Hey Tim, I write about personal finance so the point about day trading resonated. People miss that they don't buy stocks. Stocks are sold to them. Wall Street always wins. Being a long-term investor is how you make money.
I found you on Medium. I found Substack through reading articles on Medium. Medium was a pleasant surprise to find when I decided to start writing. I am still getting my footing there. Your article had a lot of great points, but targeting a few writers on Medium to make a point was not a strong case. Your point could have been just as valid on Twitter, Reddit, Quora or any other social platform. Maybe you have a personal issue with Medium, but insulting the writing of people on there to get their feet on the ground may not have made the point you were hoping to achieve. Many of us are still starting at ground zero. We are learning. We are experimenting. It's equivalent to telling hopeful artists in the local community college their art is shit because they aren't hobnobbing at local museums and visiting the latest high-end art exhibition. While I understand your point, I think your message needs refining. Consider your Point 6.
But does Medium need to be Substack. 'Once upon a time' writing was for sharing intellectual ideas, changing minds, and sharing knowledge and not financial gain. Debate, awareness and global information. Lyrics, poems and fantasy. Writing only for money removes a bit of the soul. Writing is a form of connection, and not the battering and vile connection found in social media. A connection of thought and emotion.
By being on any platform, you ask permission by default. Medium - a multifaceted word - is about growth and expression. A substrate, a form of communication, a spiritual guide, a material for the expression of art. Maybe Medium is not for you because you are not seeking human connection. We find what we seek out.
His comments didn't sound like feedback; they sounded like a warning. Medium isn't the platform it once was, and if you're discovering this through today’s post, perhaps you should heed his perspective instead of seeking clarity. The writing is on the wall.
Reminded of a few things I wanna change about myself! Being stubborn of my decision, not investing enough, and overworking past the schedule counts for me. I hope to these all these and improve my life strategies. Thanks for this wonderful piece, Tim!
7 - Do what you’ve always done and expect different results
I’ve lived large portions of my life like this.
They say - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome.
It is hard breaking out of the familiar and the comfortable.
To fix this - I find areas that I am stuck on, brainstorm every possible thing I could do to change it and put them in a diagram. I list every option one after the other. I treat each of these as an expected failure.
My goal then is to smash through as many failures to get the one that actually works.
This way you don’t give up right away after trying 1 or 2 ad-hoc options and then think of yourself as a failure or that “its not something I can do”. But you expect to fail and you have a roadmap of failure “todos”. Lets say there are 20 of them.
Then I have clear direction on what to do next, I’m not upset by failing because they are deliberate failures that move me forward. One of them will be the thing that moves the needle.
We don’t fail in life because we lack information. We fail because we’re too stubborn to change our freaking minds and consider that perhaps our assumptions are B.S. and we’re the problem.
I will add to this
We generally fail to appreciate when bad things don't happen. How much further ahead in life would you/I be if we avoided bad things?
We are the problem as we are usually/often chasing 'more' inserted of working to get 'closer' to where we want to be in life
you ref crypto above so i'll use that as an example
many will end up back at zero this bull run because they are trying to get to the elusive number in one shot.
eg. i need to hit 13.378 million or i can't have the life that i want
perhaps you are correct sir, what if we got closer to it this time though and locked in some certainty?
Would 1.3m be sufficient to help your family on the path?
last bull cycle i round tripped 8 figures, then 7 figures because I did not know myself. I was unaware of this concept of appreciating when bad things not happening, locking in closer over more etc
David, to me Tim doesn't have an accent. But he's an Aussie like me so we sound the same. I don't know where you come from David, but to Tim and me you'll probably have an accent. LOL, it's an example of Tim's comment about not wanting to change. I'm great at that.
Thank you for sharing your experience and insights. I agree that we need to be a great deal more mature in how we navigate life and especially business. That said, I’m a big believer in community and compassion. When I lost my father last summer, my clients were nothing but patient and understanding. My community too. I kept going because my work helps me through hardships, but the indifference you described is not what I’ve experienced. When you hang out with the right crowd you can find out that they do care.
