We are obsessed with putting numbers on success like it actually means something, even here on steemit, numbers play a big role in our perception of how successful we are.
I have been on steemit for 170 days, in this time I would say I have achieved some success but am I successful? Let's take a look at some numbers.
170 Days.
90 posts
1550 Followers
6000+ Upvotes
2000+ Comments
2800 in payouts
Weekly Author
Dailey Top Payout.
Can I really judge my success on these numbers and do they really mean anything?
The problem with success by numbers is that someone out there will always have more numbers than you, this can have the effect of making you feel unsuccessful or inadequate.
For this reason I try not to concentrated so much on the figures and instead focused on building successful relationships with my readers, the fact that I have received 1000 replies but made 2000 comments is a success to me, this tells me that I have put in some real effort to engage with my audience and I believe this has, in turn, made me 'successful'.
On the other hand, if I had focused on how much other people were getting for their posts I believe this would've had a negative effect on my positivity towards steemit and I would have given up a long time ago.
Of course, I judge my post's success with numbers but not in the way you might think if my post has had 100 views and only 30 upvotes then I see this as a sign that I need to work harder next time.
Which post is more successful?
I have hidden the payouts on these 2 posts, if you were to base the success of these posts on votes vs views and comments then which would you say was the most successful?
Post 1.
Post 2
Although post 1 has much better statistics, it actually had a lower payout. My point with this exercise is that we tend to judge a post by its payout which is not always a true reflection of how successful it was, and if we really must base success on numbers then we should focus on the numbers that really matter, the ones that reflect the engagement and feedback a post gets.
What is the point of this post?
When I sat down to write this post I had planned to do a milestone post but after writing the first sentence I realized that I don't actually care about those numbers and I don't expect you to either, this made me reflect on what makes us truly successful?
We all have different standards but I see myself as being successful on steemit because after 170 days I'm still here writing posts and engaging with my readers, yes, my posts are getting much bigger payouts now but this could all change tomorrow.
Forget about the payouts and focus on the connection, the community, the way in which we all support each other in one way or another, don't be disheartened by other peoples success on steemit, embrace it instead and be happy in the knowledge that their success will one day trickle down to reach everyone on this platform, that is the nature of this wonderful place we all call Steemit.
