Weekend Reflections: A Formula for Success

Happy weekend everyone!

It's been 2 months since my official Steem journey started. My profile does say I joined on July 2017 but the internal complexities and intricacies of Steem was too much for me back then. So I shelved my account and never really got hooked to it until the start of this year.

Yes, that's right. I believe I'm officially hooked to Steem! My mind swirls around Steem regularly during my free time. I'll constantly check my account, look for interesting posts, or think of what I'll be writing next. I've even joined some Steem-related channels on Discord. (Can anyone relate to this?)

Without hesitation, I can say I'm enjoying every minute of it. Once you can grasp the basic principles of Steem, you'll see it in a new light. It's a whole new world that's waiting to be explored for anyone that's interested. I've discovered a lot of often undocumented tools, tricks and strategies. And I think I've figured out the do's and don'ts -- the basic formula -- needed to succeed in the community.

To be clear, I'm not referring to success in monetary terms. I don't have a throng of followers eagerly awaiting my every post, nor do my posts generate a huge amount of upvotes and payouts. It's more of success in finding your place, a sense of belongingness, of being accepted in the community. And this formula is a simple one that even new account members can apply.

So what exactly is this formula? It's not a mathematical formula; rather more of a behavioral outlook when you approach Steem. Which is: Enjoy Steem for what it offers -- a social media platform where you can interact with a real, live virtual community. Write posts and share with others your thoughts, passion and enjoyment. In turn, show your appreciation for what others share with you.

You might say this is so basic and something we all should know already. Strangely, I sometimes find myself having to remind myself about this. There were times especially early on, I caught myself focusing on Steem in terms of the amount on my wallet, of getting upvotes, author and curation rewards, etc. It's easy to get distracted by these because they are in fact, very much a part of Steem. Don't get me wrong. I believe they are important too and part of the fun. I just feel that focusing on these alone is not a long term formula for success.

To me, success means being able to stay in Steem for the long run. And what better way to do this than by anchoring yourself with like minded people who share the same interests as yours. Enjoy the full extent of what Steem has to offer, and have a purpose for being in Steem. Once you do, I believe you'll eventually find yourself being hooked to it too.

Until then, if you have any other lessons, tips or tricks to share, please write a comment below.