This is my 100th blog post. It is another milestone for me after my 30th and 50th posts.
It took me a year and a half to reach this milestone. I know that I could have made it here sooner. However, I have been writing on other platforms too. I run several other blogs and websites. So, technically, I had reached the 100-milestone a long time ago.
But this was the first blog I started, so it feels nice to have reached the 100-milestone here. A lot happened throughout my journey to 100. The learning part is undoubtedly there. But, the most important thing for me is that this blog helped me understand my values—who I am, what I want to do, and the purpose of my existence.
I’m going to share with you some of the things I learned throughout my journey to 100 articles. Hopefully, these lessons can inspire you in some way.
1. Everyone should write
As I said, writing helped me to know who I truly am. By writing, I do not mean only articles and blog posts. Writing for me is expressing myself. So, whenever I write, I feel good. I feel complete. It is like therapy for me.
I have said this several times before, but I’m going to repeat it: everyone should write. You are a writer too. You write every day—emails, letters, social media posts, text messages, and so forth.
Journaling has been the best writing practice for me. So, I would encourage you to start with that. So, writing will help you reflect on your values, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and desires.
2. Consistency is key
There would be no chance of reaching 100 articles if I weren’t consistent with my writing habit. Being consistent was difficult for me, especially in the beginning. No one read my articles; I had very few views. Some articles still do not have a single view (or have received only a few clicks) till today. But that didn’t stop me. I kept doing what I love to do, which is to write.
If you want to achieve something in life, you have to work on it consistently. But, first, you must believe that you can achieve it. Then, be consistent. You might not succeed from the beginning, but being consistent will eventually lead you to success. However, it might take weeks, months, or even years, depending on how hard you are willing to work.
Also read: Consistency Is Not Enough For Success
3. Opportunities come when you least expect them
I did not start my blog to receive opportunities. It was something I did because I liked doing it. It made me happy. To my surprise, I have received many opportunities because of my blog. For example, I now work for clients from across the world because they found my blog and believed in my writing capabilities.
Similarly, I got invited to speak in a podcast because of my blog. So, people find me from my blog. I do not have to go and reach out to people.
When you are passionate about something, you must do it without expecting great rewards. All you can do is show up for work and then share it with others. However, if you can put out good work in massive quantity, you will find more excellent opportunities because of your work. But, do not strive for perfectionism; it will come in the way of your success.
4. There is no such thing as overnight success
I suppose you know this already. Overnight success does not exist. People compliment my writing and say that they read my articles and found them helpful. Most of them think that I am naturally a good writer. But, that is far from the truth. A few years ago, I had never written a single piece of content online. A lot of my articles sucked when I started my blog. But, it was because of my consistency and passion that I was able to create good content.
So, forget about becoming an overnight success. It might look like overnight success from the outside. But, it actually is years of hard work. So, take any successful person and study how they became successful. You will find that there was an immense amount of work behind the success.
5. The 80/20 principle works
If you have not heard about the 80/20 principle, it says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort. When I first heard about this rule, I was not sure it would work. So I read The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch. The book helped me learn about the principle theoretically, but I only fully understood it when it worked for me in real life.
This blog is a perfect example of the principle. For instance, 80% of my blog traffic comes from 20% of my articles. In other words, out of the 100 articles that I have written here, about 20 of them are responsible for my blog’s success. But, that does not mean that the remaining 80 articles are not good. But, instead, they could not bring more engagement as the 20 articles.
What is more interesting is that I had no idea which of the 20 articles would be successful. As the CEO of Patreon, Jack Conte, says, “You can’t choose what you’re famous for.” So, the outcome is not within my control. But, my input is. Therefore, we must focus on what we can control instead of what we can’t.
You can read this article by the author, Mark Manson, to know more about the 80/20 principle.
6. Learning never stops
Learning is a big part of success. The more you learn, the more successful you can become. Throughout my journey, I have learned a lot of things. For instance, I did not know how to start a blog, write articles, and do marketing. It took me months to learn. Well, I am still learning new things every day. My learning ability has been vital in my blogging success.
Besides learning about blogging, I also read a lot of books. Books are always an excellent way to learn new things. I was able to share the ideas from some of the books I have read. In addition, I followed other bloggers and learned how they became successful. I also wrote two ebooks, which was something I never thought I would do.
So, keep learning; keep exploring. Be curious and always stay a student.
Final Words
At last, I would like to thank my readers and supporters. A blog without readers would be like performing at a stage without an audience. So, I am grateful to all my readers. My special acknowledgment goes to my email subscribers. You all trusted me and provided your emails so that I could share valuable work with you. So, thank you to each one of you.
Reaching 100 articles is just a milestone. I still feel like this is just the beginning. I still write every day, even though I do not publish everything I write. Writing is my passion, and I am going to keep doing it regardless of the outcome. I am so grateful that I can inspire so many people through my writing. That was my goal from the beginning, which is why my tagline says, “Inspire & grow.”
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