I was reading about the NFT legend that is Beeple this morning.
In March 2021, an NFT of his work was sold at Christie’s for $69 million.
According to the auction house, the sale made him ‘among the top three most valuable living artists.’
The piece, aptly titled ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’, was a collage of every piece of digital art he had published during the previous 14 years.
The sale drew conflicting views, from those who support the emerging new technology that is Web3.0, to those who believe NFT’s and everything associated is akin to the dot com boom and will eventually fade to obscurity.
But whatever your beliefs, the point of this article is the often overlooked fact, that the artist known as Beeple, Mike Winkelmann, posted a piece of digital art every single day for over 14 years, before he saw the big bucks.
Would you keep going that long without a payoff?
Can you imagine publishing and putting yourself out there, whether art, songs, poetry, stories, videos, books, business tips, you name it, for 14 years, (over 5000 days), every single day, without knowing whether it would eventually pay off?
Of course, he was encouraged along the way by amassing some 2.5 million followers across his social media channels, but still, that kind of commitment is a rare find in today’s world of rapid-fire TikTok and instant gratification.
Consistency Is a Superpower, With or Without the Medal
It makes sense that if you have that kind of commitment to a project, nothing but good can come from it right?
Think about athletes who train for years on end just to see their Olympic dreams dashed by others who are faster or stronger than them.
Did they lose? No!
They’re left with strength, energy, amazing health, and the kind of tenacity and self-integrity many of us can only dream about.
Even if you never quite make it to Beeple status (or the Olympics), the pros far outweigh the cons as demonstrated by other examples of outstanding commitment, such as Seth Godin who has published a blog post on his site sethsblog, every single day for 20 years!
Add to that some 20 books, social media presence, podcasts, and his altmba program, it’s no surprise he was inducted into the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Hall of Fame in 2018!
Think about others you know who’ve shown up consistently, day after day, year after year.
Justin Welsh, a solo entrepreneur and LinkedIn content creator, has published daily for the past few years and recently surpassed $10 million in revenue from his one-person business.
Amy Porterfield, former corporate marketer turned online course and podcast queen, has been publishing her Online Marketing Made Easy podcast weekly, with daily clips, highlight reels, and repurposed content, for over a decade, and built a multi-8-figure business along the way.
Why It’s Not Just About the Money
So yes, publishing daily can lead to huge financial gain, but that’s not the only reason to do it. In fact, some of the biggest rewards have nothing to do with income at all.
A consistent daily habit brings clarity, momentum, confidence, purpose… all the things that make you feel like you’re moving forward, even before the money shows up.
So instead of fixating on the long-term payoff, let’s look at the real benefits you can experience almost immediately, starting from day one:
