It Took Me 2 Years To Get 1000 Followers — Life Lessons I’ve Learned Throughout The Journey

William Cho
Student Voices
Published in
9 min readMay 17, 2018

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But I’ve only been writing on Medium for a total of maybe 4.5 months. I’ve written a total of 132 (including this one) stories. There are many more in my drafts, waiting to be revisited and hoping to see the light one day.

I started on November 3, 2016, challenging myself to write every day on a whim.

I’d been lurking Medium for at least a year by then, and I was sick and tired of reading articles telling me to create instead of consume. I was sick and tired because I wasn’t following any of the advice that I was given.

I was reading at least 20–30 motivational articles on Medium a day, but my life wasn’t changing for the better (as sometimes promised from writers on Medium) and I progressively felt worse as time went by.

I decided to keep it a secret then. No one knew about my little blog in the infinite landscape of the Internet. My mindset then was: No one could see how badly I’d fail, if I failed, and no one could judge me even if I failed.

So I wrote every day for two months. I realized, in those days, how happy I was to write. It was like my mind was pouring out onto the blank template as soon as I clicked on the “New Story” button. My mind was finally free from itself. It had a place to unleash its creativity, chaos, and observations.

I don’t know where this sudden discipline came from. Maybe it was my subconscious working behind the scenes to push me into action that very day. Maybe I just needed time to ponder on the material I had been reading. I can’t quite explain it, but I was spontaneously overcome with the urge to create and challenge myself.

I started writing passionately, and you could tell from my writing that I thought I was enlightened and spoke as if I had authority on how to live life properly. I was clearly excited to share my thoughts and, at the time, every day seemed to bring small epiphanies to my conscience.

However, I always had with me a looming and powerful presence of self-doubt and insecurity. I still struggle with it on most days, and I have to keep on my toes to keep it at bay. It tempts me with comfort, laziness, and short-term pleasures. It attacks me in all the right places because it knows my weaknesses.

I’ve noticed that it comes in moments where I put in the effort to improve myself — working out, writing, and reading. If I allowed myself to give in even an inch, it would seize its opportunity to overpower me. I have to be constantly mindful of negative thoughts and emotions, paying close attention to these influences and respecting them by not underestimating them.

So two months went by, and while I failed to write here and there on some days, I kept trudging on until an opportunity finally presented itself.

A publication, Student Voices, e-mailed me and asked me if they could use my content on their page.

I was genuinely surprised because although I thought my content was okay, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to share it with more people. My self-doubt started creeping in, but I was very proud that my work was deemed good enough to be displayed in a publication. I was also eager to get more people to read my content and follow me. I accepted, soon became a regular writer for the publication, and continued to write.

I started seeing more views and reads trickling in. Every number on the stats page excited me and pushed me to continue writing.

One read was a lot back then. It still is, but to a writer speaking into the void, waiting for a single sign of life, it meant a lot.

I started gaining momentum. People started reading more of my content and were “recommending” them (it was Medium’s clap system at the time). I never thought I’d be able to reach 100 followers, but I did.

I showed my achievements to my friends, and they supported me and told me that I was doing something impressive and that my writing was really good. It made me happy, but I always had a shadow of a doubt, always jumping in and never allowing myself to feel good.

“Were they being honest? Were they just saying that to be a good friend? What do they really think? Can I trust their words? What if they’re all making fun of me behind my back? What if my work really is subpar?

As I slowly grew my platform and found pride in having a couple of hundred followers, the dark presence I had suppressed started showing itself. It started getting to my head, constantly making me doubt myself and pinpointing the fatal flaws in my writing.

“You’ve got everyone fooled, especially yourself. You’re not a writer, what were you thinking? You’re only repeating the words you’ve read or heard from somewhere. Nothing you’re saying is original, and you don’t believe in all this motivational shit anyways. You’re just writing all this to attract more followers. You’re just doing this to inflate your ego. You’re just doing it to feel better about yourself and be able to brag about it. You’re just doing it to put yourself on a higher ground than your friends, to judge them from a higher platform and deem everything you’re doing more virtuous than what they’re doing. Soon they’ll all find out how egotistical you are. Soon they’ll all find out you don’t practice anything you preach. Soon they’ll all find out you’re nothing you claim to be.”

Soon, writing every day became almost torturous.

