Everybody starts at point zero
When you're a small fish in a big pond it can be very easy to get frustrated. You might have all the ability in the world but nobody is looking at you or noticing what you can bring to the table.
I'm fairly sure that we have all felt like this at times in our life.
"Why always them."
"What do they have that I don't."
"When is it my turn."
All legitimate questions and none with a simple one line answer. Why somebody gets to the top is usually a complicated bundle of timing, chance, attitude, attributes and a whole host of what makes everybody unique.
The gap between you getting your dream job and it going to another equal person could be as simple as who gets interviewed first. It can be a common interest or connection that gives them the edge or it could be a superior attitude and work rate that makes the difference.
Life is complicated in general and no decision tends to be a one line cut and dried answer.
I'm writing this on the #hive blockchain right now and will tailor my post towards that as it's the common interest of our community but this applies across life. With anything that you are trying to build, the growth is exponential.
Hard work and consistency is the key to success.
You have often heard the saying that "money makes money" or that "there is no such thing as bad publicity"?
That's because getting started is always the hardest part. Whether it is earning enough to get started in a business or getting recognition for it. Those first steps will be the longest as you are starting from point zero.
You are starting from the point of having no money, recognition or customers.
If it comes to creating content you are facing the exact same dilemma. Nobody knows who you are or what you do.
You have zero reputation and nobody looking at you. You will churn out content that nobody sees for little reward, over and over again.
You are at point zero and unfortunately most people will never get very far past this point. They will struggle up the hill for so long before thinking that it's impossible and quit.
They think that because it's so hard to get started that it will never get easier and that there is no point in doing it for so little in return.
Those are the hard yards. The struggle to stay going when the input is far more than the output. When you think that it will never get easier.
Growth is exponential.
The good news is that it does get easier.
Do you think it's easier to get to 5M followers when you have zero. Or to get to 10M followers when you already have 5M?
Mathematically it's the same thing, but we know ourselves there is a huge difference.
It's obviously the second option. When you have put in the hard work and built a following and a reputation, every one of those followers has the potential to bring more people with them.
They are your brand, your marketing team, your product and your motivation.
What they get from you, they will talk about, share, debate and add value to. They make your content valuable and give you a great reason to create more. Every single creator on YouTube, Instagram, medium ect... has something in common.
They all started out with a brand new account and zero followers. They grew those accounts by adding up each follower, one at a time until the hard work was done. When you have built your brand and reputation it sells itself. People talk about you and bring in more people. Those hard yards you crawled over at the beginning become a lot easier with others to help you.
Hive is near point zero.
As a brand new project albeit with a slight advantage. Hive is at the stage where we need to put in the hard yards. We have very little brand, content, product or marketing. We have low value and a lot of hours are being put in for very little reward. It can seem frustrating as other coins sit in the top 10 while we know that ours is better. We have lost some users that felt that frustration and quit.
But the good news is that it gets easier. While it's currently a struggle to get any new users and a bigger one to keep them. That won't last forever. Every new person that we can bring in and keep has the potential to bring more with them. As a social chain, the best way to keep users is to bring in others that they enjoy interacting with.
More users = More content
More content = More value
More value = More investors
More investors = More money
More money = More users
You can see where this is going. Exponential growth. Every time that we can gain more of anything, it leads to more of the rest.
Some people can argue that this is in the wrong order but for me it's a lot easier to bring in more users first and create a better investment than doing it the other way around. Either way they go hand in hand.
If Hive was sitting at $10 and the top ten on 
If you went to investors with millions of users and a queue waiting to join their wallets would open fairly fast.
Now we are a long way from that but we have a great community. We have gotten past the first stage and are working to expand.
Don't be in any doubt that these will be hard yards to grow Hive but it does get easier. Every win leads to more wins and money makes more money. It's how life works. t/he key is consistency and hard work. Every hard earned new user we can get opens up the possibility of a lot more. They can use Hive and add value. They might have followers on Twitter and Youtube that will see them and look into it. They might get the addiction and keep buying Hive for more stake.
Lets keep that in mind as we put in the hard yards now to be a success later. Every user that we can get is a win. Every users that we lose has the potential to create a negative effect and turn others away. You don't have to agree with others but lets try to accept that everybody is different with different views and that's not a bad thing.
If we are to be a success it will take all sorts of users and investors so lets work together and keep on growing one user at a time.