You step over the threshold and take a deep breath. You remove your shoes, place them in the cubby, and look around to see what the other students are doing. You are ready to learn. You await the instructor.
...Only in the Steemit dojo, there is no instructor. Just like in life, in the school of hard knocks, everyone is figuring things out as they go. If you are earnest and persistent, you will find your teachers and take lessons from your experience. If you expect an easy win, you may be disappointed to find yourself flat on your back, blinking up at the sky, time and time again. However, if you stay on the path, your reward will be knowledge and skills that can never be taken away from you. You are here for a reason. So, let's begin.
Your First Week on the Steem Blockchain
The following is a first draft of a lesson designed to help novice Steem users develop the skills necessary to build their first 20 Steem Power. Why 20 SP? My recent experience building this account tells me that 20 SP is the minimum amount needed to interact regularly without worrying about Resource Credits. Below 20 SP you are noticeably limited, even if you post less than three times per week.
Steemit Black Belt is building a path for new users of Steem to develop the skills and habits necessary to grow their accounts by creating value on this blockchain. For an overview of this concept, visit our introductory post. Unlike information hubs that rely on users to understand what they have read and apply the knowledge in practice, these lessons prompt actions that facilitate learning through experience.
If you are a new user with less than 20 Steem Power, you are invited to try the lessons as they are being developed. Provide me with feedback, and I will gladly gift you a 
Week 1 Assignment
Welcome to the STEEM economy! We're glad you are here. Your first week on the Steem blockchain can be challenging, it helps to be prepared. To avoid burning through your resources in the initial excitement, it pays (literally!) to set up habits that will build your capacity to earn and create value in this economy as early as possible.
Know Your Limits: Resource Credits
Resource Credits are your bandwidth on the Steem blockchain. They are consumed by voting on posts (a little), following other users (a bit more), and publishing posts or comments (a lot). Resource Credits recharge over time, and your capacity is based on the amount of STEEM invested in your account. Until you have at least 20 STEEM powered up or vested in your account, you'll want to monitor your RCs and use them wisely.
Task 1 - Upvote a post, then check your Resource Credits
Only upvote posts less than 7 days old - after 7 days, the payout has ended. It is not necessary to upvote this post to participate (though it is appreciated)!
Resource Credits are not shown on the steemit.com platform. Check your RCs on steemd:
- Go to https://steemd.com/@steemitblackbelt (this will show information for the steemitblackbelt account). Replace "steemitblackbelt" with your own username to see your information. You can view info and transactions for any Steem account with this tool.
- Take a screenshot of your stats - you'll need to share it to earn the reward for this week's assignment.
Know Your Training Environment: Where Will You Post?
Steem is the blockchain, STEEM is the currency, and Steemit (also called condenser) is the first and best-known interface for both. In a future lesson, you will learn to use other interfaces for Steem - there are benefits to moving off the beta platform - but don't worry, you can access your posts and interact from any Steem platform.
Task 2 - Login to your steem interface, and edit your profile
A quirk of the steemit beta interface is that only one edit can be saved at a time - so if you upload a profile image, save your changes before adding a description - then save at each step. Smaller images (800x600) work best.
- Add a profile image and description to complete this exercise.
- What interface are you using? Steemit, Partiko, esteem, Steem Peak, Steeve, D-Tube, or another dapp?
Introduce Yourself to the Steem Community!
No matter which interface you use, an introduction post with the tag #introduceyourself is the best way to meet the people who will help you earn in the Steem economy. Your introduction post will earn you your first few upvotes and followers. If you also tag #steemitblackbelt, we will stop by to give you an upvote and offer our support.
Task 3 - Introduce yourself in a post or a comment, and share your work from tasks 1 and 2
If you have less than 10 Steem Power (less than $5 USD, at the time of this writing) invested in your account, you may not be able to post and comment in the same day. Make it count!
In a comment below, or in your own introduction post, include the following:
- A screenshot showing your resource credits, from Task 1
- The interface you are using, from Task 2
- If posting on your own blog, use the #steemitblackbelt tag so we will see it!
Next Steps
Completing the steps here will earn you an upvote and a follow, but you will need to complete your profile and introduction post to earn your
The #introduceyourself tag is read by community leaders looking to support new members, and by potential followers looking for new content. You will get upvotes and welcoming comments. Some of these will be automated and don't need a response. Respond to sincere, interested readers (or viewers) as your resource credits allow.
Your next priority is to grow your account to a level where resource credits do not limit your interactions. If you have $5-$10 to invest, you can do this the easy way. However, you can also build it up yourself. The next lesson will explore some methods.
Upvotes paid to your posts and comments take 7 days to pay out. You can also earn through upvotes you pay to others. Voting 10 times per day is recommended, both to earn STEEM and to earn goodwill from other users.
Halfway to Steemit Yellow Belt!
Let me know how you are doing! Discord is another lesson, but if you like you can find me there: LauraDee#9237
View this post on Steeve, an AI-powered Steem interface