#25. The Answer
25 days ago, I started Daily Cup of Jo. I had been all over Medium. I had written for some of the most famous publications on Medium and shared my ideas with thousands of people. There was one thing missing with my life on Medium, however. The thing that I was missing was consistency.
I lacked consistency by the fundamental meaning of the word. Sometimes I would write one article a week. Sometimes I would write 4. One week I actually wrote 6. But it was never consistent. I didn’t publish enough. I had all the tools I needed to publish frequently. I just didn’t. I didn’t write as frequently as I could have because I didn’t have to. Writing was just a hobby. I didn’t need to publish more than 3 times a week. 3 times was good enough.
Good enough is NEVER good enough
If there’s one thing that I have learned since joining Medium is good enough is never good enough. There’s always somebody that’s better than you. There’s somebody working harder. There’s somebody that’s more efficient. There’s somebody that’s smarter, faster, stronger, etc. So what do you do? You transform. You become that somebody. You chase the ghost.
I haven’t published 25 straight because of willpower or determination or anything like that. Those things played a part, but each part was fairly miniscule. I published 25 straight because I had to. Daily Cup of Jo made Medium feel more like a job. So, when I thought about not publishing for a whole day, I felt bad about it. I felt like I was letting my audience down, and letting myself down. That feeling has kept me on the path to 50 straight, and I’m already halfway there.
The Answer
Daily Cup of Jo was the answer to most of the problems that I had on Medium.
One of the problems I had was the lack of a steady audience. Daily Cup of Jo fixed that. My audience isn’t very large. But my audience is a steady one. Now that I have established a steady audience, I can grow my audience.
Another problem I had was not having a blog. Believe it or not, Daily Cup of Jo solved that too. I still don’t have a blog. But that’s not a problem anymore. In a way, the solution that I am using currently is better than a blog, at least for now. Medium is like a second home for me. I wouldn’t want to leave it for the world.
When the time comes I will branch out. When my audience grows enough for me to transition into my own website, I will. For now, I get to stay on Medium and publish every single day.
One of my problems was mentioned above. I didn’t write as much as I wanted to. Daily Cup of Jo has fixed that as well. I’ve published 25 straight articles. This streak might not be very large in many people’s eyes, but it’s humongous in mine. I plan to lengthen that streak further, and based on the last 25 days, I know I can.
I’m happy
The last 25 days have been a blast. They have been fun in no small part to Daily Cup of Jo. It has been one constant in a period that has seen tons of transition. The Answer rose up from the ashes and was made anew. It was made into Daily Cup of Jo. And I’m loving what it’s turning into.
