@lukestokes honored you commented here and appreciate your feedback because you have written concretely the ideas I am feeling that others in a similar position have. My first impression of you was wondering what I need to do to not miss any blocks the way you have so far!

Thank you for mentioning your concerns about whether I will be here for the long haul because I have the concern on the opposite side where I am afraid no matter how long I am here I will never have been here as long as others meaning no chance to ever move up as a witness or fit in with those in at the beginning. I also am afraid of writing comments no one sees or cares about when I already am buried in things I could do.

The challenge is for witnesses that while all the guides provide outstanding instructions on exactly how to get the witness online and there is great help for that, the guidelines on getting votes are very vague. "Do a good job" and "be trustworthy" and "stick around" provide little direction as to the exact approach to take to earn votes. For example, do we reply to a comment to ask for a vote? Do we just make a comment on a post and ask for a vote? How do we contact people already upvoting us and ask for a vote when they do not post or comment often? Isn't it rude to barge in on the one comment they make and ask for a witness vote? Do we have to use steemit.chat? After hours of research I found not one post clearly explaining the entire process and without clearcut directions did my best with what was available.

Controversy comes from not accepting our own limitations and abilities. Some of us are blessed with the time to be available, respond to every comment, be helpful in the chat, and trade time for witness votes. Others of us like me are buried in responsibilities and flailing around to just try and stay above water. A quick and effective method for asking for a vote is all that is practical. Finding no other method available, would it have been right to just sit and wait without making an effort? One witness even completely outsourced setting up the witness and somehow still gets votes even though they do not actually do anything with it.

None of us know how long we will be here meaning while the service of those arriving before me has empowered me to be here, it is unknown out of any of us who will continue serving going forward because life is full of unexpected challenges. Each of us will be here as long as we are supposed to be and our contribution is not limited to how long we serve. While I hope to be here indefinitely, I am serving where I am most needed every day as are all the rest of us.

Does not each of us have the challenge with whether we are doing this for personal profit or the greater good of the community? Can anyone truly separate their motives out enough to say honestly that it is all one or the other? I know for me both exist.

I feel hurt and defensive after doing my best to bring the most value I can to Steemit and then it is not enough because some judge that I did not do it exactly the right way. I am not responding to enough comments, spending enough time in the witness channel, not asking for votes in the right way, not promoting Steemit correctly in the ads, not technical enough to be a witness, shouldn't be selling a video course about becoming a witness, not making enough posts, making too many posts, or making posts about the wrong topic. Naturally the voice in my head is careful to reinforce all these points.

If we want to make a great community, love and tolerance must be our code. When we condemn others for taking a different approach than we do, we are condemning ourselves as well. If it is fair to suggest sending a tip to ask for votes is wrong, it is also fair to suggest hanging out in the chat all day and private messaging for votes is wrong because not everyone is time for that. It is fair to say that witnesses in the top voting each other up is wrong and witnesses with apps that ask for witness votes are wrong because not everyone can do that.

Your comment I hope will be helpful for me in accepting that I am doing enough for the community, have enough witness votes, and can find the most effective ways of collaborating here. After reading this I feel that I maybe would be better off trying to cut into comments and ask for votes there or send direct messages on the steemit.chat instead of giving a tip.

The problem is I wrote this post instead of hanging out with my family for the last forty minutes and I feel like shit about that now. Maybe I am doing too much for Steemit and need to slow down.