I know...
I wrote an article about 26 hours ago or something like that where I told you that it would most likely be my last article this year. - It wasn't something I just said... I really meant it, but I couldn't resist the power from the wonderful, almost glowing "post" button.
There Is Something Really Special About It...
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Even though I can't state the exact reason for me to feel this way, I've felt it ever since I joined Steemit in July 2016. Sharing and caring. To help, support and aid others. To share. - I don't know what I love the most about Steemit.
To learn or to teach. - I think I love everything equally much.
Like I've said many times before, I truly love Steemit and I am grateful for all the support and for the opportunity I have been given.
Even though I am nothing but a measly minnow or perhaps even seaweed. I still feel obligated to educate when and where I can. - I want to help and support others, just like I've been given much support myself and still gets wonderful support to this day.
Be A Good Leader.
I truly believe that I am a good leader. And I'll share something I wrote in a previous article.
"My readers are without a doubt my most valuable asset.
They deserve my utmost respect. Without them I would be nothing."
I also wrote this:
I work hard to interact and communicate with my readers. I try to respond to each of the comments I get on my articles. I also recommend other authors to do the same.
See this article for more information:
Make Steemit An Even Better Place: Interact With Your Audience.
I do this due to my beliefs of growing as a community. My readers spend time writing comments on my articles and the least I can do is to respond or upvote. - If I ignore or neglect those around me, I will be treated the same way.
My reply would be seen as a token of appreciation. A way of saying "thank you" for the support and their time. An upvote, no matter the value, would also be seen the same way.
A good leader should do these things. This is also why I respond to each message I get on steem.chat or on Discord. - I try to see the bigger picture.
"Leadership is not managing people. No one wakes up and wants to be managed. We want to be lead by good leaders."
However, some might believe that someone with only a few hundred Steem Power aren't the right person to listen to, or that you cannot learn anything from such a person. - People tend to believe and rely on the authors with the highest payouts, often our whales and beloved dolphins.
- Leaders must be trustworthy.
And I cannot argue against facts. These people definitely know what they're doing. They're truly talented, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to build their followings and get the amount of support they have.
With all that being said...
I'll now give you the chance to read me like an open book.
I am a proud owner of less than 1000 SP in total, I have been delegated an awesome amount of SP from @fulltimegeek and I have just managed to reach a total amount of 1800+ followers.
A quick note regarding my delegation from FTG:
I got an awesome comment from one of my favorite Steemians, @teamsteem, when I announced this delegation.
- That comment made my day!
Anyhow, I have also been delegating SP to minnowsupport for a long period of time, even though I only delegate a small amount. On top of that, I've also started to delegate some SP to @randowhale.
I honestly believe that the delegation to minnowsupport speaks for itself, so I won't talk about that. However, the @randowhale delegation might look a bit weird at first glance, when it's coming from someone like me so I'll try to explain my reasoning for this delegation.
But before I do that, I'll say a few words about my current Steem Power.
Due to life and that I've had some difficulties in pure financial aspects during a rather long period of time this year, I've felt that I had no other choices than to power down. - My SP has literally been my saviour at times, and even though I dislike the fact that I've powered down, I need to stay positive. It's utterly important to keep my head up high and to work towards a better future.
The minute I received the delegation from @fulltimegeek, and due to the spike in SBD, I stopped my power down.
The amount of SP I have is not much to brag about... But that alone would keep me afloat for basically 2 months, if it stayed at the current value... So it's definitely something I consider some sort of "lifeline", even though I truly dislike the thought of any future power downs.
That being said though, I recently delegated some SP to @randowhale and I did that due to the fact that I want to grow. I strive to become more powerful.
And while this delegation only generates about 0.200 SBD in 24 hours, it's definitely not some "get rich quick" type of deal... But the idea behind this delegation is to use the earnings to invest in Steem Power.
- Every little bit helps.
So that's the reason for my delegation to @randowhale. To invest in Steem Power and to get a little bit stronger each day.
How About My STEEMIT New Year's Resolution Then?
First of all, I truly believe that I am doing the best I can with my newly found SP. With more than 1800 upvotes to 613 different authors this week I personally believe that I'm having pretty good numbers... - But I'm aiming for even more in 2018.
