The old saying that 'lightning never strikes the same place twice' is a myth that any veteran storm observer or researcher has seen nature defy. Lightning can strike any location more than once. In fact, given enough time, it is actually inevitable. It may take as little as less than ten minutes within a single thunderstorm, or longer than a million years - but lightning will eventually strike the same spot again and again. A strike to any location does nothing to change the electrical activity in the storm above, which will produce another strike as soon as it 'recharges'. The previously hit location is then just as fair game for the next discharge as any other spot.
This information can be found here: http://stormhighway.com/lightning_never_strikes_the_same_place_twice_myth.php
What does all of this have to do with steemit.. And my success..?
I'll give you the full story and I won't leave anything out. What you will read here is the journey I've been on. I went through hurricanes and thunderstorms to get to this point, even though I've only been here for 3 weeks. It's insane! - I've experienced a lot of things.. I've been thrilled, horrified, satisfied and I've really enjoyed most of my time here..
Most of my time..
If you've read my posts during the time I've been here you should've noticed two things.
- Good Content.
- A hardworking person.
That being said, I previously shared my feelings during my first success, I've shared features I would like to see be implemented on steemit and I've shared a bunch of other things.. However, I've also shared one post where I for the first time share my "inner thoughts" so to speak, and I also share that I actually started to doubt myself at one point.
You can read about it in this post
https://steemit.com/steemit/@hitmeasap/why-can-t-i-be-successful-and-earn-usd1000-on-my-posts-when-everyone-else-are-doing-it-i-blew-it-or-did-i
And here's some of the things I wrote in that post..
"I had my chance.. Did I actually blew it?! - I've come to the conclusion that my content probably isn't good enough. At least not for the whales or dolphins."
@cryptogee replied in that post..
"You didn't blow it!
OK, this comment is coming from the fact that I can't see any of your posts from a couple of weeks ago. However, I think the reason why you dropped off, is your posts are just that bit too short, for any of the Whales to auto follow you. You have proved to them you can deliver quality; your posts are always fun to read. However they need to know that if they do start following you, you're not going to drop back down to 500 word or less articles. Aim for about 1500 words in your next 3-4 articles, and I bet you get more cash. This isn't about just stuffing content in there for the hell of it, this is about keeping your fresh entertaining style, and going into a bit more detail. Try it, and see if it works."
What he said, encouraged me even more.. I had already realized that my success in the beginning was nothing more than a fluke.. But it took me a few days to finally come to this conclusion.
I also wrote this reply within that post.
And here's the thing..
The reason I started to doubt myself, or my content, was due to the beginners luck. Let's call it beginners luck as I got the whale-upvotes my first week. I'm not used to this success and I've never been used to it. I'm used to work hard, and to put in a ton of effort in anything I do.. Afterwards, the rewards will come!
It has always been that way for me.. And that is why I started to doubt myself when I experienced something totally different for the very first time. My steemit experience so far is amazing. Especially since I got to experience something I've never experienced before.. The best part is, that I've managed to come out on top again, even after I started to doubt myself.
So, with even more motivation thanks to @cryptogee, I decided to share another post. A better one. I decided to share what I do for steemit and what I plan to do further on.
And it paid off!
No matter what happens now.. I'll never give up. I won't doubt myself again. I know I can go huge. I know I can get great results.. I've had great results several times before!!
If this post ends up in a big fat zero, I'm totally fine with that..
- And you should be too, whenever you experience something similar..
A little bit of luck but most importantly.. Good content. That is what's going to give you cash rewards.
What is good content then..?
- I have no idea. Anything. It all depends on the people!
That is also why you can spend 2 or even 5 hours working on a superb post and get nothing.. And if you had published that exact post a few days later, or perhaps a few days earlier, then it could have gone viral!
How can I be so sure about this..?
- Because a bunch of whales, dolphins and minnows didn't upvote my post.
If you look at "Catch-A-Whale" you'll see that some of the whales didn't upvote a single post yesterday.. Because some of them wasn't even around! - And the ones that actually saw my post, perhaps all of them didn't like it.. Or all of them did, but they didn't like it enough to upvote it more than it already had been.. And that's exactly how steemit should function! - It shouldn't be a "rule of thumb" that the posts already being upvoted to the skies, should get even more upvotes for the sake of it.. Upvotes should be delivered with care and because you truly like the content you upvote. That's how I feel and that's what I believe. And yesterday, I saw it happen to my own post and I'm so excited about it!
- It's not okay to just copy your own content and publish it again, and you shouldn't do something like that. You'll get rewarded for your previous works for each upvote it gets, 4 weeks from the first payment.. There's still hope and there's still time.. Don't give up. I never gave up but I did something way worse..
I started to doubt myself and my own content.. I was lost for a few days and I had no idea about what I should do.. Or what to share.. How could I please all the readers.. How would I get more upvotes.. How could I encourage my readers to discuss things.. What could I do so I'd get more followers.. What could I do to build my reputation .. ??
- I was lost.. Due to the beginners luck I had.. But because of my persistence and due to my experience as a freelancer, I never gave up.. And I never will again. (And yeah, you all helped too! - Feedback & suggestions are always welcome and I thank you all for that!)
- Just be yourself. Don't write stuff you think others want to read.. Write what you want to read.
- Before anyone starts to say things like "don't write for the money" - I'll give you this: I'm Fluent In Whale! - At least if you ask Dory. -I bet you're fluent too. But does it really matter?!
Rewards.. a thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement.
That said, rewards can be things like: - Upvotes - Nice replies - Feedback - Prize money
Thank you #steemit for this tremendous wakeup call.. Thank you for all the awesome replies, nice feedbacks, and all the upvotes I've got so far. I appreciate it. You all deserve a medal.. As I can't give you medals I'll instead share even better quality in the nearest future!
I deserve it. And so do you. Keep up the good work and wait for the lightning to strike again!
Best Regards,
hitmeasap