70 Ways I’ve Been Transformed by 100 Stories in My First 100 Days on Medium
70 reasons why I cherish my first 100 days on Medium
I am finally at a great milestone. And it is an exciting one.
100 days ago, I took this crazy challenge to write every day for 365 days. I underestimated how challenging it will be and I had no idea how I was going to make it happen.
It all started with Day 1, then Day 30, and then Day 60. And now, Day 100.
As I shared in a previous article, it never gets easier, you just get better.
The learning continues…and the journey is still ongoing.
Here are 70 ways I’ve been transformed by 100 stories here on Medium.
1. I have found my voice
Without realizing it, I have actually found my voice, not just in my writing but also in my verbal presentations. The feedback I’m getting from friends and others that have attended a recent presentation I’ve given have confirmed this. I share my ideas with passion, authenticity, and with courage.
2. I now know I can sustain a good habit for 100 days
When I reached the 30-day milestone a while ago, I was elated as I’ve never sustained a good habit for that long. Making it to the 60-day mark is an absolute miracle. And here I am celebrating my 100th story here on Medium. It is a special day!
3. A fresh perspective as I look at my past failures
When it comes to committing to a habit for a long time, I’ve never really had success in the past. And I’ve tried many things such as:
Registering for online courses that I never completed.
Signing up for a 30-day challenge and giving up halfway.
My new year resolution to hit the gym every day that only lasted for one week.
Commitment to wake up each day at 5:00 AM that soon became 5:30 AM, then 6:00 AM and later 7:00 AM.
And on and on and on.
Now, I’m beginning to look at these with a different lens. I’m diving deep to find out why I gave up so quickly on these. And I’m learning a few things:
- I faced the same mental roadblocks with my writing just as I did with these events that I gave up on. And when I did, particularly on the bad days, I missed a day, then 2 days, and eventually lost the momentum to continue. For some reason, I pushed past these mental roadblocks with my writing and just continued writing daily. There is a higher commitment level with the writing.
- Keeping momentum is key. It certainly has been with the writing so far. Having the mental toughness to push past bad days to just show up and write has played a key role in keeping the momentum going.
- I also think the accountability from the community and my followers on the different platforms I write on also plays a critical role. The fact that people are waiting to read from me every day is a sufficient reason for me to show up daily.
4. I actually do enjoy writing and look forward to sharing my stories each day
There is power in expressing myself this way. And I find it interesting to pour out my mind on a piece of paper or on a white computer screen.
I’ve discovered that there is a remarkable difference between typing on the computer and writing in a notebook.
Ideas seem to flow much faster as I write in a notebook. My notebook I’ve had for months is now full as I journal and write daily.
5. It can be painful
Without a doubt, writing can be challenging some days. Particularly on days when you have other critical commitments. I’ve been experimenting with different writing schedules and I’m yet to find something that is perfect.
For me, I feel the most pain with writing if it is the last thing I do at the end of a busy workday. Recently, I read an article that discussed the importance of breaking your writing into different buckets — ideas, writing, editing. And scheduling different times during the week for these. I will give this a try in the coming days.
6. I’ve improved my writing
Writing is a craft that you must learn. There is no better way to learn than to practice. And there is no better way to practice than to write every day.
I can tell the difference in my writing progression as I compare my recent articles to my articles in my first week on the platform.
I’ve learned to use lots of white spaces. To shorten my sentences and to use a more active voice.
I’ve learned to write at a Grade 4 to 8 level to make it easier for readers to read and digest my stories.
7. I’ve learned to read every day
I read a couple of articles on Medium every day. Medium is a fantastic resource.
So many great writers to learn from and so many interesting articles to read that I can hardly keep up. It is addictive.
Besides reading on Medium, I also read books more than I’ve done in the past.
As I read every day, I’m inspired by new ideas. I learn and improve my writing craft as I model what the great writers on the platform are doing.
8. Ideas are everywhere
One of the major concerns I had starting this challenge was how to come up with what to write daily.
I’ve now discovered that ideas are everywhere. As I go for a walk or run, as I listen to the news and world events, I get ideas on what to write.
As I’m in discussions with friends and colleagues, I get ideas on topics to write.
The number of draft articles I have continues to grow each day.
9. I’ve learned to write to express, not to impress
I’m so thankful for Medium for giving me a platform to express myself. Writing to express makes it so easy to wake up each day to write.
I’m passionate about what I share and I’m on a mission to change lives with what I’m writing about.
10. It is passion first, reward last
It is tempting to start writing with the goal to make a killing. If this is your primary goal you will soon discover it takes a lot of work. And you will likely give up after a few days or weeks.
I’ve learned to believe that reward will be certain as I focus on getting better on my craft and building my tribe.
I now know that writing is its own reward so this is enough reason for me to continue writing.
11. I continue to build new connections with awesome writers
If you’re serious about writing, Medium is a great platform as it provides opportunities to connect with other great writers.
I’ve been following and learning from writers like Benjamin Hardy, Tom Kuegler, and Niklas Göke. I’ve joined their mailing list and have taken both their free and paid writing courses.
I continue to learn from these and other awesome writers on this platform daily.
12. The momentum gained from writing on Medium helped me finish my first book
My first book, Tax-Efficient Wealth, is now finished and you can get a FREE copy of the eBook version here.
The momentum gained from writing on Medium daily provided a strong drive to finish the book.
While it is not a perfect book, I know that my next book will be much better with the experience I’ve gained writing on this platform.
13. Perfection in writing is desirable, but I write in spite of it
I’ve learned to hit the “Publish” button even when I know my story still needs work. Many times, I spend hours trying to fix a sentence, rewrite an idea, and to make other structural changes.
It is great to have a perfect piece. But, I’ve learned to be more and more comfortable hitting the “Publish” button even when I know there is still room for improvement in my story.
Now, my motto is imperfect action.
14. I’ve developed a good morning routine
I now protect my morning to work on my big goals. And writing fits in here.
Each day, I wake up and read my bible, journal, and pray.
I read a few Medium articles, read other books, write and work on my other important goals.
My routine requires me to write down my goals each day — my 90-day and my 30-day goals as well as my top 3 daily tasks.
I find that if I don’t do these before noon each day, I may struggle the rest of the day to complete important things that drive me towards my long-term goals.
15. People are noticing
More and more people are checking me out on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as I post my articles on these platforms.
I’m getting calls from people I’ve not heard from in years. I’m even getting new clients for my business.
As small and insignificant as this may seem, people are noticing and it appears they are taking interest in my stories.
16. I’m slowly building brand awareness
Writing helps with brand awareness. Slowly, I’m now known for what I write about.
To help speed up this brand awareness, I’ve now started a publication — Plan To Retire Well on the Medium platform.
At the moment, it is an idea worth exploring.
As I get more experience and build more connections on the platform, I will know if this is a venture that is worth building.
17. I’m learning to show up every day, no matter the cost
I can resist quitting.
Several times, I’ve attempted to talk myself out of this challenge. But I still show up each day.
There are good days and there are tough days.
I’m learning to come up with strategies to handle each day and I’m now playing with a few ideas as I learn from others.
On the good days, it’s easy to keep writing.
On the bad days, I dig into my old articles for something I can repurpose.
The goal is to show up every day.
18. Views, claps, and stats are cool but they mean less
When I started writing, I did not know what views, and claps meant.
But as I started reading articles on Medium and started learning more about the platform, I began to obsess about these stats.
While these are nice to have, they mean less. Improving my writing and building a tribe means a lot more to me.
19. The little change keeps coming in
I was excited when I made my first $1 on this platform.
It gave me confidence.
It gave me momentum.
I never considered writing as a career or a side hustle in the past. At the moment, I still don’t.
For now, the tiny little change continues to grow each month. Obviously, this pales in comparison to the amount of time invested in writing.
But I know that it’s a big mistake to look at writing using a “Return on Investment” lens, particularly when I’m not considering it as my primary business.
As I noted earlier, it’s passion first, and reward much later.
20. I’m building an asset base that will serve me for many years
I’m realizing each day that my collection of articles is a strong asset base that has the potential to earn me income in so many ways in the future. These articles can be repurposed into:
- Many books I can sell on Amazon that will generate passive income for many years
- Future articles that can be sold
- YouTube and Facebook Videos that can potentially generate income
- Other articles that can generate a list of buyers for my products and services
- Other potential revenue sources
21. I look forward to my future self
I now see writing as an investment in my future self.
As I look forward to the next 265 days, I can only see an improved version of my current self.
This alone is super motivating.
I can hardly wait.
22. Two curated stories so far
So far, I’ve had two curated stories — “Why It Is Critical to Know Your Who in Business” and “The Case for Taking Naps”. One of which I did not even realize until almost a month later. It’s exciting to be contacted by top publications to share your story in their publication. Looking forward to hopefully having more curated stories on this platform.
23. $45.44 earned in 100 days
In 100 days I’ve made $45.44 on this platform, even with two curated articles. I see that the income continues to grow each month but I also know that this is not a good measure of reward for all the work that is put into writing daily on this platform. I’m smart enough to know that the value from the work I do everyday writing on this platform is worth at least $100,000 and that value will continue to grow each day and will certainly be realized so long as I don’t stop too soon. This requires a long-term focus, just like many other things we do in business and in life.
24. I now consume close to zero mainstream media
I’ve always loved listening to mainstream media, particularly the U.S. elections as I find it fascinating. These days, I’ve noticed that I hardly consume news anymore. Rather than listen to mainstream news as I typically do on my drive to and from work, I now listen to audiobooks, podcasts, and masterclasses. In fact, it’s so bad that sometimes I miss what I would typically consider important news and events. But now, I find that if it’s important, someone else will bring it to my attention just in time.
In fact, I now find it almost annoying to listen to the news. There is so much bias, sometimes fake news and in many instances, it’s news that fosters fear more than anything else.
25. I now have a higher appreciation of keeping a long-term view — it is priceless
Having a long-term view makes all the difference. Learning how not to live in the moment is so key as this is the one thing that will allow you to push past the stress, the burn-out, the overwhelm, and the little challenges you will encounter along your journey. For those of you that are Christians, it’s like having a Kingdom focus — an understanding that all our toil here on earth is meaningless compared to an eternity that is priceless.
With a long-term focus, you really never fail. You will always be successful, you will always enjoy the journey and you will have better experiences and richer life.
26. I now understand why it is important to live life on the rim of a coin
The idea that two things can be true at the same time is so important to grasp if you want to have success in life.
We live our lives on the rim of a coin. On the one side of a coin, there is the OPPORTUNITY and on the other side is FEAR. It’s impossible to live on either side of the coin and make progress in life. If you chase opportunities recklessly, you will get burned. And if you live in fear, you will die in fear. Living a fulfilled life requires us to always keep a balance by staying in motion on the rim of the coin.
This means it’s hard to enjoy life when you see everything as either White or Black. You must understand that sometimes, it can be both White and Black at the same time. Learn to move from thinking in a binary fashion to holding multiple opposing views that can sometimes be true at the same time.
27. I now understand that everything I do today will not necessarily make me money today
Most people miss this. In fact, this is one reason why most businesses and ventures fail in the first 5 years. People are too focused on making money today that they miss the valuable lessons and experiences they can get from the process of staying in the business just a little longer. You must realize that part of what you do whenever you start something new should include other things such as learning a life skill, building a community, creating content, and many others. If you master this, the money will come.
And the money may not come from this particular venture. It may come from another unrelated venture that will benefit from the skills, community, and content you may have created from previous experience.
