exact same type of service you were. It was a cut-throat business for sure and the click-therapy from all the clients was completely justified.
It never mattered though, this was not the kind of job that rewarded you for how many calls you made. This was NOT the kind of job where the proof was in the pudding. The definition of this job was, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Let me explain; this was the kind of job you could struggle your entire life for and the next day some kid whose dad works for Ford strolls in, doesn't even pickup a phone, and shoves a multi-million dollar close right up your nose. Needless to say, there was a lot of turnover. Even worse, when somebody was let go; the company simply retained all their clients and funneled them back to their top salesman. Effectively creating a loop of despair for the un-initiated, where hard work definitely did not pay off. Sour grapes I guess, but again, you don't get very far at my age without realizing that's just the way the world works sometimes.
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So, after the pandemic hit the company let go all of its newest employees. I had only been there for 3 months so my head was on the chopping block. At that point they had us working from home, you know, the "new normal" sweeping the nation. It was real cute how they did it too, they never called to let me know what was going on. They simply shut off all my equipment and let me scramble around all morning, calling my co-workers trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I looked like a total fool that day but it reminded me that reality does bite, it has teeth, and it's not always fair. Now, the only question I was left with was, "What are you going to do about it?"
So here I am, almost 40 years old. My career was in total shambles, I'm a single dad with two kids and for the first time in my life I'm absolutely terrified about my ability to provide for them. I probably don't have to tell you that searching for a job at this point in time was an absolute joke. With all the uncertainty surrounding the country, nobody wanted to touch a new employee with a 10 foot pole because, you know, rona. And again, those that were selected typically, 'knew somebody.' Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking this fact of life. I've had plenty of times in my working career where I 'knew somebody' and landed the job. It goes around but now I had to find another way.
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After a couple months of searching, I noticed something in cyber-space that I had missed before, a small ray of light glinting off in the distance. Something that had always been there but was never really an option until now. That something was the idea of Bitcoin (BTC), or better still Cryptocurrency as a whole. The timing for this sort of thing was perfect, a little too perfect if you ask the conspirator inside me but hey, I was desperate. I had always wanted to be an investor of sorts and now seemed like a good time to get involved. It was at this moment that I decided to start my journey into the vast world of cryptocurrency.
Fast-forward 11 months later and I can tell you that I'm glad I took that journey. The decision to go down this road was a combination of things; something born out of necessity but also one that was delivered from a sheer desire to succeed. Investing in crypto has provided for me and my family during this crazy period of time but that's not to say I haven't had my fair share of bad days or weeks for that matter. Frustration ran rampant while I struggled to figure out some of the key ideas that are absolutely paramount with any type of investing. You have to take it slow and be willing to bump your head a couple times before you can move on. I'm by no means a master at trading by now but I am more confident than I was at the beginning. After all, I still consider myself a beginner.
In case you're wondering, I am still looking for work. With over 16 years of experience in my industry, I can't land a job. It's a depressing fact to face but it sucks a little less knowing that I have made it this far with the help of crypto (Elon Musk, please call me)! I'm not a 'Bitcoin Millionaire', at least not yet but for the time being, I am making it and that has given me some hope. For all of you out there struggling, please don't despair. You can find a way out of this turbulent time and one option worth exploring might be learning about cryptocurrency and DeFI (Decentralized Finance). Is this the future of investing, money, or how we do commerce? That is yet to be seen but I do know for now, its working for me.
Please take a moment to let me know if this hit home for you. Are you struggling to find your way? Do you need help finding a community to guide you? Did you at least find it entertaining? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, I'll continue to create content as honest and hard hitting as the last year of my life has been. Cheers!
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