Good evening friends. How did the weekend turn out for you?
I have some thoughts I want to share with you. These thoughts are more like some advice I gave myself today while thinking and doing some research on how I can improve myself and my work here on Steemit.
So let's get down to brass tacks.
(1) Why am I on Steemit?
To be honest, when I heard about Steemit from a very good friend of mine, 
(2) Am I ready for reading?
Though I've been an ardent reader before Steemit. With Steemit, it's on a whole new level. Taking time to read other people's post here is very important. It's not an easy task, but I've noticed that to make creative contents, you have to read creative contents.
(3) Can I help others?
Helping others is easier said than done. An example is
and how tough it has been trying to send help to 
who is currently suffering from Liontiasis. Meanwhile, also had some assistance from when she was sick too. Now isn't that amazing? Helping others is not easy but i'm down for it. Everybody will need help at a point in their lives. You might never know if you're next.
(4) Have respect for fellow Steemians.
No one is too small to be respected. A minnow today might be a giant whale tomorrow. One might never know. Never look down on anyone.
(5) Be creative. Don't steal other people's work.
Reading other people's content doesn't mean you should go ahead and steal their work. Though there is 
(6) Don't bring in the Facebook mentality.
Don't go around spamming people's post with "resteemforresteem" or "upvoteforupvote". You might just get flagged someday.
(7) Take time to build and maintain friendships.
No man is an Island. And like I said earlier, not all is about money. So your goal should not be to be friends with the whales and kiss ass, your goal should be to network. That's why there's steemit.chat. Though I might not be able to chat for now (due to some reasons), I know chatting and making friends is the way to go. Steemfests and meetups are also good avenues to interact with fellow Steemians.
(8) Never make unnecessary posts.
Before clicking on that 'post' button, ask yourself "Does this post matter? " If you are able to answer in the affirmative, then go ahead and click on it. If not, you know what to do. I've come to realize also that it's not just about making any post, but making posts that proffer solution(s) to problem(s), making posts to help bring useful information to the knowledge of others. Just be sure to help.
(9) Improve on my writing skills.
Doing this more often (making relevant posts) will definitely help me sharpen my skills and also broaden my horizon. Continuous practice, they say, makes perfection. I'm totally in.
(10) Make occasional comparison.
Occasionally, maybe daily, try to compare your work with those you admire. Those you admire will definitely be those with a higher reputation than yours. It wouldn't hurt to use their work as a check against your work.
(11) Use proper tags.
I've not yet mastered the art of "tagging" but i'll get better with time. There are over 20 tags. Getting it right can't be that hard.
(12) Try to reply comments on your posts and also leave comments.
Replying comments on my posts and leaving meaningful comments on other people's post might be hard for me(due to the reasons referred to above). It is a sure way of expanding your followership/friendship base.
And lastly,
(13) Be real, honest and dedicated to your work.
Don't just put two and two together and submit as a post. Take time to do a research on what you are about to write on so as to avoid making a shallow post. Be sure to go deep. Remember, going deep doesn't necessarily mean writing an encyclopedia. Just be yourself.
Like i clearly stated above, these are the advice I gave to myself today. I decided to post it here because I believe it will be of help to you too.
You can leave your own advice in the comments section.
Don't forget to upvote if this has been of help to you and of course, resteem so it can be of help to others too.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.