Thread by @visakanv, going through my old telegram messages from old friends 4-5 years ago [...]

going through my old telegram messages from old friends 4-5 years ago and it's unsettling how there's this recurring thing of people telling me that they're starting something, or they want to do something, and they've since given up. a blog, an online store...

here's part of my understanding of how the world works, and it's actually quite "fair" & "right" if you think about it:

1. there's a lot of noise from a lot of people starting things
2. most people ignore most noise from most newly-started things
3. the rewards show up at 10 yrs

even on twitter – if you tweet for 10 years, sometimes you can retweet/repost old tweets from year 5 and they go viralin year 10. I'm not saying that going viral is the *point*, but the vast majority of all rewards you get from any substantial thing come really late in the game

the "market" "correctly" "rewards" people who stick around

your blog or podcast can suck, but if you suck for 10 years, you will outlast much "better" blogs and podcasts that called it quits 2-3 years in, and now you're a Seasoned Elder with a valuable historical perspective

I have a t-shirt business that I started around ~2011. is it great? eh, it's okay. does it make a lot of money? no, not thaaat much. the logo and website still suck, lol

but it's been around for a while now! which means people recognize it/me, invite me on panels, etc