_You may not have ever heard of me, but I’m one of the most successful content creators on the Steemit platform._ No joke.

![Screen Shot 2018-03-02 at 1.16.43 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXskw7wkPe4cS3gCzypnmMsHAm4VpmaQtHkWCPTErHuNs/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-02%20at%201.16.43%20PM.png) _here’s a loving gaze from successful Steemian @therealpaul, superimposed onto a dollar bill_

My Secret to Success

_Is there a simple thing that I do that makes me such a successful poster on the platform?_

Sometimes I’ll post a headline in the center of the page, _could that be my secret?_

Is THIS The Secret to My Success?

While the centered headline always looks fabulous, and really tends to sort things out, my secret may be even simpler than that.

_My true secret to success here is that I no longer have to work._

That didn’t sound right.

_What I mean is,_ that as a content creator here at Steemit, I am fulfilling a lifelong dream. Instead of working, I play, draw and paint, write short stories and funny pages, and create dioramas for tiny tales full of unusual twists.

![Screen Shot 2018-03-15 at 7.51.52 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeLxKw1v1vsMrLVvGrYAddsSfMmUYdSTs2836hn9evfxZ/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-15%20at%207.51.52%20PM.png) It takes a lot of playtime to put together a variety show with songs and comedy skits, while sometimes conducting the most unusual investigations into strange events and oddities of all kinds, then pouring it all into my own magazine in an uncensored format.

Too Busy Being Successful to Work

To be honest, I hardly ever work. My time is much too valuable to sell for any cost, and to trade a minute of the day for a dollar or two has never appealed to me.

I've simply found that selling my moments of time cuts badly into my playtime-- time that I could be spending on living these moments of life, all in a row, in the best way that I know how.

Can't Work Right Now- I Have to Play With My Family

I'm not sure what others mean by 'success' when they claim it, but for me, success means I get to spend my hours with my family.

Most of the dioramas that have appeared on this page were built by my daughter and myself, using the toy cars that we never stopped playing with, and often we would use cardboard boxes as the background buildings, with the windows drawn in black marker ink. ![Screen Shot 2018-03-15 at 8.09.03 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWMakxLfM8D6wnr7hiSvMm9odYXPaw3Vqr4LoDbhcXntF/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-15%20at%208.09.03%20PM.png) ![Screen Shot 2018-03-15 at 8.08.39 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmayFkabZejkb8PtqDyhh4k8UiJ2ZDeuGe21i4hWnpKUFM/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-15%20at%208.08.39%20PM.png) ![Screen Shot 2018-03-15 at 8.09.21 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWGKxnaua5V4kaewUzZku7SUQyb7aeQXJ3FxUrjx6gHvP/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-15%20at%208.09.21%20PM.png) ![Screen Shot 2018-03-15 at 8.09.36 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSsJMHbRVb9iNkwbTcyzDiXLKwvRru1gSh7xZk4cqUpi4/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-15%20at%208.09.36%20PM.png) Built, arranged, and crafted by my little family, the dioramas and many of the photographs on this blog represent many joyful hours spent playing with toys, and spending priceless moments with my daughter. That is what success means to me. I have made it, while I was making _this._ ![Screen Shot 2018-03-15 at 7.48.52 PM.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmewU3VEnNcW92JkhaagNzdju3XkRfyHW19cEAVyzhq2Js/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-15%20at%207.48.52%20PM.png) I write this for the writers and the artists, and anyone reading now who wonders how to be successful on the Steemit platform. Much advice is offered on how to become noticed, and how to collect the most rewards here. I write this not as advice, but as a glance at things from perhaps a new angle.

To redefine the meaning of success in such a way could be seen as childish, but it could also serve to change the way each day is approached for someone, and sometimes a simple change in perspective can change a whole life.

True Success

Every one of my posts makes the trending page. Sure, you have to scroll down for quite a while, but it’s there. I don't go there to check on the popularity of posts though, I'm too busy. Is the art and music that I share a sign of my success? I’ve never had anyone tell me, _”Don’t quit your day job.”_ I’ve had people say _”You need to **get** a job,”_ but for most of my life I’ve really been encouraged all the way as I prepared material for this very Steemit page over the years, and I do appreciate everyone for that.

I'm a success here, probably one of the most successful Steemians on the platform. It really depends on what one means by success though, does it not?

-------------- _Thanks for reading, all the pictures above are mine, all original. For more examples of my success here, click below:_ ![IMG_2143.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcFQFiVxHbWWdmDxkzkbJtTexo2Yjj8yCfTsQZBrG8DY9/IMG_2143.jpg)

click _@therealpaul_ for more