Love this. Refusing to change your mind, You can either make other people wrong for seeing things differently or you can acknowledge how they feel and accept them is just gold material. If we as humans accept this, a lot of us will build a better place to live. ❤️
We shouldn’t work too long in a 9-5 job or we’ll have a daycare mentality that we can’t be cured from.
I have been at a 9-5 job since my birth. I am retiring next year. Do you think I have day care mentality....BTW what's day care mentality ? I hope I am not infected, because I have just started writing online just when medium went into a " dark hole" as you put it. Since I really could not spot the difference between 0.1 $ and 0.01$ , I continue to write in medium. Hmmmm.. Maybe I am infected after all ??..Lol.
This article was a real eye-opener. At 63, looking back, I can see how much my own ego, limiting beliefs, and lack of growth in key areas contributed to the struggles I’ve faced. The reminder that failure isn’t permanent—unless we let it be—is powerful. Your insights hit home, and I appreciate the no-nonsense approach to self-improvement. It’s never too late to unf%k your life, and this gave me a fresh perspective on how to move forward. Thanks for sharing, Tim—much respect for this one!”
Hey Tim, I write about personal finance so the point about day trading resonated. People miss that they don't buy stocks. Stocks are sold to them. Wall Street always wins. Being a long-term investor is how you make money.
Did you learnt his the hard way like me?
Yes
I found you on Medium. I found Substack through reading articles on Medium. Medium was a pleasant surprise to find when I decided to start writing. I am still getting my footing there. Your article had a lot of great points, but targeting a few writers on Medium to make a point was not a strong case. Your point could have been just as valid on Twitter, Reddit, Quora or any other social platform. Maybe you have a personal issue with Medium, but insulting the writing of people on there to get their feet on the ground may not have made the point you were hoping to achieve. Many of us are still starting at ground zero. We are learning. We are experimenting. It's equivalent to telling hopeful artists in the local community college their art is shit because they aren't hobnobbing at local museums and visiting the latest high-end art exhibition. While I understand your point, I think your message needs refining. Consider your Point 6.
Medium could have been substack. That moment is gone forever.
But does Medium need to be Substack. 'Once upon a time' writing was for sharing intellectual ideas, changing minds, and sharing knowledge and not financial gain. Debate, awareness and global information. Lyrics, poems and fantasy. Writing only for money removes a bit of the soul. Writing is a form of connection, and not the battering and vile connection found in social media. A connection of thought and emotion.
Medium lost it's soul when they decided that only Medium staff can pick winners. Who wants to ask for permission and play the lottery?
By being on any platform, you ask permission by default. Medium - a multifaceted word - is about growth and expression. A substrate, a form of communication, a spiritual guide, a material for the expression of art. Maybe Medium is not for you because you are not seeking human connection. We find what we seek out.
His comments didn't sound like feedback; they sounded like a warning. Medium isn't the platform it once was, and if you're discovering this through today’s post, perhaps you should heed his perspective instead of seeking clarity. The writing is on the wall.
I'll be clearer: Medium is dead.
I never said his comments were feedback. I don't have a Medium feed full of:
"fortune cookies, wannabe Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul posts… but mostly, doomer content full of conspiracies."
In order to get the above, you have to follow those types of articles and writers.
"Because all the incentives have been sucked out of the platform, what's leftover is trash and tumbleweeds (as much as I don't want to admit it)."
BTW - Tim's last post on Medium (from December) can be found here: https://medium.com/illumination/as-a-6-figure-newsletter-writer-i-can-help-you-get-more-subscribers-using-5-rules-7c88058b69af
His point is pretty clear, if that was his lasting legacy. It's not about the writing.
