Ask Yourself: Why Are You Still Reading on Medium?

And why you should not even read this article.

I discovered Medium 2 years ago. At this time, I was getting prepared to quit everything I had in Bordeaux to get on the road, traveling around the world by bicycle and meeting startups CEOs (check Startup Cycling)

I don’t read any kind of newspapers.
I stopped watching TV 10 years ago.
I don’t see any point in listening to the radio.

It doesn’t mean I’m uninformed about what’s happening in the world. I just choose carefully my inputs (the informations that come into my mind) in order to improve my outpouts (basically what I get done).

Immediately, Medium became my #1 source of inspiration/motivation/information.

WHY ARE YOU READING ON MEDIUM?

I subscribed to a lot of publications.
I started to write my own posts.
I spent hours reading all this “quality content”.

The platform, the community, the mindset. This is what I loved from the first day I spent here. I felt like “daaamn, I found a community of people like me, sharing really interesting content and experiences that count”.

And something happened. After 12 months cycling.

I actually got on the road. 
I crossed Europe and the East Coast of USA from Miami to NYC by bicycle. 
I met about 80 startup CEOs and spent time with them.

As I left home with $400, I also had to work remotely for some startups I met and to create websites for a bunch of freelancers/small companies.

It was awesome. It was tough. It changed me forever.

I just arrived in NYC a week ago. Looked back to this first part of the journey. And I eventually got back on Medium as a reader.

WHY ARE YOU READING ON MEDIUM?

What happened? Nothing new.

I was looking for some great content that would eventually blow my mind.
I was looking for something really new.
I was looking for the progresses of people I was following.

Nothing.

Always the same kind of “do-like-me” and “how-to” articles.

What I saw as a great inspiration a few months ago, I see it now as a heavy load of bullshit written by people who are only seeking “online recognition”.

Guess what? I also read some of my former articles. Same shit. Who was I to give advices to people?

And then I realized it once again.

When I write on Medium, I’m usually not really writing for people to read me on the first place.

I’m writing to get something I want deeper into MY mind. 
I share it online to get committed to it.

And if eventually some people like what I write, well, that’s cool.

WHY ARE YOU READING ON MEDIUM?

Reading motivational articles and watching motivational videos is totally pointless if you don’t know what you actually want to achieve.

It’s like drinking 10 energy drinks in the morning when you wake up and just spend your day in bed.

It’s like filling your car with fuel and drive in circles around the neighborhood.

You’re excited. But it leads you nowhere.

It always happened to me before. I read/watched people’s story and I was SO motivated that I thought the whole world belonged to me. I realized everything was possible. I realized that I could achieve anything, etc.

So what?

Don’t get me wrong. Having a positive mindset, self confidence and being motivated is GREAT.

But you don’t build self confidence because you’re reading that people are doing great things.

You get it by doing your own shit. Every single day.

And guess what? When you do your own shit, you mostly don’t need anyone to motivate you. And you probably already have a positive mindset.

So you should mostly stop masturbating your brain by getting excited reading/watching motivational shit and doing nothing. Just go outside and do something instead.

WHY ARE YOU READING ON MEDIUM?

I’m not trying to motivate you. I’m not saying that you should do anything to be a better person. Do whatever. I have no idea what you should do.

What I know is that you’re here reading the shit I just wanted to get out of MY mind whilst you could just be outside achieving what counts for YOU.

And whilst you’re reading this exact line, I’m probably already traveling to my next destination. Or meeting inspiring people on the road. Or editing my next vlog. Or writing my next article.

And you, what are you gonna do right now?