Many new steemians come to this platform with the clear objective to earn an extra income from the beginning.
They are happy it doesn't seem to be a constraint to earn money, you can do it for free, and make a habit of cashing out everything they make here. That's wrong!
They don't realize (or don't care) that the more people come in, the less money they will make. They are in profit from day one, and when they don't like it anymore, they will simply quit.
The problem is this is the mentality of the majority of people. Ask 1,000 random people what they would prefer: $100 now or $100,000 in ten years, and most of them will take the first option.
There is of course a solution to earning less money as more people join Steemit: power up instead of cashing out. This way your influence in the platform grows and, if you are consistent, and find various sources to increase your Steem Power, it will counteract the fact the pie is divided among more people.
But... that's not all! You see, if you only consider Steem as a freebie (maybe count your time and work in), it will be easy for you to give up (or stay away), when things go south (like when the Steem price is low).
If you want to change your mentality about Steem and you believe in its future, invest in it! It doesn't have to be a big amount, and it certainly should be something you don't need for living, but becoming an investor (not a speculator) will change your perspective!
Investors put money in a project because they expect it to grow. They can be sort of venture capitalists and wait for the project to grow on its own or become involved directly, much like they are on Steemit, if they post, put together communities, run witness nodes, develop and run various tools and dapps, develop the blockchain etc.
Someone who hasn't put his own money in Steem will find it much easier to quit. They have nothing to lose.
While an investor, even more one that is involved directly, will rarely quit, especially if he is not in profit. And if there are strong perspectives for a project (like it's the case with Steem), investors (stake holders) are the ones who would benefit the most from it, and will make everything in their power that the project grows.
So, here are the simple steps that can change your mentality on Steemit: