I just crossed 40,000 followers on Linkedin. This is so nice! I'm really grateful.
Firstly, let me begin this totally unnecessary speil (as if I've won an Oscar) by saying that this is pure luck. Not hard work. Not persistence. Not intelligence. Not skill. Not even manifestation or deep prayer. Just luck.
There's a lot of gyaan on how to make things work. People saying stuff like, "Aise karo, vaise karo. Aise jiyo, vaise maro", etc. What I've noticed, atleast in my experience, is that most good things "just happen". You work incredibly hard for something till the last bit of grit and perseverance in your body, and that something never works out. But one fine day you wake up and there's something else that's clicked. Totally unexpected, sometimes even unwelcome. Like lottery tickets you were tricked into buying and almost threw in the bin, but which end up winning the big bucks anyway. Serendipity is magic. And so is life. Best enjoyed without being understood.
Writing on Linkedin has been like that for me. I never intended to do this. Had no plans or expectations. Forget about expectations, I didn't even have any hope (or desire) around it. Yes, I had always been a BIG reader (ran a campaign called "52booksinayear" from 2012 to 2022) and a very serious writer. And yes, I also always longed for fame and fortune, perhaps a bit too much. But not this way. When it came to success, I always wanted it as an entrepreneur and musician. When it came to writing, I worked on songs, stories, and films.
And while I've been doing all of those things ever since I gained consciousness, and with such passion that it literally freaks people out, I'd say the return on investment for me on things has rather been...disappointing. But I'm still at it, of course. Persisting with best efforts. Living to fight another day. Another day in paradise..
But this Linkedin thing? It took no effort. No passion. No persistence. No "living to fight another day". I just typed out an article one day, and since then, have got over 20 Mil impressions.
At first, I didn't know what to do with all this. I always dreamt of popularity of this kind, but as a musician. What do I do with it in this form? Thankfully, I quickly channelised it towards Seneca (the distraction free smartphone), and Virtual Voter (world's first social network focused on polls). It's been quite amazing, whatever has happened.
I recently got banned from Linkedin. They said it was permanent. I had sinned. Somehow I got the account back, but realised how fragile this all is. What if I get banned again?
Again, Woody Allen Sir said it best:
"The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose."
In this little way, I won. :)
P.S. You just read an honest (and hopefully valuable) article for free. If you like reading my writing, please consider making donations. Amounts don't matter, gestures do. Here's a big cheers to all my Patrons!
Read more articles here.
Comments