Like most people on Steem, I came here for the money. Unlike most people perhaps, I never thought it was going to be easy, in fact, I never thought I would earn anything at all, but I had to try. To cut a long story short, my family were physically in a bad way which caused a great deal of financial stress with very little respite and no way to close any gaps through additional work. So, Steem.
I have never been much of a writer and had next to zero experience writing for a public audience, let alone doing it frequently. But as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures and my measure was to call upon my experience in work, business and life to cobble together something that I hoped would connect with someone.
The funny thing is that while I didn't earn much for quite a while and never enough to help me significantly in those early days, Steem became my hobby, escape, therapy and personal development all rolled into one. Without resources in the real world, I had to make do with what was available to me, and that was Steem. I am lucky.
Some people think that I am lucky because of the votes I get that give me some value, but the reality is, that it is meaningless to me in my current world as it isn't enough to change my experience. Having said that, it means a great deal to me in regards to my future, and I covet every Steem and I am grateful for every piece of support, big or small.
No, the luck is that when I found Steem my mind was a mess due to the things running through it, without the time or energy to deal with it all. However, once I got into Steem and started writing, it started to reorder my head, align my actions with goals and develop a state of flow, on and off the blockchain.
While the stress of life didn't reduce, my ability to cope with it increased. This is much like any financial position where one needs extra money. While most will look to see where they can scrimp and save, others will look to see where they are able to generate more income. While I did need the income, what I really needed was additional energy and processing my thoughts and clearing them so as to move on more efficiently, provided that space.
While efficiency creates a resource saving, the generation of energy came through engaging the creative mind and exploring some of the untapped reserves. While we talk often about social engagement on Steem, the first engagement that in my opinion has to be made is, that with the self. If a person is not active in mind and body, they are not going to be active in action and if they are, it is more likely to be forced, not enjoyable and, the audience will not only sense it - it all becomes a job.
I talk about working on Steem a lot, but I do not consider it a job. A job is something done for money, work is the action toward anything one considers valuable, even if there is no payoff at the end. Steem is work for me, but it has never been tedious, never automatic, never forced. For those who find it difficult to post, comment and socialize - perhaps they might be better off buying some Steem and voting instead, until there is something here that you are willing to act upon and participate in.
Again, maybe I am lucky here as I do find this place engaging and interesting. However, this is the truth about even the most mundane activities if there is a purpose behind the work. While some people go to a job each day and await the paycheck, others go to work and do something that they feel has value beyond the task itself. While some feel they are a meaningless cog in the machine, another can feel that they are a piece of an instrumental good, a crucial part of changing their own world.
Perhaps this is one of those two types of people things, where there are those who feel as a passenger in their experience, and those who feel they are driving, or at least have some influence over the direction. I think that this shines through in what kinds of content people contribute on Steem, where there are those chasing upvotes in one way shape or form whether it be for instance, targeting a supported content niche, or complaining about not getting support - which is another targeting approach.
Complaining is actually a commonly used social technique that is used to get attention - like the guy at the bar who complains about how much his life sucks in the hope for sympathy sex. I don't know what kind of woman thinks she is getting a good deal in that relationship, but the thing is, it must work at least some of the time otherwise no one would attempt it.
For me personally, complaining is a turnoff, and while I am not a fan of arrogance, I do like confidence. People who do not feel they can influence their own experience aren't generally the most confident of people and I am guessing I am not alone in my preference of what is attractive.
While often people might think that it is only positive Steem content that gets support because it is positive Steem content and people are blind to the negatives, I do not think that is the main reason. Firstly, people who are invested are probably more likely skewed toward content that supports their investment, but more like than that - it is because it is positive.
People are nearly universally attracted to positive people and content over the negative, the type of things that inspire and empower them to at the very least feel like there is hope. Something that energizes them, not depletes them. Who wants to hang out with someone who saps their energy and makes them feel bad about themselves, decisions and life - other than masochists.
There are many people who feel that their experience on Steem happens to them, as if they cannot influence it. I feel quite the opposite as I feel empowered - and it isn't because I get upvotes.
On Steem I have experienced a freedom of expression that I have never experienced anywhere else in my life as it has encouraged me to delve ever deeper into what I know and who I am and add it to the world, not hide it away. Some people allow the votes to direct them, up and down and that has sentenced them to creative death - it has made Steem a job.
There is no place on the internet like Steem, there is no place that encourages the exploration of the self in such a public forum and slowly strips away the social habits that constrain us and therefore, define us. There is no where in the world where such a range of diversity can not only coexist, but get rewarded for its existence. There is no place that is empowering.
I am not a fanboy. I am not naive. I have lived a life that compares to few. I am experienced.
But, my experience is not your experience, my skills are not yours, my mind is unique to me and my heart beats in my own chest. Your experience is your own, your available resources are what you have to work with and what you do with them is your decision. We talk about people selling their Steem as if it is a bad thing, it is not, it is just a resource.
What is a bad thing in my opinion, are people who sell themselves short by believing they have no control over their experience, which is the same as admitting that they have no control over themselves.
While I was never meant to do what I have done on Steem - I have done it nonetheless and given it my all.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