I also aim to Power Up and invest in Steem Power so I can at least double the amount of SP I have today by March.
If SBDs and Steem stays at similar values like now, I'll aim to reach 3000 SP before May 2018.
Listen...
I do understand that some people would see these goals as low, and I guess that most people would probably set higher goals than this... - But I won't.
The reason for me to not set higher goals than this, is due to the fact that I usually have a hard time with defeats. If and when I cannot achieve the goals I have, I usually end up with loads of anxiety which often leads to depression... And that wouldn't be good for any of us.
However, if and when I see that I'm about to reach my goals, I'll obviously increase the goals I have and aim towards new numbers but I'll start with these milestones.
- One step at a time.
So my New Year's resolution is basically to continue to do exactly what I've been doing lately... Power up & invest in Steem Power... Curate more, help, teach, educate and support others around me.
What About You?
Wow. Such an amazing article. Honestly, really good. I have to break it down into a few points.
"My reply would be seen as a token of appreciation."
It's amazing that you say that, because honestly I just unfollowed a semi-major account today who I noticed NEVER responds to his followers. I think I saw 1 response out of 3-4 articles that I looked at. I understand that it's difficult to respond to everyone, and I'm not asking that, but when you are making HUNDREDS of $$$ on each post you make, you need to share the love with the people who are helping you reach those milestones. This really hit home for me, amazing.
"It's utterly important to keep my head up high and to work towards a better future"
You nailed it again. Positivity begets positivity. Every decision you make in this moment is creating a future decision. What a lot of people don't realize is that our present shapes EVERYTHING. The very act of you consciously making a decision to be optimistic and positive will make it THAT MUCH EASIER to be optimistic and positive next time hardship happens. Beautiful man, just beautiful.
"If and when I cannot achieve the goals I have, I usually end up with loads of anxiety which often leads to depression"
I love the fact that are so aware of your own psyche. Many people have not given their own thoughts much actual thought. You have obviously had some serious time to think and examine yourself, it shows. This really touched me because I use to be there as well. I use to beat myself up over failures, and constantly set the bar so low for myself. While this has advantages, I just want to encourage you to think about ways you can TRY to think about it differently. I won't try to presume to know you better than yourself, but much like the last paragraph; Positivity begets positivity. If that is true, then just the act of TRYING to see failure from another angle will help you look at failure differently in the future.
I TRY to see failure as a beautiful thing. It's a new beginning. A door closes, another opens. All the tired cliches that come to mind, they are cliche for a reason.
Anyway, loved your post and it obviously elicited an emotional response in me. LOVE LOVE LOVE your articles. Keep doing you.
Wow... That was awesome!
Thank you very, very much for such an amazing and wonderful comment.
I know exactly what you're talking about and I honestly think that's terrible behaviour and definitely not an approach a well-rewarded author should have. Not anywhere but definitely not on Steemit where it's easy to earn money as long as you have support compared to other sites, or if you had your own blog.
The readers, followers and supporters are the most important factor on Steemit. So I can't see any reason to not show them appreciation. Even though I obviously can understand that you might not be able to upvote and/or respond to everyone at all times. - But that shouldn't stop you from trying!
That is true. I've been suffering from anxiety, panic attacks and depression since my father passed away in late 2012... Well, in fact since late 2013, as it didn't showed itself until approximately 1 year later because I was desperately trying to suppress all of it for about a year before I collapsed.
Since then, I'm struggling on a daily basis. Some days are obviously better than others and one cannot do anything besides continue to try... And that's what I've been doing.
That is so accurate so you should be rewarded for that sentence alone!
Thank you once again. I truly appreciate your comment!
I believe 2018 will be a powerful year for the platform. Keep doing what you're doing because you're doing great! Happy New Year
Thank you very much, I appreciate it! :)
And yeah, 2018 will be insane for all of us. Keep up the good work & let 2018 be the best year ever! :)
You are quite welcome & thank you =)
incredible post. just keep it going and sooner or later these goals that you've set will be achieved without you knowing it. may you have a fruitful and a prosperous new year to come.
Thank you very much! Happy New Year! :)
Congrats on the delegated SP.
