I am a numbers guy by profession, an Accountant. I am now retired and enjoying it. I especially love the Hive Blockchain and the community I have found here.

Six Months on Hive Blockchain

Today marks my 6 Month Anniversary of joining as a member on the Hive Blockchain. For me this is a huge milestone as I never partook of the other mainstream social media apps/programs like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

To write and blog is something I would have never thought possible for me to do but look at me, I have now been doing it for six months. This will also be my 400 post on the blockchain.

Insights from the Last Six Months

The last six months have been a great learning opportunity for me. I have engaged with some great people which have shared about their journey and experiences. I have been learning from each and everyone that I have encountered. Here are some of the things that I have learned during this time period.

Don't Be Afraid to Try Something New

Like I said before, I am a numbers guy so would have never guessed that I could participate in something like blogging. The CTP community has supported me a long the way and provided a lot of support. They encourage their members to start creating content even if they have never done it before. Because the only way to improve is to practice over and over again.

So do not wait, don't be afraid to try something new. Just jump write in and get started.

Don't Give UP

There will be times when you feel that you are failing and lack the motivation to continue. Just remember, you will have ups and downs. This is life. If it was all the same, it would be very boring and you would not learn anything.

For instance about my second month, I created a post that took me about three hours to create. Remember I was just getting started and not comfortable at all with writing. I was very proud of the work that I put in to the post and knew everyone on Hive would love it as well or so I thought.

As the time pasted, I kept checking the post to see how it was doing. I was hoping for lots of readers and upvotes. Hours pasts and no upvotes. Did I do something wrong in posting the article? I looked back at how I had posted my prior ones. Nope, I did it the same way as those others. Three days past and still no upvotes, downvotes or comments. What could possibly be wrong with the post that I had worked on for hours?

It was very discouraging and demotivating to not have one person engage on a post. I was very proud of that content I created. I wanted to just quit since I was having a bad experience here and no one liked my stuff.

But then I looked back on my past experience. Just because someone else does not like it does not mean it is not good. Maybe they did not see it, maybe they had other things to focus on. Writing is very subjective. It is not like numbers where one plus one equals two. Just because you work for hours does not mean it has value to others.

Or maybe it was posted at the same time as 100's of other posting and got lost in the mix. When you are just starting, no one knows you yet. Why should they engage on your stuff when there are lots of others out there that they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.

It takes time to create relationships. You should take the time to get to know people and let them get to know you. But how do you do that, you may ask?

The Three C's plus Consistency

Once you get started, you need to show up every day and follow the three C's.

• Create posts
• Comment on posts
• Curate others posts

This will help people to get to know you and that you are not just doing a drive by. By creating content, you are providing everyone a window so that they can get to know you. Once they get to KNOW you, some will start to LIKE you and then TRUST that you are not going away. All of this takes time.

Plus, you will need to Create, Comment and Curate on a consistent basis. If you are not engaging on a consistent basis, it will be very hard to foster a relationship with others.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions

When you are new, do not be shy. Starting asking questions about everything. That is the only way you will learn how everything works here on the Hive Platform. This is also another way to get to know people. It will also help you get better at what you are doing.

There are so many people here in the various communities that have been here for a while and have experienced it or actually created the programing. Most would love to share their knowledge with you but the only way for that to happen is if you "Ask Them Questions or For Advice"

Create Goals

I found creating goals very helpful. They provide you a motivation to continue and something to strive for. On the blockchain, there is no finish line only milestones that you create for yourself. What do you want to accomplish? Am I improving?

If you do not create goals for yourself and measure your progress, you will never know if you are moving the dial. Like the old saying goes "If you don't have a target, you will never know if you are shooting in the right direction"

You Be You

I believe I have made a lot of progress in the six months that I have been a member of the Hive community. I look forward to see what the future holds.

The last thing I would like to level with you is, Don't Try to be like everyone else, U-B-U

Six Month of Progress

Over the past six months using the above process, I am now ranked 9,881 on Hive Buzz with 398 official posts. I posted my Actifit post this morning so this post should be my 400th post.

If I continue, doing what I am doing, I wonder where I will be at One Year?

EVER FORWARD!!!