![Steem Journey(1).png](https://steemitimages.com/DQme7cxWdKSjDBqsBYXAt7cjUFoF3auQ4RZ9dhaCeQZTAbS/Steem%20Journey(1).png)

<h1><center>My Steem Journey #4</center></h1>

This is the second post where I’m talking about my first month of Steem since I feel that’s a critical period of any Steemian’s life since that’s when we pick models when we learn the most and develop behaviors. I met some fantastic people that directly taught how this space is working, you can read more about that [here](https://steemit.com/steem/@guyfawkes4-20/my-steem-journey-3-the-first-month-part-one), but in the same period, I learned indirectly from the Steemians I was interacting with on a daily basis.

<center>![Guy break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbKPNNwkg9c3JvqxX5nUZ13ChLeiaDiFCUdC4nFVPtto/Guy%20break.png)</center>

<h1><center>The Poker Tables</center></h1>

A crucial period of my beginning on Steem was the time I spent at the poker tables from @SPL. Right, when I started the SBD I was winning there made it feel like it was worth investing most of my spare time in Steem even if I wasn’t making much directly from posts.

But besides all that, maybe the most important thing I have gained from SPL in that period was friends. I wasn’t playing to make “connections” that was not my goal, we just bonded with each other naturally, and we weren’t just spending time playing but often just having fun on the chats.

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/01/04/02/53/gambling-587996_960_720.jpg

To give you an example, thanks to someone I met at the poker tables I found out about @OCD and applied to be a curator, on the spot, and thankfully I got in since that was very great and helpful but more on that in another post. Also, from the tables, I found out about Sndbox, and I applied there, and even if I didn’t get in then, I was nominated by someone else later. These are the two major projects that I got in, directly or indirectly thanks to the poker tables and many more opportunities followed as the result of being part of them.

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/08/04/22/16/poker-875287_960_720.jpg

Steem, at its core, it’s still a Social Media based on communities, and the communities are based on people and friendships, but most people just forget about these aspects and focus all of their energy on making money or “hacking” the system by all kinds of shitty ways.

<center>![Guy break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbKPNNwkg9c3JvqxX5nUZ13ChLeiaDiFCUdC4nFVPtto/Guy%20break.png)</center>

<h1><center>Commenting</center></h1>

Also, in the same period, thanks to @papa-pepper’s advice, I started commenting, giving value to people and gaining a couple of followers in the process and I soon realized that I could even earn some rewards too by doing that. 

I wasn’t doing it just for the rewards, even if I was earning way more from comments than from posts most of the times, but the main reason I was engaging with the community, besides the fact that I liked doing it, it was because I wanted to create a base of followers and spread my ideas.

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/02/14/10/28/people-3152585_960_720.jpg

Imagine how hard it will be a few years from now, when Steem will be huge, to build a follower’s base since everybody would be battling over the same thing. Even if you don’t get rewarded that much now, think about the long-term potential and that your followers and constant engagement will pay you tremendously in the future.

It wasn’t easy, but for the first months, since I had more spare time, I was commenting, playing poker and talking to people on Discord/Steemit.chat on a daily basis, even up to more than ten hours sometimes, and I can tell you that all my efforts are well worth it.

<center>![Guy break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXbKPNNwkg9c3JvqxX5nUZ13ChLeiaDiFCUdC4nFVPtto/Guy%20break.png)</center>

<h1><center>Conclusion</center></h1>

Engaging with the people back then is what allows me now to earn some sweet rewards and have an amazing audience that allows me to spread my views and maybe even help others. One thing you have to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t try to be friends with people because you want something from them but just because you like to have a chat and brainstorm some ideas now and then, to genuinely engage with human beings.

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/01/16/01/02/business-3085138_960_720.jpg

Always try to focus on providing value to others and even if you don’t win on the short run, you will probably be paid in the future. This Blockchain Technology is still very new; we are too big to fall and at the same time, big enough to be a threat to the system in place, anything could happen from this point on but I do firmly believe that this whole new world is here to stay. By just not giving up on this ecosystem and investing your time and resources into making it here and providing value, you will eventually get to where you want to be.

https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1554/1*SaiH11mrQkn0HfKlDqPC-Q.png

Also, if you need help with anything or you have questions, if you need some advice feel free to send me a message on discord at GuyFawkes4-20#4502 and I will make sure to get back to you as fast as possible because I want to help as many people as I can. I already spent some time talking to @artizm today; I hope I was able to help her if not at least give her a boost in mood, make sure to check out her work because she’s an OG hustler that deserves it.

*The pictures are from Pixabay: [1](https://pixabay.com/en/gambling-roulette-casino-gamble-587996/), [2](https://pixabay.com/en/poker-casino-card-game-875287/), [3](https://pixabay.com/en/people-hand-health-handshake-woman-3152585/), [4](https://pixabay.com/en/business-finance-wealth-currency-3085138/).*

<center>[![guyfawkes4-20.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcMZVVTA8ayd8vvufULvFoKdA6MdYBYdNX37H7BA5VkFH/guyfawkes4-20.gif)](https://steemit.com/@guyfawkes4-20)</center>

![Guy.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTpXjwTiE9FgNnuQpQwf4hBCZYUYuivokAfjdqQLYzzJ1/Guy.gif)