Starring Zeros
You don’t realize, but what you are starring is Priceless
You start your writing journey on Medium, and you tell yourself, “I will blow everybody with my writing and score my $1000 moola in no time because common I am good at this writing thing; it’s in my genes.”
You set up your YouTube Channel. You got all the tech and the gadget to tweak in perfecting your vlog, and you say, “He made $10,000 a month? I will dominate him/her, watch me in a few months.”
You hear the buzz about how people are crushing it with affiliate marketing, so you jump on the wagon. Hoping sooner than later, you’ll be the next super affiliate.
Podcasting everyone is doing it, why won’t you join us? You fly your way in, setting unrealistic expectations and, somehow, believe people WILL naturally become your biggest fan.
Until weeks, months, and sometimes years go by, and you stare at zeros.
The monstrous voice in your head strikes you with:
- How you are WASTING your time
- No one gives a $hit about your ideas
- You are worthless
- You suck and full of b.s
- That is about time you QUIT
- There’s just too much competition
- You have no gift or talents.
- There’s no place for you.
Some of our season to reach heights takes more time than others. While others have their home run the moment, they begin.
We are all blessed in different ways. Some of you may have ease in a few parts of your life, and the rest may be a war zone.
And while others may have their glory day come knocking sooner, that doesn’t disqualify you from having yours when it’s your time.
In all honesty, for most of us, at the beginning of any venture, there will be many days of staring at zeros.
It sucks. It’s not all candles and roses.
It will get under your skin. You’ll be at the edge feeling like crap.
The WHY Is the game-changer.
You must ask yourself one sincere question: “What is your biggest burning desire of doing what you do, what’s your why”?
For me, my biggest fulfillment came from detaching any worldly gain and SERVE others with compassion.
And that might be true for you, but whatever it is, your why has got to be bigger and more meaningful than any price tag.
The moment you shift away from the direction of chasing money to serving the deep fulfillment of making a difference in the lives of others, you’ll win.
“I chased money for years. As a child of the ’80s, for me, getting rich was the American Dream. Most people I knew wanted to be rich. Few of them made it a priority, but it was there in the back of their minds as something that would be cool. The concept of getting rich is the real-life equivalent of the siren song that seduced sailors to crash into the rocks in Homer’s The Odyssey. It’s a glorious idea, but chasing money for money is a sure way to become emotionally bankrupt.” — Tom Bilyeu
As Viktor Frankl, the legendary neurologist made very clear in his book Man’s Search for Meaning; you can endure virtually anything when you know the purpose of your suffering.
Under God’s Book, it’s a different story.
The zeros staring at you might overwhelm you back, and now knowing that money alone doesn’t provide fulfillment, but still, money is up there important and close with oxygen.
Passion to be our paycheck is what some of us seek and there’s nothing wrong with that. The priority should always be to serve, bring value, make a DIFFERENCE first before anything.
By becoming a source of abundance and value to others, money becomes inseparable from you. It chases you, not the other way around.
When your intention changes to: “I’ll serve no matter what happens” — staring zeros in your account does not become the goal.
You don’t realize, but what you are starring is Priceless.
You rarely find anyone talks about the unseen numbers. The unseen numbers of blessings stacking up on your records of noble deeds for the lives you uplifted. But in the physical world, there were zeros.
How about the countless people you’ve made them cry out of joy because of an article you wrote on Medium — the unseen numbers of blessings, but in your medium account, you were staring zeros?
And that lady who left you a comment that said, “wow, you made my day” a priceless gift, unseen numbers of blessings, but all you saw were zeros.
Maybe your writing brought someone back to life, and because of that, God opens floods of happiness beyond any price tag for you.
Keep showing up, delivering. The Most Generous God compensates us through unseen numbers beyond starring zeros, His giving is priceless.
Allah, The Almighty Says,
“And be patient; for indeed, Allah never lets the reward of those who do good go to waste.” — (Qur’an, Surah Hud, 11:115)