Come On In, the Fear Is Fine!
Every culture has multiple myths and allegories about facing our biggest fears and obstacles. It’s found in religion. In philosophy. Hollywood was essentially built on it.
Yet so many of us still shy away from taking monumental leaps, preferring the safety of the familiar, avoidance of the unknown.
I created my Steemit account last June...despite multiple fears. Some of which have been lifelong demons. Raise your hand if any of these sound familiar:
- What if I fail?
- What if I succeed?
- What if it’s too good to be true?
- How can I create decent content on a regular basis?
- Everyone might discover that I’m a fraud.
- What if nobody ever likes my stuff?
- What if I run out of stories to tell?
- What if it doesn’t work?
Okay, I’m stopping. But trust me, I could go on. And on. And on and on and on.
Can you relate?
But somehow I have managed to soldier through my own bullshit. I’ve posted consistently for over seven months and I’ve learned some valuable stuff. Stuff I actually have to relearn and remind myself of still. Because no mater how much success I have in any arena anywhere in my life, deep down I’m still a precious, insecure artist. And I suspect I always will be.
Who’s with me?
Ready to hear what I’ve learned?
1. Just Do It!
That’s right; Nike can sue me. But I’m jacking their iconic slogan. Because it’s true. Just post. Frequently. Consistently. Even when it feels impossible. Especially when it feels impossible!
2. Get Over Yourself!
Every post doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. And the maddening part is that the ones you are the most attached to, the most proud of, are often overlooked. While a bad photo of a freakin’ cupcake with a bite taken out of it just might do surprisingly well. (As a random example, of course.)
3. Engage
My ivory tower is super comfortable. But it’s also pretty echoey and lonely. The more I reach out, the more others reach back. I’ve made some cool friends here.
4. Be patient
Steemit is a journey, it’s not a destination. If you’re looking to get rich quick, you’ve come to the wrong place. The only people raking in massive bucks are either well established long term creators who’ve built up an audience organically and/or people who’ve pumped a huge monetary investment into their accounts.
5. Do NOT compare yourself to others!
The only true and lasting success in life comes from doing you. Own it. Embrace it. Celebrate it!
So who the FUDGE am I to dole out advice? Nobody really. I’m still relatively new. And pretty low on the Steemit totem pole. But...
My goal was to reach 1,000 SteemPower before attempting to cash anything out. I’d set the goal for the end of 2017.
I didn’t make it.
However, I did hit that goal about a week into 2018. And I celebrated by cashing out all of my SBD for the remainder of the month. And as of today I have cashed out enough actual fiat currency to pay my rent for February. In Southern California!
I still have tons of fears and obstacles to face and overcome. But I’m super thankful that I faced my fear of Steemit. It’s pretty freaking cool to get paid to do me!
As Bogie once more or less said, “Steemit, I think this is the beginnng of a beautiful friendship!”
It's inspiring to read such a success story! Your advice is great and I hope steemit keeps pitching in for your rent! :)
Thanks. Of course I am earning it! Like anything else substantial in life, Steemit takes work. 😊
Certainly! I by no means tried to imply that you haven't earned, of course you are and that's why your advice is valuable! :)
I was bragging a little, not defending 😉 This is still very novel and amazing to me.
That's great! Keep on bragging, hopefully you'll keep growing here and will have even bigger things to brag about in the future! :)
I wish that for all of us 😊
Find this post very interesting and motivating . It’s good to wake up with a lovely post. I had to resteem it on my blog .
Thank you and welcome to Steemit.
Thank you @outrayjust. Eyes on your blog for more inteeesting post.
Waiting for my feed to be clogged with half eaten cupcakes now ;-). On a more serious note; beautiful post and inspiration for me to keep going here on Steemit.
Hahahahaha! I’m just not that much of an influencer, I’m afraid. 😉
@outrayjust i remember this same question took me into a great depression once when i was getting hates on my youtube channel and before starting my steemit account
simultaneously dealing with my life stuffs
It’s always going to be there. IMO it’s more about managing it than trying to get rid of it.
