Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Remember the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare?

It has been a challenging day for me. It started off in an attorney's office in front of a video camera with more lawyers than O.J. Simpson's trial. Long story short, someone was hurt, apparently by someone else's actions, and bills have to be paid. I was a very involved witness. It was even a little emotional, but I made it through it. Then I came home to work on my truck. I'm not a mechanic. I'd like to get a hold of a Ford engineer and have a discussion.

So, basically I haven't been in the frame of mind to post some "awesome content" on Steemit. When I would start to think about it, I'd draw a blank. Not writer's block, necessarily, but certainly a lack of positivity and motivation.

My wife, @clickinchicken, suddenly was motivated. She opened the laptop and started pecking smugly away at the keyboard. Part of me smiled. Part of me grumbled. Full disclosure: A hint of jealousy.

I jumped on Steemit at her request to see her newly polished gem. It was already gaining votes and a few $$ to boot. Then I scrolled through the feed a little to see what's going on with my fellow bloggers. I read a post by @uglysweater that served as a reminder to just keep at it and don't give up. She has seen this platform work for people and wanted to be an encouragement to others. A little bit of discussion ensued below as some people vented a little about their struggles.
I left a comment which made me start thinking a little. I have read a lot of advice from people who have been around here for a while, all talking about consistency and quality. Post consistently. Post quality. Obtain quality followers. These are the key ingredients to success. I would have to add patience as well.

I have an awesome dog. She is a German Shepherd that was given to me by an elderly woman with mobility issues. The dog would jump on her and knock her down. That's an easy fix with a little consistency and quality training, not to mention a little patience. Nothing worthwhile comes easy, at least not without a lot of luck. Sure, we all get lucky sometimes, but what, really, do you have going for you that didn't cost someone a lot of work? Maybe someone gives you a Cadillac. They probably worked very hard at some point to be able to bless you like that.

My dog, Phoebe

Back to the dog. I've had several dogs in my life. Every dog is a little better than the last one, because I learn a little more about being patient with the dog. I learn a little more about training and being consistent with that training. Just yesterday my son threw the dog's tennis ball. As the dog took off after the ball, I said, “Son, do you know why Phoebe hasn't been doing what I tell her lately?” He looked at me with a blank stare. I said, “Because you don't make her wait and then fetch on your command. So it confuses her, and when I tell her to wait, she doesn't listen. Consistency is the key.”

The same concept applies in so many areas of our lives. Raising children, being productive at work…why not here?

I'm still new around here, but I see this platform doing a lot of people a lot of good. Sure, it seems like some people can post a picture of an iguana and make a thousand bucks. But think about some of the more popular and successful Steemians you've seen. Think about their first posts and how they probably felt starting out. They would most likely tell you about their mistakes and the improvements they’ve had to make over several months of growing.

Obviously, goods payouts are nice and when we don' get them it is disappointing. But you can't just look at the dollar amount. When someone else says, “I only made a dollar on that post”, I say, “Thats a dollar I didn't have yesterday.” I once heard a statistic that most business start-ups don't make a profit for 5 years. 5 years. I made a profit on my introductory post! Think where Steemit could be in 5 years. Think where YOU could be after 5 years of Steemit! There isn't one whale that was on Steemit 5 years ago. People were still trying to learn how to spell Bitcoin 5 years ago.

My point is, the advice of the seasoned minnows, dolphins and whales is sound advice. Don't worry about the money. Post. Get better at posting. Post regularly. Don't “follow for follow” people. Be consistent. Make quality posts. Have patience. Just hang in there, have fun, and watch it happen. And remember, slow and steady wins the race.

Tortoise and Hare photo(Wikipedia)