Jason says this is the final Word on the “A-List”:
Notice the problem with the logic behind this: a) There is no A-list - it’s a myth b) the people in the A-list work harder than you. Am I the only one who thinks that this logic doesn’t quite work?
By the way, wasn’t the whole discussion started by some people saying that even though many bloggers work hard, they never quite make it? Loren Feldman and Jason both fall for the Great American Myth: Just work hard and you will make it. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. It takes a lot more than just hard work to succeed in anything.
Maybe a little luck. Maybe. What else do you think it takes?
Loren - luck plays a big part - bigger than most people (especially those who made it in any business) would want to admit. You have to be in the right place, at the right time - and maybe more than once. But you also have to be smart - you have to have something to say. You have to be good at marketing yourself and be good at networking (and yes - all of that also takes a lot of work, too). You have to have the right personality and it helps to be in the right place in the right time (being the first mover in a new medium - good thing — being the millionth one - tough luck, even if you are good).
You are a hard worker - you put out a video almost every day - you deserve to be seen because the stuff you make is great. Once there are a thousand great people producing great content, getting known gets that much harder, though. Just look at the music business. Lots of great, hard-working bands — lots of them can’t live of it. Lots of mediocre bands that were in the right place at the right time break through.
At the end of the day, though - I just disagree that there is no hierarchy in blogging. There is - and I don’t even think it is a bad thing - it gives people something to strive for and it creates order for newcomers. Given the right circumstances - anybody could make it to the top of the hierarchy, but it does take the right circumstances! As Jason said earlier, though - it’s just blogging - it’s a game.
Success is basically hard work + luck + timing. That’s it… you make your own luck by working hard and picking the right beach to surf. That’s it.
And in terms of pointing out the logic flaw, I think the concept is that Loren doesn’t think these is an A-List, and even if there is an A-List it a) doesn’t matter and b) the folks who are there worked their way on to it.
The point is that no one can hold you back in blogging/podcasting/vlogging–you can only hold yourself back.
Jason - I really think we agree for the most part. I just don’t think that hard work + luck + timing is a necessary chain of events. It takes all three of these to come together to create real success - you can’t just say if you work hard, you will make it (in blogging, or anywhere else)
Nobody can hold you back - but at the same time, nobody has to pay attention to you either.
Maybe I just need to be more of an optimist… I don’t even know why I keep drawing myself into these discussions. At the end of the day, we are all in it because we enjoy what we are doing.