I Started Doing this One Thing and It has only Made Medium Better for Me
Want to know what it is?
I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong To crash the critics saying, “is it right or is it wrong?” If only fame had an IV, baby could I bear Being away from you, I found the vein, put it in here
— Lady Gaga
I was looking at one of my early articles on here, in 2021, when I first started Medium and before I initially gave up.
0 comments.
13 claps.
Things have turned around for me quite a bit and I’m happy to report that my second foray into this space has been much more enjoyable. I get more applause, so to speak. And it felt good.
In turn I decided to give out more applause, too. You need to give in order to get, of course. So I gave ten claps, sometimes twenty. I thought I was being pretty generous.
But then I read an article that encouraged, nay, convicted me to clap 50 times. The MAXIMUM amount. Why not? It costs me nothing except a few seconds. And it gives to my fellow writers as much as they can receive from me.
So I’ve been trying it. 50 claps. Five. Zero.
Trying to do it every time, with no expectations, just wanting to be a better friend TO Medium. And my earnings have gone up —
Coincidence? I think not.
So here’s some advice from someone who only recently learned better:
- Don’t be stingy
- Give big
- Expect nothing in return
And if you’re really committing to be a community builder and an encouraging reader and a friend to the wonderful people here, with no entitlement, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what happens.
Thanks for reading!
I found the article that convinced me to do this, check it out here: