When I talk about Steemit I often get asked,

"Do you have to post every day to make money?"
"Do you have to spend hours reading other people's stuff?"
"Do you have to do x, y, z... to be successful?"

And my answer is always the same:

If it feels like a chore, Steemit is not for you.

If you're thinking in terms of Have to's when it comes to Steemit, you're probably not going to be happy here.

I believe, the people who are/will be most successful here are natural sharers or educators.
They publish and share because they want to or because they are inspired to.

Even though many of them wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the financial benefits, those benefits do not dictate their behaviour.

They don't think "Oh, I have to publish a post today to make some money."
Instead they think, "Hey, let me share this (also) on Steemit - maybe I'll make some extra money!"

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Steemit-income is a Nice to have not a Must have

I don't wake up in the morning, thinking I have to write an article today. But often something happens during the day that gives me an impulse to sit down and write. Or I do something fun in real life and I decide to share it here in an article - like what I did last weekend.

Sometimes I also just come here, browse through articles and suddenly stumble across something that inspires me to create content. This happened last week when I read an article of Hive account@surfermarly. I commented, she commented back. We had a meaningful conversation, and that sparked an idea for a new article of my own.

This is what I wrote to her in a comment:

You know, this is what I value most about this platform...

You have a break, browse through Steemit to see if there's anything interesting, stumble across an article that actually makes you think, then you have a nice meaningful conversation - no matter how long or short - and that inspires you to publish an article you didn't know you were going to write when you got up in the morning..

And bam! you made money.

No matter how little or much - it's money you didn't have before. It's money you didn't even plan on trying to make that day. But now it's there. Born out of joy and creativity in the moment.

All while you were taking a break.
Wow.

Thank you, Dan.
And Satoshi :)
And the Big Bang. Or something. ;)

So, do I feel I have to post every day? Not at all.
Do I feel like I have to read other people's stuff, in order to be "successful"?
Actually, I want to!

Most of my inspiration comes out of a conversation. So I have to have lots of conversation, whether they are in writing or in person. Just reading someone's article and adding my own thoughts to it can be a conversation.

And what does "successful" even mean? It means something different to each and every one of us.

As I have mentioned in a previous article, I'm happy if I make $50 a month on Steemit, so I can invest it in my future. I have made more than that ever since I joined Steemit. So - while I am far from being a whale or even a dolphin - I consider myself quite successful according to my own standards.

So in order to be happy on Steemit...

1. Know what success means to you here.

Will you measure it in income? Number of followers? Number of published articles?

2. Know what happiness means to you here.

Creative, uncensored expression? Receiving nice comments on your posts? Counting the $$$ below your articles?

Once you know, use this to review after a few weeks and measure yourself against your own standards.

If you notice it feels like work and it stresses you, and you don't get the desired rewards out of it - accept that Steemit is not for you. It certainly shouldn't be something that adds extra stress to your life!

If you feel happy and successful, stay and do more of what's working.

I will stay a little bit longer... :)