I honestly don't care for social media at all, infact I had deleted my fb and all other social media years before I stumbled upon steemit. I was convinced that everything that was posted on those sites was all just to impress other people or yourself, it wasn't the true nature of being creative. People cared more about pictures of food then they did about your real thoughts. No one wanted to read an article, maybe a few sentences at best. It was just a huge popularity contest and I saw no point in it at all. Lets not forget the NSA basically uses it to spy on us too. (DETAILS though, right?) LOL
Anyhow... While I was growing marijuana for a living, I would often to listen to the alt media while at work in the mornings. People like @adamkokesh, Gregory Mannarino aka @marketreport, @pressfortruth and many others were constantly talking about cryptocurrencies and steemit(s) unique platform where you got paid cryptocurrency for blogging, well that caught my attention. At the time I was in the "real stock market" but knowing what I know about the state of our economy I had very little trust in the system and wanted to find a new home for my investments. I did a lot of homework on cryptos for the next few months, constantly reading whitepapers and investing in many cryptos that I believed had a great future. I won't bore you with all the details but eventually I found my way on to the steemit platform.
I didn't know what to expect when I first started steemit, to be honest most of us came here because we heard you can get paid to blog, and who wouldn't want to get money for what they had to say!? I know I did! I had always dreamed of writing a book about my time in and lessons from being in war twice, but I knew that I was a terrible writer! lol. I figured I could brush up on my writing skills for a year or two, make some money while blogging and then I write that book. I thought it would be easy (LoL). Little did I know how much time and effort steemit takes. Like many of you reading this, you know steemit isn't for the faint of heart. That is why only 10% of people are active on steemit, the other 90% are quitters! It takes true dedication and lots of time to make real connections before you start to consistently make any real rewards. Most people give up before they realize how amazing steemit really is. Truth is
The fruit of everything good in life starts with a challenge.
-John Maxwell
If steemit was easy, then everyone would do it and no one would think it is great or special. So you see, the fact that steemit is a challenge to start and continue is what makes it so great! It weeds out the weak and rewards the people who never give up! It is truly the way life works.
I have been on steemit for about 6 months now and it sure is something totally different than I thought it was. The reasons I started are completely different from the reasons I now continue. I am sure everyone has heard the saying of steemit, "come for the rewards, stay for the community." Well truer words could not be spoken. After 6 months on steemit I feel like I am now a part of a community. People read and comment on my articles and give me their true opinions and advice on how they feel. Its a nice change of pace from all the fake people I have been dealing with for years. I think it is easier to be honest with people you never met because you don't have to worry about hurting their feelings with the truth. As crazy as that may be, it works out great for steemit.
I often have a hard time making/keeping friends in real life because I am woken and am not afraid to tell people how the world really works. It doesn't bother me at all, I would rather know the truth and preach it then lie to myself and others to make them happy in this little fantasy land they live in. But here on steemit I have met so many like-minded people it blows my mind. So many people understand and accept me for who I am. So many people want to hear the truth instead of wanting to run from it and that is a beautiful thing in a very ugly world.
To be honest, I have made the some really great friends here and I never thought that would be the case. I talk to many of those friends daily now. I have even exchanged phone numbers with people to have even better conversations with them and it has been great. I honestly consider many of them as my closest friends, even though we have never met in "real" life. So I guess the saying was right... I came to steemit for the money, but I stayed for the community! Because that is the real reward. Friendship with like minded people. ;) And that is why I love steemit!