I started seeing it as a burden, and my writing schedule became erratic. I wrote only when I felt like it, and sooner or later, I had crippled myself with anxiety and self-doubt to the point where I would never feel like writing.

I stopped writing on Feb 2, 2017 altogether and quietly exited through the back door.

No explanation or closure.

If my friends asked me about the reasons why I stopped writing, I would say that I was taking a break to read or think about my ideas a bit more before writing.

I would sidestep and avoid the truth — the truth that would hurt but ultimately set me free.

The truth was something that I couldn’t bear to hear at the time, but it was something that I needed to accept.

Maybe the dark presence was right. Maybe my writing did suck. Maybe my writing was bland, unoriginal, boring and a waste of time. Maybe my friends were lying to me, trying to make me feel better and patronizing me. Maybe I was making a fool of myself for writing and putting my vulnerabilities out in public.

But now I realize that I wasn’t scared of hearing any of this. I wasn’t scared that my writing sucked. I wasn’t scared of being called a fool behind my back.

I was scared of taking responsibility for my life.

The truth is that I knew I wouldn’t do anything about it even if any of those thoughts were true. If there was even a modicum of truth in them, that would mean I had to work harder to improve myself.

If my writing sucked, I had to work harder to read more and take more time to refine and edit my craft, which I was not willing to do.

I was consciously hiding behind a veil of ignorance to avoid doing the hard work. I suppressed my negative emotions and didn’t address the problems that were arising because of my complacency.

If I was honest about my shortcomings, I would have to do something about them.

I knew I wasn’t trying to improve myself, and I knew that I wasn’t speaking my mind honestly.

It was better and easier to stay comfortable and write the same way I always had. I had repressed my doubts because of my laziness and paid for it dearly.

I always knew in the back of my mind that I would come back to writing, but I didn’t know when or how I’d do it. It sort of happened on a whim, once again.

I took it upon myself to start reading, writing, and exercising one day.

I practiced self-compassion and told myself to take it one step at a time. I knew that if I focused on what I could control, I would have less anxiety and more confidence.

I learned that self-development comes from action. I learned that limits only exist in your mind, and you are the one putting them there. I learned that I should treat myself like someone I am responsible for helping. I learned that my life purpose was for me to choose, and wasn’t predetermined.

I learned that I was solely responsible for the path that I follow in life. I learned to take extreme ownership and practice discipline. I learned that failures are vital lessons to develop us into better, faster, and stronger versions of ourselves. I learned that if you fail today, you can try again tomorrow.

I learned that we are what we repeatedly do and started building good habits. I learned that struggle and pain makes life hard but meaningful. I learned to always think from both perspectives, and continue to be watchful for my biases as best as I can. I learned to appreciate every day and live every day like it was my last. I learned that everything meaningful and valuable comes only with care and effort.

I learned that self-doubt is part of the creative process, and the only way to beat it is to prove yourself wrong. I learned that I should only compare myself to who I was yesterday. I learned that obstacles are meant to be overcome. I learned that friends are extremely valuable and every moment with them should be cherished.

I learned that there was no “secret sauce”, no secret “morning routine”. It was just putting in the work, being patient, and showing up every day no matter what.

So that’s exactly what I did, and I have been blessed with opportunities, personal growth, and positive experiences.

I never thought I’d have 1,000 followers, and I sit here humbled and amazed. I know 1,000 isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it’s by far the biggest achievement I’ve accomplished in my life.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. “

— Lao Tzu

It all started with one article, one decision, one decree to dedicate myself to learning and improving my craft. It all started when I decided that the best time to start is right this minute.

The best time to start anything, to devote yourself to something, to change your life for the better is always now.

I am thankful for everyone who has talked with me, helped encourage me to keep writing and improving, and expressed their thoughts and emotions after reading one of my stories.

And while you should take a moment to pat yourself on the back for all that you’ve achieved, tomorrow is another day to conquer, filled with obstacles and difficulties to overcome.

There’s no time to rest for too long! There’s so much more to do, and so little time.

I will allow myself to revel in my modest success and enjoy my small achievements but continue to do as I was doing.

The next goal is just beyond the horizon.

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If you want to ask me a question or simply want to talk: @ohc.william@gmail.com. I also write about a variety of other topics on greaterwillproject.com!