It has been nearly a year since I joined the community on Steemit. I look around and see how so many things have changed – and how much stays the same as well. But the number one rule for success here still hasn’t changed. It is so true that even I, who never wrote much of anything before, have achieved some small bit of success here.

Do you know what you need to do if you want to become a Steemit success story?

NEVER GIVE UP!

Be committed to your success.

Simple, right?

It is if you have an internal locus of control. That means that YOU make things happen in your life. (Compared to the external locus of life happens to you. A ‘victim mentality’.)

How many ambitious people have signed up for Steemit thinking that they are going to strike it rich in this crypto gold rush, make a few posts, earn little, and just give up and disappear?

Thousands would be my guess. They had dreams and ambitions, but they lacked commitment.

They gave up. Steemit didn’t give them the recognition they deserved. This person or that person made too much for their post. They were too late to join Steemit and now no one can make any money here. It is just a circle-jerk of friends upvoting friends. At least that is how they were thinking. Everything was wrong, except them. A victim mentality.
Sound familiar?

Like so many people in this world, they wanted luck to find them. They lacked the desire to improve their posts. Once it looked like some work was required, they up and left.

It is easy to see those who get huge rewards on their posts and begrudge their success.

But that’s how success works!

Successful Steemians are successful because they work hard at it. They have bettered themselves and learned how to create more impressive articles. They have relationships with other Steemians because they put time and effort into building those relationships.

If you are committed to becoming a top contributor you will do what it takes to attain that goal. Unlike those people that quit so easily, you seek out the skills to improve yourself.

You will start to build your reputation. You will learn to create better content. You will connect with others and make relationships. And you might fail.

But in failing you will learn what doesn’t work and keep on creating quality content.

You will find those that welcome new Steemit users into the fold. You will create the highest quality content. Those type of posts that improve people’s lives, solve problems, and get noticed by others who will resteem your work not for your sake, but for theirs! Your articles will make them look good because of how great your content is.

And you will change and become a better person for it.

You see, you are always changing and Steemit is always changing. I can think of no better quote than that of the stoic philosopher Heraclitus.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”

Our brains are constantly changing, assimilating new information. As you learn new things your brain creates new pathways, literally reshaping the synaptic connections. When you alter any part of a thing, you change the whole. A year from now your brain will be different than the one that resides inside your skull today. Especially if you stay committed to becoming a success on Steemit.

Guess what? Just by being on Steemit you are changing the platform.

Because Steemit is the sum of its users. If those users are committed to succeeding by creating quality things, Steemit becomes a better place.

You are evolving just as this site is. Because you wanted to be better.

Unlike those that dreamed of having more but gave up because it was too hard or didn’t come fast enough, you have evolved into your niche here.

You will do more than you ever thought possible at the start.

A year later, I know I have.

All because I never gave up.

---

EPILOGUE

I just want to take a moment to show any new Steemians a few of the people that started from nowhere and have carved out a successful niche. Some more quickly than others. Heck, only one of my posts has earned more than $100 so you could say I am still searching myself.

They write and post about all sorts of subjects. Things that they find interesting and are passionate about. If you are new and don't know what to do, it never hurts to find those that have done what you want to do and emulate them.

Here is a list off the top of my head (no offense to any excluded). Some of them know me well while others probably don't remember me at all.

What they do have in common is that they never quit. They never stopped, even if their posts made just a few pennies. They were and are committed to becoming better people by way of Steemit.

Don't believe it is possible? Since this is the blockchain everything is on record. You can scroll back to their very first post. Most earned very little for a long time. Except for @beanz. She scored the Steemit jackpot on her very first post. Lucky. :D

@ezzy – Great guy, writes the best stories here. Won the Steemit award to prove it. He knows that I am a firm believer in never giving up.
@sykochica – The helper of all.
@thecryptofiend – Seriously? He is everywhere. Like the neighborhood guy everyone knows.
@ace108 – Photos and a story of where he went.
@ats-david – The detective you want on the case to sniff out Steemit corruption.
@mgibson – One of the first I selected to mentor a little bit.
@apolymask – I told him about Steemit. He became addicted. :D
@beanz – Social as ever.
@herpetologyguy – Started writing about snakes and stuff when that wasn't a thing here.
@justtryme90 – Science lover. Co-created SteemSTEM to showcase that content.
@moon32walker – Game on!
@sirlunchthehost – A firm believer in Steemit if I ever saw one.
@shieha – Definitely never gives up playing nearly impossible old school video games, right?
@mweich @sulev @boddhisattva – A photo a day keeps them happy.
@merej99 – Gets the community active.
@karenb54 – Never stopped blogging, even when she felt like she was getting no traction.
@scaredycatguide – Let's talk about money and stuff.
@jenkinrocket - Doesn't let low payments stop his posting!
@shadowspub – Always ramblin'