I feel like quitting...

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A few days ago, a friend texted me saying he felt like quitting Instagram…

He had been unsuccessfully trying to grow his Instagram account all summer—but nothing seemed to be working.

Even worse, he told me, seeing me double my audience size in only a few weeks was like pouring salt on an open wound.

He was demotivated. Burnt out. And maybe even a little envious.

Should I tell him to suck it up and keep going? Should I tell him to quit and move on to better things? Should I feel bad for my own growth?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to think.

The way my friend phrased his text to me wasn’t intentionally malevolent—but it made me feel guilty about my progress.

But after reading some of my old journal entries, I realized I had felt the same way only a few years ago.

At the time, I was making $0, struggling to grow an audience, and feeling envious of everyone else around me.

If you’re anything like me or my friend, you’ve probably felt similarly at some point. You think to yourself, “Is this even worth it anymore?”

But the quote I kept saying to myself when I was feeling down was: “This is where most people quit, and this is why most people fail.”

It’s like the man digging for diamonds who gives up an inch away. You didn’t come this far only to come this far.

So you keep going. You keep working on your craft. You keep reading books. You keep publishing content. You keep reaching out to potential customers.

Because deep down - you know that you can do more.

And over time, the person you want to be and the person you are become the same.

What people see:

• Six-figure business at 18

• 100,000+ social media following

• A growing brand, network, and skillset

What people don’t see:

• Early morning writing sessions before school

• Late nights creating pitch decks to send to potential clients

• Countless cold DMs that get ignored

I tend to post a lot of my wins on social media because I feel proud of them. But behind the scenes, I’m far from perfect.

Don’t let social media fool you. Success isn’t an event, it’s a marathon. And oftentimes, when you think you’re “failing”—you’re actually in the middle of succeeding.

It’s taken me over 4 years to get to a place where I feel proud of who I am. And I won’t apologize for it—because I know how much work I’ve put in.

To those who feel like quitting…

1. Re-evaluate if you’ve tried hard enough for long enough

2. Ask yourself if you need to pivot instead of quitting cold turkey

3. If you do quit, that’s your choice. But realize there will be tradeoffs.

See you next Sunday,

Jay “Proud of Myself” Yang

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