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People around me were polite, but skeptical.
Some were more direct: “You’re wasting your time.”
Others asked the question that always comes first: “But how are you going to monetize this?”
At the time, I didn’t have a clear answer. I just knew I wanted to build something of my own.
I worked on that project for three years before I ever earned a dollar from it. Eventually, I started monetizing it with Google AdSense. Slowly, traction built. Then momentum. And what began as “a waste of time” turned into a huge success.
But here’s the part people often miss:
The most important thing that came out of that experience wasn’t the money.
It was who I became in the process.
Looking back, that experience gave me far more than financial success. It shaped who I became.
I became someone more patient, someone willing to invest fully in what I do without needing immediate validation. I learned how to keep building, especially when things get hard and the results aren’t obvious yet.
Those qualities stayed with me long after that project ended and they’ve mattered far more than any single outcome.
The question that quietly stops most people
When you focus too early on whether something will “work,” you reduce the entire journey to a single outcome. You turn creation into a test you either pass or fail, instead of a process that shapes you over time.
The truth is, most meaningful projects don’t begin with certainty. They begin with movement.
Clarity doesn’t arrive before you start. It emerges because you start.
Growth is not just about results
Every time you show up to create, even when the results are unclear, something changes - not on the platform, but in you.
You become more disciplined.
More articulate.
More comfortable being seen.
More resilient when things don’t go as planned.
These changes don’t show up in analytics, but they compound quietly. Long before a project “works” externally, it starts working internally.
And that internal shift is what makes long-term success possible.
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… back to the article 👇
Most people underestimate the identity shift
We talk a lot about skills, strategies, and tools, but we rarely talk about identity.
Starting something new forces you to confront doubt, impatience, comparison, and the fear of being judged. It asks you to make decisions without guarantees and to keep going even when validation is inconsistent.
That’s not just work. That’s transformation.
The real question isn’t whether this specific project will succeed.
The real question is whether you’re willing to become the kind of person who keeps going anyway.
The people who succeed ask a different question
The creators, builders, and thinkers who last don’t obsess over whether every step is “worth it.” They focus on who they are becoming through the process.
They ask:
Am I learning how to think more clearly?
Am I getting better at expressing myself?
Am I building trust with myself by following through?
Those things don’t disappear if a project changes direction. They stay with you.
When you shift the question, everything changes
When you stop asking “Will this work?” and start asking “Who am I becoming?”, pressure loosens its grip.
You allow yourself to experiment.
You stop needing immediate proof.
You focus on progress instead of permission.
Ironically, that’s often when things start working.
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… the article continues below 👇
To creators on X
If you’re building on X or any other social media and questioning your reach, your pace, or your decision to keep showing up - remember this: platforms change, algorithms shift, and metrics fluctuate, but the skills you’re building don’t disappear.
Every post you write sharpens your thinking.
Every reply builds confidence.
Every experiment teaches you something.
Even when the numbers are quiet, the work is not.
A thought for the road
Not every project will become what you imagined.
But none of them are wasted if they help you become more grounded, more capable, and more confident in your own voice.
Results come and go.
Who you become stays.
So if you’re standing at the edge of something new and hesitating, try asking a better question.
Not “Will this work?”
But “Who will I be if I keep going?”
That’s all for today. And if this resonated and you’d like to go a little deeper today, feel free to reply to this email or forward it to someone who needs to hear it.
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See you on the next one
Karata♡