Playing the long game

I think it was yesterday. I was wasting too much time scrolling on Twitter when I came across a dude's account who had recently hung out with Zuby. He had a very interesting take: for success, you need to stop looking at things in terms of days, weeks, and even years. Instead, you need to think in terms of decades.

I am as guilty as anyone of only seeing the short game. But here’s the great part: so is everyone else. If you can get past this part, then you’ve got it made. It doesn’t come easy or quickly; my transition into a full-time career as a freelancer should’ve been enough evidence of this for me to stay the course with my newsletters. I have been freelance writing for over eight years, and it took five years before I felt ready to take the plunge and do it full-time. But I digress. 

And the key to my ability to do that was to follow the exact same recipe over and over and over again. Every time I started to spread myself too thin and started thinking about learning some new skill that had nothing to do with what I was already doing and making money with, I kind of veered back to writing. More specifically, writing about one small niche.

And you know what?

It is still the niche that makes most of my money.

If I continued going in 5 to 10 different directions, I guarantee you I would still be working my 9 to 5 job. There's nothing wrong with that; I really liked that job. But when I take that job back and give up all of the freedom that I have now?

Not a chance.

But again, I feel like I’m finally starting to hit my stride, and it’s been nearly a decade. So I think Zuby is right: start planning out your goals in terms of decades.

Hey guys, make sure to check out my YouTube channel! I post a few shorts a week with my thoughts on the writing and SEO scene and solopreneurship in general!