Why Small Wins Do Matter
While you are struggling with Block Editor or trying to get your website design to look right you read about other member's success. How they
- seem to write hundreds of blog posts so effortlessly,
- make their super affiliate quota of 300 new sign-ups long before the end of the year,
- amass tens of thousands of followers to their YouTube channel or
- sign large contracts for money you only dream that you can one day make.
Not that you begrudge their success. Hell, you actually celebrate right next to them congratulating them at every turn. But inside you wonder will I ever be that good? Will I ever rise to that level of excellence?
Yes, You Can and Yes You Will once you are willing to put in the work.
What I want you to do is celebrate your opportunities for small wins. Don’t let anyone else take that away from you. So go right ahead and
- shout out when your website or post gets indexed
- that you made $4.25 with Amazon
- feel good about your contributions to the platform and that it is reflected in your rank moving into the Top 100, Top 25, or Top 5. Even if some may think it does not really mean anything.
- Tell us how good it felt that your post that you worked on made it into the top 10 Blogs listing
I want you to build on these small wins because they represent your progress which will further ignite your productivity, motivation and creativity. How? Well, think about it.
When you achieve anything what happens? Do you not experience the four feeling below
1) Energy Boost
You get a burst of energy. A big ‘Heck Yeah?’ or ‘Fist in the Air’. Those bursts of energy from small victories add up over time. They not only build confidence but make you more attractive causing others to want to be part of your success. This positive reinforcement will only build and give you more confidence to take on bigger tasks.
2) Business Growth
If you are working within an overall plan recognizing small wins helps to keep you on track. If your goal was to write a 300-word blog post or to attend a Class by Jay on Google’s new Keen and you did it this demonstrates accomplishment. If you continuously work at giving yourself these wins and positive reinforcement this will build your growth and learning.
3) Self-Love
Do you want others to tell you how you should feel? What you should or should not celebrate? No! You go right ahead and celebrate what you want to. Those small wins are your way of saying, ‘I am amazing’. Sometimes the best feedback is what you can give to yourself rather than waiting on somebody out there to tell you what they think of you. What’s also interesting the more you love yourself the more others will be drawn to you.
4) Happiness
Some people may say that success leads to happiness but do you ever think the converse is true? That success is dependent on being happy and positive. Think about it. Do your small wins make you feel happy? And is it not true that the happier you are the more you enjoy what you do? That’s why passion should play such a strong role in every facet of your life.
Being happy makes you want to jump out of bed and get on with your day. It motivates and drives you and makes you feel more optimistic.
So if small wins make you happy go for it.
If you agree with me that small wins matter hit me up a like and tell me via your comments what small wins you enjoy celebrating.
Take care
Hugh
Recent Comments
65
Thank You, Hugh, When my very first blog post got indexed and ranked on Google, I was over the moon(mind you I did that and English is not even my first language so maybe the blog post was not even well written who knows). I wanted to shout and tell everyone that I did that, I wrote something that can now be found on Google.
When I made my very first $5 online because of WA, I wanted to tell everyone, so yes, small wins are worth celebrating.
I love reading people's celebration of small wins, being ranked on Google, Finishing the Bootcamp training, being on top 200/100/50 whatever, I write such blogs too from time to time because it makes me happy when I have those small wins.
Being part of this community has been a blessing to me, and I do make sure I spend some time on here because that's how you get to find new classes, new blog posts, and other cool stuff.
Besides, that's what WA is about.
One of WA's banners that I have on one of my websites reads at the bottom "learn, network,build,succeed" Need I say more?🤔🤔
What a wonderful endorsement Rose. if I could make this the featured post I would say. I think it is very important in terms of encouragement to show newer members that we were exactly where they are now at the start. By showing that you to celebrated and continue to celebrate small wins shows that you used this momentum to grow up and then take on the challenge of building your own business. Thanks for stopping by Rose. Appreciate it.
Hugh
Well, now that whole post has put a smile on my face.
You are quite right of course. I am so used to seeing the big achievements on this platform, which I am really proud to be a part of, but when I recently managed to get 100 subscribers on my YouTube channel I thought it is such a small number I am almost embarrassed to be proud of it.
