Reflection, Metamorphosis and 3 years!

I wasn't planning on writing anything today. But when have I ever planned and written! I believe the best articles are written unplanned, in the moment, with the flow. I know I am in no position to be giving out writing tips, yet. But I have been on the chain for 3 years, so maybe I am doing something right.

That brings us to the following comment I received earlier today :

3 years already! Time does fly, doesn't it!

I started just like many of you, thinking this was a money printing machine. Write some random stuff, make some money, right? Wrong! I found this out the hard way, alone. See, I didn't come here through anyone. No one brought me here. In other words, কেউ আমাকে কাজ শেখায়নি :v

I didn't know anyone at all, the BDCommunity didn't exist yet. I had a difficult time figuring out why I was not getting those whale upvotes like everyone else. I was entitled to a vote, wasn't I? Sounds familiar? Yes, we've all been through this. And it's understandable.

I'm a bit of a "mechanism" freak, if that's even a real thing. While my friend had finished studying a chapter, I'm still stuck at page 2, trying to figure out the "whys" and the "hows." I took a similar approach to figure out what wasn't working for me. I used to go to the trending page to find authors whose posts were doing well. To me, doing well meant making more money at that time. No, I didn't magically figure out that, I had to engage to do "well" on the chain. By the time I received my first whale vote, I still didn't know what I did right. Like a lot of you, I also didn't know of the existence of Discord.

So how did I figure everything out? I don't know. Ironic, huh? The mechanism freak is sidestepping a "how" question. But that is the truth. And that is how it tends to be when don't have a "coach" or someone to guide the way. You develop an unorthodox style, and that is okay if it works for you.

I don't want this post to become some sort of tutorial or a "how to succeed on HIVE" kind of post. Maybe some other time we can talk about all the various advantages new users have now, over newbies back in 2017. But I guess what I'm trying to say here is, if I managed to do it, all of you can too.

Picture Taken at Hangzhou, from the peak of the Linying Temple
Of these 3 years, I was on a sabbatical for about 2 years. So considering everything, I think I'm doing pretty well. To new readers on HIVE, this may mean my payout per post and that is fine. I have been lucky and very well supported consistently. This is where I would usually get a bit nerdy and tell you about the importance of consistently producing quality content to receive consistent monetary support, but not today I won't. :)

But if you are a veteran reading this, I hope your definition of "doing well" here has changed over the years, as have mine. Acquaintances on the chain have become friends, conversations have moved beyond just business. Someone is feeling down and you come forward, speaking words of wisdom, to lift up their spirits. When you're down, or just bored, you know those few, very special people are just a text away. These are the people that make work fun. Aren't these the people we call friends?

I am doing pretty darn well on hive after 3 years.

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