Wow, reading your post I felt as though you were reading into my mind.
I only just joined about 5 days ago and the list of things you wrote I had felt that way and wondered the same thing.
I have met some pretty cool people, one of which resteemed this post of yours, hence how I came across it.
It is really nice to come across honest people and honest posts.
Thank you for sharing your story
Welcome to Steemit, @supersoju. 😊
@outrayjust that is a very good perspective, and something I will keep in mind as I begin my journey on Steemit. The list of questions and fears are so on the pulse and relate to the entire kaleidoscope of life and not just steemit, thank you for sharing. Today is my second day, and I made my first post yesterday. How often should one post do you think? Every day, or is a couple of times a week ok?
Welcome to Steemit, @ablaze. I try to post every day. For me that seems to be the sweet spot.
Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it.
It’s nice to get this reminder every once in a while. 😊
That's the only question I keep asking myself :) Cracking advice, Lisa! What's your Steem goal for 2018?
Really good question, Dan. I don’t yet have a concrete Steemit goal. At least not an annual one. How’s that for a cop-out? 😬
Okay, if I’m honest about what I dare to imagine, I want to be able to pay all of my bills with Steemit and have a little extra to buy myself sumpin’ pretty every once in awhile. Like a new iPad....and some camera equipment.
If you’re truly only asking yourself one self defeating question, you’re way ahead of the game. I expect you to be on top of the world in no time.
That's all I want :) By the way, the market just crashed and I bought some Steem. But if it will continue to crash, I will hate myself for not waiting a bit more.
I hate myself for not being able to buy any at all right now...
I have bookmarked this post just because I need to remind myself everything you said on days I feel like poop.
One thing is for sure, it doesn't matter whether you think your posts are interesting or not you, are stuck with me @outrayjust.
The hardest thing for me to do is to not take it personally when a piece I pour my guts into falls flat. It’s happened often. I’m sure that’s going to continue.
@irreverent-dan asked me what my 2018 Steemit goals are. One probably should be to detach from the results. My work is like my babies. But even babies need room to breathe and grow and must be let go of at some point. Or so I hear. 😉
Great Post. All you have to fear is fear itself.
I am following you.
Please check my thoughts on a crypto currency economy. @weddingdresses
Thanks 😊 Welcome to Steemit. You should know that is considered poor etiquette to market your posts in comments on other people’s posts. Best of luck here!
Thank you. It is always a fine line between walking the high road or taking the high way. By marketing myself I did manage to get a flying start and got to meet some cool people in a very short time span. And to be honest most reactions i got have been very positive.
Sometimes it can be hard to get some perspective for the little man for those in ivory towers .(haha, you see i do read all the posts i am reacting on) Greetings from a fellow Storyteller | Artist | Business Nerd | Dreamer | Chocoholic | Explorer
You can market yourself but there’s an etiquette to it. Many Steemians will flag you if you promote yourself on other people’s posts. Or if you upvote your own comments.
And if that’s happening, you may lose upvotes, reputation points, and the people in the community who you want to reach and who you basically need to network with will not be there for you. In other words, you might build a network in here that’s not really going to support you. So keep that in mind.
IMO, it’s not a fine line at all...it’s the difference between approaching this platform with patience and integrity and trying to game it. It may be the Wild West here in crypto-land but even the Wild West has its own set of guidelines.
Oh and BTW, my ivory tower is a metaphor for my self inflicted preciousness...not my status on Steemit. I really don’t have much of the latter yet. However what I have built here has been organically earned.
I meant no offence and i appreciate your contributions. Just like you i intend to earn my mark here by creating interesting content. Luckily I have received mostly positive messages here, from people who liked my posts.
But i will take your advice to heart and turn it down a nudge. :-)
No offense taken. Honestly. I was only trying to help. You don’t want to start getting flagged. From everything I’ve seen that’s a hell of a rabbit hole.