YO! Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, But It Burned In One - Let's Put The Torches Down & Keep Building STEEM

Take a minute to really read this one.

Many of us have put a lot of quality time and effort into building our presence within the Steem community (and into the community itself).

Some have spent months, some have spent years. Some at their leisure, some full-time. All by choice.

This magical blockchain is something we can't physically touch, but it's important to us for whatever it represents to each of us individually. Only you know what those reasons are, but they're what keep us here.

We run on mana these days. This requires faith.

Most of us strive to create value and utility for the chain to help it develop. We also strive to earn and reward from it. It's a great opportunity from any way you look at it, that has actually changed many lives. It will continue to do so as long as we work together constructively.

We're all connected here and there's no denying that.

The ecosystem and landscape is constantly changing, so if anyone tells you they've got it all figured out, they've got it wrong.

I think this is something even the most difficult people can agree on.

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Over my 18 months here, I've seen people grow from crypto and social media novices into masterminds that wow me every day. It's been fun to watch people develop and succeed. I've been lapped a few times, but I'm not a vlogger and chose to earn all my Steem.

I've seen many people come and go... Haven't we all? We have over a million accounts, but only a fraction are active today.

I had over 50 people in my daily fitness challenge back in the day, and almost all of them are long gone from Steem. It's sad because many of them were such good people. I experienced the potential of Steem with my first tight-knit community that I started! I learned what true engagement was before they had "an app for that."

Others praised Steem, but vanished when the price wasn't worth their time or it got too hard.

Some may have needed a breather to recharge. I can understand this.

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Then there are The Faithful...

Whether they're passionate, dedicated, full-time, addicted, stubborn, tech wizards, profiteers, or fiscally handcuffed, they're still here grinding through the tough times.

I respect these people, the true core of our revolutionary army here. Thank you for staying.

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Caveat Lector:

The title of my post is for those who have put in the work and care, but who've gotten sidetracked from what we're building.

After all of our hard work to establish ourselves within the community, in the roles and niches we best see fit, we should protect what we've earned.

Who knows what these roles will expand to in the future:

On the contrary, we can burn everything we've built to the ground and lose everything overnight.

What take times to build doesn't take time to fall apart. Steem has had some rough times, but it has endured. However, I've seen many individuals self-destruct at the same time.

Everyone has different values, but I'd imagine that almost all of us here want Steem and its greater vision to succeed.

If we want to be a healthy part of that, we need to act the part.

There will always be disagreements, wrongdoings, battles and wars. Drama and infighting is unavoidable.

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While certain issues definitely call for attention and effort to resolve, sometimes it's best to let the others or aftermath burn out on their own before they spread.

There are no winners in a toxic spiral of infighting, no matter who started it, or who is right. Trolls will always do what they do best, and it's up to us to make them have less of an impact.

More harm than good is a certainty in this scenario, whether it's for those involved personally, or the larger community that's brought down by the negativity.

I feel it at times. I try to tune it out. But, you can't always avoid it. It shows you what people are made of and what they're not, but this is important because they're all part of the foundation of a very close community. We need our foundation to be strong to support future growth.

Whether we like it or not, many people are public influencers around here for outside investors or new users, and could possibly benefit from this simply reminder. If this was was so obvious, we'd see people treating each other better at this time.

We need to keep our eyes on the prize, our goals, and continue to see the forest through the trees. You know, all of that positive energy and focus jazz.

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So, what's the secret to help with this?

Be the bigger person and don't respond to people once they show you that they're irrationally unflappable.

Let haters talk in circles with themselves.

Don't let them drag you down to hold you back from lifting others up.

Eventually they'll get bored and find someone else to harass, while you'll be clear-minded, happier, and able to focus on the bigger picture again.

Set the right example for others, potentially millions of others down the line.

Our goal is the first picture, and we can get there if we don't act in incendiary ways in the direction of the second one.

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Thank you,
@steemmatt