You can fully control one thing: showing up.
Every day.
That's it. Showing up is not a silver bullet. It's not an easy victory. It's not a life event. It's not a shortcut. But it's the only way to build anything.
The fact is - we are too focused on instant wins.
Instant gratification.
We are too focused on breakthroughs.
We expect every piece of content we create to spread like wildfire, and when that doesn't happen, we get discouraged.
But this is a ridiculous way to think about our work. As makers, as writers, as creators, we cannot chase overnight success in a pot.
That is a short-term approach that never pays off. There is no way to predict viral success, and anyone who thinks they can achieve it in any repeatable format is mistaken.
There is no algorithm to predict it.
Based on my experience creating content, writing stories, and producing work online, I've learned one thing.
You cannot underestimate the power of consistency.
You can not only rely on showing up day after day, but you also organically build your audience with fidelity.
Showing up gives you the opportunity to truly grow.
Stagnation happens to our best people, it happens to our worst, and it happens to everyone in between. Stagnation is the death of creators. It means your audience will get bored with you, get bored with their own way of creating, and start to lose interest in pursuing mundanity.
And when all you are trying to do is push for instant success, stagnation is unavoidable.
Because you are not listening to your audience.
You are not hearing their passions and their needs.
You are just looking at the numbers.
Watching them rise, sacrificing any creative spark you have for the data.
If you build slow, long-term, dedicated relationships with people who are positive about the work you do, that’s something else.
Here, you create a career of value and important work.
The way to do this?
Show up. Show up as your whole self, showing up with your values and beliefs that make you unique, but most importantly - show up with consistency.
Consistency allows people to understand your operation.
The first time they interact with you, they don’t know who you are. The first time someone consumes the content you create, they don’t know what you are. No matter how good it is, you cannot convey that in one piece of work. It cannot summarize the unique ways of texture and approach.
By consistently creating regular content, you provide an environment for the audience to embark on a journey. Does this sound like nonsense? It’s the truth. Your role as a maker and storyteller is to create a hero's journey that allows someone to emotionally connect with your message, ideas, and creative brand. If you cannot maintain a steady output of work, you cannot do this.
When I look at how I developed networks, grew audiences, wrote for publications from cable to SF Chronicle, created @Westenberg to founding VC fund, the act of showing up regularly is always something.
If I hadn’t done that, if I had been focused on trying to break through instead of building, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
The key to building an audience is showing up.
Showing up will provide you with the foundation needed for your career and craft.
Everything else is a distraction.