* This is just my personal opinion. It has nothing to do with this Wonderful platform**
Like every new writer, I too started my journey to become a blogger. I made myself sure that one day or the other I will be a successful writer and the first necessity was my own blog.
I too started the journey through www.vinodsblogs.com . I loved writing, I was very happy when someone read my blog and commented. The joy knew no bounds. There were no words to express.
Then came Medium, my biggest happiness, when I saw so many writers coming together to make this world a better place. There was so much energy.
I wrote my first blog
I know it sucked but still, some one read it. I still remember going to the medium home page every five minutes just to see if someone has clapped!.
Then writing became my love. I read and read so many books just to make sure I was able to write . slowly my writing was getting accepted to several magazines like The Ascent.
Then came The Startup
Wow even though there were few readers for my story still this joy was too high just- like drinking a cold beer on a very hot day( This was my version of happiness!) I even spend a lot of money giving party to my friends just because I was happy in my journey to become a successful writer.
Now came the sad part. There were many blogs telling how they earned 1000 $ by writing in Medium and then there were also some others who were very happy that Medium paid them 50 cents.
I started writing whenever I had free time, since I was a full-time employee, I dreamed to become a writer typing all the way, and selling books. This dream was so clear and one day I will quit my day job and the world will see me as a writer.
I wrote and wrote but true to the fact that I never underestimated myself. My mind was working lot after seeing articles likeā I wrote for a year in Medium and Medium Awarded me 50 cents- I am Happyā
My mind started telling me ā If you are going to write for a year and all you can earn is less than a dollarā- just because something or someone tells you will become successful one dayā and all you have to do is believe!
I paid a yearly subscription for Medium Membership believing that if I can give only I shall Receive
Then I entered into the Medium Partner program, believing that someday my writing will be recognized by someone in Medium and I will earn something out of all the hard work I put in. The next shock was only authors will be paid if I have a stripe subscription. There was no pay pal too.
Stripe still exists only in the so-called developing countries and not recognized in India. Poor guys, I should have settled in the so-called developed country to receive the dollars that Medium provides to them.
Now, whenever I open the Partner program I have a wonderful message.
So now criticism about my lack of consistent writing and also about the medium payment method, Did anything happen to me?
Yes, it happened, Medium thought me how to write and how to connect with other writers. I wrote earnestly for two months and I was also able to publish my first book. A feat many dream of- but never do
So other than this what did I learn from Medium?
The first was learning to accept myself, just because I have started writing does not mean that I should be accepted by the world as it is and I will succeed just like what is shown in movies( there are so many films in Bollywood where the hero becomes famous in a single song!)
The second was to accept failures and criticisms from the world.
Third, it will take a lot of time for the world to recognize me!
Fourth, earning a single dollar is not that easy!
Fifth, Sometimes you need luck ( yes you will need it )
Sixth, stop reading self-help books- Understand that if it does not work learn to change your path.
Awareness is better than Determination- my quote š
Seventh, ā If one door closes search for the next door and keep knockingā
Eighth, stop reading blogs like ā How I became an overnight success or got 10000 followers.( There will be a huge hard work behind the scenes and not many tell this story)
So you may ask me any monetary success?
Yes, I have one too. I made an online course in Udemy and skillshare on how to write on Medium and be a blogger- ā Since because I failed in the exam, does it mean that I cannot Teach?
Sometimes the journey can be interesting and will have a lot to teach, we need to learn and keep moving forward. I understood that's life and that will be the best thing.
Now you may wonder, when I knew that I have to keep writing a lot and be consistent then why did I stop doing something I loved?
Yes I stopped writing on Medium when I thought logically
First- It takes a minimum of 4ā5 hours if I have to write a good blog post.
Second, There will be a lot of grammar mistakes so I need a good editor like Grammarly which costs a 12.50$ per month- where I have not earned a penny ( I have spent a lot on Grammarly subscription- My day job helped; What about for students?)
