How I Haven't Given Up Writing Despite Not Going *Viral*.

Spoiler: virality isn't the goal.

So many of us jump on the writing bandwagon (or the entrepreneurial bandwagon), hoping it will be the answer to our financial prayers.

We hope it will be the quick solution we were asking for to finally live life on our terms and not worry about where the money comes from.

The truth is, that's not what being an entrepreneur is about.

As I continue on this writing journey that I've yet to determine where it will take me, I've realized a few key lessons about what's required to keep pursuing your goals and dreams, especially when they don't come to fruition when and how you expected them to.

More importantly, I've learned to go viral isn't the goal.

Going viral is simply a sign of popularity. That's it.

It's not an indicator of success and will not determine if you will be here for the long term.

With that said, here are the key lessons I've learned about playing the long game.

You've got to dedicate yourself to something you genuinely enjoy doing.

Otherwise, you'll burn out.

Too many times, I pursued opportunities for income potential, not thinking one bit about what was actually required to succeed.

I've worked as a life insurance sales agent, an account manager, and a sales associate. I've dabbled in network marketing, affiliate marketing, YouTube, Instagram… I've tried many things to make money.

And the only thing I've been able to stick with for longer than six months is writing.

Why? Because I genuinely enjoy it.

I've also evolved — my mindset has matured and changed.

Which is why I'm able to share these lessons with you.

I've realized you will not stick with something for long if you're not enjoying some aspect of what you're doing.

Plain and simple.

You can fool yourself into thinking you enjoy it, but the problem is resentment builds over time.

You start wondering what else is out there that you haven't tried that could make you less miserable.

Which leads to my next point.

It won't be the first thing you try.

You will need to try different things in different industries to figure out what that thing is that you genuinely enjoy.

It took me years to find my voice. After finding my voice, I eventually found writing.

I started writing only two years ago. Some may say that's a long time, but I still feel like an amateur.

Do you know how there are those people who, since they were kids, have been dedicating themselves to something?

That's how I viewed writers. I thought writers were born.

Eventually, I realized they are made through lots of trial and error and effort.

I realized anyone can be anything they want simply by doing it repeatedly.

These are called skills, and skills are taught. This means there are A LOT of options you can try to figure out that one thing that makes you feel alive.

Don't give up pursuing it.

I may not have found writing when I hoped for it, but eventually, I did, and now I have it for the rest of my life.

You have to let go of whatever grand expectations you have.

I thought I was going viral as soon as I hit the publish button for the first time.

That didn't happen, so I tried a second, third, fourth time, and so on.

I've written over 230 blogs, and I've yet to go viral, but along this journey, I realized that virality isn't what's important.

What's important is building an audience, a community genuinely interested in what you have to say and the value you bring.

As I said earlier, virality is a sign of popularity, but there's nothing more to it.

To build a community, you have to show up day in and day out. You have to build it, and that takes time.

I'm sure you've heard this from who knows how many other writers on this platform, but it's an important reminder we need to hear constantly.

We need to remind ourselves that the pursuit of the goal is what brings us that feeling of accomplishment and success.

When we're achieving our smaller goals, one by one, we feel we're making progress.

This journey will be messy, but isn't that great?

You'll have a million stories to share, and, after all, no one is interested in reading a story about how you tried and won the first time.

But we certainly love stories sharing how someone achieved their goals despite the monumental obstacles that were in the way.

So continue. Continue trying and failing, or what may feel like failing, until you've found a way.

And then continue forward.