Playing The Ultra-Long Game™️
You’ve probably heard of the “marshmallow test,” where researchers give little kids the choice of having one marshmallow immediately, or two marshmallows if they can wait for a longer period of time.
The idea is that the kids who can wait for the second marshmallow instead of impulsively gobbling down the first end up doing better later on in life. Since they can delay gratification.
Anyway, I’ve started to realize that there’s a “marshmallow test” for content creators.
A lot of people want to build their brand, attract an audience, and create a profitable online business.
So they start writing FB posts, or they start a blog, or they start making YouTube videos, or they start a podcast, or they start their own email list…
But 95% of them fizzle out after a few weeks or months.
There’s a massive graveyard of abandoned blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels out there.
I know, because it’s happened to me multiple times.
I’ve started two different blogs (several years apart) and abandoned them both times.
I’ve started two different YouTube channels (also several years apart) and abandoned them too.
Then, even when I started ye olde daily Facebook posts last year, I wasn’t able to sustain it longer than a 150-day streak.
And if you’ve ever tried to become a content creator of some sort, you might be able to relate.
Because it seems this is the rule, rather than the exception.
If someone says they’re starting a new blog or YouTube channel, most likely they’ll flame out before it gets traction. Only a rare few don’t.
Because it’s hard as heck to sustain, as anyone who’s attempted it will attest.
It’s actually the ULTIMATE marshmallow test for adults.
And it’s waaaay harder than the marshmallow test for kiddos. Those little brats have it EASY.
Because instead of waiting minutes to get your reward…
You might have to wait many months or even YEARS.
And that’s just too much to handle.
Because you grind yourself to a nub to create content…
And then you send it out into the void, like putting a message in a bottle and desperately hoping someone receives it…
Only to hear…
CRICKETS! 🦗
And the worst part is that you gotta KEEP doing it for an indefinite time period ahead of you.
So only a rare few are able to push past these dark, lonely nights of the soul, and keep plodding along until they eventually strike gold.
So what gives?
How can we mere mortals BEAT this gnarliest of marshmallow tests?
For me, I’ve found that the secret is FORGET about short-term results.
Whenever I’ve paid too much attention to immediate results, it was game over for me.
Because the results ain’t comin’ baby. Not for a long, looong time.
So with that approach, I wasn’t able to sustain my motivation to keep going.
So now, my mindset is different.
I’m playing The Ultra-Long Game™️
And it’s been tremendously useful for sustaining my motivation to keep plugging along every day.
Because instead of posting something and thinking, “I really hope this rakes in some moolah for me”…
And then being down in the dumps when the moolah does NOT get raked in…
I’m thinking…
Maybe this piece of content will reach just ONE more person…
And maybe they’ll like it enough to join my list…
And maybe they’ll become my customer in 3–5 years from now.
And even if they NEVER become my customer, maybe they’ll like me enough to tell a friend about me. And their friend will become my customer in 3–5 years.
And maybe their friend will tell one of THEIR friends, and the cycle will repeat itself in a positive feedback loop of moolah-raking.
And completely unbeknownst to me, it all started with ONE little piece of content I posted several years ago.
It all started with that one message in a bottle.
So the only thing you can do is to KEEP sending messages in bottles, consistently over time, without stopping…
Knowing that eventually, if you send enough, that ship’s gonna come rescue you from your desert island.
So I’ve found The Ultra-Long Game™️ mindset to be tremendously helpful for sustaining my motivation as a content creator. Maybe you will too :)
Beau D. Schultz
