What a whirlwind it's been! Exactly three months ago to the day I joined Hive, or should I say, my partner got me set up and then told me what to do! (He loves doing that 😅 and in this case, I've been grateful!)
To say joining Hive has changed my life would not be an exaggeration; it has. And I get the very, very strong sense that it's going to continue to open doors and impact my life in ways I can't even conceive in this moment. But before I get too lost in the future, let me first go back to the past.
If I could go back and speak to myself on that fateful day three months ago here are the things I would say to that past version of me...
1. Don't treat this like a get rich quick scheme. Find an enjoyable, sustainable way to grow your profile, your blog and your following community because this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. I know you came here, on some level, hoping that it would be another way to make money (albeit, a different form of money than you're used to) and that's okay. But the money comes with time, patience, consistency... and probably through doing a bunch of the things on this list 😅 And if you think Hive is just about making money you're probably missing out on all the other things that this platform has to offer and you probably won't stay. So keep your eyes open for all the other things Hive can bring into your life.
2. Honour your natural interests. You love travel and nature and self development type stuff, so put your attention on those things. You're going to find lots of other things on Hive that don't interest you; app development, make up tutorials, political conversations about economics, and other stuff that really isn't up your alley. You can ignore these things, just like you do elsewhere on the internet. You'll have more fun if you let yourself follow your own natural interests.
3. Be yourself. You're allowed to follow and engage with what feels good to you. You don't have to people please or be a certain way in order to get upvotes and receive crypto. Sure, you might see this strategy work for other people but trying to be something you're not is tiring and far from enjoyable. So don't bother. Be yourself; someone (or many "someones") will still like what you're putting out. You are enough as you are and you'll develop more skills to express who you are as time goes on. Start with the fabulous foundation of being true to you first and foremost and grow from that place 🙏
4. Consider your strengths and use them. And if you don't really know what you're great at, then try new things until you discover what you're naturally gifted at. Remember Caroline (ahem, Conscious Cat) you're really good at writing, so write new content and do it often. Also, do you remember that you actually love writing prose and poetry? There are regular writing contests you can enter. Do that; you'll love it and you'll learn a lot at the same time. And when you want to find other things you're good at, try new things. You'll soon work out what else you're good at.
5. Learn from people with high reputation numbers. You see that number next to each person's username? That's their "reputation number". The higher the number, the longer they've been on Hive, actively doing (probably useful) stuff. Start by paying attention to anyone with a 70 or above (whose vibe you actually like!) as they will have been on Hive a long time and thus if they're still here and they're still posting and engaging regularly they clearly have more experience than the majority of Hivians (read: people on Hive: that's you hun!). Learn from these people. They have (probably) developed a whole set of helpful behaviours you can model off to help you become a value-adding human who is enjoying herself on the Hive network, rather than a pain in the arse who has no idea what she's doing 🤣
6. Don't try and make yourself do things you're not ready to do just because you think you should. You know those people who I just mentioned who have been on here for ages? Yeah, they know so much about Hive it will blow your mind. You don't need to understand or try to do everything they're talking about. Just take the bits that make sense to you, that work for you, that you can action now and do those. Remember, overwhelm doesn't help you learn, enjoy or become successful at any new venture, including all things Hive and crypto-related. So just take baby steps. It will be enough. Do what you can today. Learn something new. Practise it until it's easy and then integrate the next thing. Then, before you know it, you'll be teaching other newbies how the hell to navigate this Hive thing 😉
7. Be kind, and not just because we're in the middle of a pandemic and so many people are struggling. Be kind because you're on a platform with other humans who are doing the best they know how. They're learning and growing too. Even the people with 70+ reputation numbers; they might have Hive nailed (maybe) but they'll have relationship challenges and health challenges and work challenges, heck, they'll have life challenges just like you do, so be kind. It doesn't cost you anything to remember that your fellow Hivians are just as precious and vulnerable and human as your own loved ones. Treat them that way.
