My Six Month Anniversary Of Jumping Into the Blockchain Pool
Steemit makes me happier than a dog in a dandelion patch!
My bio says that I am a part time librarian, and that is accurate, but what that tidbit of personal revelation doesn't relate is my sheer joy and love for reading and observation. I'm one of those people that reads the back of the bleach bottle, the little informational binder in hotel rooms, and to be honest, pretty much any print surrounding me at all times. The printed word part of my observational brain is always in overdrive and has been since I began to read as a wee thing.
A picture of me in my native habitat
However, I tend to be more of an observer and not much of a doer or risk taker. Sure, I knew what Bitcoin was from shortly after its inception, for I had read about it. Did I buy any? Nope. It was enough for me to know about cryptocurrencies and their great and future importance to human kind. My friend and coworker @jacobtothe told me about Steemit last August, and sure enough, I went home and checked out the site, read the whitepaper, absorbed the information, but did I jump in? Nope.
Today I read a bit of wisdom that applies to this concept:
You can't experience new lands from the confines of your comfort zone.
Jen Sincero
For the last couple years I have been taking baby steps and sometimes all out leaps out of my comfort zone. Most of my life has been spent listening to people's stories or imagining (but not sharing) my own. It's easier for me to be an observer rather than to take a risk and create my own narrative. Six months ago I signed up for a Steemit account and just dove into the rewards pool. I knew absolutely nothing about blogging, Markdown, how to transfer anything to a cryptocurrency exchange, and most of all if people would even like what I wrote. I was living in fear of failure, looking like a know-nothing fool, and under the plague-spell of self doubt.
Don't be afraid to face your fears! (No matter what they may be😜)
So here's my bit of unsolicited advice to any newbie who is struggling to find an audience, build a following, and wanting to quit due to whatever reason:
DON'T!
Keep writing and posting, comment thoughtful and relevant comments on posts, don't spam, whine, or be a petulant hooktender because your Steemit experience isn't an instant superstar venture. If you put the work in, growth will come. Trust me, I know what it is like to work a few hours on an awesome post and only earn a nickel. That nickel is precious to me because it meant that someone liked what I created, and it fueled me to keep on Steeming on.
This climb is as my bro would say, "pieces of cake!"
I'm going to keep wandering in this new land, letting the discomfort of my fear of possible humilation or mistake-making drive me to keep on creating. The gratitude! It flows!!
And as always, all of the images in this post were taken on my dandelion pollen covered iPhone.