Note before reading: I first wrote this article on Medium. But even if you're not familiar with Medium what I wrote can still be applied to any kind of content creation platform. I hope it will be insightful for you.
I’m sure there are countless driven writers here on Medium who have an intrinsic desire to write and have made it their mission devote their time to it day after day. Their commitment and passion is really admirable.
Though passion, just like the feelings you may have for a new love interest, can be very short-lived. In a spur of the moment our attention narrows in on one singular subject — the object of our desire, an amazing product we want to purchase or a very specific goal that we want to achieve like RIGHT NOW.
For seasoned writers on Medium there are definitely countless milestones they can achieve but for new writers there is one milestone most of them will chase after in the very beginning: reaching their first 100 followers.
Having 100 followers for many is synonymous with the monetary incentive that Medium as a platform provides for the reading time of paying members. And that’s an amazing opportunity for everyone to start living of what they are passionate about. But that of course is a long-term perspective with many small and big efforts that come in-between that living that dream.
Likely everyone has seen examples of such people, who want to gain followers before writing even one piece of content.
And here comes the problem of short-term goals and instant gratification. First of all many people are drawn to the idea of making quick money with little to no effort. They expect it to be easy and if it’s not easy and instead requires continuous efforts they will just quit and move on to the next ‘promising opportunity’. It’s a cycle that is going to repeat until they realize that they need to find something they can truly commit to and do for a long period of time. That something may not be writing and that is okay.
But maybe a person who actually enjoys writing is starting out on Medium. They write their first articles and work hard to win readers and finally reach 100 followers. But then…nothing. What went wrong?
I’ve been there and done that. After it took me more than 2,5 years to get 1.000 subscribers on YouTube, I wanted to waist no time and join the Medium Partner Program as fast as possible. That’s where my focus was and it’s no surprise that after it felt so ‘fast and easy’ to reach that goal my passion disappeared just as fast. Being passioned is a momentary feeling and definitely not sustainable. It can help you get started but it won’t make you stick around for long enough to really make an impact and reach bigger milestones.
Probably it was me wanting too much, too fast and without a long term-plan for how to continue after the first few weeks of excitement.
Yes, I do like writing even though it’s not the only thing I like to do, but one of many other creative outlets. But just like my day job doesn’t usually create burning desire in me but instead requires some mental preparations to do the tasks even if I don’t necessarily enjoy them, especially in the beginning, staying active on Medium is similar. Sitting down to write or thinking about an interesting topic may feel tedious at times but sticking to is the only thing that will pay off in the longterm.
It’s the practice of being a small flame and burn for a long time instead of being a beautiful but short-lived firework. Try different things to stay on track just for a little longer every time. And hopefully over time it will become a great habit that will persist.
Thank you for reading!
~ AoiKasumi
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