Serendipity — A Daring 10-Day Adventure to Illumination

I took the dare. I mustered the courage to write and engage on the page.

I took the dare.

On March 26, 2020, Dr Mehmet Yildiz challenged a brave tribe of writers. He stated our Serendipity mission if we chose to accept it, simply:

“For the next ten days, read ten articles from ILLUMINATION on each day. For these ten articles, highlight key points, leave one supportive comment, clap the article, share it in your social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Then, follow ten new writers randomly leaving traces on their work of art.”

What did I have to lose? Nothing.

I began reading Medium articles around 2014. The articles contained insights and inspiration. When I pivoted to writing, I noticed several articles on Medium about writing from Shaunta Grimes. My curiosity unleashed an insatiable search for how to improve my writing.

Shaunta inspired me to take a chance. I thought,

“Why not me? Could this platform expand my goal to make a difference through my writing?”

To help me understand how Medium worked, I signed up for two courses. Devouring every word, every suggestion, I finished the courses ready to begin. But first, I had to figure out how to meld the strategies, templates, and advice into my process.

The Medium Journey Begins

Not sure about the journey, I jumped in. On February 3, 2020, I hit the ominous green “Publish” button. A story I had tried to write for several months entered the world of Medium. As of today, 20 Books and 11 Months: The Journey Home and Finding What Matters has earned 50 claps and one very kind response. And that didn’t arrive until recently.

I published four more articles in February. One article caught the eye of curators and placed it in “mindfulness.”

On March 1, I made a bold promise to myself. Write and publish every day in March. I also found a couple of publications willing to accept my work.

Fate landed me on this story on March 21 by Dr Mehmet Yildiz.

The World Took a Turn

As you can see, my stats were meager from February to mid-March. For me, they represented baby steps into the future. On March 21, my first article appeared in the Illumination publication.

The next day, my views jumped from 11 to 24. On March 23, I published Accountability — How to Stop Being a Victim. My views skyrocketed to 74! Woohoo!

You may see these stats as piddling (my Mother’s word for it). Many writers who started at the same time have surpassed me. I am learning and re-learning…

I am enough.

The energy expended comparing myself to others and fretting as a perfectionist serves no one — especially me. I will not allow that thinking to stifle my spirits.

Serendipity

When the Serendipity challenge came along, I jumped in ready to give it a try. In the first couple of days, I kept records of articles, claps, responses, etc. on sticky notes. That evolved into a daily accounting worksheet using Evernote. I wrote out the dates and tasks for the next ten days March 26 to April 4.

Day 1 March 26, 2020

· 10 Follows

· 10 Articles: Read, Respond, Clap

· 10 Social Media Posts

The results

The data I collected tells an intriguing story. Well, more like the truth. To improve as a writer and contributor to Illumination, I have a few opportunities for personal growth.

Midway through the challenge, I lost focus. I became overwhelmed trying to keep up with each new strategy. As a compulsive overachiever I would not give up. Until I realized this was not a race but a journey. My personal serendipity stats suffered, but my learning soared.

My greatest area of weakness did not surprise me. My participation in social media fluctuates. My main social media channels include Twitter and LinkedIn. I began using Instagram to share my photography. Self-promotion does not come easily. I have work to do here.

My Goals for April

I commit to doing the following every day in April.

• Write and publish — every day
• Deep read at least five articles, respond, clap (read at a pace to give the writer a read in the stats — no skimming)
• Submit new articles to the Illumination Spotlight
• Promote five articles on Twitter and/or LinkedIn
• Write a long-form article for Illumination in my area of expertise (quality management and executive coaching)
• Be and become better every day to make a difference in this world

The Benefit

Along the way on this adventure, I have met the most generous and supportive group of writers. Each of you has given me the gift of your words, insights, and encouragement.

I discovered that Rasheed Hooda lives not far from me. We have planned to meet when we can once again go out into the world.

I had delightful exchanges with, Amy Marley, George J. Ziogas, Henery X (long), Julia E Hubbel, Desiree Driesenaar, Dr Ron Pol, Paul Myers MBA, Chris Hedges 🦄 and more.

Thank you to every editor, writer, and reader of Illumination.

“We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”

— Aristotle

With gratitude…

Kathryn

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Kathryn A. LeRoy — a relentless seeker of excellence, kindness, learning, and believer in the strength of the human spirit. My why — inspiring your potential to be and become your best.