28. Leverage is the key to success
You probably heard of this concept of leverage and perhaps you have only considered it in financial terms. However, life is all about leverage. In everything you do, always think of the “who” rather than the “how”. Who can help you get results faster? Who is more technical than you are in building a website? Who is better than you in the most important thing you want to accomplish? If you think you can do everything yourself, you will end up doing nothing.
29. Focus is everything
I now understand the value of staying focused and consistent on following the vision you’ve created for yourself. I know that distraction is one of the biggest ways to kill a person’s dream and we live in a world that is increasingly filled with many distractions.
When you’re not focused, when you jump from one thing to another, you become stretched too thin and before you know it, overwhelm sets in. This leads to procrastination and eventually, it leads to inaction.
So, what does it mean to stay focused? It means…
F — Follow
O — One
C — Course
U — Until
S — Successful
This is key, “follow one course until successful.” In order words, you should not attempt to do anything else until you first get very comfortable and successful in doing just one thing.
Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who knows 10,000 kick, but the man who has practiced the same kick 10,000 times.”
So, learn to stay the course and learn to keep the focus on one thing or just a few related things until you get very comfortable and good at this one thing.
30. Personality is not permanent
Benjamin Hardy, a writer I met on this platform and one that I follow closely, wrote a great book titled, Personality Isn’t Permanent. The point of his book is that your past does not necessarily dictate your future. You can reinvent yourself. You can change your future. And you can transform your life in such a way you will hardly recognize your past self when compared to your future self.
31. Knowledge is key but action is superior
I’ve now come to realize how important it is to take action on your knowledge.
“To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.” — Steve Jobs
If you want transformation in your life, you have to execute.
You have to move from head knowledge to actually implement the ideas you’ve learned. If you don’t execute, nothing happens. Your life will not change. You will not be better than you were yesterday.
To execute, you must develop systems that will make execution effortless. You need a system to execute your priorities every day. A system that will allow you to breakdown your decade long goals into annual goals, and eventually to your daily tasks.
“One can steal ideas, but no one can steal execution or passion.” — Tim Ferriss
I wrote more about this in my article titled, “5 Ways to Execute Effortlessly”.
At the end of the day, without execution, nothing changes. Period.
32. I believe in the slogan…”It’s Every Day Bro!”
There is a popular song by Jake Paul titled “It’s Everyday Bro”. I don’t know much about the song and this has nothing to do with his song. But it has everything to do with what differentiates the ridiculously successful people from the average and mediocre people. It’s the daily repetition of critical habits the successful have to endure day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year.
When successful people work on their craft, they make it look easy to those watching from the outside.
If you have access to the backstage of the lives of these successful people, you will get some incredible information about who they really are, what makes them tick, and, most importantly, what makes them so successful and productive.
“Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them.” — Vaibhav Shah
I wrote more about the 9 things successful people do every day to achieve the kind of success we admire. You can read it here.
33. Never stop investing in yourself
I’ve now come to realize that I am the most important asset when it comes to living life on my terms. If I’m full of garbage, my work, my results, and the outcome I produce will be full of garbage. So, for this reason, I take the investment in myself very seriously.
You must invest in yourself by developing the skills you need to be successful in anything you do. Whatever that investment may look like for you, it is important to do it. Spiritual, meditation, books — these things will help you figure out who you are, where you’re going, why it matters, what matters, and what doesn’t.
Never underestimate the positive ROI (Return On Investment) you get every time you read a book, take a course, or invest in hiring a mentor or a coach. It may look like a waste of time today, but trust me, you will soon come to realize how valuable what you’re learning is. Just keep at it.
34. I’m learning to develop an attitude of “disdain” for excuses
When it comes to accomplishing your dreams and hitting your life goals, never let excuses get in the way. Look for ways to stand above them. Always be resourceful and look for multiple ways to overcome roadblocks. If one attempt does not work, try another, try the third option, fourth, fifth, and so on until you find a solution. Live in a land of “No Excuses”.
