*** *There's nothing as discouraging as making a post you thought to be "the one that would conquer the trending page", but still not receiving the payout you hoped that you deserved. But by changing your mindset and the way you perceive the reward system that Steemit is showing us, you can get to experience a much more positive outcome. Because with a grain of patience you will quickly realize that you in some way are earning a fortune..* *** This post is much inspired by @taskmaster4450 who's in my eyes are among one of the most bullish people on Steemit now. Claiming he is foreseeing the Steem price will go up to 100$ within 2018. Sounds crazy, right? but you still cannot help but love his great attitude and praise towards steem that we all want to see take off to the infinite and beyond! ![investment-1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYFmhuvrurvELW6uG5a4KwSeAAJbE1D4tmQM1LXc1PaKx/investment-1.jpg) ## So I am telling you: build an investment, not a salary *** Most of us are aware that we don't actually get paid in US dollars but in steem power and steem dollars, yet US dollars is what it's measures. While many of us knows this, it is easy to forget and feel despair(including myself) when we see those low numbers on our posts that we thought should be much more. In some way the despair could make sense... if you see what you earn as a salary and not an investment. *** *So instead to measure in the dull present, try to measure in the bright future* *** A little bit of dreaming wont harm and here the dream could be a really big motivation for you to keep going, because it's very likely to become a reality. If the prophesy becomes true then every single steem you earn from your posts will be worth a lot more than the present. If people like @taskmaster4450 are saying that steem will go to 100 dollars in 2018, then that silly one steem you earned a few months ago is suddenly quite significant. While I am a bit skeptical about steem reaching 100 in 2018, i would't be surprised to at least see it jump into the double digits with all the new smart media tokens coming up. No I am not telling you to take a loan and buy your dream car because you got 100 steem laying in your wallet. You are building an investment and investment always got risks of not paying off. But for me the risk is so minimal than what you could get rewarded. Yes steem could dry out and become worthless, but in what reality are you living in to see this as a likely possibility? Look at the people, the technology and the vision of steem - then realize the price of what steem is right now is far from what it will become. We have to be visionaries! We want to reap the reward by seeing huge potential in a great product not everyone else have noticed yet. ![mii.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZGU4DgNx71sSb65gr1QvvQ9wWXykMmRAJfoESXSKnQHi/mii.jpg) ## Eliminate the risk of wasting time: write with passion *** Unless you are heavily invested in steem from your own pocket chances are the only thing you are risking is wasting time. But i want you to reflect back on why exactly you came to Steemit. Did you do it because of the promise to get rich? if the answer is yes, to me it sounds like a big waste of time then. Not for the fact that you cannot get rich off steemit, but should money really be your only motivation for blogging? you might a well just get a well paid job if you really only care about the money. BUT if you like me saw steemit as a gateway to freedom and the possibility to release your inner writing bird by sharing your passions with a strong community AND with the extra spark to even earn on it, then you are in the perfect place. For me i started a huge cycling tour across Europe and i was looking for a place to share and blog about my adventures. Steemit suddenly popped up and very quickly i was intrigued by the idea that i might even make a small amount of cash at the same time. Back then of course, i didn't even know about the crypto world except for this weird thing called "bitcoin". While Steemit's marketing for making some money made me decide to come exactly here, it was also the easy way of getting a blog up and running without much trouble. No website needed, no expenses, just sign up and write. *** ## Don't do my mistake, don't let greed forget why you came here in the first place *** I myself have the sin of giving in for greed on the website and forget where my passion truly stood. A while ago i figured just posting some of my good looking pictures everyday would net me more "easy" earnings. I didn't enjoy it but it did make me earn more because i didn't rely on any whales to come by. Problem with this method was i quickly burned out by it and in fact i enjoyed so much more making longer and more meaningful posts. But that changed thanks to @quinneaker who made a very honest comment saying he missed my "juicy" posts and not just watching a bunch of senseless pictures. Does all my less frequent but meaningful(to me at least) posts get attention? no. but at least i enjoy writing them and from time to time i might hit the jackpot to find some great support in someone who recognized my post. But it did require me to change the way i saw the payouts and see even those small earnings as potentially much bigger in the future. That way I have found myself in a position where i win no matter how well my posts are doing. ![plante.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfNvkkus42YdKsHLHAgEGbvT9YBsxkDjRPXQwpbJFJYJR/plante.jpg) ## The conclusion: keep stacking, keep engaging *** *Our small earnings have a huge potential and every single steem we earn in this period might become worth more than we realize in the future. So don't make yourself feel bad of receiving the small payouts! YOU are already lucky to be here on Steemit before so many others! People that might never get to see steem this easy to stack. But don't just invest in building your steem wallet, invest in your future success on Steemit. Keep writing that "juicy" content, keep engaging in the community and comment on others content you find just as good. You will have a great head start before everyone else coming after you. Maybe with time that investment building might also become your salary one day.* **-Holm** *** *** *Picutres taken by my phone and first one found at google images*