Celebrating milestones can do a lot to help you stay the course in just about anything. Whether you’re working to be the world’s greatest blogger or a best-selling author, it’s the achievements along the way that benefit you the most.
Sure, it would be great to hit your ultimate goals and live a life straight out of your dreams. But until you reach the end of the road, the journey is going to prepare you for such luxuries.
Not to mention all of the good things that happen along the way.
It’s not the destination that interests me most, but the path itself. You learn a lot of valuable lessons while walking the path – lessons that may even change your ultimate destination.
I always thought I was going to be a freelancer – until I published my first book.
Anyway, it’s always important that you celebrate milestones as they contribute to self-confidence. The more you embrace them, the better you feel about yourself.
Examples of Milestones I Hit in 2024
It’s important to remember that I’m not just tooting my own horn, here. These are examples of milestones that were most important to me. As you will see, we all have different things that we wish to achieve.
That’s the point of this exercise, really. It’s not to highlight my greatness but to demonstrate that even the smallest accomplishments can lead to the greatest sense of pride in oneself.
More Time Writing Books
Because I track all of my time in a spreadsheet, I know that I spent more time working on my books this year than I did in the last. A big part of that is thanks to the YouTube writing sprints.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to publish three books this year like I wanted. Still, more time is better than less. Despite everything that happened this year, I still managed to write and edit quite a bit. Next year is going to be even better.
Monetizing the YouTube Channel
After six years of making videos and helping writers find their paths, I finally earned enough watch hours on YouTube to start earning ad revenue. It’s not a lot, but it’s more income than I’ve made from the channel since 2018.
The best part is the amount of content monetizing is going to help me create. Since the blog and YouTube channel have similar content, it’s going to prove quite an interesting comparison of which is better for beginners. So, keep an eye out for that post coming in February.
A Consistent Release of Author Interviews
I wasn’t sure how well the author interviews were going to perform this year. But I was pleasantly surprised by how many authors volunteered to be on After Hours.
I’ve met some great authors thanks to the live interviews. I’m looking forward to having more on the show in the coming years.
Finished the Reedsy Masterclass
I completed the Reedsy Masterclass for How to Write a Novel roughly midway through February. And I have to say that it was one of the best three months I’ve spent working on myself as a writer and author.
The information was amazing, the interactions were great, and I had a lot of interesting conversations with many other potential authors. It’s easily among one of my favorite highlights of recent years.
Just Days Away from Releasing My Next Book
I am putting the finishing touches on my next book, Shadows of Atlantic City. Even though it’s not published yet, I still call it a milestone as it is the second full-length fiction book I’ve ever written and edited.
Keep in mind that most people who say they want to write a book never make it past the 20,000-word mark. So, to have more than one book under my belt just from the standpoint of finishing a first draft is something major to celebrate.
A Consistent Publishing Schedule for the Blog
Another milestone for me is the fact that I’ve maintained a regular publishing schedule for WriterSanctuary.com. This is actually the longest it has been on a regular schedule in recent memory.
As I’ve been trying to remain consistent with the blog, having done so since the middle of September is quite an accomplishment. And it has helped me get a few extra views and make a few extra bucks over the past few months.
Attended a Book Event
As an author, one milestone that I was quite proud of hitting in 2024 was attending Read Between the Stars. It was the first time I made a public appearance as an author with my book, Kingmaker.
I enjoyed the experience so much that now I am looking for more opportunities, such as attending Worldbuilding 101 in January.
Aside from publishing a book, attending your first event as an author vastly improves your outlook on the experience. Some don’t have enough faith in themselves, or recoil at the thought be being a public figure. But when you attend that first event, it’s like a switch flips in your head and you want more of it.
The Difference Between Milestones and Goals
Milestones are more about the important events that happen along a timeline. They’re not exactly goals as they can be separate but still connected to a final objective.
For example, let’s say that I have a goal to hit 10,000 visitors in a month for the blog. A milestone for me would be hitting 8,000 as it’s never happened before. It’s something to celebrate, but still shy of the ultimate goal.
Another example would be a goal of getting 1,500 views to the YouTube videos in a 48-hour period. I would then celebrate a milestone of hitting 600 views because that has never happened. It’s something to get excited about, which can fuel motivation to keep up the progress.
The key is to get yourself excited to reach certain milestones, even if you think they’re kind of small. The more excited you get about that specific point, the more it fuels ambition, pride, and confidence.
Nothing is ever too small to be appreciated, especially if it’s getting you closer to your objectives.
So, the next time you achieve something you’ve never achieved before, make sure to celebrate it as a win. Because in the grand scheme of things, it is. You’ve hit a point in your life or career that is beyond what you have accomplished. Relish in it.
Milestones can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be examples of extreme greatness or simply small additions. It doesn’t matter as long as they contribute to getting you to where you want to be.
I remember geeking out when I had my first $0.04 day using AdSense on the blog. Four cents doesn’t sound like a lot, but for me, it was a pivotal moment that contributed to doing more with my writing.
It’s those little wins and circumstances that can have the greatest impact on you down the road. Don’t discredit them because you think they’re not worth celebrating. Before you know it, you could be publishing your third book while being weeks away from attending a masterclass panel to teach about world-building techniques.
What Milestones Are You Working Toward?
There are a lot of things I think would be cool to see in the coming year. For instance, I’ve never had a $10 ad revenue day on YouTube, breaking 2023’s record for blog visitors would be nice, and publishing more than one book in a year would be grand.
Regardless of the instance, though, I try to always celebrate all of the accomplishments. It’s one of the reasons why I am adamant about tracking everything I do in a spreadsheet. That way, I know when I achieved something I’ve never experienced.
Never assume anything you do is too small to celebrate. Any instance where you go beyond your norm is worth acknowledging.
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