I have been writing here for 11 days now and I want to share some of my success and what I have noticed as far as what appears to be the best way to succeed on this site.  In all honesty, I think as a beginner there really is no substitutions for putting out good content and trying to network with other people. I feel like I was one of the very lucky people who was picked up by @curie (Thank you!) right from the beginning because I can imagine how frustrating it would be to make multiple posts and get only a few cents or nothing at all. I have had to date 7 posts that have been picked up by @curie which has really helped propel my motivation to work on this site. 

I'm sitting currently with just over 700 steam power and I should be over 800 by tomorrow night. However,  I think that the greatest part of what I have seen writing for this site and interacting with others is that there seems to truly be a strong sense of camaraderie between many individuals here. The interaction between the members makes posting here even more enjoyable than gaining votes and gaining money because I know the people who are commenting are actually taking the time to read the post when many others often do not. To those who have taken the time to read my post and comment thoughtfully I want to say thank you very much it really does mean a lot, especially when writing about my journey as a runner or about sensitive topics such as my car accident that I had with my wife.

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<center><b>My Goals</center></b>

Now, as far as my overall goals on this site I want to continue to grow as a writer. Overall I know that writing was never a strong suit of mine and it was something that I largely ignored as a child and a teenager. I essentially wrote well enough in school to get by and I did the in elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college. As I've grown older and become an adult that is something that I've largely regretted.   Writing is a fantastic outlet to help other people learn about a lot of different ideas whether that is about health and fitness, art, music, food, and anything else that she could even possibly know.   Writing is not only a phenomenal way to teach others but it is a great way to touch others hearts with your own personal story.  A writer that has worked hard to sharpen their craft is able to touch people and affect people and engage people in a way that a subpar writer is unable to do.

My second goal and it's an extremely long term goal but my wife and I have always wanted to become financially independent earlier than the typical retirement age.  While we do love our jobs they are still jobs I don't mind waking up and going to my job most of the time but I don't think it is something that I would do if I wasn't getting paid.  I love working with students and children but some part of me wishes that I could volunteer to work with them. Not having to worry about money and truly just focus on the kids when I'm with them instead of having to think about all of the extra politics and testing and hassles that go along with being a teacher.  A true goal of mine would be to retire no later than our mid-forties that would give my wife and me at most 16 or 17 years to get to a point where we would be able to live off what we put away to retire with.

My 3rd and last goal is one that I have been writing about fairly consistently on the side and that is my goal to once again get into a similar see if I used to be as a runner. obviously one of the reasons I'm doing this is just to say if I can do it still and really just to enjoy the journey that I'm taking this time. the second and more important reasons I have not touched on when writing is that in the future when my wife and I have kids I want to be that Dad that is physically in good enough shape throughout their childhood and teenage years that I am able to physically be active with them. That is something that my dad was able to do with me and I want to make sure that I can do that with my kids because a lot of those moments are things that I truly still treasure to this day.

<center><b>My Tips</b></center>

* Even if you aren't a good writer always try to put out the best contacts you can and use any resources that are at your disposal to make it even better than what you could do by yourself.

* Try to write about something that you are passionate about it will make coming up with ideas much easier and you'll be less likely to run into writer's block.

* Do not focus only on the money that is being made this is not a get-rich-quick scheme it's going to take work to build your reputation and to build a following where you can start seeing a consistent gain from your writing.

* Lastly, do not waste your energy blaming others. As much ss you would hope a site is perfectly fair; life isn't and that doesn't change once you get onto the internet. Put out your best content, network with other people, and in time if you're willing to work hard enough you'll start to see the fruit of your effort

For those who have read the post I greatly appreciate the time that you have taken to read it and  I hope that as I write here longer that I get to know and understand more about each person here. I also hope that you're able to learn something from me and I hope that I am able to learn from something from all of you.