35. I’ve learned to embrace “fear”
One reason most people never try something new is due to fear — fear of failure and fear of the unknown. You must understand that fear is a beautiful part of life. It will never go away. So, you must learn to live with it, and more importantly, you must learn how to tap the enormous power from your fears.
“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” — William Allen White
Fear is a major hindrance, not only in business but also in all aspects of life. Although fear has a negative connotation associated with it, we must recognize that fear is a necessary part of life. In fact, fear is one of the major contributors to progress and development in our world today.
It is the way we react to fear that makes the difference. It can hinder you or it can trigger success and victory.
As I look back and reflect on my journey, fear hindered me in many ways and I shared that story here.
36. I’ve learned a lot about money just by reading and writing about money
My money mindset has dramatically shifted in the last 100 days just by reading and writing a lot about money. Even though I’ve been on this money journey for as long as I can remember, there were so many things I was doing that I did not even realize I was doing — some good, and some not so good.
Having a great money mindset is key. Money is a means to an end. Money is not the most important thing in the world. There are far more important things in life such as love, kindness, humility that will trump money every time. Having a lot of money will not make you a better person. If you’re a jerk with no money, you will only be a bigger jerk with a lot of money. To me, it is better to be a better person with little or no money than to be a jerk with a boatload of money. So, develop the right money perspective and learn to put money where it rightfully belongs.
37. Pressure can sometimes be a bedrock of creativity
I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like I’m constantly under pressure to deliver. Running tight on a product or service delivery deadline. The pressure to put together an important proposal. The pressure to prepare for an upcoming presentation. It seems like it never ends. I’m beginning to learn to fall in love with it as I find that I’m the most resourceful in these situations and the most creative.
When I look back sometimes, I’m so proud of the products and services I created under enormous pressure. So, don’t underestimate how resourceful and creative you can be when put under pressure.
38. I’ve figured out a way to get paid to learn and to create new content
I’ve now run a couple of challenges where I get people to pay to participate in the challenge. I use the challenge to create content, learn more about what people want, create a product, and sell to them. I use the entire experience to learn more about my market, their needs, and to look for ways to improve my subsequent offers.
39. I’m growing in wisdom
Wisdom comes with experience. As I write each day, as I read and consume content, and as I learn from trying new things and doing stuff, I’m growing in wisdom.
40. I’m getting more comfortable with overwhelm
From time to time, overwhelm will set in. But now, rather than worry about it, rather than complain, I view it differently. To me, it means something great is about to happen. It means I’m learning. It means I’m growing and it means great success is just around the corner.
41. I now have the right context for success
Like everything in life, context is key. And so it is important to view your success in the right context. Your definition of success may mean nothing to my definition of success. So based on this lens, your success, your position, your financial status, your career means very little when viewed out of context.
So, define what success means to you and just enjoy the journey. You have no business comparing your success to other people’s definitions of success or to your definition of other people’s success. Be yourself, personalize your journey, and live a life that is meaningful to you first, and then to your tribe.
42. I now believe that to have a breakthrough you must break something
You have to break your limiting beliefs.
You have to break your poor money mindset.
You have to break poor habits that hold you back.
When confronted with the reality to take a big step to make a significant change in your life or career, it’s easy to be paralyzed by uncertainties, doubts, or fears. To overcome these you have to break those things that are holding you back.
43. I have been working a lot lately
Not necessarily because of writing but mostly because the COVID-19 situation altered our work schedule and also because I’ve now had to rethink the way my businesses are structured. So, I’ve been busy investing in learning more about marketing, creating new products and revenue streams, and working on opportunities to build a business that can thrive without me.
Certainly, writing every day is a big commitment but I’ve been able to cut the amount of time spent writing from an average of 2 to 3 hours per day when I started to now an average of 1 hour a day. However, some planning is still required to keep writing time minimal.
