How I went from jobless for 4 years to working with 3 clients, producing and selling NFT for Bitcoin

I need to come clean: This is not a success story. This is rather a story of hope and a vision for a better tomorrow. I did not suddenly strike it rich. All of my woes didn't disappear overnight. But I finally feel like my time is being used to the best of my ability, and that I am creating value for myself, my family, the people I now work with, and the community as a whole.

I owe my life to my partner, whom I love more than anyone else in this world. If it weren't for her, I would be out in the cold streets, or worse. But four years is a long time. And four years of trying to cope with various mental health issues and not being able to contribute financially has more than taken its toll. For so long it has been the only thing I could think about. After looking and looking for work, swinging and missing every time, it has become difficult to not succumb to my emotions. I even tried running a comic book review website in hopes of earning ad revenue, but that didn't pan out in my favor (but I DID get to interview Garth Ennis, and that was pretty cool!).

Let's fast-forward through those depressing four years. And let's also be honest. Life isn't always bad when you're poor. It's just exponentially worse than if you weren't. There are still days when I smile, have hope, and even have fun. Despite my emo take on life sometimes, I acknowledge that people exist who have it much worse than I do. But being happy with my lot in life is not what I've ever been about. I seek success. I seek wellness, and I desire nothing more than to be able to provide a comfortable life for my family. For my partner, who has stuck by me through thick-and-thin for almost thirteen years.

Last week, I stumbled upon a tutorial on how to make NFT on the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain. I had already been in the crypto sphere for a couple of years, but I at best dabbled, never having more than $100 in crypto because I can't ever afford to buy it. I also frequently had to cash out for necessities like groceries. But in my dabbling I heard a lot about people utilizing NFT to sell their artwork and other goods. When I encountered the tutorial, I IMMEDIATELY thought about my brother, who had long-ago taken up the hobby of toy photography under the mantle of Photoyshop. NFT is a relatively new market, and I knew that his beautiful artwork would be a prime candidate for the NFT treatment. Before I even finished the tutorial, I got on the phone with him and said, "We need to go into business NOW!" He and I had never before discussed the topic of NFT, but he already knew exactly what I was proposing after recently seeing what happened with Beeple. I immediately got to work.

After much trial and error, I struck a gold mine of information when I contacted JT Freeman, the person behind Waifu Faucet and Juungle.net. Juungle is pretty much THE place to buy and sell NFT on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. With their guidance, I was able to mint my brother's very first NFT and post it to the marketplace. Before I minted any more, knowing how difficult of a time I had in trying to figure it all out on my own, I published my first-ever read.cash article, detailing the entire process. To my surprise and delight, it got over over 1,000 views and had earned almost $50.00 in BCH tips over the course of two days!

On the first day of posting Photoyshop's NFT up for sale, we sold one for $100 in BCH!

Part of me couldn't believe it. I mean, here I was with an idea and I ran with it, and my brother supported it, and it immediately paid off! But another part of me wasn't surprised at all, because I believe in my brother's dedication to his craft 100%. No, we didn't get $69 million for it, but my brother could previously only dream to profit from his art, and well, I was having trouble dreaming at all. Because of the tips I made from the tutorial, and my cut of the sale, I experienced the first time that I was ever able to buy groceries and medicine with my crypto earnings, while not completely tapping my crypto wallet. None of this would have been possible without Bitcoin Cash adoption and technology.

What comes next, you ask? I could just focus on minting tokens at the request of Photoyshop and seeing if they sell on Juungle. But no, shortly after our first sale, my brother tells me to contact his longtime friend, Justin Luis Vargas. I had met him a number of times and even seen some of his work, so when his name was mentioned I nearly jumped for joy! Here was yet another prime candidate for NFT treatment, an artist who really SHOULD be known around the world for what he does. I mean, check out this piece of his!

LOOK at this! It's BEAUTIFUL! Sure, I may have had a life-sized poster of Gogo Yubari on my wall when I was younger, but bias or no, Justin's work is that of a master of his craft! I feel privileged to work with both my brother and Justin in this Wild West that is the NFT marketplace.

"But wait!" you say. "The title of this article says THREE clients. Who's the third?" you ask. Well, figurative reader, I'm glad you asked. Let me introduce you to lucivay!

I met lucivay in Nasty Nate's Crypto Community on Twitch. Nate had commissioned her to produce artwork for his channel, and she often showcases her art in Nate's Discord channel. She's a great person and an amazing artist. I am proud to call her my client!

I don't know what's in store for us in the near or distant future, but I hope for the best. The smile on my partner's face is worth all of the work I put in and more. I know that this will be an uphill battle, but it's a battle I'm willing to fight. Stay tuned for more NFT featuring these three amazing artists because I am working tirelessly to make this happen! You know what the icing on the cake is? All of us are exclusively accepting Bitcoin Cash as payment. Adoption for the win!

Have a great rest of your day, and thanks for reading.