The 1 dangerous point most people quit writing online (I’m there)
I’m going to just admit it: I’m a little down this week.
It’s not logical, and to be honest, I should be overjoyed at this point.
My project to quit commuter life within a year by publishing content every single day on various platforms and investing my earnings in passive income instruments far exceeded my expectations in my first month.
In fact, I quintupled my daily earnings in just 30 days, bringing in an extra $50 per day for me and my family.
And yet, I’m struggling mentally.
I know why, too.
I’m at the point when most people quit writing, making videos, or trying to build whatever online business that may interest them.
And it’s an obstacle you’ll need to overcome if you ever hope to make real money as an online creator.
Allow me to explain.
Peaks and valleys
Now I’ve faced this particular obstacle once before, and it almost caused me to quit writing on this platform altogether in just my second full month.
I covered it in the video below (please ignore my boring delivery — it was one of my first ones!), but let me put it in the context of my current project because this is something you’re going to encounter again and again.
So below you’ll find my daily side hustle earnings (99% of which is from writing) through the first 40 days of my Publish Every Day project:
As you can see, I’m actually in pretty good shape here.
On average, I’ve earned a shade over $47 per day, which is pretty good for a start.
So what am I crying about? Why was I so depressed earlier today?
Well, there are a couple of mental roadblocks you need to overcome as an online creator:
General variance
Post-viral depression
Let me draw you a mental picture of where I was this morning and what you can expect to go through:
The blue circle day was a $100+ earnings day, and you can see that I almost immediately fell back into a trough.
This can feel discouraging, but let me assure you that it’s completely normal.
Let’s review the two mental challenges I mentioned before and then I’ll tell you how to defeat them.
Challenge 1: Variance
If you’re going to be an online creator, you must understand that:
Most of your earnings will come from a tiny fraction of your work (this is the 80/20 Principle at work — affiliate link here to an excellent book that explains it in detail)
There’s no way to predict what will go viral
The truth is, your numbers are going to go up and down A LOT.
At the end of the day, your goal shouldn’t be to have something go viral every day … it should be to set a higher baseline following every pop so the next one is bigger.
Think of it like climbing a mountain.
By staying consistent regardless of the day-to-day fluctuations in your earnings, you’re building your base camp a little higher every time so that you can scale higher summits in the weeks and months ahead.
If your daily average was $25 per day the last time your work saw a pop, keep writing so that you build on the momentum you already created instead of letting it sputter back to that level.
Try and set your new base camp at $28 or $32 until you recharge for the next big push.
It’s a bit like pushing a stalled car … it’s a lot easier to keep it moving once it’s rolling, right?
Challenge 2: Post-viral depression
It’s natural after you see a big pop in your earnings to think that the gravy train has been fired up and is ready to roll you into millionaire status.
So when it doesn’t, people get discouraged — and many quit.
And this is despite already finding some pretty decent success!
Recently, I wrote a piece about what pro athletes can teach you about building a successful online business. Here’s what I said at the time:
“There was another (cliche) that would often pop up after a big win or a loss that I was somewhat dismissive of, but that actually serves as useful advice no matter what endeavor you’re tackling in life.
“It applies just as well to people like myself who are trying to start an online business.
“It is: ‘We’re going to try not to get too high or too low and just come to work every day.’
“Put another way — respect the process.”
If you’re finding you’re too fixated on results, it may be time to take a small step back and recalibrate.
Mind edits
What did that look like for me?
This morning I got away from the computer and went for a run.
While I was doing that, I reminded myself that, if you focus on numbers and stats more than process, you’ll never reach your goals … and you’ll never be happy.
And, bonus (!), I came up with the idea for this post after thinking about why I was down and what I went through early in my online creator journey.
Sometimes you just need to walk away and do something else for a bit.
Other ways I’ve done this is by going for a long walk in nature — no music, no podcasts, just me and the squirrels and birds.
Or I’ve sat down and done some Morning Pages to clear all the junk and negativity out of my head so I could focus.
Do Yoga.
Visit a friend.
Whatever. Just reset and then get back to your process.
When I got back, I was re-energized and had one of my most productive writing sessions in a long time.
It comes down to this: Just. Do. The. Work.
Work, study, get better, work.
But just make sure you don’t quit.
Once you leave the stadium, you’re guaranteed to lose.
Publish Every Day progress update: Day 40
I’m trying to see if I can make enough money to retire from commuter life within a year by publishing every single day on different platforms and investing my earnings into passive income vehicles.
How much I need to retire: $250 CAD per day
What I earned on Day 40: $61.45 (writing) + $0.73 (YouTube) + $0.03 (stock dividends) = $55.21 total
What I’ve published in the last day:
My top 3 trending stories:
Star singer Adele revealed a MASSIVE challenge after you quit alcohol
The real truth of making big money writing online (they’re lying to you)
3 super healthy habits that keep Victoria Beckham fit as hell at 49
Most popular all-time: