Frequently I see people get into things for the Wrong Reasons.
How do I know?
I see it in their Results.
Sometimes it is called seeing the "Fruit of their Labor".
This happens in Every Domain of Life, and we can See It Play Out when we Look at them Closely.
For Instance, perhaps one of the Most Common places you see where people start for the Wrong Reasons is Digital Writing.
This encompasses Writing and Publishing, Online, often to Various Platforms.
For me, that means Publishing to LinkedIn, Typeshare, Vocal, and Medium.
On Two of these Platforms, I've Earned the Spot of a #1 Creator - Typeshare and the Vocal: Journal Community.
On Typeshare, you rise in the Ranks through Pure Consistency in Writing which I have Written and Published over 600 Days Straight.
On Vocal, it is Earned by Achieving Top Story Status which I've Accomplished 20 Times as of Writing This.
But what does this all "Mean"?
Especially when it comes to Understanding What You're Doing Something For, or more commonly called, "Motivation"?
Well, let's start with Typeshare.
How difficult is it to get into the Top 100 Creators?
It is Not Difficult if I'm going to be Honest.
I have paid attention to the Results since they released the Leaderboard.
If you Write and Publish for 30 Days Straight, you will be in the Top 100 Creators on Typeshare.
It is that Simple.
This has "Nothing" to do with the Quality of Writing, it "Only" has to do with Consistency.
But something I know is that it is "Very" Difficult to Remain Consistent when your Motivations are Wrong.
I see it "All" the Time on Typeshare.
There are over 74,000 Digital Writers to Date on the Platform.
Of All of them, less than 3% Have Published within the past 24 Hours.
Only those in the Top 100 have Published for over 26 Days Straight (As of checking earlier today).
Over 1,350 Writers have Published between 1 and 7 Days.
This however is also where "Most" will Remain.
I have Not Seen the Top 100 Creators Rise to 40 Days since the Leaderboard was released, though there have been "Ample" Opportunities for More Digital Writers to Accomplish this.
Only 2 have Remained over 365 Days, including myself.
On Average, each Digital Writer on Typeshare Publishes 4 Articles before Quitting (This is an "Average" though).
To be Fair, some Digital Writers on the Platform will "Not" Show Up High on Typeshare's Leaderboard because they stick to a 5 Day Publishing Week (Only on Weekdays).
These Digital Writers will Remain Below the Rank of 250 as of Today, even though they Post Articles fairly Consistently.
There is nothing wrong with that, but those who post 7 Days will Write 100+ More Articles Per Year, which in the world of SEO is Significant.
But back to the Topic at Hand.
Why Do So Many Digital Writers Give Up After 4 Articles?
Why Do So Few Digital Writers Make it Past 30 Days Straight?
Why Do The Averages Not Increase, Despite The "Only" Factor Being Consistency?
It all has to do with Motivation, and Understanding What You're Doing It For.
Most of those who want to become Digital Writers think that, by Writing, they will become Overnight Sensations who will get Hundreds of Views and Comments and Reactions to their Work.
But the Reality is that Most Do Not.
For me, it took somewhere around 200 Days before I began to See Significant Increases in Views, Comments, and Reactions on "Any" Platform.
This includes LinkedIn where I already had over 9,000 Followers when I began Consistently doing Digital Writing (LinkedIn is Notorious for having Fewer Reactions/Comments than other Social Media Platforms).
The Reality is that it will take Time before you get enough Momentum for others to Notice Your Writing.
So you Can "Not" Rely on that for Motivation.
Those who Rely on those Stats Lose, and Typically they Lose in Less than a Week.
It is also "Very" Difficult to Continue Writing about something if you are Not Fully Dedicated to It.
Why is there Another Significant Drop in Digital Writers after 30 Days?
If You are Not Dedicated to What You're Writing About, You will begin to Run Out of Ideas on what to Write About.
Why do Most People Lose Steam after 30 Days, while I can Write on the Same Topic for Over 600 Days?
I'm OBSESSED with Legendary Leadership, and Building the Category.
I Have and Would Continue to do this...