44. I should be getting 7+ hours of sleep each night but for the last couple of months, I’ve only been getting an average of 6 hours
I know sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. I preach it sometimes and in fact, I wrote an article on “The Case for Taking Naps” and this was one of my two curated articles. One that I did not even realize until a month later as I totally missed the email.
However, I must confess that over the last couple of months, I’ve not been getting the recommended 7+ hours of sleep and I’ve not been taking naps as much either. I agree these are necessary for your well being and I look forward to having more sleep and naps soon in the coming months.
45. I’m now learning to say “No” to people, obligations, requests, and opportunities more often than I say “Yes”
In my story, 20 Quotes to Encourage You to Say “NO” More Often than You Say “YES”, I wrote that one of the reasons we’re so busy in North America is our inability to say “No”.
We find it challenging to say “No” to our bosses, colleagues, family members, friends, and even strangers. We say “Yes” all the time because we feel the need to help. We feel hyperproductive by taking on more. We assume that saying “No” is a sign of weakness. We don’t want to offend. We want to be liked and saying “No” makes us feel guilty.
As a result, we have no boundaries to protect our time. We have no limits, and we have no rules that guide what we can do and cannot do.
“No more yes. It’s either HELL YEAH! or no.” — Derek Sivers
If you want to accomplish important goals in life, you would agree that extreme focus is required. And that focus must be directed at just one thing. So, it is critical to learn to say “No” more often than you say “Yes”. This will require you to set boundaries and limits that protect your time.
46. I now have more faith than I’ve ever had in the past
For those of you that are Christians, you know how important faith is. Faith is the foundation of the Christain faith. In Hebrews 11:6, it says “And without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Similarly, you need faith in whatever you’re doing for any chance of success. In his timeless book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill writes that faith is a fundamental principle of wealth creation. He defined it as visualization and belief in the attainment of desire.
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” — Napoleon Hill
If you don’t have faith, if you don’t believe in yourself, and if you don’t believe in something more than yourself, the chances of you accomplishing your goals are zero.
47. I’m learning to enjoy the journey rather than obsess about the outcome
While it is possible to predict certain outcomes based on the work you put it with your planning and implementation, there is still some uncertainty. If you’re in business, you will understand my point. You cannot always predict how the market will respond to your products and services. You can certainly not predict what the economy will look like in the future. Nobody predicted COVID19 for example.
So, with this in mind, you cannot afford to obsess about outcomes you have little or no control over. Doing so is an invitation to unnecessary stress. In his book, The Personal MBA, Josh Kaufman explains that when setting goals, your locus of control should target what you can control (i.e., your efforts) instead of results you can’t control (e.g., whether you get the part).
48. I’ve learned to protect my productivity by only checking my emails and phones at set intervals
In the past, I had my notifications for my emails and phones turned on and I would always respond as new emails, texts, calls come in. And at the end of the day, I would sadly find out that I’ve accomplished little or nothing towards accomplishing my goals. Now, I’ve turned off most notifications and in fact, I’ve now learned to turn off my phones and emails when doing deep work.
By doing this, I avoid distractions and interruptions from focused work. When you check your emails, phones, and social media anytime you get a beep, you interrupt productive work. And you will be responding to other people’s agendas instead of living life on their own terms. So, you should regularly assess how you spend your time and look for opportunities to cut out distractions from emails, social media, and electronic devices.
49. I spend more time reflecting on my blessings daily
My day often starts with prayers and time spent reading my bible. And gratitude to God is a big part of this. Every day, I count my blessings. I realize how fortunate I am to live in North America, to live in a free country where freedom of rights and religion is upheld. I count myself fortunate to profess and practice my faith freely. Fortunate to live in a safe country, I don’t take these lightly and I highly encourage you to look for more opportunities in your life to give thanks and express gratitude to God and to those around you.
