I joined Steemit only a week before it started doing payouts, in late June of 2016.
And since that time I have consistently been on the platform since then. I have not taken any breaks from it, even while on vacation.
This has been important because it allows me to detect patterns and identify mistakes that I have encountered across the platform's lifespan. I'd like to talk about one such mistake today that is made by thousands of Steemit accounts.
This is the problem of the fairweather Steemian.
Commitment Issues
Steemit has had its share of bumps in the road.
At times, it seemed close to collapsing. But this did not dissuade me from participating in the platform. If Steemit was going to collapse, then I wanted to be there when it happened, so I would be able to know exactly what went wrong.
To my pleasant surprise, Steemit has charged through its darkest times, coming out the other end as a better platform. But, unsurprisingly, a lot of other people jumped ship, only to reboard after the seas calmed.
Now, they were completely within their rights to do this. I would never force anyone to participate in this platform, and a lot of them, I'm certain, had good reasons for disappearing from Steemit for a while. Some people are constrained by time, or family emergencies, or other circumstances.
But a few of them have the gall to complain, after their inconstancy, that they aren't making any money on the platform.
A Story with a Lesson
Steemit is an investment.
And like most investments, the way to maximize your profit is to take advantage of the hard times, because those are the times where putting in even a little effort can have huge dividends later on.
In order to achieve any kind of success on Steemit, you need to be here during the lean times. It's much easier to build your Steem Power when the price of steem is 7 cents than when it is 8 dollars.
And then, when the boom times come, you will be in a position to start reaping what you sowed during the Steemit winter.
Cryptocurrency is Turning a Corner
I know we've all been enjoying the recent bottoming of the market. And hey, the stock market decided to join the party this week, too. It's nice to know we're all in the same party boat.
But we're already seeing signs that the lean times are coming to a close. And I personally believe that cryptocurrency is about to turn a corner---perhaps the biggest one of its existence. It will be a great opportunity for some of us.
But it will also be a lost opportunity for many others. Lean times are a gold ring that doesn't stick around unless you seize it. If you want to make bank on Steemit, then don't fall into the trap of being a fairweather Steemian.