When I first came to Steemit I was intoxicated with the idea I'd make a boat load of money. Of course at the time (mid January of this year) cryptocurrencies, including Steem, were skyrocketing in value, so the idea was not absurd at all. I made .76 cents on my first post, which I've discovered was not too bad, but disappointing at the time. But I was not dismayed at all. I had found writers heaven - I could write and share my heart and get paid for it! It was bliss discovered. But alas, my euphoria was but a sand castle on the beach and waves of reality soon dissolved my dream. And then, weeks later, I discovered that to be successful on Steemit I must serve another master other than my heart. I must treat this opportunity as an enterprise, as a business. But how could I serve both the heart and the wallet at the same time? Was it possible?
A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
Serving the heart. I came to understand that for me to be happy and successful here it required a heartfelt dedication, not just in my writing and what I posted but in my other actions as well. I needed and wanted to have this same attitude of heart in my commenting, in my development of relationships and in my service to others. I realized that I needed my heart to be the source of energy, the wellspring, for this enterprise. And so I had to ask myself, 'Do I have an abundant heart? Am I able to embrace the world from a sense of wholeness, compassion and loving-kindness?'
I can only say that I must attempt to do so. I must continue to work on the development of my ability to love, and admittedly it is work. Challenging work. It does not come easily for me. But the wages of this work are, ultimately, far greater than any other pay I might receive. I discovered that this platform, this community, this world of Steemit offers an excellent place to grow and exercise the muscles of love. Without this foundation in my activities here all is moot, pointless, and just more rabid frothing at the mouth for bucks. Which thing I simply can't do.
But is this heart centered approach enough to succeed and prosper on Steemit? No, I don't think so. Certainly, for many the fountain of heart is essential and part of who they are and will drive them to great things. But one, in my opinion, must still be astute, aware, and engaged in sound practices and the practical reality necessary to succeed.
This then is the other master: the wallet...good sound business practices.
This is the formula for success I am following. Am I perfect at this? No way, but just like the heart it requires dedication, and work and exercise. Here is the formula as I see it:
Content. Good quality content in your posts. This is not only necessary for your own success but for
the long term health and benefit of Steemit. Once we descend into mediocrity and content that smacks of spam we're finished. This dream will die.Relationships. It is critically important to reach out to others and develop relationships. This can be done by contributing thoughtful comments to others posts or comments. One can find like-minded people through Discord communities, through searching on Trending, through following those who share similar beliefs and content. There are many ways to do this but all require dedication and reaching out.
Community. The first two activities above will get you to reputations in the upper 40's and even the 50's but one must take another step to move beyond this. One must engage in community. One must find like minded souls and join in and be supportive of each other. BUT there is one more critical step,
Service. You'll notice when you press the "shift" key for 4 the result is $$. Yep. This is where the money starts flowing. One must engage in service to others. There are numerous formal opportunities out there to serve, from reaching out to newbies to curating, to helping others to learn technical skills and even writing and content development. If you want to reach the higher levels of Steemit you must serve.
Technical skill. Oh my. This is my bane, my achilles heel, my ocean that must be crossed. But in order to move beyond being a Minnow or even Plankton status one must have technical prowess and skill. For most this is perhaps the easiest of all things to do, but for some it's a challenge, but one that must be met.
Observant. What? Observant of what? One must be aware of the kinds of posts, the attitudes and behaviors of others that have become successful here on Steemit. For instance spammy comments or content won't do. Cute posts on your kittens antics might get you far on YouTube but won't make it here. You might observe, for instance, that those who rocket into success usually are posting Dtube vids on "How to Rocket to Success". Many of the great ones focus their blog content almost solely on formulas and guides and programs to employ in order to be successful. I'm just being practical here and I do not wish to offend at all, but it seems to me that if you are posting on your love of alligator shoes and not much else you'll be terribly disappointed in your progress. Observe what others are doing that is making them successful.
Determination and Persistence. Oh yes. This is perhaps the most important requirement of them all. One must be determined and persistent. Steemit requires regular, consistent work. For most it will be necessary to learn and grow and develop skills and attitudes.
AND FINALLY
I'll tell you what you already know: most will not succeed here on Steemit. In fact close to 90% of all the people who sign up bail out. It's just not for them. And there are many reasons why. And it's OK. Disappointing perhaps, but OK. In fact none of us know what tomorrow will bring, so we do the best we can today, in this moment. Ultimately, in my opinion, only two things matter: do you love yourself, and have you come to love others? All else is just fluff.
Oh and one more thing: to be successful will require TIME. One must be very patient and persistent. In our "Come on down. Lets make a deal" culture this is a difficult thing to adjust to. But it will take time. Certainly there are some tech whizards who move much faster but for most of us it takes time.
