I'm far from being a big investor, but a small percentage of my HP comes from personal investment, because when I saw how much Hive was giving me, I couldn't help but do my best to try and support it.

That's why I've never done a power down.

I got most of my HP for free, from Hivians/Hivers who thought I was worth a share of their wealth - because this is what happens when someone upvotes your content: they share with you money they could have shared with anyone else or burned - so I've always thought that the least I could do was trying to help Hive grow.

This doesn't mean I'm not here for the money.

I discovered Hive for the money. I signed up for the money. Sure, money played a big role.

But I didn't stay for the money. Even if my earnings aren't low for Hive's standards, they are low when compared to the effort I put in the posts I write to get those earnings.

Yet, I'm still here... why? Because I sincerely believe that Hive has much more to offer.

And, imho, people who don't get this, will never really appreciate what they get from Hive. They will never aim to grow further their HP. They will easily sell their rewards because all the see are easy earnings.

I'm not saying people aren't entitled to spend their money how they wish.

I'm saying that if you are only taking out from Hive without giving nothing back, I'm not going to share with you my wealth.

I'm happy to see that lately a lot of big users are talking about this: a lot of users look at you as a source of inspiration, so you have the power to help people understand that Hive isn't a faucet and that if a faucet is what are they looking for, well, please go and keep looking somewhere else.

Sorry for this long reply... when I care about something I often tend to become verbose 😂