A jaunty reader writes in:
(in response to my recent email about why “how do I find…” might be the wrong question)
Hey, Tom!
After reading an e-mail like this, I’m reminded how cool everything is you say. OK, almost everything you say, we’re still iffy on the science front.
You can put this in a testimonial, with my name on it:
I started offering consultancy services for writers/marketers/founders, and I must say that your influence shines through. The way you see life and preach about it in your own newsletter has been a game changer.
Just so you know, your words are definitely not falling on deaf ears, blind eyes and so on.
Keep being awesome,
Vlad
My testimonials are usually related to my coaching. But it’s nice to get emails like this too.
And it’s even nicer to know that my emails aren’t falling between the
cracks.
Especially as it used to feel like they were.
Back in the fledgling days of this newsletter, it wasn’t unusual to go a week or three with no-one replying to an email and unsubscribes ticking up & up & up
whilst I sat pensively scratching my head, wondering if anyone was even reading the emails.
One particular thought kept circling:
If no-one’s reading the newsletter, what’s the point in writing it?
About 5 or 6 months in, give or take, I came close to jacking it all in. Sending emails into the void was starting to get me down and I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.
It would’ve been easy to wake up one morning, shrug my
shoulders, say “this isn’t working” and stop writing.
But I stuck with it.
And I’m glad I did.
Fast forward to today, almost two years later, and things look very different.
Now it’s the norm to get a bunch of replies each week from readers telling me what they think about an email (usually positive, not always) or sharing a relevant titbit from their life.
And I reply to every one.
Even to the grammar police who take a delirious delight in pointing out a “that” which should be a “which” or a “which” that should be a “that”.
I have a special place in my heart for them.
Now, I could prattle on about learning curves when starting something new, how progress isn’t linear or how there will always be bumps along the way.
And all these are true.
But they’re old hat.
There’s a deeper, more fundamental principle which underpins all these.
And it’s this:
Persistence & patience are the unsung heroes & heroines of progress.
Yes, I know these two ingredients aren’t
sexy.
And I also know they’re not easy to find. Especially in a world like today’s where you tap your iPhone and a delivery driver is at your front door 3 minutes later with a can of baked beans and a 4-pack of Hazy IPAs.
But being unsexy and uncommon just adds to their power.
Something to think about perhaps.
On a not entirely unrelated note:
I’m taking a similar approach to my LinkedIn profile nowadays.
Less Speedy Gonzalez, more Patient Rodriguez.
If you’d like to
connect:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/itstomgrundy/
That’s all
for today.
- Tom