But I am proud, they are strangers who have got something from my channel, it took me (daughter and I) four months of consistency and we have a good plan for growth, and monetizing, so I will just tag my small achievement onto your post, ... ha ha
Thank you, Hugh, so well said,
and said at the right time for many of us..:)
Cordelia let me congratulate you and your daughter for your YT determination. I am sure with the sharp focus you will do well.
It is very nice and sunny out but expected to get stormy later. I will certainly remember this post as it has me smiling on the inside. Thank you for giving me some pep to power through my day.
Cordelia, NEVER be embarrassed for wins - of any size.
Every bit matters.
100 Subscribers is not a small win by any measure either.
I do know a lot of people who struggle with single and double digits for years and then give up.
You are doing great and doing so while managing a full-time career.
That is not to be under-rated.
We are all VERY proud of you.
Keep shining, Darling!!!!
Cassi
Hello HUGE (Haha, sorry I still can't help myself).
Bet you weren't expecting a response for me?
I'll ignore the potential "Elephant in the Room", as I know I have recently referenced some of your points in a sarcastic manner.
Firstly, yes I 100% agree (once again, I bet you weren't expecting to hear that).
We SHOULD all celebrate our small wins.
I am a great believer in the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen, and have even recently spoken about this on the platform.
I always take one day at a time, and tend not to look back, or too far into the future.
Therefore, I can celebrate "a small win" myself on a daily basis.
I also realise that we are all different people, and therefore we can have contrasting views on what constitutes success.
There's nothing wrong with that.
I believe that the WA platform, and how it has been created, is heavily focused on "small wins".
At initial glance, once more, there is nothing wrong with that.
However, upon closer inspection, there are many "small wins" that can actually lead some astray, and down the wrong path.
I've mentioned many times before that we are different from each other, and our reasons for being here are never all the same.
If someone is here purely for the social aspect and simply to have an online presence, then conversing with others on a daily basis, having created a website and had their first two articles indexed is brilliant.
I applaud that person, and I am extremely happy for them.
That being said, I typically read everyone's profile, I like to get to know people, and what they're about.
It pains me when I see someone have a very business-minded and success-oriented profile blurb who then gets "sucked in".
They came here to build a business, to earn money, to become a FINANCIAL success.
Everything about them oozes entrepreneur, go-getter, productivity, etc.
6 months later they have 200 WA blog posts, many of which are focused on internal WA small wins.
And yet their website has no more than 50 articles during the same time.
Basically, they have completely changed their focus.
I will also say that a large percentage of these 200 WA blog posts are centered around the “small win” which is the dopamine hit they receive from WA recognition.
You speak of the “Energy Boost” and “Happiness”.
This is simply a spike in dopamine levels, the feel-good factor.
I’ll repeat there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG THIS.
However, is this person being true to themselves?
Have they followed the path and the goals they initially set for themselves on Day One at WA?
I even understand that goals and direction can change.
But, I refuse to believe that someone initially came here to build a business, to work damn hard, to be as focused on their financial success as much as possible, and then 6 months later they are satisfied with the “dopamine” hit that WA ranking, likes, comments, indexing, etc. provides.
REMEMBER I have mentioned that I realise that some people are for the social aspect and feel-good factor, and if they're happy, I'm happy for them. However, I am currently talking about the "converted" - came here with one mindset, which has completely changed over the course of 6 months.
You have also mentioned, “Feel good about your contributions to the platform and that is reflected in your rank”.
Anyone who has been here for any length of time knows that the WA ranking system can be manipulated, and this is pretty much done on a daily basis.
In fact, for anyone looking to rank Top 200 here’s a tip - write ”thank you” on 30 blog posts a day (don’t bother reading them), and from the amount of “likes” you’ll garner, you should hit the Top 200 within a few weeks.
Unfortunately, as terrible as that makes me sound for saying that, this is the route that many choose to take.
So, YES, celebrate your small wins DEFINITELY.
But remain true to yourself.
Partha
Hello Partha
I actually don't mind being called Huge as it is a childhood nickname that I am quite fond of.
As you brought it up and as it relates to the 'elephant in the room' (we would say donkey by the way as there are not many elephants here) I will say that your word 'sarcastic' remarks towards me were ill placed. I humbly believe that f you considered my platform participation/ record collectively my error did not warrant such a response.
Similarly, a sexually inappropriate post, a couple of days ago, was commented upon by the most senior of members. Did I burn the house down? No. A simple private note pointing out the error suffices. It is not always what you say my friend but how you say it.
