I made more that 1000 USD in three months without spending a dime. Three months ago I was sick and stuck in a rut after teaching twenty years. Today I am hethy enough to hike mountains, paint pictures, write poems and sing songs. The government has been making plans to cut my position from the public schools and I knew I had to do something. I started to read about cryptocurrency mining. I mined a few alt coins from my cpu but after a month I made only three USD in coins. The electric costs more than that! I searched like crazy to find a good coin to mine and found myself reading a post on Steemit. The writer said all the money he made from mining could not compare to the money he made from Steemit. ![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519563474/vsk2jo85q90vs0po55td.png) [(Neil Young source)](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/79/c7/e0/79c7e0c6bc5e3231412c415d0cd192de.jpg) At first I thought I had to write about crypto currency and computers. I made 15 posts and got upvotes of a total of 16 cents. I felt like I was posting into outer space. Then two months ago I posted about making ramen and got a comment from @moderndayhippie. ![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519559958/c6mlbyy91zar1egqy4vr.png) I began to realize that Steemit was not really about computers or cryptocurrency but is really about people. In December 2017 I joined Peace, Abundance and Liberty and found minnow support. And got support from @clayboyn. In December I meet Santaggroed and found that @aggroed was the man behind Peace, Abundance and Liberty and @minnowsupport. Thanks to @aggroed I earned enough steem to join @qurator. @scrooger helped me with promotion and upvotes and answered my questions about Steem and crypto and life.

https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519560033/vizkdndqybue0r7sd29d.png **@khaleelkazi**

I was actually getting some upvotes for my posts in December but I found more upvotes from comments on other people’s posts. I found the biggest Christmas present from @khaleelkazi who rewarded anyone who gave a comment on his post. I had no idea that @khaleelkazi was a hometown friend. The ironic thing is that I left my hometown when he was born. He is the definition of entrepreneur and a great influence on Steemit. @khaleelkazi and @clayboyn supported some of my first posts. On of these posts was a poem called "The Steem Before Christmas."

![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519560275/xfajat6w1cwqdatyx4by.png) **@d-pend**

At that time I found a poet I really liked and wrote a post about him called " @d-pend fan". I had no idea he was a dolphin swimming around. I just saw him as a friend. My own writing became influenced by some of his metaphysical pondering. From then on I realized that @mineopoly was not about mining crypto. @mineopoly is all about mining the heart. @d-pend has supported me since January in many ways that I'm really thankful for. Through reading his poems I have come to know more about myself and grow beyond my own limits. This is what Steemit is really about. It is not a way to get rich quick. It is the way to mine the heart. The Steem white paper says, > “proof of work enables a community to collectively fund the development of whatever it finds valuable.” (Steem Whitepaper) Each community here funds development in the area it considers valuable. @dsound funds cool sounds. @busy.org provides a great platform for me to post. @sndbox funds creative communities. @justtryme90 supports science writers. @uptopian-io supports open source projects. @yoo1900 supports cool people. These are just a few supporters I ran into on Steemit. They encourage creative hard working people. I got more than I ever expected in Steemit. I got a life turn around. Friends from @thesteemengine like @awakentolife were always there to encourage me and make comments and tell it like it is. I began painting, writing poems and even playing guitar and singing. I’m not a professional but I’m having fun. I overcame my limits and began to make comments in Korean. I'm so glad I met @happyworkingmom. Even though she has three kids she shares her wisdom with the world each day in her blog. I consider her a friend and am very thankful for her support. Four months ago I was very sick and fed up with life and didn’t like going to school anymore. Now Steemit is part of my school and my school is part of Steemit. I got the idea to create a virtual school called Groovy School that allows students to drop in any time and learn something new and be rewarded. I met great people in Groovy School. @redheadpei gave great comments on every post. @mandelsage shares his creative work with me. @kiwdeb has supported me and show me some interesting things about Steemit. You can see Steemit is not about money but about life and friends. It's about growing and funding what you find valuable and providing valuable material to be funded. Steemit will continue to grow and I will grow with this crypto-organism. I'm @mineopoly | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | | --- | --- | --- | | [Wisdom](https://steemit.com/education/@mineopoly/even-monkeys-fall-from-trees) | [Creativity](https://steemit.com/education/@mineopoly/dyslexia-and-dyscalculia )| [ELS](https://steemit.com/happy/@mineopoly/vote-for-a-happy-song) | [![image.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519474768/ntt4nwkoi8gkstadskhw.png)](https://steemit.com/@mineopoly) | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | | --- | ---- | --- | | [Teaching](https://steemit.com/education/@mineopoly/is-nature-the-best-teacher) | [Life](https://steemit.com/dsound/@mineopoly/20180223t070727504z-evocatour-collaboration-rusty-jernigan)| [Song](https://steemit.com/writing/@mineopoly/a-closer-walk) | [![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmabcdrZANgGWKW4jzy2bsdDNATHsezSzpqhE2WnGUga6p/image.png)](https://steemit.com/@mineopoly) Finally I want to thank my friend @dobartim who gave me the opportunity to participate in this [great writing challenge.](https://steemit.com/@dobartim/3f7e9a-steemit-ultimate-challenge-8-weeks-prize-fund-2000-sbd-week-4-registration-is-in-progress) I plan to us my first payout from Steemit to help a student with learning disabilities to receive counseling. The Steemit community has potential to go to the moon for sure. _______________________________________________________________________________________ # Original Poem @mineopoly I registered on Thanksgiving Day Thank you gobble gobble Thank you for the edible delectable Three months from nothing to something A voice resounds connecting heart to heart The barrier is broken and walls are torn down There are no more borders The thoughts of man combine Collaborations of art and music Open sourced programs give power to all Donations spread to hungry mouths Wells are dug in the desert Books to those who need to read Trees planted in the jungles A crypto to give and not to destroy Giving is rewarded and love is spread Blockchains contain the minings of the heart For generations will see and hold what we cheerish We share now but forever will know. Undisturbed by centralized bureaucracies Red tape is cut to provide direct production and support to share this love for everyone who enters It was just the night before Christmas But now I am Groovin' on Steemit Thanks to you Please join me on Groovy School. __________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks for reading. There is just on more friend who makes Steemit a real fun place to be @dreemsteem.

This post is an official stop on @dreemsteem's "X Marks the Post" Treasure Hunt. If you'd like to become a treasure hunter, an official stop, or a sponsor - Follow the map to begin your journey! By the way, she loves good comments even more than upvotes - so be sure to say Hi!

## I love you all. ## Upvote and Leave a comment. # Thank you all my friends.

shaungarin