8. Recognise that there are a wide variety of people on here. So while Hive is full of humans and I've just told you to love them all like you love your own family, realise that there are people from all over the planet with different beliefs, from different cultures, with different languages and definitely, different perspectives. This is going to make for a rich learning experience for you. It's going to open your mind and your heart, and you have so much to gain through this exposure to such diversity of humanity. But remember, humans will be humans and they will do human type things. So there are times when you'll need to be mindful and tolerate when people show up really different from you. Now, that doesn't mean you need to put up with people are being assholes any more than you do in real life. If they need help to understand the rules about how to be a better Hivian (or human) you might need to point them in the right direction, respectfully, gently, mindfully. Or in some circumstances you might just ignore them. After all, whales are pretty good at keeping nuisance behaviour at bay. (And yes, you'll learn what a whale is in this context, I promise 🐳)
9. If it ever feels like too much, go outside and play. In short, get away from the screen and connect with yourself, another human or the natural world. Hug a human. Pat a dog. Stare at a tree. Go for a swim. Do something fun. And then, when you're ready, come back and tell your fellow Hivians what you got up to while you were away ;)
And, finally...
10. Realise the power you have by being on a decentralised platform. Unlike other social media channels where your power is limited to a like 👍 or a love ❤️ or some other kind of emoji reaction 🤯 and/or the comment you write on their tweet or post or video, here you actually get to give someone money. Yes, crypto rather than fiat (read: normal money you're used to), but it's still currency; it's still something they can exchange into a real world, tangible thing that they can buy food or shelter (or shiny high heels with) if they choose. So use your power wisely: Upvote great posts and totally ignore shitposts. (Note: This is an official Hive term 😆). Own the power you now have and use it wisely; doing so will help the whole (Hive) community, including you, to thrive.
Wooooo! You made it! 😃 Thanks for hanging out while I had that conversation with my past self. Was it helpful? Entertaining? Enlightening? I do hope so!
Now, before we part ways, here are the things I plan to focus on moving forward, and in particular over the next three months (because that's about as far into the future as my mind can stretch right now 😄).
1. I'm going to keep prioritising trying new things. I'll join different communities and see which ones feel really good to me. I'll try different types of posts and while I see which ones feel really good to me I also want to see how they land with others to know how best to use my time. And I'll try out different contests and see which ones feel like the most fun while also rewarding me with some semi reasonable amount of HBD, HP and/or token.
2. I'm going to keep scanning for, upvoting and encouraging the authors of posts that I feel are really, really good. I value content that enriches my life somehow so I'm not, was not and still won't, be giving 'votes for votes'. I'm not going to upvote something because I think I'll get a good chunk of the curator cash pool. I'm only going to give value (currency, and loving attention) to the posts I think are valuable.
3. I'm going to continue prioritising being grateful. Because I know I would be lost without role models to learn from, connections to laugh with and fellow Hivians who say kind things about my stuff, I am going to continue and even step up my gratitude practice. Not because I think it will lead to more crypto in my account (though it probably will anyway, because what we appreciate, appreciates) but rather because it feels damn good to say "thank you" when people give me stuff. And it's humbling to remember that I cannot do any of this without the rest of you.
Caroline, aka Conscious Cat 🐈
Thanks for reading. If you found this helpful you're welcome to upvote, re-blog, give me tokens and/or say nice things to me in the comments 😄 I welcome all forms of love ❤️
P.S. Anyone who has significantly more experience than me on Hive who has spotted any kind of error whatsoever in my post, please feel totally free to correct it in a comment below. I want any newbie reading this to get accurate information. So if I have misused any terms or said anything confusing, please teach us in the comments the right way to do it!
P.P.S. If you've been on Hive for a year or less and you haven't written a post like this (maybe you could!) do you want to share with us in the comments the 3-5 most helpful things you've learned so far in your time on Hive? What would you want to tell your former self on the day they joined Hive that would help them progress faster and enjoy the journey even more?
