Write even if you don't make money

I've been lucky enough to make some nice money when I first started writing for Steemit, because I was discovered by all kind of people who recommended me to all kind of services like @curie who helped me get started.

However, that's not the case any more. While I'm grateful for all the money I receive, the amount that I make with my articles is pretty low compared to how much I was making last year. But I'm still writing, and I think more people should do it, even if they don't really get anything out of it.

The reasons are many. First, you learn a lot more than you expect while writing, especially when you give advice to other people. For example, I was pretty interested in time management before I started publishing here, because I wanted to make sure I use my time in a smart way.

But after I started publishing on Steemit, I had to spend more and more time reading and consuming content in order to find more ideas, and because of that I learned a lot more about time management than I used to before. The simple fact that I was writing a lot helped me learn more tips and methods that help me today when it comes to how much progress I'm making and how much time I invest into something.

Second, you get your thoughts out, and that's always a good thing. You learn how to better express yourself, how to put your thoughts into words and how to talk to others about what's on your mind. You also get to meet people who have something in common with you, be it a goal, and idea or some feelings.

Then there's the popularity side of things. Even if you don't make any money writing, the simple fact that you're putting something out there will increase the chances of people noticing you. It may take a year or even more before you get noticed for what you do, but if you just write because you like it and you ignore all the followers and views you get, you'll be surprised by how many people will find you and consume your content just because you do something you like.

Another thing writing helps you with is making progress, or, better said, getting the habit of constantly wanting to make progress. At first, you're gonna be pretty satisfied with what you're able to write, no matter how bad. You'll even be okay with not making a lot of progress really fast.

But as time goes by, you'll start to think about how it would be to write all kind of articles, how your work would look like with a new design and what would happen if you approach new topics. All those thoughts will rapidly become ideas and goals, and you'll find yourself doing all kind of things in order to improve your work, sometimes without even noticing.

Sure, you can make money with writing, but that's a tough goal to achieve, and it will probably take a lot more than you think. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write. It simply means you have to do it because you enjoy it and because you want to share things with people, not because you want to get rich. In time, you'll also make money, but until that happens, you'll learn a lot more than you'll expect about other people, about new topics and, most importantly, about yourself.