I have hit my biggest milestone yet: From today onward I am officially a Steem dolphin with over 5,000 Steem Power vested in my account!
Milestone Hunting
When I joined Steemit about 7 months ago I was living below the poverty line of Germany (where I was born) and even of Costa Rica (where I am living). I joined Steemit because nothing else was working for me anymore. As soon as I realized what it is and how it works I knew that everything I ever learned in my life was preparing me to shine here. I went all-in and became a full-time Steemian after just a few weeks here with the hope to earn enough to pay my rent.
Step by step I was working for all the little milestones you can achieve here. From follower numbers which often are misleading and full of dead and ghost followers to post and comment number which are also not really telling anything about how well you actually did.
But there was this one milestone that was fascinating me: The 5000 Steem Power barrier, also known as Dolphin status (some people use different numbers but I go with the 
| Title | Cover |
|---|---|
| 10 Amazing Reasons to Invest into Steem Power for Entrepreneurs |  |
| Steem Investor Guide: How To Make Money With Steem Power |  |
I Worked Hard For It
I never really bought any Steem with my FIAT money because I never had any FIAT money to spend. (except for something like $200 at around $1 Steem price). The vast majority of my Steem Power I have earned. There were even times when I had to power down to pay my bills. I am glad these times are behind me.
Since the SBD price has become an astronaut I have reinvested most of my earnings into Steem and powered it up. Today the Steem price fell down to $6 again and I used my chance to get the next batch of Steem - enough to push me over the magical barrier of 5K Steem Power which makes me a dolphin.
I wrote 367 posts on this account alone and 5680 comments. I made 5788 upvotes on other peoples posts and comments and met many new faces who all enriched my life with their content. I have written at least one post every day of the week for 14 weeks in total and I created close to one hundred Steemy videos and vlogs. I am honestly impressed about my own statistics because I didn't know I have it in me to work so much. Obviously I do!
You Can Do That As Well
The point of milestone posts like these are not to brag and rub ones success into other peoples faces. I know that sucks since I suffered severly from a Facebook depression for a long time. That is actually a medical term and thousands of people worldwide suffer from it. Since you usually just share good and happy stuff on Facebook it creates an unrealistic positive and successful view at your life to others. Someone going through a rough time will see the success of others every day and feel less and less motivated. This is different on Steemit!
Here everyone has the same chances. Not everyone will make it, though. You need to put in the work. Even if you are working from 9-5 and only have a few hours each day you can still produce 1-2 posts daily. Be dilligent and consistent. Don't skip days except you really have to (I took a day off yesterday after weeks of grinding). To be successful on Steemit you can do many different things. Everyone is different and brings other qualities to the table.
Find your style and passion and go for it. Improve yourself every day. Connect and support and you will quickly find it very rewarding to be here and invest your time into the Steem ecosystem. Grow your account. It will take time but it will happen if you allow it. 2018 is the year. Let us change the world together!