When you practice gratitude, your world changes. Gratitude is having an abundance mindset. When you think abundantly, you open a new world filled with limitless opportunities and possibilities for you.
50. I’m not as reluctant as I used to be in seeking help from others
If you’ve been in business long enough, you will agree that people will disappoint you. They won’t do the work they’ve agreed to do. They won’t do it the way you want it done. There will be mistakes. There will be delays and the list goes on and on. For this reason, it is important you know how to do a few things to accomplish your goals.
However, at some point in your career or your business, you will find that you cannot do everything yourself. You will burn out. You will miss important details and you will eventually lose money. So, you must learn to rely on others, to tolerate insignificant mistakes, to have the patience to train and develop others — your employees and partners.
51. I’ve been invited to a podcast and a few speaking engagements
As more and more people are taking notice, I’m beginning to get invitations to appear on podcasts and to speak to groups of people. This is is a direct result of writing on this platform as more and more people are getting to know me and what I stand for.
52. I’ve been asked to write on a few platforms and provide specific training
I’m now getting opportunities to write on other platforms and to provide specific training based on stories I share here on Medium. Some of these opportunities are paid opportunities. And I imagine there will be more of these in the coming months.
53. I now believe I can make money writing
When my mentor asked me to write for 365 days, I never considered making money from writing. Even though my current focus is not on making money from my writing, I now believe that I can. And you can too if that is your focus.
54. I now consume a lot more content daily
I never get bored and I’m always looking for more spare time to read, listen to podcasts, attend masterclasses, attend events, watch Youtube, etc. Consuming content makes it easier for me to generate new ideas and content for my audience. Ideas in equal ideas out.
55. I’m still working on finding an ideal schedule that works for me
I’ve tried many things — writing first thing in the morning, writing sometime in the afternoon, writing late at night just before I go to sleep, writing on the weekends. So far, what works best for me is writing in the morning. I find it a lot easier as ideas tend to flow freely and writing is much faster for me compared to other times.
56. I’ve learned to use some writing and editing tools to help with my craft
Following recommendations from other writers on this platform, I now use Grammarly and Hemingway Editor to check some of my stories before I publish. These tools helped me initially when I started to reinforce some great fundamentals.
57. I now know the importance of headlines and images in my stories
While I’m still learning to get better with the use of headlines, I find that my headlines are much better than when I started writing here. Through some of the free and paid training programs I’ve taken from some writes on this platform, I know the importance of crafting a headline that will stop people on their tracks when they come across your story.
58. I’ve now learned how to write at an eighth-grade level or lower
I never knew what this meant when I started here in Medium. But with the use of a tool like Hemingway Editor, you can easily tell how easy it is for others to read and comprehend your story.
59. I’ve learned to celebrate every milestone here on Medium
When it comes to my Medium journey, my twelve-year-old daughter, Hallie is my biggest fan. So she joins me as I celebrate every milestone here — my first $1, my first 30 days, my first 60 days, my two curated articles, the first one, and the second one, and now my first 100 days.
60. I share my content everywhere and I have someone helping me with this!
When I started initially, I would do this myself and it was taking more time than I had planned. Now, I have someone helping me with this and we’re using as much automation as possible to schedule content on these platforms ahead of time using Buffer. I post my content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and twitter daily.
61. I’ve learned to lower my expectations
To avoid unnecessary disappointments, I’ve learned to lower my expectations. I used to get so disappointed and frustrated when my pitch for a new business or my proposal for new work is rejected. Now, I just put in the work, expect the worst, and try again when I get “No”.
62. I know that no matter what I do, there are people that will still complain, hate, and attempt to destroy me. I’ve learned to ignore them
People will always be people. When they don’t understand you, they spew nonsense. When they are frustrated they put it on you. So, no need to waste your energy on people like this. Pray for them and move on.