Even if I never got another "Like".
Even if people Told Me My Work was Horrible.
Even if No One Ever Saw My Work.
My Motivation is Not in the Awards and Nominations I've Received (Over 70 since 2023).
My Motivation is Not in the Stats.
My Motivation is Not in the Money Potential.
My Motivation is Purely in my Obsession with Legendary Leadership.
I Can Not Lose This Game of Consistency because I'm Obsessed with My Work.
That is what Keeps Me In - The Right Kind of Motivation.
Now, let's go to Vocal as well.
In the Vocal: Journal Community there are 22,288 Creators.
On Average, these Creators only Publish 3 Articles before Giving Up.
The Difference between Typeshare and Vocal is that on Typeshare there are No Financial Incentives (again, 100% Consistency) while on Vocal there "Are" Financial Incentives.
On Vocal, you can Earn Money via Reads and being Selected for Top Stories.
Again, we see there is likely a Major Improper Motivation for most Digital Writers on this platform.
This time it is in the Idea of Gaining Income through Digital Writing.
I'll be Honest with You - You Likely Will Not Earn a Substantial Income from Publishing to a 3rd Party Platform on its own.
I can tell you that I have "Not" Earned a Living Wage on Vocal or Medium, and Few People Do (Medium has become a Wreck since they changed their Algorithms).
But again, I personally am Not Writing for Financial Gain (My Legendary Leadership Coaching is where I earn my Livelihood).
Most People who Believe they will Earn Significant Income from Digital Writing Quickly Find it is a Pipe Dream (Not "Impossible", just Extremely Unlikely, especially in a Short Period of Time).
So they Quit.
Now, those who get Past the Money Motivation find themselves at Another Problem.
Becoming a Top Creator in a Vocal Community means getting Recognized by the Vocal Selection Team.
How Many People Get Recognized?
Well, there are over 1 Million Articles that have been Posted on Vocal, and Less Than 1.3% have been Chosen for Top Stories.
In the Journal Community Specifically, it is Less Than 0.855% (Over 50% "More" Difficult Than Average).
The Journal Community is also in the Top 5 Most Popular Communities of Digital Writers (Along with the Poets, Education, Fiction, and Humans Communities) out of Nearly 50 Total Communities on the Platform.
This means that the Competition is Extremely Tough.
Most of the People whose Motivation is to get Top Stories in the Journal Community do Not Realize how Tough it really is.
It took me 6 Months of Publishing Articles, Daily, on Vocal before I got my 1st Top Story in the Journal Community.
If we think about the Trends from Typeshare and generalize them, we can see that it is Likely another Large Chunk of Vocal Writers Drop after 30 Days.
This is Why the Goal of getting Top Stories becomes Poor Motivation.
If it takes even 2 Months to get your first Top Story Recognition, it explains why there is a significant Drop.
Most people have the Wrong Motivations.
On the other hand, I have "Never" been in Digital Writing to get a "Top Story" Recognition.
I've "Only" been in it because I'm Obsessed with Legendary Leadership.
That is Why I've gotten 7 More Top Stories than the #2 Creator in the Journal Community.
This is what sets my work Apart.
I have the Right Motivations in my Work.
I've Aligned My Motivations with My Strengths.
When you Consistently Do That, People See and You Stand Out.
You Thrive, because Your Motivations Push Your Further.
Success in Life is Much Simpler than Most People Realize.
It all Starts with Understanding Your Motivations though.
When the Motivation Starts Wrong, you will Fail.
Most People Fail because their Motivations are Wrong.
I see it Every Day.
But when your Motivation is Right, and You're All In, it's Nearly Impossible to Lose.
When you Do "Lose", your Motivation Pulls you Back to Your Feet and You Continue Forward Despite the Loss.
That Ability to Get Back Up, with Learning and Improving, Leads to Success.
It all Begins with the Motivation, Though.
Is Your Motivation Right?
Will It Pull You Through Months and Years of Difficult Work?
Would You Pursue The Goal Regardless of Recognition?
If you want Success, Figure out Your Motivation First.