Building Success: You Don't Slow Down Just Because Things Are Going Well!

What does it take to build success? What does it take to keep it?

And I'm talking about anything from blogging on Steemit, to starting a business in the outside world, when I pose that question.

Of course, there's a lot of really good advice out there... but one of the things I've learned — often the hard way — is that you'd better keep going, even when things start going well.

Perhaps especially when things start going well!

One of the things I have been guilty of, especially in my younger days, was "coasting" when something I was working on started to do well.

It almost felt like the reward for a measure of success was that I would get to sit still and take a break.

The Problem With That...

The problem with relaxing when you start doing well is that you tend to lose momentum. And if you sit still for too long, you'll suddenly find yourself all the way back where you started — even if you actually worked quite hard.

That is something I have been guilty of... particularly back in the days when I was a contract technical writer in the IT industry.

It's get a really good gig, end up getting paid $2,500 for my work... and instead of immediately looking for my next gig, I'd sit still and watch the $2,500 slowly melt away while I'd do very little. Then I'd suddenly realize I was on a collision course with poverty... and frantically start looking for a new gig.

Of course, it meant that I never managed to build any kind of savings or cushion.

The underlying learning experience was that I had to come to terms with the fact that I am not really a "naturally industrious" type of person.

To this day, I remain pretty laid back, but an excessive number of hardships along the way — resulting from my laziness — has taught me that I still need to keep working, even after I have completed a pretty good period.

Bottom line: Doing well yesterday doesn't exempt you from doing your best, today!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your week!

How about YOU? Are you good at "staying with" things, even when you're doing well? Or do you tend to relax, as soon as you have a cushion? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20221004 00:40 PDT
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