<center>[![beyourself2.jpg](https://s23.postimg.org/aelb391zv/beyourself2.jpg)](https://postimg.org/image/gsae6i6vr/)</center>

## Dan's latest post, [Blogging For Money](https://steemit.com/steem/@dantheman/building-long-term-value-from-your-blog) made me very aware of the fact that we are all a part of a startup culture in Steemit. 

A shift in perspective is needed, and Dan provided that for a lot of us who consider ourselves to be bloggers and artists. This shift can be conceived of as a shift from self to group. And as far as blogging is concerned, I think we are all going to have to up our game to make Steemit truly stand out as a great platform. 

How do we do this? 

## The answer is simple:

# BE YOURSELF. EVERYONE ELSE IS TAKEN.

<center> [![IMG_7043.jpg](https://s28.postimg.org/ww4sibh0d/IMG_7043.jpg)](https://postimg.org/image/tpa8yowk9/)</center>
Art by @stellabelle

When you own yourself, people take notice. When you own yourself, you cannot be shut down. You might be flagged to death, but you can always write another post, and crawl back, _Black Mirror-style_ to get your rep back. Just look at @ubg's account for inspiration. When you own yourself and provide others with value in an authentic way, you stand out from the mediocre crap that fills the internet. Value originates from a writer or artist who gives 100% of their authentic self. You may disagree with the writer or artist, or find their stuff somehow offensive, but you give the writer/artist your energy because it has somehow stood out. It's value comes from the fact that it was born from true passion or knowledge. When you find something valuable, you know it. It stops you dead in your tracks and makes you think. 

# Cut-rate self-help guru virus is infecting the internet nowadays. 

[![selfhep.jpg](https://s23.postimg.org/ncu1azy4b/selfhep.jpg)](https://postimg.org/image/alfv4hoc7/)

The self-help guru virus is a disease that has spread far and wide. There are so many replicants now, it's hard to tell the useful self-help gurus from the absolute shit eaters. Self-help guru drivel is not authentic and it's only created to get clicks. Most marketing-style bloggers are just regurgitators of psychology-based informercials. They are not unique and they don't add any real value to humans. Their model is based on knee-jerk clickbait titles that get ad-revenue. As we all know, that's a dying model.

# Anyway, my point is that unless you bring your authentic self to Steemit, your impact won't be as powerful. 

Think of your blog as your personal website, part of a startup that has the ability to revolutionize the world of advertising, commerce, social media, revenue sharing and more. If we all play the shallow game, Steemit won't really have much appeal and will just be an echo-chamber of a bunch of blockchain fantasizers, all stroking each other's dreams (and other things). If you bring 100% of yourself here, and even if you get flagged for speaking your mind, I think you should continue to speak your mind in an unfiltered way. A culture of censoring our thoughts is _not good_ for creating real value.

# Let's face it, not all of us are going to be uber popular on Steemit nor in life. 

[![girl-726224_1280.jpg](https://s27.postimg.org/ltffvtk5f/girl_726224_1280.jpg)](https://postimg.org/image/eq7kg7epr/)
Pixabay

Being brutally honest has its negative drawbacks, and being an artist who mirrors unpleasant realities/fantasies has never really been something that the whales in Steemit have appreciated. Being controversial gets people worked up, but it also causes changes, too. I'm very inspired by @klye and @tuck-fheman because they don't mask or candy coat their feelings. They stand out as true artists and for me personally, are two reasons I love being in Steemit. They add unique value in the never-ending sea of digital drivel and noise.

But being yourself, standing up for what you truly believe, not filtering your thoughts and speaking your mind/art without fear of being flagged or trolled is exactly the kind of thing that creates real value in here and in the broader scope of social media. _Let's not be cheerleading clones._ People will never take this place seriously until we really create some serious authentic value that emerges from diverse voices. 

# No matter how hard I try to be neutral and provide good, straightforward information, I can't help but add my passionate weird  spin on it. That's just how my mind operates. 

Ideally, I'd like to become an expert in one field, someone like Amanda B. Johnson and make helpful videos like she does:

[![amanda.png](https://s23.postimg.org/ei01lv5x7/amanda.png)](https://postimg.org/image/ryx04qg8n/)
[Image Credit](http://bitcoinist.com/apple-parody-video-dao/)

But the reality is that my mind naturally gravitates towards absurdity and would much rather be entertaining the idea of giving myself a mullet makeover and getting freaky with a skinny cartoon guy who's not wearing a shirt. I have a compulsion to always try to entertain my own brain, and that just seems to take over whatever I'm doing. I feel that this compulsion is my real job in life.

<center>[![memulletts.jpg](https://s28.postimg.org/8utpsnxe5/memulletts.jpg)](https://postimg.org/image/xo39tbgeh/)</center>

# By not being your authentic self you do damage in three ways: your power is weakened, Steemit's growth remains stunted and our investments dwindle. 

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
-Oscar Wilde

Now is the time to answer the question: who are you?

[<center>![follow8f3ef.jpg](https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/27/follow8f3ef.jpg)</center>](https://steemit.com/@stellabelle)

Stellabelle's book, [_Un-Crap Your Life: Navigating Life's Crappiest Situations_](https://www.amazon.com/Crap-Your-Life-Navigating-Situations-ebook/dp/B017PBLZPA) is available in e-book or paperback on Amazon.