Have you suffered enough? Time to find out
First and foremost:
This was by far my best month on Medium after starting last June. My stats for the first three months were so bad I never even looked at them. I’d tell friends my Medium earnings afford me one maybe two McDonald’s coffees by month’s end. Knowing this, I had one goal in mind: write like mad.
It finally paid off in spades.
Before I tell you what I found out last month, here are the basics you definitely need to know to make it big:
- Clean formatting: Analyze the best writers on Medium to get an idea (e.g. Ayodeji Awosika, Tim Denning). …
Cryptocurrency’s boom is just beginning — Bitcoin could go above $100,000 next year (currently valued at $19,000)
“How do you protect your purchasing power? With code.” — Tim Denning
Bitcoin is going to change the world — and if you take a second to learn about it, you’ll understand why. After an abysmal 2018 to 2019 stretch, Bitcoin is nearing an all-time high. The price is up 166% this year and big-name investors don’t think it’s going to stop.
Why is Bitcoin rallying right now? Because more people are starting to accept, and trust it as a currency.
Fintech companies PayPal and Square started letting their combined 350 million+ customers use cryptocurrency. …
Because saddling yourself with debt is never a good idea
With reliable online accreditation programs on the rise, four-year colleges are facing their greatest challenge yet: Staying relevant.
I don’t think they’re up to the task. Especially because most universities saddle their students with these:
- Crippiling debt (which you cannot declare bankruptcy on)
- Useless degrees like liberal arts or communications — the latter of which I advertently have
- Little-to-no real-world experience which leaves many students vindicative
College is outdated. It’s like a four-year party and afterward, you’re the one stuck with the entire mess. A bachelor's degree is meaningless today without any real-world experience to back it up.
If you need help paying the bills or are looking for a career change, try these jobs instead. …
We do not like this mean orange man
What are you going to do without Donald Trump? You may say celebrate — but don’t forget how interesting he made your boring life.
You can’t glue yourself to Trump-focused news for hours
You won’t be able to stalk his Twitter account
You can’t virtue signal how much you hate him on social media
You won’t be able to complain to your friends about every little thing he does.
Hatred for Donald J. Trump became religious in America. If you voted for him, for example, there wouldn’t be any civil disagreement, you would be categorically labeled “the other.”
Trump was nothing more than a figurehead for a much deeper, and more sinister underbelly in America. No, it’s not fundamental right-wing views. It’s a Civil War, and it’s happening right now — very quietly. …
The complete guide to setting, scheduling, and accomplishing your goals (Feat. Insights from Jordan Peterson)
My goals were nothing more than abstractions for many years. I wanted to be a stand-up comic but was too scared to admit it. I wanted to play the drums but never saved up enough money to buy a set.
Instead, I lied to myself and believed those passions wouldn’t make me happy. This was a bad idea, and I never knew until I started reading psychologist Jordan Peterson.
“Often people will keep their goals fuzzy,” said Peterson. “One of the problems with specifying your goals means specifying your failures. …
The trick journalists use to fight writer’s block
I was on a deadline. My editor said to have a breaking story by 6 p.m.
It was 5 p.m.
“I don’t care what you have by then — but you better turn something in,” she told me.
Journalists don’t believe in writer’s block. I didn’t have time to consult the muse for inspiration. I had to tie the muse down and strangle him until he gave me what I wanted.
When 6 p.m. came I didn’t turn in a Pulitzer Prize winner, but I had something. It was solid. Writer’s block didn’t win, because I couldn’t let it win.
Writer’s block is another poor excuse at the end of the day. Journalists don’t have the luxury of using it. …
3 big mistakes that Medium writers make
Assume no one cares about you.
No one cares what you’re writing about, about what you have to say, about what you care about. If you write from the premise that nobody cares, it’ll be clear that your question is, “how do I make them care?”
Your readers — unless they’re your mom and grandma — don’t care about the esoteric personal details of your life. Save that for your diary.
Does that make them horrible people for not caring?
No! They don’t know you. You’re a total stranger to them. Your mission is to make these strangers from across the world relate to what you’re saying. …
Chase these stats instead
100k+ followers will make you happy.
5k+ claps is definitely cause to celebrate.
But don’t let these metrics consume you — they’re 99% pointless. I learned this lesson the painful way.
Now that a few of my stories blew up, I thought I had it made. After months of rejections and sparse view counts, I had finally cracked through Medium, so it seemed.
Wrong.
My newfound popularity just proved two things:
- I wrote a few good stories
- I’m still a stranger to most, if not all of my followers
Connect With Your Followers
When I first read Kevin Kelly’s “1000 True Fans” snippet I thought he was just restating the obvious. Kelly says a true fan will buy anything you produce; they will buy the hardback and paperback and audible versions of your book; they’ll drive 200 miles to see you sing, and so on and so forth. …
Dear friends,
Thank you for supporting Yard Couch, I can’t thank you enough from the bottom of my heart.
We started this publication because my friends and I believe in helping others, whether that be financial, health, or pragmatic life advice. We don’t want to be just any publication, we want to build a community.
To make good on that promise we started our own Facebook group for you to share your articles and grow as writers. I’ll explain more over there on Facebook.
This is only the start of our commitment to bring amazing talented writers like yourself together.
We’ll update you weekly through this newsletter of our best stories featured on Yard Couch and what updates we’re working on. …
This is how YouTubers and social media stars grow big
The best part about writing for USA Today Network is the ability to work with other writers.
You add a paragraph here, they add a sentence there, and in the end, you write something beautiful. Often it’s better than anything you could have managed on your own.
It’s like Scottie Pippen throwing up an alley-oop for Michael Jordan. That’s how I feel when another writer pulls a great quote or improves my work with a saucy adjective.
It’s two people working in a flow state. It’s awesome.
Writing is a Social Activity
Writing is not an isolated event. You, the reader, are here with me right now. …
