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Photo by Lost Co on Unsplash

Never be Complacent.

When I first joined Steemit, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy. Of course, if you compare yourselves to other socialite means such as Facebook, Instagram, it is 'easier' to start earning an income from the Steem you collect. Either way, I told myself that I was going to grind on this platform, get genuine followers, upvotes and support, even if it means getting 0.01$ or nothing every day.

And I did.

Some may think that I have had it easy on Steemit, reaching to where I am now (which is not much tbh), but many do not know the efforts and hustle I've done behind the scenes especially during the early days. I went on streaks without getting any upvotes at all (that 0.00$ payout). My days were also without that huge Hive account@curie upvote because somehow I have always managed to miss a criteria and soon enough, I was beyond the reputation they were voting authors on. I planned and strategized my way, worked and entered contests, started mingling A LOT on discord and thus found a few friends (who sadly, have left Steemit last year due to the low rates).

I'm not here to boast about where I am now (because honestly, I missed my goal last year), but I'm here to hopefully 'advice' you all, the same advice that I've received from a fellow Steemian here. He told me to 'never be complacent', and that means from the support/upvotes/comments you were getting. He showed me a few examples of my own friends who were so complacent about getting the constant upvotes they were receiving and when it was cut off, true enough, they left. As though it was their only lifeline on Steemit.

I know that it can be hard and sometimes I even wonder why am I wasting so much time on Steemit when I'm getting only a few cents out of my few hours crafted post.

And because of some of the withdrawal in delegation involving a few initiatives, a few of my friends are starting to think twice about this platform and whether to continue posting a 'non-profitable' post.

'Delegations are a two-edged sword'

We were talking about this whole debacle and it is true when he said that it was a two-edged sword. It is nice when you get it, lick a few times and when it's taken away, we all start panicking and leaving the platform we all once fell in love with.

I also learned one very important thing when you start any business/initiatives on Steemit. NEVER EVER make getting a delegation for your initiative a means to fund your whole project. We should always plan for the initiative with or without delegation. Delegations are only a plus. It shouldn't even be a 'backup plan' and you should treat it like a gift/bonus. If it comes, it comes, if not, we can make do without it. Though I can't deny that having delegations WILL boost/accelerate the project, but what I'm saying is that IF there are no delegations today in whatever project you're in or the upvotes you receive are less, what then?

You keep building

Yes, you keep on building/giving back because Steem and its communities are still the same when I first got in. I fell in love with this platform because of how much potential it holds giving you side income(as little it may be), how many businesses can be built on it, and the community of amazing people here. There are still countless ways to profit for your blog and I don't think I can name them all here but I'm sure that if there is a will, there is a way. For me, I am definitely here to STAY till it breathes it's last breath because I SO BELIEVE in the Steem Blockchain and most importantly the many Steemians who are fighting this battle with me and are believing in what I do too.