Yesterday I went to @bonjovey's house with @florizdemayo to sing karaoke,

...and to have some girl time. While I was there, @bonjovey's significant other was asking questions about Steemit, and how it works. I guess, from an outsider's point-of-view, the hardest thing to imagine is that money ultimately comes from nothing. Well, computer code+math+algorithms.

He was also quite surprised to learn that my account grew from $1 to over $40,000 in the 5 months I have been Steeming. Sure, to him it may look like I have a simple job. Create a blog, add some photos and sit back and watch the money come in. Yet, Steemit is much more complicated than that. In fact, I work tirelessly for every dime I make here. Some nights, I fall asleep with my phone in my hand, because I try to reply to every comment people leave to me, and if they're like me, these conversations go on for multiple mouse-wheel scrolls.

Anyone can see on my page, that I not only leave a lot of comments to newcomers, welcoming them to the platform- You all can also see that my comments are quite thoughtful, after reading their blogs and doing better than a typical, "good blog", or "this is interesting". This is one of the keys to success here on Steemit; Leave thoughtful comments, that elicit a response.

For the second key to success, and arguably the most important. Reinvesting/Powering-up.

We all judge, all the time. Its human nature, and we can never escape this. Although there are always some people that claim to never judge others, this is impossible. Bringing this judgement to Steemit, also creates divide, and social classes. Its inherent in the design of the platform. Are you a minnow, a dolphin or a whale? Which would you prefer to be?

So, when someone sees my comment or upvote earned them a considerable value, they will look at my wallet and notice that I am no longer a minnow, but not quite a whale. This automatically gets their attention, and they will take the time to possibly follow me, but to also give me the attention above others whom may not yet be out of the minnow pond. So, wallet balance+reputation= More loyal followers. After all, they are here to grow themselves. By following someone with a significantly higher account balance then them, they are banking on leaving comments that will be upvoted by this blogger. This means, they will usually take the time to read, comment, and upvote their works.

This is why it is super important to reinvest in yourselves, and power-up every chance you can. The more you grow your account, the more followers you will gain. More followers equals more blog views and comments. More views and comments equals more upvotes. More upvotes equals more money. More money equals a higher account balance, and the cycle continues. That is the second key to success.

When you reinvest and power-up, you are also adding a compounding feature to your account. When you start Steemit, your upvote is only worth 0.01. This means, when you upvote your own comments, and blogs you are only able to give yourself 0.01 for your efforts. Maybe your first blogs only earn $1 each for the first month. This isn't much, but how many friends, and how many followers did you also gain? And most importantly, how much did you give back to the community, in thoughtful comments, or helpful advice? No one comes onto Steemit with the intention of just making one blog, and then giving it up. We all come aboard, full throttle, eager to become the next minted whale. Some of us just get stuck in the current, and give up. While others make their way upstream. Tired, yet eager to continue swimming another day. And this is why I truly believe that giving back to the community, will come back to us. You never know who the next whale will be, and you never forget the first people who took the time to help you out of the tidal pools.

So, by reinvesting your earnings and powering-up, your 0.01 upvote can become worth 0.05 after weeks, or a month. 6 months later, this could EASILY be worth $1+ (especially considering Steem is severely undervalued.) At this point, how many more followers do you have? How much do you think your blogs will make now, that your own upvote is worth more than you made on your first "Introduce yourself" blog?

Time+volume is the key to wealth in any market. If you don't have either, you will fail. And guess what? Months later, you will regret not sticking with the platform, and giving it an honest effort. I see this day in, and day out. Newcomers are amazed at the $100+ blogs, and extremely disappointed when their first blog didn't make them $1.00 or more. I understand this is discouraging, but you must take the time to make friends first. Spend a week reading successful blogs, leaving thoughtful comments, and contributing to the platform. Don't use Steemit solely for the money. I tell everyone to use it the same way they would Facebook. Follow authors who blog about topics you are passionate about, whether its sports, politics, money, or sci-fi. Use Steemit as your daily news source, and as a way to network with similarly-minded individuals. Get a tight group of friends, and join a community to help you along the way, and support each others' every blog to keep the wealth within.

When you open your phone to Facebook, and see someone liked a post you made. This makes us feel good yeah? Well, on Steemit imagine seeing this monetized. So the next time you sit on the toilet to do your business, take that 15 minutes replying to comments you have backlogged. Or read up on the latest Bitcoin ban in -insert country name here-.

And most importantly remember that;

Steemit is your business, your name is your brand. Stay positive, and reinvest for your future. Not for dinner tomorrow.

TLDR; Leave thoughtful comments. Help the minnows. Power-up.

XOXO,

Gilaine