When I write, the inspiration comes from somewhere as - no idea is original - there is always an inspirational spark of some kind. For me, just about anything can be a catalyst for thought (as it can for anyone) and I have learned to use the smallest details or most mundane of conversations to flesh-out into much more complex or meaningful content. It is not in my writing alone though, I do the same in conversation and as a result, a conversation icebreaker can lead into a discussion that traverses up and down many mountain ranges as it twists and winds in and out of topics. Many people hate this, some love it.

On Steem, there is a massive amount of potential inspiration if people are willing to think a little which means a topic can spider out into all kinds of places as the inspired add their own flavor and views to continue the conversation, to take it in new directions, or reinforce the mental tract. Over the last few weeks there has been a bit of talk about influencers on Steem and just who they might be and I think there are different types of influencer, those that people follow as leaders and, those who inspire thoughts and development.

When I think about what influences my own behavior, it is not a task list of things to do, it is not being told I should unless the person providing the list has already given compelling reasons why I should. This means for me, I have to have a relationship with the source that provides credibility, and that isn't developed quickly. It is built. I use this approach in my writing as while it might be much faster to give a list of things to do, rarely will it actually result in any action. the internet is full of lists that no one ever completes - even if they would help them achieve their goals.

10 steps to potential Steem success

• Work hard
• Be good at what you do
• Build strong relationships
• Have integrity
• Engage well
• Buy what you can
• Power up
• Support others
• Have patience
• Develop grit

Go.

 
Are you influenced? No? I am not much of an influencer then am I?

Well that is not true, because even though that list isn't very influential for many people, those who read me regularly probably understand the complexity and depth that lays behind those bullet points and for many over the last two years, they have been part of the conversations and followed some of the advice *that I never gave. While I might have presented various points of view and topics, the conversation is a process of individual convincing and buy-in - I didn't sell, some still bought. This is influence.

Is this manipulative? Yes - all influence is manipulative by definition, but it is up to the buyer to decide what is right for them. Do I have an ulterior motive? Yes. I want your life to improve, just as I want my life to. Who you are influenced by is going to have dramatic effects on the possibilities of your life and, we are all subject to influences of various kinds - otherwise advertising wouldn't work.

While some will read my content, consider me crazy and choose not to be influenced - the same person may choose to read the content of another who is negative on Steem and chose to follow that path. Nothing wrong with that at all, we all make our own decisions. In my personal opinion and since I am not where I want to be in the future, I would rather be influenced by people who will help me get there instead of those who will convince me to stay exactly where I am.

With the unseen ceiling of Steem, if it does happen to work out well, quite a few of my regular followers are going to be very happy with their influenced choices over the space of years as most likely, they will far outpace their opportunity costs of staying the same. If it doesn't work out, they can curse and blame me or themselves for being influenced but, they aren't likely to have lost anywhere near the potential there is to gain.

This is the freedom of choice we have or give up, the decisions to be influenced or not by those we surround ourselves with and while I am far from living in an echo chamber, I am not going to surround myself with negative people who are living in their own confirmation biased chambers, only focusing on what makes them feel correct - even if there is more information out there.

What would be an interesting metric on Steem is to see what kind of content gets spread and, what kinds of people consume the various types of content. Are the ones doing the best on Steem spending their time consuming the echos of the negative and those struggling, where are they spending their time?

My wife and I have no advertising junk mail come to our home because the tendency to see 'must haves' that weren't a must to have a moment ago can be a compelling influencer to buy. Advertising hacks the brain and emotions to feel that whatever is being advertised is needed. People spend a lot on consumption of what is unnecessary and then wonder why they are struggling to make ends meet while others thrive. The consumer world is manipulative and even though everyone knows it, they keep buying and blaming.

There are the sayings like, Birds of a Feather flock together, and they are quite true as people group based on the confirmation biases they choose to perpetuate. Our experience of our universe is our own and who we choose to use as sources of information and inspiration are going to effect the pathways we take. One of the things I enjoy about the blockchain industry and Steem is that there is more chance for me to take responsibility for my own position - I can opt-in or opt-out whenever I choose and no one is forcing me to stay or go. My Steem path is mine.

While I talk about m journey and how I see the ecosystem, it is not my intention to influence people one way or the other to blindly follow, even though I want people to improve their lives. It is up to them to consider my words and use them to develop their own path whether in favor of my direction or in another altogether. This is again, one of the beauties of a decentralized system where anyone with the abilities and will can create an experience that suits their position. And, all could be successful if they are true to themselves.

If you believe that you can't be successful on Steem so don't follow some of those 10 steps above - you are likely to be successfully unsuccessful. You are developing a self-fulfilling prophecy and a situation that will feed your confirmation bias, even while at the same time there are others here proving you wrong. Oh - but they "cheated" somehow, didn't they?

This is what I love about Steem - it represents all kinds of real-world experiences and you can see how people behave and replicate the same patterns that have held them in their status quo for perhaps their entire lives. While people change what they do and their results, people themselves don't tend to change much unless they are actively changing or, heavily influenced. Changed much in your life? What changed you?

The answer should be, YOU, shouldn't it? Or are you blaming others for your misfortunes? Do you also credit others with your successes? Most claim them for themselves.

As I see it, Steem is developing a growing changing mindset that is breaking away from centralized governance and helping people take responsibility for their thoughts, words and actions. Many here carry the nonsense from their lives in also at the moment but a few like that will slowly change to become independent thinkers willing to collaborate with other independent thinkers to produce solutions that they cannot create alone.

It is okay if not everyone wants to think this way, it is okay if people want to disagree, it is okay for me or for them to fail. That is life. but, not everyone will fail and the more decentralized it gets, the more chance for success arrives as people distribute their experiences in a more sensitive and localized way to take advantage of the skills and opportunities they do have.

If we remove the Steem related points we get:

• Work hard
• Be good at what you do
• Build strong relationships
• Have integrity
• Engage well
• Support others
• Have patience
• Develop grit

Tell me, is that a bad way to live your life, do you disagree with any of those points?
Steem is not the issue at hand. You are. You are your own responsibility.

Your decisions are yours.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]