Before I get started, I will address the picture I used for this post. Quite frankly, the picture has nothing to do with anything except one of my daughters loves mermaids so I thought I would use a mermaid picture in honor of her love for mermaids. If you came to my blog hoping to read the next installment of my short story, "The Hunt" --don't worry, I will post it either later today or early tomorrow.

I just wanted to take a short moment to say thank you to all the wonderful people I have met here on Steemit. So,

THANK YOU!

I started my journey here on Steemit nearly six months ago. When I first arrived, there were many people who reached out to me and said hello. In the early part of my journey, a couple of whales dropped by and splashed huge votes on me—this was especially nice because it helped me see the potential of Steemit. In the beginning, I struggled to find my niche. I posted lots of things about several of my interests including bees, gardening, herbal healing, and even a few short stories. I soon found my true interest and began to post short stories on a regular basis. As I did, many of you stepped up and encouraged me with kind and thoughtful comments. Thank you.

Because so many people helped me along the early part of my journey, I quickly realized I wanted to help other people as well. This is one of my favorite things about Steemit—it is a community where we can help other people reach their goals while at the same time achieving our own. Unlike many business propositions, the opportunities are endless and all it takes is a bit of hard work and a willingness to stick to your plan. So I began to look for ways to connect with other people and boost them as they tried to create a niche for themselves here on Steemit. There are way too many of you to mention, but to all of you, thanks for your amazing posts. I love reading about your interests.

My biggest piece of advice to any newcomer who might be reading this is the old adage, “seek first to understand, then to be understood” as taught by Stephen Covey in his book the 7 Habits. If you are here on Steemit trying to get everyone to notice you by running around dropping senseless comments on other people’s posts and then asking them to resteem and follow you, let me tell you, you are doing it wrong. So, my advice is this, look around, read some posts, look at some lovely pictures, find some things you like here on Steemit. Once you have found something you like upvote the post. That is how we show appreciation here on Steemit. Then make a comment, if you have something to add. Consider following the author because if you liked one thing the posted, there is a chance you will like their future posts. Do this over and over. Enjoy the journey. As you thoughtfully upvote other people’s posts, you will find that other people begin to come and read your posts. So with this small piece of advice, I say to you, "May your Steemit journey take you beyond the stars and into your wildest dreams."

As we approach the New Year, I want to wish you and your loved ones a Happy New Year—may it be full of joy and happiness. Most especially may it be filled with peace and love.

My novella, An Assassin's Tool, is available for free download right here . You can also purchase it on Amazon for just $0.99 if you prefer.

© 2015, Stone Golem Publishing, All rights reserved--no part of this may be used without express written consent.

**All pictures used are labeled for reuse. They come from Pixabay and MaxPixel.

Follow @bigpanda for more flash fiction.