“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year—and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.”
Tony Robbins
Beyond the Quote (241/365)
When I first started MoveMe Quotes in 2010, I was so self-conscious about my writing and my own voice as a writer that I could only post other people’s words. I wouldn’t add, subtract, change, or elaborate on anything—I shared quotes and that’s it. I refused to share my opinion because I felt unworthy when surrounded by such giants in the writing world. I would constantly ask myself, “Who am I to comment on words from this great person or that amazing writer?” And so that’s how it went for the first five years of MoveMe Quotes. I was merely a quote collector and organizer.
Eventually, I started to see patterns. I started to notice fundamental concepts that many of the greats would share across domains. I started to notice when author’s opinions would stand out. I started to notice when author’s opinions would blend in. I started to see which authors seemed to have a more extensive background in their spoken about topics. I also noticed who was able to communicate their ideas better than others. This noticing, is what laid the groundwork for what came next.
I started to slowly form an opinion. I started questioning what I was reading rather than simply taking what I was reading for granted. I started to compare one author’s views on certain mindsets to others and would feel a sudden desire to comment on gaps or differences. I even felt like I could elaborate on what these authors were saying and could add some of my own life experiences into the mix. I felt like I could, potentially, create something new. So, that’s what I did—I started to blog.
I started by adding a single line of custom text for each Quote List that I made in order to properly pre-frame the general feel of the quotes in each list (that’s right—a single freaking line). That eventually led to a few paragraphs. Which eventually led to a completely separate blog where I would write entire posts that were composed completely of my own words. At the time, I still wasn’t confident enough to blog on my main site, so writing in a less trafficked site was better in my mind. Until that wasn’t the case anymore. I decided, after about 40 blog posts on that separate website that it was time to consolidate back to the main site and make the jump. I merged my blog posts into MoveMe Quotes in around 2017 and have been actively blogging ever since.
For the most part, the blogs would come once every two weeks or so and I continued to aim at sharing Powerful Quote Lists that were composed of a few paragraphs of my own words. While my confidence was certainly building, I was still haunted by the idea of sharing something that “wasn’t worthy,” or was “factually incorrect,” or that had embarrassing typos—so I begged family members and friends to check everything before I published. I literally felt like I needed someone to tell me that it was “okay.” Without that “okay” I felt filled to the brim with anxiety and would proofread excessively, unnecessarily, and to the point of sheer exhaustion.
Then, after a year or two of that, it so happened that one day I felt confident in my ability to write, edit, and publish on my own. And the journey continued with more blogs, more lists, more comments, more opinions, and more connections. As you can imagine, the refining process continued, the confidence in my voice strengthened, my writing style started to emerge, and I was feeling more and more comfortable in my ways. The work I was putting in and the experimentation was allowing me to mature as a writer.
And then it happened where at the start of 2020, on January 1st, I decided I really wanted to be more deliberate with my writing and I spontaneously challenged myself to write daily instead of weekly. I propped open my laptop and typed out my first Beyond The Quote blog and number it as “1/365.” And so it went. And here I am typing “241/365” at the heading of this very blog you’re reading today.
Why do I share this with you? It’s to show you that I didn’t just decide to start writing like this on January 1, 2020 as a random New Years Resolution. This daily writing habit is the product of the journey I started on October 10, 2010. 10 years ago—not 241 days ago. Had I not overcome those smaller obstacles of dealing with my insecurities—each and every single one of them along the way—there’s no way I would be able to produce blogs at the level I have been every day. This habit is not the product of a spontaneous goal—it’s the product of 10 years of work. And that’s where most people miss the mark. They overestimate what they can do in a year and wildly underestimate what they can do in 10 years. Recalibrate your goals. Adjust your pace for the long-term. And trust the process. It works. So long as you do. Good luck.
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Written by Matt Hogan
Founder of MoveMe Quotes. On a mission to help busy people do inner work—for better mental health; for healing; for personal growth. Find me on Twitter / IG / Medium. I also share daily insights here. 🌱
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