Am I Medium’s Version of Walter White?

How one crafty comment from a reader got me thinking… a lot

I woke up to this comment from a reader today. I took it as a hilarious compliment, because I do my best to look out for the writers on this platform — in my own way, at least.

Thanks to @jmglodoviza for the inspiration. He was referring to my story about Medium addiction.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the TV show Breaking Bad, the protagonist of the story is Walter White. He’s a science teacher-turned-meth dealer, once he realized he had cancer and wanted quick cash to provide for his family.

While I am none of that (as far as you know ;) ), at least Walter and I have the same haircut. I also know a thing or six about neuroscience and behavioral conditioning (as this is still my day job, for now. I like to call myself a recovering neuroscientist).

…our media consumption influences our behavior. Good and bad.

As much as we’d like to be — as many habits and articles on stoicism we may read — we’re a lot less in charge than we think we are.

Right now I’m working my way through a book on statistics and probability, called The Drunkard’s Walk. We take many of our daily decisions for granted, as if we’re in control of every move, without considering our environment. We make a lot of predictions and assumptions based on the incorrect data set. This means it’s easy to manipulate facts and behavior to get what you want.

As Medium writers it’s important we understand our impact on people.

You can either manipulate people to be better, or worse. But we’re all stuck in the Matrix whether we like it or not. I know there’s the endless philosophical argument of free will versus determinism, but if you look around, free will lost the battle a long time ago.

Everything in our environment affects our behavior. More than you think. More than you may want it to. But you can’t run from it. This is the way we are wired. No matter how far off-grid you run, we can’t escape being human.

So, dear writer, you’ve got a decision to make.

Will you use your superpowers for good or evil? Meth or hugs?

As writers and creators we all want to be paid well for our work. There’s nothing more powerful than the meld between our work that matters most and the ability to make a great living from it.

But there’s another thing we don’t recognize.

Our ability to help others get what they want is in direct proportion to the size of our income. If we write a bunch of self-serving content, sell self-serving products, and do nothing but emit self-serving vibes — well — we’ll get nothing but a self-serving income.

Which might be high at first, but always crashes fast.

You don’t earn customers with a single sale. Anyone can fleece a customer once. Whether you write books, sell courses, are a coach, or a painter. We build a creative business by developing long-term relationships with people.

This means we’ve got to do the right thing. The right thing benefits everyone.

I guess the answer is no

I am not Medium’s Walter White. Although it sounds really cool. Walter White is a terrible human being. He chose the wrong vocation to focus all his talents on. But it made for great TV.

Often we get wrapped in the wrong vocation (I did). Using our good work in the wrong place. We all have a duty to ourselves and our tribe, to change that.

The right thing doesn’t have to be altruism either. I’m a greedy pig just like the next person. But I know if I help people the right way — transform them from the place they want to escape to a place they want to be — I’ll be rewarded seven ways to July. Compare that to putting garbage into the world just to make a quick buck.

Everyone wins.

While we’ve all got a little Walter inside us, I challenge you to take the high road. Write books for your readers. Develop courses and products that actually help people get what they want first. Only become a coach if you can really achieve measurable results for your clients, not because you’re unemployable elsewhere.

Write what should be written. Make what should be made.

Don’t fill space with your content just to get something out the door. Be thoughtful in your gifts to others.

There’s plenty of opportunity to take the low-road. Happens every day. Look to the left and right of you. You’ll find examples.

We’re far from perfect. We should embrace these flaws instead of run from them. If we’re honest with our tribe, they’ll stick with us until the end.

Take the high road

We’ve all got a choice. Every time we sit behind the keyboard, we can either motivate or demotivate — build or destroy — help or hurt. I’m so far left of perfect it’s not a joke, but I’m trying to get better. I hope you’ll get better too.

There’s a little piece of us in everything we do, say, or make.

Will your cookies taste like Grandma made them, or will they taste like poison?

It’s all connected. We’re all connected. And even if you’re a very small influencer, you have a duty to steer your tribe in the right direction. When the tribe grows you grow.

Money isn’t a goal, it’s the byproduct of doing the right work for the right people.

I hope you’ll join me.

We’re waiting for you.

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August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indies how to make work that sells and how to sell more of that work once it’s created. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.