avatarRemington Write

Summary

The author expresses a personal aversion to the pursuit of conventional success metrics, both on Medium and in life, preferring contentment and curiosity over aggressive self-promotion and adherence to societal expectations.

Abstract

The article titled "Why I’m Never Going to Succeed" reflects the author's introspective musings on their disinterest in chasing traditional success, particularly on Medium and in "real life." Despite occasionally hoping for viral recognition, the author acknowledges a lack of motivation to follow the well-trodden paths of success, such as writing "How to..." articles or focusing on niche topics to gain a larger following. Instead, they find joy in the freedom to write about any subject and engage with the diverse works of fellow writers on the platform. The author values the intrinsic rewards of writing and reading over external validation, noting that while viral fame would be exciting, it is not the driving force behind their creative process. The article concludes with an encouragement to continue the collective endeavor of writing and exploring life's offerings, regardless of the pursuit's profitability.

Opinions

  • The author believes that the pursuit of viral success on Medium or in life is not aligned with their personal values or interests.
  • They admit to being "lazy" and uninterested in the conventional advice for achieving online success, such as utilizing keywords or creating income-generating content.
  • The author takes pride in their contentment and happiness, viewing these as preferable to being "driven" or "hungry" for success.
  • They express a strong sense of community with other writers on Medium, highlighting the work of several fellow authors.
  • The author rejects typical markers of success, such as owning a house, having a career, or driving a car, finding these to be unnecessary or undesirable trappings.
  • They are genuinely appreciative of the curation process on Medium and perform a "Snoopy Happy Dance" when their work is recognized, yet they do not rely on such recognition for satisfaction.
  • The author encourages a collaborative spirit among writers, emphasizing the shared experience of mining life for inspiration and the enjoyment derived from each other's work.

Why I’m Never Going to Succeed

Not on Medium, not in “real life”

Courtesy of PxHere

Because I can’t be bothered.

Every so often when I’ve finished a piece I’m especially attached to, one that I feel is going to sing out in many tongues, I wonder if this is the one that’s going to go viral. It doesn’t. None of them do.

Now, yes, I could go back through my work and pull together one of those always popular “How to….” pieces. Except for the fact that I don’t know how to earn $12,000 a month on Medium or how to gain fifty new followers a day or how to leverage an email list into a passive income-generating miracle or how to deploy the most devastating keyword phrase. I probably don’t know these things because I don’t read the multitude of articles online by people who do know how to make water into wine. I’ve tried but generally give up because they bore the bejesus out of me.

I can’t be bothered (see above).

I’m not interested in developing a niche for myself. Too limiting. Now that I’ve finally found a place where I can just write whatever the hell I feel like writing and, for the most part, get a few like-minded nutcases to read my work, I’m pretty happy.

Being pretty happy seems to be a great way to block “success”. I’m not driven; I’m not hungry; I’m not passionate. And, as I’ve said before, I’m lazy.

I am curious, though, and a lot of my fellow travelers here in the electronic word world have some really interesting things to share. I’m looking at you, James Finn, Vanessa Torre, Joel Eisenberg, William Spivey, Anna Rozwadowska, Natalie Frank, Toni Tails, Helen Cassidy Page, Jeremy Helligar, aleXander hirka, Roz Warren, F. R. Foksal, Xandra J., Feminista Jones, Estacious(Charles White), Shamontiel L. Vaughn, Elle Beau, Heath ዟ, Sherry McGuinn, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Keith R. Higgons, Meghan Daum, Juliette Roanoke, Matthew J. Dolezal, Nicole Bedford, AJ Britt, Shelly McIntosh, and about five hundred others. At least.

I’ve never felt drawn to the customary things we’re supposed to strive for. I’m only married because the accountant told us to.

Otherwise, we’d just be another couple of old hippies making ends meet any way we can.

I never wanted to own a house. It’s always seemed to me that property owns you not the other way around. Career? What’s that? I’m deeply grateful to live in a city where I don’t need a car because I don’t want a car. I’d hate to live where I have to drive wherever I want to go. Kids? Why? So many of the trappings of “success” in this part of the world are meaningless to me and always have been.

Would I be doing cartwheels if any of my work did go viral? Oh HELL yes! But I never start a piece with that as my destination. Same thing with curation. I do the Snoopy Happy Dance all around the living room (startling the cat) every time one of my pieces gets curated. This one got a double curation!

But I have yet to see any of my curated pieces really catch fire. Let’s face it, I’m just not a Medium blazing superstar. Because (all together now) I can’t be bothered.

What I am is another writer who shows up every day to dig in the mine of my life and take a closer look at all this stuff. I work next to all of you and when I take a break, I examine the stuff you’re mining because it’s powerful and really fun to read.

So, let’s keep at it, shall we? I will if you will!

© Remington Write 2019. All Rights Reserved

It’s never going to be a goldmine, but sign up and see what you get:

Life
Life Lessons
Writing
Viral
Success
Recommended from ReadMedium