Your Values might be what's holding you back from Success on Steemit

If you are upset by the success of others, you might want to just quit right now.

This post was inspired by the book "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson. Very good advice in there! So, check it out. But be careful about writing a review of it here on steemit. I know of one case where there was an action taken unfairly against a review.

I see a lot of people who get angry because their posts aren't earning as much as other people. The rub, is when they view that content which is getting paid big,

"Gasp! That post is not worth what it's valued at. Oh no! and here I am working for 3 hours on a post, and it only made .30 ? This is unfair" @somerandomsteemian

First of all, if you really want to earn a living from this platform. You have to begin to think like a professional.

Secondly, why would you care that some people are successful here? Even if you don't value their contribution.Someone obviously does. There are many reasons people achieve success here. Sometimes, it's because they are abusing privilege, but it doesn't really matter to me.

Every post I publish, I do my best to make it look nice, legible, and helpful. Do I cry that some of my very first articles I spent 12 hours on and they made under a dollar? Not at all. Because that content will continue to provide value to myself and others "forever". I can even re-write them later to look nicer, and with additional information. I could publish them off site, if they are any good.

If you value creating good content, then it doesn't matter how much you get paid for any individual post.

The problem is, I believe, that many people value the trappings of success, but not the process of building success. There is a lot more to steemit than just publishing blogs. It's a community.

It's a community with a great variety of things which need to be done to make it better for the next generation of Steemizens. If you give value to the community, and participate with it in some of the variety of ways which we commune, the community will give value back to you.

(Image by @juliakponsford)

How can we give value to this community?

• Write informative articles.
• Create useful applications that benefit the community.
• Leave thoughtful comments on other peoples blogs
• Participate in the Minnow Support Project and the Minnows Accelerator Project
  NOTE: both of these helpful and growing communities require you to use the Discord Chat Application. It's the best chat application ever. Using it isn't required for steemit, but don't be complaining about your lack of results if you don't use it. This is how most people communicate, here.
• Find images for your blog within the steemiverse (with communication, proper credit, and a tip) instead of getting your images off site. (increased exposure for both parties)
• Link to related content by other users in your blog, and in the comments of other peoples posts.
• Investigate and expose clear cut cases of abuse, as well as supporting those who do the same. For example here are blogs about PaulaG and SherlockHolmes both of whom do amazing work analyzing the blockchain, and helping to expose abuse (well, Paula tends to stick with the raw data, where Sherlock is more hard hitting exposing abuse style.)
• DON'T COMPLAIN!. Or at least if you want to complain, you can be part of the solution.

I'm going to end my bulleted list there, so I can talk about complaining a bit. This is one of the worst things you can do for your reputation here. If you are the type of person who complains about other peoples success and your lack of success, this is the best way to insure your failure. Seeing someone who complains in every blog is actually the only way I ever muted someone, after a few attempts to encourage them.

This doesn't mean we can't do something about whatever it is we don't like. Also, it's good to have a friend or two we can chat with privately so we can complain without spewing negativity all over this community. Yes, let it out, and then move on to "What I can I actually do about these problems?" Sometimes what it means is that you need to just keep working and grow your account, because there are many issues we can't deal with when we are just baby fish. I don't go around flagging stuff that I don't like, because I could easily be ended by a flag war. No need. I support those working to make this a better place, and often they support me in return. Better not expect the return favor though.... this will only make you angry again.

^{(Design by @juliakponsford via: Steemit Mermaid Logo)}

Values

• I value creating Quality Content.
• I value the Arts.
• I value all of my new friends here.
• I value all of the people who are contributing an untold amount of time and resources to help build this community.
• I value Gratitude, Kindness, Care, Servitude, Benevolence, and Generosity.

These values determine where I focus the bulk of my time and energy.

I spend my time digging into that stuff. And you know what? It's paid off. A lot quicker than I expected.

There are plenty of actionable Tips and Tricks in the resource list below to help you along your way.

However, before I sign off for now, let me add a couple of the "secrets" to why I have succeeded here. If you apply the knowledge contained in these secrets, and the posts below, you are sure to see improvements in your experience here.

1. When I find people that excel at what they do, especially if I think they deserve more attention for their efforts, I will write an article about how awesome they are. I use hackmd.io (a collaborative markdown editor) to make sure that they approve of what I write. I'm trying to make them look good for new users to learn about what they do, so it helps if I get the details right.
2. When I'm trying to find information that simply isn't easily found on the blockchain, I write about it. Even if it doesn't make a dime, at least in the future people will be able to find the information by search and not have to go off-site for it.
3. Focus on the Positive.
4. Be Helpful.

Those are the "secrets" to any success I've found here.

[UPDATE]
Since I first wrote this post I heard @sircork's Monday Night Minnow School (mspwaves.com) where he talked about perseverance. This topic deserves a post of it's own. If there is something here that's of value to you, it better earn some perseverance from all of us. Lets see this through!

_{Proud member and supporter of the Minnow Support Project - Brought to you by:}

See Welcome to #Art-Services for more details

Unless otherwise noted all of the content created by @inquiringtimes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Additionally, while not required, I am easily contacted if you wish to use these materials for more than a simple quote or link. We can work together.

Have fun, and Steem On!

Resources

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• How to Damage Your Reputation Using the DMCA - A Lesson From Mark Manson
• Of Course! You don't need Social Skills to Succeed Steemit
• Steemian of the Month. Witness Reggaemuffin
• Comments. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
• @juliakponsford - Minnow Support Project Membership Tutorial
• Minnows Accelerator Project, Collaborative Contest
• How to Actually Succeed as a Steemit Blogger
• Support those working to expose abuse and save the rewards pool, Part 1 with @PaulaG
• Support those working to expose abuse and save the rewards pool, Part 2 with @SherlockHolmes
• Steemit Core-Value Kindness is as important as Greatness
• hackmd.io
• Welcome to #Art-Services
• @juliakponsford - Steemit Mermaid Logo

Follow Up Post How re-assesing my values helped me to overcome my anxiety