It is here that I will make another link. As a senior member and one that has valuable contributions, you have to remember that many other members look on at what you say. It is therefore important, particularly for Newbies, to again be careful about your statements. Saying being ranked does not mean anything or getting indexed is not a big deal, in an isolated post without context, could be very demotivating for some who do not have much else to celebrate. Particularly when this type of success has spurred many a successful member. Again it is not what you say it is how you say it. An example of the same caution was posted by Cassi in Is Wealthy Affiliate Your Stepping Stone or Your Lifeline? I am happy that you agree that we should celebrate small wins. And even if the WA system, like pretty much all others, can be manipulated I believe that this is a small minority doing so. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water as they say.
Let us of course continue to support members and make sure, if they choose, that they see the very many pathways for their online development and success. This you have done very well and I for one thank you for your many posts on how to advance. I do appreciate them.
Take it easy
Hugh
Hello Huge,
(Don't worry, I remember you mentioning it was a childhood nickname that you are fond of).
Firstly, I think this shows how anything on it the internet can be misinterpreted.
The "Elephant" (or Donkey) in the room was in NO WAY aimed at you.
I would NEVER be that disrespectful to a fellow human being, whether online or offline (especially to a person that I actually quite like - HUGE).
In fact, the reason I mentioned this was because a few days ago I wrote a blog with sarcastic remarks about things like WA ranking, indexing, etc.
It wasn't aimed at any individual, it was simply tongue-in-cheek.
Perhaps, it was wrong of me to do so, but I'm always willing to hold my hands up and say I was wrong.
My meaning about "Elephant in the Room" was that perhaps your blog post here was potentially aimed at the remarks that I had made last week.
Hugh, I am indeed an opinionated person, but I am certainly not cruel or vindictive.
I would definitely never knowingly say anything to cause harm or offence to another indivudal.
That's just not me.
So, I sincerely apologise if you felt I was making ill remarks towards you.
I most certainly WAS NOT.
The only thing I'll add to what I've said about "small wins" is that the vast majority of those created on the platform can be (and probably are) extremely misleading.
I have read Cassi post previously and "liked" this without leaving a comment.
Look, I've mentioned that I understand that people are here for different reasons, and if someone wants to celebrate all of these tiny "successes", I have absolutely no right to put a downer on them.
But, my preference is to help people achieve the goals that they want to achieve.
Perhaps, I should "control my tongue" about certain things, but I also feel that often members are being mislead by many of the things the read on the platform.
You know for a fact that most new members believe that "Ambassadors" have achieved financial success.
Should people not be aware that an indexed article may never produce any traffic, never mind any sales?
Anyway..
You've mentioned my blogs, etc.
Forget those for a moment.
Here's something that I thought I'd never mention on the platform.
You do realise that I spend up to two hours every single day answering PMs?
Anyone who has ever approached me can vouch for the fact that I have given them a LOT of my time.
And this is regardless of who they are.
I don't sing about this from the rooftops because that's just not me.
Btw, in my 12 years online, I have never entered the MMO online niche, so I don't have a single WA referral.
And yet, anyone who has asked for my help or assistance has received it in abundance.
So, yes my "sarcasm" around the "small wins" created at WA may well be wrong and even misguided, but if anyone ever wants my support, they'll always receive it.
Partha
In light of recent events, I resent all this negative talk about the donkey. Let's just leave the donkey out of it :P heehe
See more comments
Hi Hugh,
Your post resonates with me. I can’t tell you how important it is to celebrate the small wins.
We all need to look over the small wins. It helps motivate us and to keep going pursuing our goals- especially in online business.
It what I love so much about Wealthy Affiliate- with the community sharing their wins. We all need them from time to time.
I recently wrote a post about earning a commission a few weeks ago. Not only did it give me a boost, but I wanted to motivate and let others know to keep going in their online business. The small wins do matter in the long run, and they're worth sharing to the community.
A great post- thanks for sharing!
All the best,
Eric
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You Eric. Well said my friend. I hope those that are struggling will be inspired to shoulder on by the encouragement you have shared.
No problem, my friend. I hope my encouragement helps every now and then. Again, an excellent post on your part :)
All the best,
Eric
Sure does bro