“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” —Thomas A. Edison
A few months ago, a friend stumbled upon my Twitter account. We had known each other briefly in the past, but had since lost contact. He called me right away, “Wow, Joshua. I just noticed your Twitter account. How in the world did you get so many followers?” Flattering, I know.
Now, we both know Twitter followers are an incomplete and inconsistent measure of success. There are plenty of ways to game the system (heck, you can even buy 10,000 Twitter followers for less than $100 if you want). Besides, follower count always seems more impressive from the outside. Nevertheless, it is considered by some to be an important measure of influence… on with the story.
There is no short answer to success on social media (entire books have been written on the subject), I was more than happy to share some of my strategies.
But, my first response to his question was short and to the point.
“Consistency,” I said, “I credit most of my online success to consistency and perseverance. I’ve been writing about minimalism for a long time—over six years. And all my online pursuits have been tied to one simple message: Own less, live more.”
I think this is an important truth that is often overlooked. Consistency is a valuable tool for earning influence. It develops credibility. It provides opportunity to grow in expertise. And just like compounding interest, it builds upon itself.
But consistency was not a foregone conclusion in my life. In fact, early in my blogging career, I almost quit.
I blogged for almost one year and had seen some growth, but nothing too exciting. So I quit for an entire month (February, 2009). I returned with a short, simple blog post about donating old prom dresses. I remember hearing an interesting commercial on the radio that prompted the post. Christy left a simple comment. It went like this, “Come back Josh.”
It was short. It was simple. But it was encouraging enough for me to carry on with writing and blogging and simplicity.
Over the next several years, I gained more readers and followers. And my digital influence continued to grow. Why? Because I got better? Probably. But also because I became consistent to my message.
Consistency is an important element in success. And the only prerequisite for consistency is perseverance.
Perseverance can be hard. But, here’s the beautiful part: Perseverance is one secret of success available to each of us.
Regardless of our background, education, social status, or passion, we can all persevere.
We will never reach our fullest potential or purpose in life until we learn to push through the frustration, overcome the obstacles, and remain committed to our pursuit—no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Of course, the very nature of perseverance requires that we face trials. There is no perseverance without difficulty. This makes it a painful skill that many will shy away from. But these trials make perseverance one of the most rewarding personal traits we can ever develop.
People who succeed in their dreams learn the skill of perseverance. They are the ones who refuse to give in regardless of the score or the current obstacles they may be facing. And in the end, they achieve success—regardless of how you choose to define it.
Richard St. John agrees (3:30). So does Ira Glass (1:54).
Lori in Prescott says
Well this one hit home. I quit my blog when a series of family disaster hit and couldn’t get my groove back. I see now, years later, that I could have pushed through and the writing would have shown the huge changes in me and my life to my audience. Writing even a smaller blog every day would have lent CONSISTENCY to my chaotic life at that time. I have read that most bloggers hit the wall at Year 3. If you can push beyond that point, you’ve got staying power. I love the lack of goop in your blog page as much as the content, Joshua. Prom dresses? Who knew!
Hailey says
Great post! I needed to hear it and I appreciate your perseverance because you inspire me!
Judy says
Ditto.
Carina Spring says
Thanks for this beautiful post! You have tapped on a fundamental truth, and there is something very generous about the way you share it. I will be reading it to my son.
Btw: I started blogging a few months ago. The thought of quitting crossed my mind early on, but I have decided to continue because I find it very satisfying. In the end, if you are living authentically and doing activities that enrich your life, that’s what matters.
Ivan Webb says
When a teaching colleague of mine died his Year 6 students reported that they would always remember him for three simple rules (for success) that he had taught them:
1. Be yourself
2. Be your best (and)
3. Never give up
Only 8 words but what a message. Fifteen years later they are still etched in my mind too.
Carina Spring says
Wow, Ivan Webb, powerful comment. Thanks for sharing. By the way, further to my previous comment: most of the activities that genuinely enrich our lives also enrich the lives of others. That is key – caring about people and ideas beyond ourselves
phil pogson says
Josh – Thank you. I needed this.
Jessica says
I think it is more fun when you see your hard work paying off after a while. Who wants 10,000 followers if they’re fake? There is nothing better than that feeling of accomplishment when you’re successful with something that took a bit of perseverance.
SMC says
Great post, Joshua.
It’s comparable to riding a bike through the hills. You gain momentum to get up the next hill from the hill you just topped….and just as you’re alllmmmooost at the top, the momentum is gone and it’s nothing but you pushing hard, with all your might to Get. To. The. Top. The thing with mountain biking those is you can’t quit and turn around because either we you go, there are hills to climb!
Anyone struggling to finish an endeavor should hit the hills on a bike to gain self-awareness and confidence needed to succeed.
George says
I couldn’t agree more with this post.
Perseverance and showing up every day is the single most important thing to being successful everyday.
Everyone who thinks of an over night success never sees the consistency put in by those who went through it.
Just show up, no matter what. Some days you’ll produce great work and others it will be crap. But just show up.
Awesome post Josh, I think you nailed this one!
Judy says
George, you’ve nailed it! “Just show up!’ One of my favorite sayings. Deep! :)
Karen @ Pieces of Contentment says
‘There is no perseverance without difficulty’ – and perseverance produces character and character produces hope. Words of truth, thank you Joshua.
Spencer Brynne says
This is well said. As someone that blogged and stopped several times and now doesn’t even blog your advice about simplicity and a clear message that you post about in various ways is probably key to having a following. Its funny I used to desire to have a bunch of followers on twitter and on a blog and now I find myself less worried. In fact I have erased or paired down most of my digital footprint. I had several hundred twitter followers and just deleted my account one day. IDK just me thinking out loud.