I think that you are correct about most the most things you listed but I do miss the most important once, which it to be genuine. If you are genuine and find your nice, you will do ok! If you have more diverse interests but you are genuine you will be ok!
While we all are for some part in it for the money , I do guess it was the final push to register, we need to see the money as a nice side effect.
Interaction sums up the most of your things.
When writing a post, don't post and run. Try to reply (and if possibile) even to give the genuine ones a small push in the back. I know that this is not required but people will be more motivated to come back to see, what you have to say.
Also sharing interesting steemians, is utmost important. It is such a big ocean, that nobody alone can discover the new great whales! That's why I do present each Thursday, 3 of the Steemians I am following to my followers. It is up to them if they want to follow then or not!
Those are all good points. And you are doing one of the most important things right now. Great comments. Hope @thetalkingduck comes back to read it. Good to have you here.
Thx!
I'll always come back to read where I've posted, even if I'm one slow duck! Thank you, both of you, for your inputs and contributions to help
ducklingsminnows 😊I feel like this needs to be shown to all new users before they get dug in on here, almost like reading the terms and conditions of software! 😆 If I might say, very nicely written too.
What would you say was the hardest part of your steemit life so far? (assuming you're happy to share, of course)
Oh my! You are new to the platform. There are some folks out there that can help get you started. You might go to @davemccoy and ask him what he advises, or to @littlescribe and look at some of her recent posts, or you might try @wwf for advice. Or there are several newbie support services out there. Minnowhelpers is one. Gosh, I don't know them at all any more but these folks I mentioned will direct you.
Thanks @mistermercury for the suggestions, I'll be looking into them 😊
I've written a more thorough reply under the reply below. Much appreciated!
I would say that for me the hardest part is realizing it's going to take time. I've had the benefit of dedicating quite a bit of time since I first started posting in the beginning of February. And growth has been slow. It's disappointing to make .75 cents on a post that took hours to write. My situation is not unique, I suppose. Most come here because they need an income. I had to retire due to illness and find myself in a financial predicament... no income. So was hoping to be able to generate some income. I doubt that will happen for another 4-6 months at the earliest. So actually, whether I like it or not I have to find some way to create an income other than Steemit. My plan is to work Steemit 4 hrs a day. But that slows things down even more. Well, don't mean to bum you out. But one must have patience here. There are some tech whizards who grow really fast, but I'm not one of them. good luck to you.
I do see a good introduceyourself post as a poisoned gift! Once really gets motivated by writing a great introduction post, which will be rewarded. But then the dark days start! You keep on writing excellent posts but they do get unnoticed! Which does descreases the motivation, this is when the most people do give up! My longest streak of posting without be able to cash even a miserable 1 cents, was 11 posts. 11 posts! Still I did keep going on. Finding out that we need to create circle of friends. Not follow-you-follow-me groups. But people who will voluntarily decided to follow you. Is doesn't matter how many followers we have, only the ones which do interact with us count!
Glad that I could add you to my circle of friends! It is hard to find Steemians which are worth a follow!
Thank you both @mistermercury and @fullcoverbetting for your replies and candour. I think the realisation that anything takes extra time to set up is difficult, since the energy of excitement is fleeting!
I took some time lurking before I joined and now I'm a bit inconsistent with postings. I don't think I have the creative energy to manage once a day yet, but I'm looking for it 😆
I appreciate your time and comments 😊
@thetalkingduck, one someone gives us a platform to be interactive which each other why not use it?
The steem blockchain needs 2 types of users. The one which are creating the content and the others who interact!
Howdy @thetalkingduck Welcome to Steemit!
I have a jabi for you...
(jabi = Just Another Bright Idea = pronounce jab eye)
Then make a comment to that post to start the discussion.
Ooo! Thank you very much!
I'm in the process of learning alternatives to steemit itself, checking out both your post and Parley now!
Thanks again 😊
I think you nailed it with this post @mistermercury!
You put things in the proper order...
I'm curious on your thoughts about that magical threshold one must meet to create a significant income. You mention 4-6 months in your comments. And just how does one make a significant income?
Well, I ain't no Wiz like you but I have some ideas both on what I call the abundant heart which describes a wholeness within ourselves, or at least movement in that direction, but also includes the fact that we are not separate from prosperity...there is a oneness. We learn to step out of the old survival paradigm into a new consciousness of abundance. Looks like I'll be posting that later this week. Keep an eye out for it. As far as what strategies we take to reach our potential, that too must be addressed. I feel kind of odd with this however, I mean where are our fearless leaders laying out a systematic course for us to follow. Surely, I mean SURELY this has been done before. One of the things I'd like to do is make a directory of services and tech apps available on Steemit, along with a directory of who's who and what they contribute to the platform. You are exactly right it seems we all are flinging mud on the wall as fast as possible but frankly thats really not very efficient and it is discouraging too. So why not outline a system that one can use to prosper? I'm just now figuring it out. It should be possible to actually interview those who are upper Minnows, dolphins and Orcas to get their input. And of course those who would build the directory, and develop a system others could duplicate would prosper. The thing is the goal is cooperative abundance...by lifting others up we, ourselves, are lifted. This is the new paradigm and blockchain provides the perfect platform on which to do this.
