New Frontiers...

There is a big difference between getting your feet wet and jumping right in. I have always prided myself as being a cannonball kind of guy. Why not? Gonna get wet anyway, why not make a big splash?

A few days ago, I joined the Steemit community thanks to my roommate. I had never heard of Steemit. "It's a new social media platform." That's all I heard and that is basically all I was told. Wonderful, a new place for me to post cute pics and words of wisdom. I was not and am not a blogger. I mean, not in the traditional sense. Ok, let's be honest. I am not a blogger. I am somewhat educated. I can write and type thanks to spellcheck. I can kinda make my way around a computer but I can't write code. I have been in sales almost my entire adult life in one fashion or another. Either as a salesperson or in the case of the last 16 years, a sales manager. So, I am very confident in my abilities with those skill sets.

As usual with anything new, I have an insatiable appetite to understand and succeed thanks to what some might consider being obsessive compulsive. I want to know everything. Right now. And here is where the rub comes. That is an impossible task. Yup. This is a community. Like any community it is comprised of individuals. Each individual has their own identity and role in the community. Having spent what seems like endless hours bouncing around reading the different blogs, watching the different videos and making an attempt to wrap my head around this new drug of choice. I have come up some very clear understandings.

Everyone thus far that I have had the opportunity to interact with has been very pleasant and helpful. Not only have they been encouraging, they have also been very genuine. I don't want to go so far as to say it has been like a hippie commune, let's just say it is uncommon to feel this level of support and love on the streets. The vested interest is for everyone to succeed. It is about uniting and bringing something of value to the table. The more value you bring to the table, the greater your reward. The greater the reward to those around you, to the community. I am finding that you don't have to be the expert, you just have to be able to convey information, theories, processes in a manner that benefits everyone.

It's important to find your voice. To find something that you are passionate about and write about it in a real and authenticate manner. Your audience will find you, just be patient. Zig Ziglar said "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." This philosophy appears to be on full display here. There is a lot of good information out there with some great support backing it up. Being real will shower you with real results. The monumental explosion of Steemit is coming. You are on the ground floor, so it is important that you create your solid foundation. Once the mainstream finds out what Steemit is and more importantly how it functions the tsunamis will start.

Be patient and give yourself the permission to make errors. Being a perfectionist has it's downfalls and limitations. There is an old mantra that goes something along the lines of "I will always strive for perfection however I will allow myself to accept excellence." Get into your groove and have fun. This paradise is one in which you are rewarded after your submission. So make it worth their while. Other platforms were simple, all you you had to was hit the like/love button on the pic or meme. That was it. Here you have the chance to impact the person who brought value to your world. Conversely, the same is true. You will have financial rewards if you bring value to others. BRING YOUR A GAME!!! There is no need to waste your time or the time of others if you are just going to half ass it. If you aren't feeling it, then stop. Come back to it when you are feeling it or change it up to something that you are feeling. You owe it to yourself and the others who are investing in you. You won't always hit a home run. That is ok. As long as you are at the plate and taking your swings. That is what is important. You may get a couple of triples in there, a few doubles, a lot of singles. A run is a run and a win is a win. When I would interview potential candidates, I would make it a point to stress that I would much rather have a person on my team who would perform at 100% heart and 50% talent than a person who would perform at 50% heart and 100% talent. Talent is easy to teach. Heart, you can only find it and help feed it. That's what I wanted on my team, someone filled with heart. That is what I am finding fellow Steemians are wanting here as well.

Best wishes and good luck. Looking forward to reading what you are bringing to the buffet.
-Stu