Reminded of a few things I wanna change about myself! Being stubborn of my decision, not investing enough, and overworking past the schedule counts for me. I hope to these all these and improve my life strategies. Thanks for this wonderful piece, Tim!
7 - Do what you’ve always done and expect different results
I’ve lived large portions of my life like this.
They say - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome.
It is hard breaking out of the familiar and the comfortable.
To fix this - I find areas that I am stuck on, brainstorm every possible thing I could do to change it and put them in a diagram. I list every option one after the other. I treat each of these as an expected failure.
My goal then is to smash through as many failures to get the one that actually works.
This way you don’t give up right away after trying 1 or 2 ad-hoc options and then think of yourself as a failure or that “its not something I can do”. But you expect to fail and you have a roadmap of failure “todos”. Lets say there are 20 of them.
Then I have clear direction on what to do next, I’m not upset by failing because they are deliberate failures that move me forward. One of them will be the thing that moves the needle.
Nice one. Glad you were able to buy yourself something nice.
Solution:
We don’t fail in life because we lack information. We fail because we’re too stubborn to change our freaking minds and consider that perhaps our assumptions are B.S. and we’re the problem.
I will add to this
We generally fail to appreciate when bad things don't happen. How much further ahead in life would you/I be if we avoided bad things?
We are the problem as we are usually/often chasing 'more' inserted of working to get 'closer' to where we want to be in life
you ref crypto above so i'll use that as an example
many will end up back at zero this bull run because they are trying to get to the elusive number in one shot.
eg. i need to hit 13.378 million or i can't have the life that i want
perhaps you are correct sir, what if we got closer to it this time though and locked in some certainty?
Would 1.3m be sufficient to help your family on the path?
last bull cycle i round tripped 8 figures, then 7 figures because I did not know myself. I was unaware of this concept of appreciating when bad things not happening, locking in closer over more etc
One of your best Tim.
Stay where sanity is, good advice.
Trash and tumbleweeds! This is equal parts funny and insulting 😂😂
Taxed through the butt hole 😂
What great content this is. I don’t know why, it’s the first time I’ve heard you read it. You have an accent!
:-)
David, to me Tim doesn't have an accent. But he's an Aussie like me so we sound the same. I don't know where you come from David, but to Tim and me you'll probably have an accent. LOL, it's an example of Tim's comment about not wanting to change. I'm great at that.
I have followed him for years. I like to read him. Sometimes I skim and sometimes I read him like a guilty pleasure!
Thank you for sharing your experience and insights. I agree that we need to be a great deal more mature in how we navigate life and especially business. That said, I’m a big believer in community and compassion. When I lost my father last summer, my clients were nothing but patient and understanding. My community too. I kept going because my work helps me through hardships, but the indifference you described is not what I’ve experienced. When you hang out with the right crowd you can find out that they do care.
This was awesome!
Thanks for the content. It has helped in tremendous ways.
Love this. Refusing to change your mind, You can either make other people wrong for seeing things differently or you can acknowledge how they feel and accept them is just gold material. If we as humans accept this, a lot of us will build a better place to live. ❤️
We shouldn’t work too long in a 9-5 job or we’ll have a daycare mentality that we can’t be cured from.
I have been at a 9-5 job since my birth. I am retiring next year. Do you think I have day care mentality....BTW what's day care mentality ? I hope I am not infected, because I have just started writing online just when medium went into a " dark hole" as you put it. Since I really could not spot the difference between 0.1 $ and 0.01$ , I continue to write in medium. Hmmmm.. Maybe I am infected after all ??..Lol.
This article was a real eye-opener. At 63, looking back, I can see how much my own ego, limiting beliefs, and lack of growth in key areas contributed to the struggles I’ve faced. The reminder that failure isn’t permanent—unless we let it be—is powerful. Your insights hit home, and I appreciate the no-nonsense approach to self-improvement. It’s never too late to unf%k your life, and this gave me a fresh perspective on how to move forward. Thanks for sharing, Tim—much respect for this one!”