Thanks for the provocative comment. i'm open to further discussion. I am now also motivated to begin putting all of this together and would welcome any input or collaboration. Working together like this is actually one of the higher steps one must take to rise within the platform. I suppose, too, there are many ways to achieve success, and that is great.
Oh, and one more important point: Time. I've been very fortunate the last 2 months to have been too ill to work. I was stuck here in front of the computer. What a blessing that has been. But not everyone is so fortunate. I really feel for those who have limited time they can dedicate to Steemit. In fact, I must admit, had I come to this platform with only the ability to put in and hour or two a day I'd have said, "Hasta La Vista, Baby" long ago. In fact I did. I signed up originally back in the summer of 2016, but a combination of illness and work kept me from doing anything. I never even really got started. But then, my daughter, who stuck with it, though very part time encouraged me to jump back in this year. I actually had my first post I think right around the 13th of February. Two months ago. So what can be done, if anything, for those who really could thrive here, if only they had the time. Perhaps nothing. Or... thinking proactively here, what if there was a supportive community just for them? Why not?
Many blessings. Christopher.
If you still have the time, this might help at least short term...
https://steemit.com/donaldmarshall/@fulltimegeek/fulltimegeek-is-looking-for-someone-to-reward
@wizardave; was really not feeling well today ( a metabolic disorder) so didn't do much but try and respond to replies. On my good days I want to conquer the world, on my bad days I can't manage myself. Perhaps tomorrow... Blessings. Oh and thanks for the link to FTG. I think I could do well for him but his request is very "fringe". I guess I'm just not there yet.
I get the feeling with a lot of people it's taboo to talk about making money here. Perhaps we need to try a bit of detective work. Finding those who are doing this full time and using SteemWorld or Steemd to see what's up in their world?
Just a few days on Steemit and I saw that was needed. So I set up a website and did this post about it. It's an old school web site not connected to the blockchain (I am a wizard, so that may come along someday.... haha). But I do think it could be a staging area, information gathering area for posts on Steemit about things like you mention... I've not really spent any time on it yet, because you really need a team.
http://steemit.jabi.com/
Perhaps building a team is the ticket. I mean, look at ADSactly. I have no clue how many are involved with that, but they make hundreds / post and do several posts a day...
Let's figure out what our next step is... ??? ...
All the needed points are here. I am trying to think of something more that I could add but I read back and there it is lol. Trying to think of a great comment but as I read it I agreed with it all. 1-yep 2- yep 3- yep lol. So that means you understand it to a 'T'. A great guideline for beginners and a great reminder for those that want to quit. Even for those that wonder why they are feeling stuck, they can come to this post and find what is missing. So with that said; resteeming!
Well hang me dang me @foxyspirit! You're hired! You can be my new cheerleader. Appreciate the comments. Hope you and your family are doing OK. Blessings.
Woohoo! I have never been a cheerleader before. Just don't put me in one of those uniforms though. I'm afraid it would be a scary sight lol.
The family is going fine, thank you for your blessings :) xx
You can wear your martial arts outfit. Maybe you can scare people into following me!
HAHA! Ya! I will stand there in my taking action stance and slowly creep up to people from behind :p
I like the way you think :D
Nice post!
LOL. Seriously, it covers pretty much everything needed for success. Another thing is to enter contests, and get onto Discord chatrooms, where you can develop relationships as well. I read a good post a day or two ago by @pretty.dorky which was also very encouraging - she reached a point of wanting to give up, but persevered and is now really enjoying herself.
A huge problem most of us have is TIME! I hardly have time to write a decent post these days, and find myself nodding off at the screen trying to go through my feed. But let's keep on trucking, we are having fun and earning.
BTW, the pic in your post of the wallet actually looks like a South African wallet - we have green, pink and blue money 😉
Yes, Discord and contests really help too. As far as time goes: AMEN. This could easily be a full time occupation. I've been lucky in that I've had abundant time for the past 2 months to dedicate to Steemit due to illness but alas whether I want to or not have to go back to work on Monday. Need the income.
So you must speak Africanse ( probably misspelled). I lived in Holland for a couple of years. Very observant of you to spot the cash! Best of luck to you.
Ja I can speak Afrikaans, it has a few similarities with the Dutch language, probably enough to be understood. Many years ago I spent time on a kibbutz and was able to converse with the Dutch guys in Afrikaans :)
Good luck going back to work on Monday, at least it means you have recovered from your illness.
