What I Learned After 8 Months of Writing on Medium

If you’re breathing, the learning is not over — keep going.

Back in November, I wrote a couple of stories about my reasons and goals concerning Medium.

In one of those stories, I mentioned that I intend to earn $2,000 per month by June 2020.

I have always been a dreamer, and I dream big whenever I do. I shoot for the stars, hoping I will land on the moon, in the worst-case scenario. Sometimes, even that is optimistic.

My wonderful friend, Bob Jasper, asked me how I was progressing on my goals. I promised him I will write an update. It is always wise to follow up on your intentions and analyze what worked and what didn’t, and why, so you can correct your course as you move forward.

I told Bob that I have a propensity to set outrageous goals, like wanting to be the oldest man to climb Mount Everest. While I am not actively involved in the pursuit of that goal at the moment, my current goal is to get there on my 75th birthday. I have nine years to prepare for it. At the moment, an 86-year-old holds the record as the oldest climber to reach the top, and it’s possible that someone might break that record before I am 86.

Another outrageous goal was to walk cross-country from Chicago to Santa Monica on Route 66. I fulfilled that goal four years ago. That was fun. It took me six months, but I walked about 2,500 miles to complete the trip at age 62.

Back to my goals on Medium.

Here we are at the end of June 2020, and I am nowhere near my stated goal. To say that I am not even in the ballpark would be a gross understatement because I am not even in the neighborhood, or the metro area. I am barely in the same state.

What Were My Expectations?

My goals were to write 100 stories by the end of 2019, and another 200 stories from Jan — June 2020.

According to one of the experienced writers on Medium, who had been around for several years and was earning a mid-4-figure income, you could reasonably increase your income by 10% per week by writing consistently.

10% weekly translates into roughly doubling your income every seven weeks. By plugging in my Nov 2019 numbers, I could earn $900 for June. Being an optimistic dreamer, I set my goal at 12% weekly increments. And that would translate into $2,000.

What Did I Accomplish?

By the end of 2019, I had 63 stories. Not even close to the 100 I intended. However, I did much better from Jan to June. I wrote another 190+ stories in that period.

In December, I wrote 36 stories and my income increased by 12 % per week. However, January brought disappointment. The first two weeks showed negative growth, and I lost momentum. I averaged only 20 stories per month from January to March.

Then Illumination came along and I found new motivation. My income shot up in April and stayed in the same range in May and June. However, I have doubled my production in the last three months.

What Did I Learn?

As I analyze my activities and results, not just in terms of money, but as a whole, I see that there are things I need to change. Some things I need to stop doing while other things I need to improve. Still, there are things I need to do differently.

1. I am reexamining my intents and purposes for writing on Medium to see how they align with life purpose and whether I need to restate them.

2. I need to define the things that are in my control and things that are not and focus on things that I can control 100%

3. I know there are certain types of stories that do well on Medium. I will examine how I can use that to help me reach my goals without compromising my principles.

4. I must use internal motivation by staying focused on my why, avoiding comparing myself to others, and releasing the outcome to the Universe.

5. I need to use my own medicine. Writing is both therapeutic and rewarding. By focusing on therapy, I know I can reap the rewards.

6. I need to monitor my internal dialog and work on the undesirable thoughts that show up as doubts. All things are possible for him who believes.

The Bottom Line.

Looking back at the last eight months, since I started writing on Medium with certain goals in mind, I can now see where I need to focus so I can get the results I want.

I see that there are those who are in alignment with the ideals and principles I subscribe to who are also achieving the results I desire. I shall study their work, writing style, and habits, and use them for my benefit.

As always, thank you for reading and responding.

More about me:

An interview by Dr. M Yildiz for ILLUMINATION

And a couple of related stories:

Rasheed Hooda is a published author and a regular contributor to ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium where writers support each other.

He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)

“You can let others tell you what it means to be successful, or you can decide it for yourself.”