Image screenshot from Google

Out of the three general definitions given by Google they are negative in connotation. The 2nd one in the verb could be changed if you take out word forceful. If you only use Obtain by action or persuasion is not that bad. The first one under a noun, busy movement and activity is a good definition of hustle. It is being busy doing action or an activity in persuading people to listen, follow and communicate with you.

Image screenshot from Google

Steemit is a social media platform and being social means connections and communication. Its not an online diary that if you don't get any followers or follow anyone and use super obscure tags that no one would think about it. Although you are in the wrong platform then.

I have been in Steemit platform for about 3 months now. I started like any person who heard about Steemit. Join Steemit, put out good content and earn from it.

The people that I listened to at first made it look so easy. They boast of having a whale behind them that goes around their posts and have them on auto vote. Even if it is a shit post just because they are on the list they get rewarded.

Pretty far from what I think Steemit should be because content should be king. Good content should be the one that is rewarded and voted. Shit post does not have any place here because the internet is already full of it. Steemit is supposed to be better. How the hell do we differentiate Steemit to the rest of the internet if still has the same garbage.

You see these posts; one liners (except if they really used Zapple for short Twitterlike posts) Images that don't pop out or tell a story or even be remotely interesting, fluff articles that don't move you, teach you something or again be remotely interesting. It becomes noise, Steemit noise that just takes up space in the blockchain. You might be thinking that this guy is an asshole. A highly opinionated asshole who thinks too highly of himself because of one success. Well I do acknowledge that I am an asshole but I am an asshole with a purpose. I just cannot abide by seeing people not do their best. Not put in an effort and go on begging for crumbs when they can take the cake. It's so frustrating.

Then I had a light bulb moment.

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Three things happened to me yesterday. Going through my feed I saw two posts that caught my attention. One was The Effects of Asking for Upvotes, Follows and Resteems & How to Get What you Want by @valorforfreedom.

He talks about that annoying habit of some people in Steem that they'll comment in your post and say that they upvoted you, resteemed and follow you so you should do the same. This is a flag for me to just ignore the person because they mostly likely did not read my content and just zipped down and hit comment and leave a line to beg for attention, it might be an automated bot system like so many that I see here because it is the same line again and again on different users, different posts by the same shithead.

If you are going to leave a comment make it relevant or at least say something nice or simply don't comment if you don't want to anything with the post or the one that made it. Begging for upvotes and follows is just pathetic. Have some self respect.

I asked him about a certain question that has been nagging on my head and he gave an honest answer that I knew was right, that my mind already knew but you know being the new kid you didn't really want to ruffle feathers and all. The statement was like blunt force trauma that shook away the cobwebs of doubt in my head. It cleared the way for maverick to fly again.

The second post ✴️ HOW DO YOU BECOME A DOLPHIN ON STEEMIT? IT'S SIMPLE AS YOU THINK! by @charlesfuchs It is a pretty catchy title. So many good posts here fail to hook their readers because it looks generic. There is no hook. Nothing draws there attention. As posts jockey for position and attention if you did not make your article interesting it is not going to get any eyeballs.

He talks about knowing right away what he wanted to be in this platform. He knew if he wanted to get attention the way to do it is to have power. Power comes in the form of Steem Power. The more you have, the more people will purposely look at your post, comment and try to engage in order to catch your attention. It is not enough to have good content. It is not enough that you are going to comment, make relationship and engage people socially here. You gotta have the power to back it.

What do you do? You work for it, you hustle and you invest on it. He made Steem purchases even if it was still high. He didn't care all that mattered was he was stacking his Steem and growing larger and larger each time. He was posting and curating but also putting his money were his mouth is by investing into the platform. He was here for the long haul and by powering up he reached that coveted Dolphin status after a few months. He did with hustle, charm and good ole money. Now he is reaping the rewards. Now people listen to what he has to saw. He is an influencer and shaker. His vote can make anyone's day.

He reminds me of Gary Vaynerchuk I have been listening to him for almost two years now and reading through Charles work they give off the same vibe and energy. That same passion and belief in what they are doing. They are driven to have people listen to what they have to say.

I have inserted this video of Gary talking about hustling and watch it. Watch it and absorb the energy. Hell I had to edit my post thrice to get all the swearing I was writing down as I was listening to him talk. He just energizes you with this energy to do things. To move, to be busy, to HUSTLE

I was pretty naive on my first month here. I wrote articles that placed my heart on my sleeve. I wrote posts that removed the mask that I always wear and no one cared because my vote accounts for absolutely nothing.

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Seeing how Steemit is obsessed with that number next to your name. How it is obsessed in amassing huge stacks of Steem Power and Steem Dollars. I set that as my goal. To get as much as much Steem Power that I could get. I would be consistently writing and connecting and getting as many SBDs and Steem Power rewards as I could.

I reached 45 then my goal was to reach 50 before the end of November and I got some good posts that earned quite a bit and I slammed that out of the yard! Then I crawled through 52. I reached a wall in 53 and it just refused to go up. I didn't have that many good paying post.

Two days before the year and it seemed that I would not move from that number. It is apparent everytime you level up it gets harder and harder to move to the next one. It feels that it becomes 10x harder.

Those two posts shook me from my complacency. It cleared the cobwebs of doubt on my head and gave me a clear cut goal on what I need to achieve this 2018. These guys are so different from one another but what they have in common is their belief in themselves and their hard working, driven energy to reach their goals.

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Just admire those stats for a moment. Aside from the very obvious that they have high reputation what they are are the numbers of posts and comments that they have is double the number of their followers. It goes to show much work and hustle they did to come at this juncture. It shows dedication to their craft and this is why people listen to them. This is why they are the elite.

Most wars you have the untrained, the ill equipped become cannon fodder and chewed up by the machinery of war but it is the soldiers that make an impact. It is the soldiers who become legends.

You want to be the elite. You want to become legends.

So it got me thinking what I wanted to do this 2018. I began to craft THE LIST. During one of the training I facilitated I made people create a Vision Board. It is good when you put down to words your goals because you are removing it from just a theory in your head to an item of reality one you set it down on paper. More so when you attach images, totems and symbols to. It becomes thrice as powerfil when you invoke your power words to it. Words that are your talismans to thwart excuses, weaknesses and fears. It empowers you.

So I started to create my 2018 Vision Board . I placed the things I wanted to ACHIEVE, I placed what I wanted to FEEL, I placed the things I wanted to OWN and I placed the things i wanted to DO

I looked at it and breathed life to it, imbued it with my energy and seared the image in my mind. This would be the first thing that I would see whenever I open my phone to turn off my alarm. This would be the first thing I see when I turn on my home PC and work laptop. This would be the last thing that I look at before I sleep. It will be a constant reminder that I will hustle.

The probation in Steemit is over. It is time to buckle down and get my hands dirty and work it. I didn't want to be the only one that would have this focus so I created a contest for people to do their 2018 Vision Board

It was going to be a journey for me and the Steemit community. I could feel the energy coursing through my body. My mind created it and my body was responding to it. Then it got curated! It just exploded and become trending in the contest. It brought so many looks at my contest and the curation rewards pushed by reputation over the stump I had. I've reached 54!

My elation over this was topped by an increase of over 40 followers in just one day. I had been averaging about a 100 followers a month and this sudden increase made me happy. I was thinking that I should have set that in the requirements that they should follow me to enter the contest but I want organic growth for my followers. They would follow me because they genuinely want to see my posts. To see what I have to say. I'd rather have a few core followers who engage me than a thousand inactive ones.

Then @blocktrades announced it opened delegation and within minutes I was buying my own delegation from him. I got three times the delegation right away and unfortunately my second request has been set in the pre order but I look forward for that order coming through next week and I can taste that powerful Steem Power. We will see how high the value of my vote will become. I will have that power albeit temporary but I will fully make use of it.

Hustle begins now. I am driven and I am looking forward to being serious in reaching my goals. It will be tough, I may stumble along the way but I will hustle.

I have already cut down on gaming time. I have shaved an hour off my sleeping pattern in order to create time for Steemit. I will through myself to it and deal with it like a huge project and not just a relaxing hobby to past time. I will raise my reputation, followers and be here for the long haul. I will continue be active, consistent and create content. I will stack all the SBD I can get and power it up so that when the delegation ends I would still have a semblance of power.

One thing though that I cannot cut down on is reading books. We do not want a dull brain writing about fluff.

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The time is now to HUSTLE