One Follower At A Time
I am not going anywhere
Noticeably, on Medium, the spectrum of people sharing their experiences, products and talent is largely diverse, which is something I appreciate (hooray diversity!). I did not necessarily want to join the crowd myself, because you know I like to go against the grain. However, this is about gratitude and celebrating small successes. Firstly, let us settle it:
I am not selling anything here. Maybe myself, and my writing — Because for now, I just want to be better at it. There was a question and my answer to it:
“If I told you that you wouldn’t be successful for the next ten years, would you still write?” — Yes, I would still write. It’s like asking me if I would still exist.
Probably if someone were to do me a lobotomy, I’d still be writing afterwards. That is why I try to put dedication and effort into each piece of article I produce, be it one with GIFs (because there’s a GIF contest, from which I choose only the finalists), or one needing some research beforehand. Who I am and what I write is genuine.
Little did I expect from the beginning — in regards to appreciation. I knew it had to take patience, focus, and discipline — and I am not even there yet. And today I had my personal best record so far — 7 people recommending one the latest post I published. 7! It might not seem much, but in my book, I celebrate small successes. Thinking about these 7 people who did, it would have been fair to follow back or at least show some slight interest in return.
Immediately, a lighting hit me in the storm of my thoughts: what if I went over to the profile of each new person following me and reading what they also write or recommend, instead of simply clicking ”follow”? Maybe it can be a ”thank you” gesture for appreciating my poor passion and meagre writing. And it would probably take me time to do it, like an investment. But you know what? Writing is also about communities, not only the art per se. Maybe Kafka did not have a community around him, understandably, but I think the way writing is produced today is also through creating communities (the Tribes Seth Godin talks about in business). The easiest example is the Harry Potter fandom (like …. a next-level community) … it’s not only about the story, but also about the author herself — the interaction between the writer and the reader, the audience.
Hence, I reckon this new direction will be a dive in the unknown for me, as I do not expect neither overnight success (success in what, actually?), nor a fixed, huge ”community”. Now more than ever, if people do not like something anymore, are free to walk away from it. Communities are flexible, followers are dynamic. Nevertheless, I will try to inspect that one follower at a time — I do not owe anyone anything, but it is something I want to do, to experiment, a way of thanking people for liking my work. In time … of course I only want to be better, to grow together with the people around me, and help others grow too. I think we all deserve free kindness somehow. :) Hopefully, this will be one way to do it for me. Celebrating One follower at a time. One small success at a time. And building, rebuilding, destroying, building… building. Ready to fail and pull myself back up.