I'm hoping to 200x my SP this next year and go from 500 to 100,000.
If I can make 100,000 SP by the end of the year next year, it could mean the first step for me becoming a full-time Steemian.
I wish you the best of luck with your goal.. But I have to say that it seems incredibly high. Far from impossible, but still a very high goal.
Hopefully you'll achieve your dreams. Happy New Year! :)
Well I should at least 2x pretty easy as I've only been on Steemit for 6 months, but agreed it seems highly unlikely, but if I set my goal and set up mini goals to reach this achievement as you said not impossible!
I love that as a leader you recognise that you need to be trustworthy and the value of your followers. So happy about that. Wishing you a fruitful year full of bigger and better opportunities. Cheers!
Thank you, and yeah. I definitely believe that you must lead by example and it's basically impossible to do something like that if you're not a trustworthy leader.
I looked you up because you upvoted my comeback post. I wanted to return the favor. However, reading through this, I want to say thank you. Not only for the upvote but for being an awesome steemian. There are a good number of authors who aren't interactive. Of course, if one is inundated with comments, it'll be difficult to reply. But it'll be nice if they interacted with a few. Afterall, without the followers, there will only be cricket sounds. I think it's touching that you value your followers and show them that you do. It can get discouraging when you spend your time writing a reply after reading a post and not even get a comment back. And I don't mean a spam reply btw (those deserve to be ignored tbh)... Moving on! It's your SP. Delegating to slowly grow stronger is strategic and in the end, benefits more steemians with how you are as a person. I'm sorry to hear about your anxiety. I think you're doing great with the pace you set and all. A goal being high or low is subjective anyway. What may be low for one may be high for another. Good luck reaching your goal :) Happy New Year!
Thank you very much for the encouraging words, I appreciate it! :)
I definitely believe that my followers are my greatest asset... And I think that all authors should try to respond and interact, or at least show some appreciation towards their followers. A low percentage upvote is better than nothing, even if the value of the upvote is zero, it still acts as a symbol of appreciation. - And I will definitely continue to focus on my own blog and my followers/readers further on too. Thank you for a great comment!
aww reading why you love steemit gives me the warm fuzzy feels about Steemit, because I feel the same way! Always good to set attainable goals and set them higher as you get there :) happy year's end! I can't believe it's almost over.. that just flew by!
Yeah! I remember New Year's Eve 2016 like yesterday...
LOL minions!!
I have to first commend the effort and thought you put into this write up.
Secondly I have to commend you on supporting the minnows. It's because of guys like you that I continue to support and promote this platform.
Keep up the good job
Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it. I wish I could do more, and I'm working towards such goals. To make an impact and to make Steemit an even better place for all of us.
And I won't give up! :)
Haha steemit is awesome, freedom brings out the best in people. So why is the majority of the U.S. so messed up? This is such a freaking good article from so many angles I am copy and pasting into word! And again steemit is so amazing If I was Dan and Ned my EGO would EXPLODE into FAKE SPACE!
Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it! :)
2018 bring happiness to all of us.
It will be more beautiful with steemit
Good article... I enjoyed very much the reading... Happy New Year! May this year bring you a lot of gladness and joy. May all your dreams become true...
Thank you!
I hope this year will be awesome for you too!
Good morning interesting its publication, that nice words of encouragement to keep going, I just had SP that had delegate, I felt very sad about that, I talked to my wife and she told me SiGUE FORWARD LOVE
and here I am to igyal that you trying to keep me, yesterday I publicized something very good that talks about that is in my blog and takes the name BEING BRAVE AND OVERCOMING OUR FEARS - WE ARE MADE FOR GREAT THINGS, there I speak of the effort we have to do to get the things, the strategies that we have to implement to achieve our goals, if you like and without any commitment can go to my blog and read it, it would be an honor for me, that someone like you did, because with everything I finish to read in this post, you can see that he is a humble person, with that sense of sensitivity and sensibility for his neighbor. God bless you and your family. Happy New Year
Happy new year. May 2018 be the best year ever! :)
Looking too get more involved on Steemit this year. Most importantly aiming to post more
Sounds like a good plan. Steemit is awesome!