The Steem Blockchain
Gives Us An Extra Chance...
Most of you, at some point, believed that Steemit would give you the opportunity to drastically change your life, financially speaking, with a heartbeat. The encouraging feeling of hope brought you to Steemit and even though most of you have realized the truth since then, we still have tons of people with that twisted idea and beliefs.
The fault is not theirs...
This is the result of false and inaccurate advertising. (Thanks Jerry Banfield and a handful of other not so clever Steemians out there). However, no matter how much one could blame these rather successful YouTubers and so-called "influencers" out there, the ones responsible for this is Steemit Inc.
I know, it's hard to promote Steemit without telling people how awesome it is to earn money... But money talks, as the slogan were previously is crazy bad:
I personally was never fond over the whole "your voice is worth something" either. Especially as I joined in July 2016 and saw articles that paid out at $10,000+... Meanwhile I earned $30-$100 on a very good day.
Don't get me wrong here, because I am obviously extremely grateful for everything Steemit, my audience and the curators of my content has done for me. But I didn't earn that much on everything I published. I earned a few cents too, and I could still see people with thousands of dollars in rewards at the same time. I'm still talking about 2016...
With "your voice is worth something" echoing in my head, I obviously felt despair instantly when I compared myself and my articles with others. I asked myself what I did wrong and why I couldn't be as lucky as others. I spent 2-3 hours writing my articles on average and I could easily see that some people spent a few minutes the most... And they still earned 10-40 times more than me. It was very difficult to stay motivated, even though I loved the opportunity, but it didn't feel fair at all. This place was filled with despair and anxiety.
I still think that the slogan is pretty bad, even though they've changed it. This works, but it's far from excellent. "Your voice is worth something", destroys the little amount of motivation people have. Not at first glance, but at first payout. Users who're filled with hope of luxury and from "rags to riches"-ideas are literally being throwed under the bus. It's obviously better nowadays compared to 2016, as it's bascially impossible for anyone to earn $10,000+ on their articles today, but people are still asking why they're being left with nothing when they see articles with pending rewards of $100+. With part of that slogan still in their head, they come to the conclusion that they are not worth a single cent, or just a few.
Your voice is worth something... But to who? And why? Why are that guys voice worth so much more than mine? Why am I so unlucky? Why do I even try?
The despair and anxiety builds up and they leave. That's what happens, and that's the problem we have today. People are talking about the retention problem... Well, yeah... No wonder people quit when they're spoon-fed bullshit stories before they join and realize within a few minutes that they're worthless. The slogan even says that, depending on how you interpret it.
We're Surrounded By Money...
You can see money everywhere. Left, right, up and down. It doesn't matter where you look. Money is everywhere around here, but people are looking for a way to see some of it in their own pockets. That's why most people are here. It's impossible to deny that. We want money... And some people feel they're entitled to it.
People are trying to grab as much of the pie as possible. One way or another, they will get their hands on money. Like Mario, they go left, right or jump up and down. People publish articles, they write comments and they're trying to make friends. Some plagiarize content and others starts to beg. They ask you for upvotes or even donations.
Some people are coming up with the most tragic life stories to pull off scams and others are trying to hack your accounts. People will get their hands on money. One way or another.
I Just Gave Away 2 Steem.
Someone approached me on Discord. I usually don't bother with beggars at all but today was different. I don't know if it was due to my own situation I've mentioned a few posts back, due to empathy or whatever. And that honestly doesn't matter. As usual, I wrote a response and told this user that he should avoid this approach, as people in general doesn't like beggars.
When I wrote this, I started to feel for him even more. What he said might be a lie and it actually doesn't matter, because it reminded me of my own situation once again, and it reminded me of how lucky I am to have 
I mean, no one other than your friends and/or family would offer you a loan without interest, and just give you the money without you asking for it, right?
FTG is a wonderful example of a person who let money be a springboard to support and literally rescue people, and not even my closest friends could loan me the amount he did. And I didn't even ask him for it... That's an act of greatness and kindness. And it's also the reason I figured that I have to be a friend of his. I don't know, it's difficult to explain in English. He is a great leader and still a motivator, but he turned out to be a very good friend as well. (Thank you FTG!)
Anyhow, due to all of this, I suddenly changed my mind and responded with this:
Money change people. And I'm far from being wealthy, but I try to give when I can... That's why I've delegated my Steem Power to others for free. That's why I contribute to the "push people to 500 SP" project. I want to help others.
I've also started to look for good deals, so I can potentially lease Steem Power. The person I talked to yesterday declined though, as he don't take on new clients at this point. That would've been a good deal... I'm looking for Steem Power to both my personal account and to the 
But Can I Survive On My STEEM-Income?
More importantly, can you survive on it...? - I guess that most of us are in no position to rely on our Steem earnings, and I have no intention of becoming a full time Steemian. I have other goals in life, but I would obviously not complain if I suddenly started to earn a couple of thousands dollars extra per month.
Due to my rather recent articles regarding taxes and all, I figured that I'd also make a rough estimation on the rewards I need to live off of my earnings. I need about $1000-$1200 per month. That covers my rent, food and other bills. With taxes, I'd need about $1300-$1560 per month. This doesn't cover any unforeseen things and I wouldn't have any form of savings account. This would basically be me living from paycheck to paycheck. I know that this is less than in other countries but I'm also aware that it would cover living expenses for months in some other countries.
But if we're going to reward good content, should we ever take into consideration where people live? I mean, I could easily adjust my voting percentage each time I voted for someone with less expenses than others... But that doesn't seem right to me. I don't reward people based on the countries they live in. I don't reward people more or less than others based on the color of their skin. I reward people based on their articles. I reward people what I can, because I feel good about it.
It basically comes down to what I personally feel, believe and want. It's more about me than the author I'm about to reward. The timing of their posts and how I feel when I read it. That's how I reward content. Based on my own feelings.
This person I gave 2 Steem...
If he truly can buy food for the day, I'm perfectly okay with giving him 2 Steem. In fact, I'd love to give everyone 2 steem, if they could buy food for a day. I get a package of milk or a cheeseburger at McDonalds for 2 steem, but I'm not starving to death. I probably don't have enough money to buy food this entire month. I'll probably need to eat something like cup noodles for dinner a few days during this month, but I'm okay with that. I survive, meanwhile others might not.
I'm not rich, but I still give what I can, because it matters. A small donation of 2 steem might not sound like much, but it can be the difference between living and dying for some. I'm not Mother Teresa. I wouldn't give if I was starving... But I'm perfectly okay with eating noodles a couple of days per month.
So, no. I don't survive on my Steem-income... And I wouldn't recommend anyone to do it either. The price fluctuates and the support you have might change from one article to the next. So it's definitely not something I'd ever rely or depend on...
I work part time and I study full time. My Steem-income is what I consider a bonus, and if I can buy myself a new phone, go out on a restaurant or perhaps even go on a vacation at some point due to the rewards on Steemit, I'd consider myself a lucky guy. No matter what others might earn, say or do... Because I am trying to never compare myself or my contributions with others.