Something About Change

Stay Consistent

Life is full of challenges on the road to success. There are triumphs and downfalls, obstacles and hurdles that you have to navigate at any given moment. When chasing success, the journey can be daunting, exhilarating, satisfying, and disappointing all at once or sequentially. So many moving parts occur in our journeys. However, the one thing we have that determines our success is consistency. In this post, I’ll share some tips and personal stories about consistency that show success is reachable even when the mountain seems steep. 

First off, have a goal that’s worth chasing. 

You cannot be consistent with something that isn’t worth chasing. Without a goal or an ultimate idea, consistency will seem like a never-ending cycle. You won’t have the motivation to continue. There’s no story in that. There’s no fun in that at all. Define what it is that you want to do, and then pursue it every day. 

For example, I tell myself I’m the “greatest writer in the world.” (That’s impossible in my eyes as writing is an art, and there’s no tangible measure to greatness in art.) However, it is a goal of mine that pushes me to be the best writer I can be. There’s a goal in mind I can follow and build a foundation off of. From there, consistency is easy. 

Be okay with the grind.

One Friday night in 2022, I hosted a poetry night in my hometown of Schenectady. I had spent weeks promoting it and hearing from people that they would show it. That fateful Friday night came, and the only people who were present were my business partner and host. 

Defeated, I sat there complaining to my business partner about how unsupported I felt and that people weren’t showing up for me as they said they would. People were asking for an event like this but not doing their part. I was exhausted, and I wanted to give up. I was fresh in the game and unwilling to move forward because one event flopped.

How did I recover? I stayed consistent. I persevered because I dreamt of having a space where folks could express themselves and enjoy good poetry. Fast forward a few years later, I have two venues and one selling out at a popular nightclub in the capital region of New York. See what consistency gets you? Imagine if I stopped doing open mics then and there. I wouldn’t be where I am now.

It won’t happen overnight, but it will feel like it

My great friend Demetrius always tells me, “You’ll feel like it happened overnight, but it was a combination of your work over time.” With my recent success in finding new clients for newsletters, building my brand, and establishing a poetry scene in my area with a popular nightclub, the Fuze Box, I felt like an overnight success. 

Suddenly, I was bombarded with new opportunities to grow my writing company and produce poetry events in my region. This combined my work on poetry and creative writing for eight years; I’ve designed the world I visualized when I first performed on a stage. 

The best part is that I haven’t even touched the ceiling yet. Success was measured by the days I spent working on my craft, building on the foundation to become a pillar in my community. As success comes in one moment, the culmination of overtime work led me to where I am now.

Enjoy your Successes just as much as your pitfalls.

A goal is not just to persevere through your failures but also to enjoy and build upon successes. My first book was my most successful. Now, three books in, I haven’t sold as much, but I can say I’m a three-author. I may not be a New York Times Bestseller yet, but I’m a successful self-published author. I sold fewer books on my second and third go-round. Some might say that a bad sales record. I say it’s a record of consistency and dedication to continue even when you fail to meet a marker. 

I’ve accomplished a lot quickly and have the framework of a successful writing company and business with a poetry aspect and community. All of these are my successes. I take time to appreciate and build upon them to become more successful. Because what’s a destination without the journey?

Final thoughts

Consistency is a journey of ups and downs. It’s long nights of solitude and moments of vague triumph, followed by uncanny downfalls. However, true success is in consistency and staying the course of the journey for a long time. The brick-by-brick until the house is built that can stand the test of time. Stay consistent when you’ve won and when you’ve lost. You’ll thank me later.

Adonis Richards

For more, follow my blogs on Medium and Lucidvoices.org.