Third, Anxiety coming over when there is no claps and when I see 1.k claps for a half-page article( there are some superb writing skills shown in Medium like below
- **** I was not able to read the above post as my free quota is over***but there are so many writers that I adore Sean Kernan, Ayodeji Awosika, Antony Moore, they inspired me to write. Medium is one such platform where it pulls you to write.
So what about the Online instructor journey?
I took to teaching in Udemy as a simple instructor . I believed my first course will be a success but the big problem with humans is confirmation bias- We imagine that we will be successful since we believe we will be a success.
Good that the first course was a drop-down failure since I recorded the lessons on my Mobile phone with a useless mic. Still, after a point of time, It was ok. I earned 52 USD. Good considering that the course took me 1 week to make and me being a Sales Engineer had good communication skills( A big Lie!).
52 USD was something really unimaginable just for a week's work in comparison to Medium where I was writing and writing . Slowly i started creating many courses. I learned Audio Editing, Video Editing. Invested in a good camera. Took lots and lots of lessons in Udemy. I started in 2018 but 2019 and 2020 thought me a lot.
2021 was much better I had Time to create many courses. I progressed slowly from creating a class to creating a quality class. Things changed.
I understood that a slight push will be needed for everyone.
I was being recognized by the online community. Students were coming slowly. In Medium after a point of time, even my articles were rejected by every Publication that I can dream of. One way or the other it was good. I don't wish to quit my day job as it takes care of my every need and was also a stable income. (You should also ever Quit, even if you read any amount of articles informing you to follow your Path! Follow your Passion! Follow your calling!)
Look at the statistics for success!- Put your brain in front of your heart. Sometimes trusting your brain can work wonders š
Truth:10ā15 hours is all I can manage in a week for my hobby and video is the new medium for a better learning experience.
What i Earned in Udemyā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.
This was called real recognition of the time I put to work. Udemy can make payments to me through Paypal and Payoneer. They encourage their instructors in whatever part of the globe they are. Your work is not free. I don't think making payments through Paypal is such a big task rather than relying on the only stripe for the payments.
After Udemy came skillshare. The big thing about Skillshare is you don't get paid for a single course rather the no of minutes consumed by students pays you.
No wonder Youtubers create skillshare courses because it pays them for the effort they put.( Now please don't think that creating 3-hour online class is easy to make- Never- it is so so difficult)
My skill share journey:
164 dollars may not be more but the improvement and the journey progression is enormous considering the no of students slowly joining your class is the biggest motivator.
Now some may say to me that i had read- ā give all that you can but never expect any resultā
Even I had said the same thing after reading many Self-help books and boy I was wrong. I was an optimist but never a realist!
I know writing is like watering a plant after planting the seed, but how many weeks can you wait? Sooner or later you will come to know that the plant can be dead but you still water . I should have also known that Water like plants is also precious and I cannot keep on believing that someday my plant will grow. I needed to be a realist. I am not immortal. I cannot wait for that one blog to be viral!
I have also heard the beautiful story of the Chinese Bamboo tree as told by my favorite motivational speaker Less Brown.
Took me some time to understand that Bamboo does not grow everywhere. For some, it can be Bamboo but for others, it can be wheat or Maize or even corns!
All I need to keep looking till find my true Plant so as to nurture it and make it grow.
The medium was not the one.!
Medium Thought me how to control anxiety, how to control my urge for recognition.
Medium thought me how to trust myself.
Medium inspired me to change and told me to keep looking at other Mediums.
My latest review of my course on Adobe Premiere Pro ā -I grew
āIf something is not working learn to move onā
This is true for work; relationships; hobby or whatever ā¦.Never stay or you will wither.
My Profile in Udemy
In Skill share
Skillshare is free for the first month in case you want to join.
Start learning for Life is all about learning and moving forwardā¦.I loved Medium but its time to look out for other Mediums!
