12 Note-To-Self on Long-Term Steemit Success (Non-Technical)

It is my 266th day in Steemit, and I still couldn't believe that such a great platform exists. Like many others I was lured into the platform from a combination of interest in social media and cryptocurrency. I was documenting my journey in my early days, but got very busy with many things both in and outside of Steemit. This post is lighter than my analysis posts, it requires less effort than my meet up posts, but I otherwise value just as much.

It is only a couple of weeks to go now before my one year mid-life break from the corporate world. By the middle of March I will have more time to polish on my trading strategy, to visit farms, and more importantly to engage with the Steemit community. This post is a collection of notes for myself as guides for long-term success in Steemit. I am sharing this to solicit advise from the whole community around the subject, in cases where I may be mistaken. I would really appreciate your thoughts, feedback, suggestions, and even criticisms.

Find the Right Family/Families

This decision will determine a huge percentage of my happiness in the platform. The learning curve is real, and unless I decide to surround myself with people who I can trust and count on, I will find myself struggling in the long run.

Post About Something You Enjoy, You are Great at, & People will Like

Imagine three circles representing these three things, posting things that are at the intersection of these three circles is the way to go for the long term. Posting about what I enjoy will save me from burnout, posting about what I am great at will boost my confidence, and posting about what I think people will like will support my economy in the Steemit ecosystem.

Be Generous

There is more than enough for everybody, my voting power refreshes, and I don't pay extra (in fact I don't pay at all) for making my comments longer and more meaningful. There are people who needs help, and I have a few to offer, so why won't I?

Be Forgiving

People will make mistakes, and unless I am robot (they make mistake too actually) "people" includes me. I would want to be given another chance when I do make a mistake, and I would want to be able to forgive myself.

Have a Grateful Heart

One hundred red fishes is a minnow, ten minnows is a dolphin; everyone has something to offer, take it and be thankful.

Be Persistent

I have seen too many great content creators leave the platform just before they hit the inflection point. I will be patient, I will continue pursuing my goals, I will wait!

Build Your Steem Power

This is one of the best ways to enable me to be generous. It is also a great way to give back. Not the only way, but a great way.

Commit to Continuous Learning

This is less about posting under a new niche every so often, although it is not a bad idea at all to explore other niche once in a while, I still believe that I've got to be known for something.

Continuous learning here means constantly seeking to improve my craft, so I can surprise people by giving them more than they already expect from me based on my last posts.

Commit to Quality

Everything I do here gets recorded in the blockchain. This is one thing I wished I learned earlier, I could have then saved myself the embarrassment from anyone who will look at my posts from seven months ago. I would rather post with good quality for cent, and have people thinking I deserve more; than post with less quality for dollars, and have people think I deserve less.

Be An Initiator

Am I going to always wait for someone to start a movement, then follow? I will be self-starter, and initiate movements myself.

Stop Having a Victim Mindset

My success or failure is more likely the result of my own doing, rather than other's negative action. A lot of the successful Steemians attribute their success to luck, while the rest of the community see them as deserving of all the rewards for the value they bring into the platform.

While those who whine about bad luck are mostly the ones who hardly engage with the community, keep upvotes to themselves, and spread negativity every chance they get.