Yes, I'm looking for some miracle so I can stay at this full time for another 4 months. I think If I could do that I'd be well on my way to making this a viable income. But if not all I have to do is about 4 hours a day of slave labor and that will be enough. Dag Hoor! Oh, and hope you have plenty of water where you are. Quite serious from all accounts I've heard.
Oh time... where does it go? I read somewhere that time is like a tube of toothpaste. The more you squeeze it, more comes out! 😄
Could that be called a double entendre? No I'm not an English major, I googled it :) Squeeze the tube and the stuff disappears rapidly, or squeeze the tube and get more out? lol ... I'm squeezing ... got to post something!
Great observations and advice. I do want some alligator boots though. ;)
Hey, good to see you @myhuntingfishing. Alligator boots....hmnn... have some desert lizards out in the fields I can squish and send your way! Blessings.
Haha, horned toad boots! Blessings!
As a matter of fact I saw one just yesterday. First one of the year. Cooked him up. Mighty fine eatin'.
You got a 100.00% upvote from @redlambo courtesy of @mistermercury! Make sure to use tag #redlambo to be considered for the curation post!
I totally agree with your list, and with the additions suggested in the comments.
And patience. Yes. I am very patient. My husband; not so much. ;-)
I think heart and persistence are the keys; everything else is related to one or the other, or both. If you're posting with heart, you're automatically genuine, or you're not posting from your heart. And so on.
Excellent post all the way around. Thank you.
Hmnnn... somehow the text of my comment intended for the music link didn't show up. But what I said is this: THanks for your heartfelt comments. It's always good to hear from you. The music? Love this right now. You know how it is... one goes through stages, through loves. blessings.
Hey thanks and appreciate your heart felt comments! Always good to hear from you. And just because it's you here is a link to some music I find myself loving lately.
I think in some ways the promise of making money make Steemit frustrating to people in a way that other platforms aren't.
People sign up for Twitter, they don't expect to become influential stars. They get on Gab, they don't expect to use it to leverage a business. But for some reason that little dollar sign at the bottom of the post makes people crazy. They see it and they want it to go up -- they NEED it to go up -- in order for their experience here to be considered a good one.
In some ways it's a double-edged sword for steemit because people are enticed by the prospect of making money writing posts, commenting, and "curating" content; but on the other hand, the fact that that potential even exists creates a cavern of expectation which often cannot be fulfilled.
Yes, indeed. I find great joy and fulfillment in writing here. I really do. And I'm making some good friends and developing quality relationships but at the same time I seek the financial reward. There is a higher frequency, a higher consciousness to all of this though, and perhaps I should write about that. Here is the concept in a very shortened version: I call it the Abundant Heart. Our inner abundance radiates into the world as writing, developing relationships, etc., and one enjoys doing so, but we also have a sense of worth, value and abundance which receives prosperity. It's all One Thing. Of course mixed in this is a deep sense of gratitude and selflessness. This all requires a heartfelt dedication and sense of wholeness within. Indeed, this is the new paradigm we are capable of but seldom achieve. I'll be the first to admit I am working toward this level of consciousness but have not yet arrived. But am working on it. Then the mad dash for cash will no longer grip my heart. Does this make sense? Yes, I can see I need to write about it. Frankly, this is a step above our survival instincts that drive us. Ah, but one day, one day... In the meantime I give you .03 cents. You're rich!
Beautiful stuff @mistermercury.
I love that you wrote on this master first
As it’s usually not the first foot people put forward in the world or in business, but I believe it behooves us all to feel into that 😊
Well articulated 2nd master as well. It is a manifold skill set, one we’re each honing every day. Glad you’re here!
Thanks for the compliment. I wrote it just for you 'cause I knew you'd come by and say nice things!! Blessings.
10/10 @mistermercury! You must have done the right things quite soon, considering your relatively quick rise above the plankton haze, where I for various reasons (the least amongst them being an inherent resistance against using voting bots) am still doing a brownian dance. Not that pots of boodle is my primary motive for being here..
Btw, being a natural seeker myself, I will follow you and see what we see alike!
Hey thanks. i don't use bots all the time and I'm pretty much done with them, but I wanted to get some traction on this one so I did. But I admire your resistance to them. Kind of like switching from the standard american diet to being a vegetarian... well, not that challenging. Anyway, tired. blessings.
You got a 83.33% upvote from @luckyvotes courtesy of @mistermercury!
Patience is a virtue. And moving forward on steem takes time and patience. All good things happen at their own pace. We can't rush it.
Absolutely. Patience. Persistence. Determination. Work. Heart. Genuineness, and of course gratitude.
You got a 100.00% upvote from @cabbage-dealer courtesy of @mistermercury!
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