Insanity comes in different flavors and intensities.

Some people are insane in a kind of anti-social, dungeonesque way that frightens others. Others have a kind of cotton-candy manic insanity: bubbly one minute, and forked tongue the next. None of us are the same, and because we are human, we all are flawed in our special way. Some of us are perfectly sane, but because of having to conform to a pathological system, we are now warped. You know what I'm talking about.

Steemit is perhaps the greatest invention that humankind has ever had.

Let's not fuck it up. The reason that people have hesitated in coming here is because they are afraid of the unknown. Steemit is revolutionary and contains the ingredients to shift the world, our monetary system, and most importantly, our minds and the way we interact with each other.

But let's face it, many of us are damaged goods.

We are not young chickens full of idealistic hope for humanity. We are angry, depressed, agitated, jaded and filled with the disappointments of a lifetime of dead dreams. The world has not been good to most of us. I have the unique perspective of knowing intimately both sides of life: obscene wealth and depraved poverty. I came into quite a lot of money in my youth and didn't have a care in the world. I thought money grew on trees. Then in my forties, I was reduced to a pile of wasted dreams, and had no more than $200 to my name. The sting of poverty left its scars permanently baked into my ever-widening ass.

So, we are on the precipice of being able to fundamentally shift society, consciousness and power structures, moving from the worn-out, decrepit centralized authority to a holistic and organic, highly-innovative decentralized one. But you and I know what has to happen first, right?

We have to change our thinking patterns and move from a victim mentality to an actively engaged one even if we are old and slightly nuts. We must do it now.

So, this brings us to the next thing: insanity.

I think of insanity in terms of coping strategies that have gone undetected. I have struggles with OCD and fear of people. I have been a drug addict, a fantasy addict and still have issues with germaphobia. I am too emotionally attached to technology. I've overcome a lot, but still have a ways to go. But there are two things that help me navigate all this stuff: awareness and humor. Being aware of your insanity is the first step. Being able to make fun of yourself is the second. Once you do those two things, you can comfortably write about and make fun of your own conditions. Then, people will be attracted to you (in a friend way).

Many of us are probably mildly insane, but guess what? It doesn't matter anymore.

You can earn money on Steemit without ever setting foot in a shrink's office. You can share your dirty and disgusting thoughts and get paid for it. You don't even really need to self-medicate anymore. There are plenty of things to get addicted to within Steemit. If making money is your addiction, there are more than enough opportunities for that.

Also, when you earn on Steemit, you won't have to go through the demeaning job interview process. Kiss those drug pee tests goodbye. Tell your boss (who you hate) to go fuck himself (well, wait, don't quit your day job just yet) and tell your Facebook friends that you will remain friends with them only if they join you over on Steemit.

If you consider yourself to be mildly insane, but want to earn income on Steemit, here are some tips:

1. Identify your unique form of insanity.

2. Find other people who are insane in the same way as you and kiss their posts.

3. Figure out how to turn your insanity into blog posts, videos or art. By revealing your true nature, you will attract others who are similar. Then you can sing kumbaya, and upvote each other's posts.

4. Find a way to turn your greatest weakness into your greatest strength.

5. Rinse, repeat.

If none of the above steps make sense to you, just make dank memes like @tuck-fheman.

Now, #4 may sound like some kind of shallow self-help meme. It's not. I will give you a concrete example: me.

My greatest weakness:

I am a serial learner who delves into random topics on an ever-shifting cycle. I am not a business person, but an idea person.

My new super power strength:

blogging on Steemit about many different topics, on a consistent basis in an unapologetic, authentic voice. Basically, I stopped giving a shit what people think about me, my real self. I spent a lifetime trying to be someone else, now I don't care to put any effort into living a fake life.

Now here's some specific info about turning a weakness into strength:

As a person who cannot stay focused long-term on any one topic, writing books seems like a colossal and horrible undertaking. I fear the idea, even though I have started writing at least 6 different books. I probably won't finish any of them. My attention span is not cut out for that. So, knowing this about myself, I have decided that I am better and happier as a "blogger". I can change topics every day if I wish, and that's what my mind wants to do. I also prefer instant reactions and interaction, so that further indicates that blogging on social media is my cup of tea.

Now, that's just my brain. Yours is probably different. Figure out what makes your brain happy and do more of that.

I will say that if your mental issues are anti-social, aggressive and hostile towards others, then Steemit won't be a good fit for you. In that case, I would say building up the Steem GIF library on giphy.com, programming, or doing some other creative work that is removed from interacting with humans would be a good idea.

Even if you're a drug addict, homeless or disabled, Steemit can become a way of improving your life. When you give more of yourself on Steemit, you will get more in return, but be patient. It doesn't happen overnight. It's a slow grind, and now there's more competition than ever. There's no better time to be yourself.

Remember:

Be Yourself. Everyone else is taken.

(can't remember who said that)

Cheers and Steem on,

Stellabelle

(None of this is real advice. You're better off listening to yourself anyway).