Success Is a Big Heavy Machine

I have a confession to make. I’m bad at grammar.

I don’t know what a past-tense-participle is. I don’t know how to properly use a subject-verb agreement or what they’re agreeing upon. I’ve tried — I really have — but I still haven’t figured out when and how to use a semicolon.

Despite my lack of knowledge, I do know some things:

How to use a colon to start a bulleted list.
Adjectives describe.
Nouns are things (and other things.)
Words are energy and the people who craft them are magical.
Has not knowing and following grammar rules stopped me from becoming a great writer?

Maybe.

Before I bother dusting off my old copy of The Elements of Style I’ll work on the physical things that are stopping me from becoming a great writer.

All the style in the world won’t help me if I’m not cranking the machine.

It works if you work it

Cliché, I know. It’s true, though.

Success is a hand-crank machine. And it’s big and heavy.

Turning the crank is not easy, but momentum builds up proportional to the amount of effort you’ve already put in. Over time, your work compounds on itself and you can step away for a minute to rest. If you step away too early your machine will slow down and all of your hand-cranking efforts will go to waste.

It only works if you work it.

My real-life example

I started writing on Medium in the middle of November of 2020. I only had two weeks of November, but I saw $1.16 for my efforts. Looking back, it’s nothing compared to the kind of hard work that’s ahead of me. It was a lot of effort for me at the time, though.

I was cranking for two whole weeks and this machine had barely moved an inch. Was it ever going to complete a full rotation?

Other authors on the platform are bragging about their Bugatti-level fine-tuned writing machines. Their machines are push-button start now because they’ve spent the time and energy required to evolve past the hand-crank mechanism.

I’d been turning this crank for a couple weeks day in and day out, and I’ve only seen the gargantuan machine move an inch. I need these ten-foot gears to do full rotations on their own!

Instead of feeling dejected about my progress, I felt empowered. This giant machine was under my control. I realized that I was in command of one of the most powerful forces mankind has ever come across: information. It makes sense that it’s hard to start because it’s a dangerous machine.

If you’re sweaty, keep working

I see you over there, fellow content creator.

You’re working hard, seemingly shouting into the void. There’s feedback but you’re still not sure how to proceed. You haven’t seen the results you think you should have and you’re thinking of quitting. Don’t.

You’re hand-turning a crank that’s connected to a universe-sized machine. You are using your human brain to generate content that the world has never seen before. You’re transmuting energy from the universe and spreading it out to other humans for their enjoyment and benefit. You are powerful.

Don’t stop turning your machine, even when you haven’t seen satisfactory progress. One day you’re going to be cruising along in a highly-evolved version of the same machine you’re running right now.

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Previously published on medium

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