I don't see this as a birthday, but more an anniversary because we are married to our accounts. The account is that personal because it takes so much consistency, effort and time in order for it to flourish.
I for one cannot believe I have been involved on Hive for 6 years now as time literally does fly and the older you get the quicker it seems to go. When you are younger you wish for time to fly and quite the opposite when you are older.
When I first started out on Hive back in 2018 I had no confidence and was even second guessing myself if I was worthy enough to post an article. Those nerves have obviously disappeared because I have managed to post 4115 articles which is a mind blowing number when looking back. The truth is we all have to start somewhere and even if that something is out of your comfort zone you have to at least give it a try.
I never expected to see myself sitting at nearly 114K Hive Power which averages out at about 19K HP per year. Crazy to think if we see a $5 Hive that is nearly $100K in value earned each year. Where else can you earn like this whilst having fun? Just numbers I know and I have not spent 1c of crypto yet over the 6 years either so I do believe it is real dollar value. I see no reason why this number now can not be grown into something far larger and is a good base to grow from. These are just the foundations for the future that are now in place and the 6 years that have flown by feel like far less. Thinking long term is something that comes easy to me and planning ahead in 4 year chunks is no problem which is convenient having the crypto cycle at 4 year intervals.
Hive has become part of my life these days and don't see this as a chore because this is actually good fun. Hive is not just a blockchain that offers you the ability to earn, but I also find it a problem solver. When writing articles dealing with real life situations like a business it helps to clarify things in your head and gives you different insights you may not have thought of. I have found that the benefits that Hive offers far outweigh the payments or rewards received and I see those as secondary.
The starting out back in 2018 knowing others already had a years head start forced me into a time strategy where I believed if I spent more time active on the blockchain then I could possibly catch them up. The 8 hours a day which I kept up for a good few years was a punishing schedule which may seem crazy to others did work and I managed to become established that much quicker.
These days I see my Hive account for what it can offer in the future and this is not about now. Besides supporting the community through curation and delegation the hope is this will one day turn into a passive income stream or even more depending on how big the account becomes.
For anyone starting out all I can say you are lucky because you have found the right crypto home and now the rest is up to you and what you make of it. There are no shortcuts and this is something you build over time and definitely no get rich quick scheme. Consistency is the key along with being yourself which is rather important as this is a social platform where you engage with others.
Back in 2018 @tarazkp mentioned that I should look at Hive in the same way someone would do a degree and to give it 5 years in order to learn. Having completed 6 years already and having learnt so much there is still more to learn as crypto evolves quickly and we have to always adapt. His wise words helped me focus more and I will be forever grateful for being a mentor of sorts.
The 6th year is just a reminder of how much work there is still ahead as this never ends and expect to be around and to see the 10th anniversary in 4 years time. Who knows what Hive will look like in 4 years time with so much change over the first 6 years having moved blockchains anything is possible. The community is the cornerstone of Hive and the hope is we shall grow into something far bigger and better as development pushes us forward.