63. I’ve learned to use my note and voice app on my phone to document new ideas
These days, I get new ideas all the time. While I’m driving, in the shower, on my walks and runs, in parties with friends and at work. I always have my notebook handy and when I don’t have it, I record using the voice or note app on my phone so that I don’t lose my idea and inspiration.
64. I’m now comfortable with rejection
I’ve been rejected many times by publications here on Medium. At first, it made me so upset…how can they reject such a good story that took 3 precious hours of my time to write? I now know this is part of the learning process. I’m lucky that most of them provide me with the reasons for their rejection as it helps me make changes next time and try again.
65. I’ve learned the importance of always having a call-to-action
“Always be selling”, this was the slogan I once heard at an event. So, now I’ve learned never to waste any opportunity to sell and I now always put a call-to-action in all my content.
66. I’m loving what I do more and more
I love to write and I love to run my businesses. One of the things I learned from Warren Buffet’s 10 rules of success is to love the game. Buffet enjoyed the hustle of running a business and being his own boss. He loved the game and that was one of his biggest motivations for staying the course.
Do you love what you do? Do you have a passion for your business? It is critical that you do what you love, particularly if you want to get into business.
67. I’m quick to acknowledge and learn from my mistakes
More than ever before, I’m quick to acknowledge mistakes and learn quickly from them. In life and in business, it is unavoidable to make mistakes. However, you don’t want to miss the lessons from those mistakes. So, cherish your mistakes as this is your platform for success.
68. I now know that growth calls for risk and risk creates growth
I shared more on this in this story. The ability to take risks is one of the things that separates the real winners from the also-rans. For me, writing on this platform was taking a risk and this risk has forced me to grow.
Whenever growth is discussed, whether in business or in our personal lives, the importance of taking risks is mentioned. And when we talk about risks, there is sometimes confusion between risk and gambling.
Dr. Henry Cloud in his book, Integrity, defines risk as follows:
Risk means that you do something that has the possibility of a bad outcome, and that you embrace the possibility and are OK with it.
He goes on to say that financial risk means that you invest your money in some way in which it is not certain that all will be good, but there is also the possibility for a greater reward than if you had done something more secure.
69. I have a better view of work
In my story titled, “Is Work Working for You?”, I share Vicki Roby’s work on redefining work. and I learned a lot about having the right perspective as it relates to the work we all do every day.
Our fulfillment as human beings lies not in our jobs but in the whole picture of our lives — in our inner sense of what life is about, our connectedness with others, and our yearning for meaning and purpose. By separating work and wages we actually open the door to integrating all parts of our lives, from earning money to loving our families, into one whole called “who we really are.” When we are whole, we don’t need to try to consume our way to happiness. Happiness is our birthright.
70. Above all, I’ve learned to take action quickly on what I’ve learned
The only impossible journey is the one you never begin — Tony Robbins
I love to learn. I get excited when I learn something new. I’m immediately motivated by the knowledge and I feel like I will change the world with my new-found knowledge.
What we fail to realize is that learning does not stop here. Stopping here only creates the illusion of competence. We have to take it a step further by doing something with what we’ve learned. This is where the real learning begins.
Moving from the illusion of competence to real learning requires doing something with what you’ve learned. In other words, some sort of output is required. Input without output leads to shallow learning.
At the end of the day, what’s the point of learning if you can’t do anything with it? So, I’ve learned to get past the fear of inaction to taking massive action quickly to implement what I’ve learned.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” — Dale Carnegie
In Closing
I hope you find encouragement in my story to keep writing and to keep stretching yourself.
Invest in your passion.
Invest in your writing.
Invest in your self-development.
And reap the rewards much later.
P.S. I am on a mission to arm you with financial education. That’s one reason I started writing on medium and that’s why I wrote Tax-Efficient Wealth. This book will help you accelerate your wealth in a tax-efficient way. Grab a FREE eBook version of my new book, Tax-Efficient Wealth, to learn how you can build wealth quickly using strategies that will save you a ton in taxes.
