46 Comments
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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks for the opportunity, David!

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Rick Lewis's avatar

"Your voice is worth more than any metric." 100% agreed.

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Dawn-Renée Rice's avatar

Love this too!

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Dawn-Renee!

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Scout B.'s avatar

Yes. Agreed!

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks! 🙏

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Rick!

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Evelyn Skye's avatar

Lovely piece, Chris! It's so true about how everyone's lives are messy. Great advice here.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Evelyn! :)

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Darrell L Hill's avatar

Thanks for this perspective. It's so easy to fall into the comparison trap. I appreciate the fresh guidelines and the reminders.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Darrell!

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Vivian Kriselle's avatar

Funny how the things you need to hear start popping right when you start looking. Appreciating these reminders as I navigate new territory with my creative expression!

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Vivian! Glad it was helpful. Good luck with your new creative projects!

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Juan Gonzalez's avatar

This was such a really, really good post.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Juan!

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Juan Gonzalez's avatar

Thanks for writing it 😁

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Yannis Helios's avatar

Thanks David for this article,

In my worst times I tend to compare with people and feel bad about myself. "How can he or she have so many subscribers? How can she or he have a best seller book? What's wrong with me? I'm such a failure." I will say and feel depressed and beaten down.

Yours tips ring true, we need these constant reminders so we can keep learning and improving. That's all I want.

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David McIlroy's avatar

This one was all Chris, Yannis! 😊

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Yannis Helios's avatar

Then thank you for bringing Chris. This article was brilliant.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Yannis!

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Elizabeth Kopple's avatar

Love this "We see everyone's external achievements, but we don't see their internal struggles." Everyone's life is messy - even if they've hidden the mess from the reader. This reminds me that it's okay to share failures as well as successes.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Elizabeth!

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Ingrid Turner's avatar

Most powerful for me: #3 internal struggles and #6 refined success. The comparison game will take you down faster than anything. I'm glad to see this

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Ingrid!

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John E. Dobbs's avatar

So many excellent thoughts here... I needed to read this. Thanks Chris and David!

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks John!

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Saurabh Kumar's avatar

"Comparison kills the joy of an art." This was comforting and motivational at the same time. As a relatively new writer, I needed something like this.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Thanks Saurabh! Wishing you the best on your writing journey. You got this!

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Dawn-Renée Rice's avatar

This right here:

The healthiest comparison we can make is between who we are today and who we were when we began our writing journey.

It works for anything in life, too!

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Pea Williams's avatar

Point 5 is what it’s all about for me, comparing myself to past me and trying to do better. I heard someone on the Rich Roll podcast yesterday saying that basically happier people compare themselves to others far less.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

That's a great point and so true! I always feel happiest when I stop comparing.

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Sheyvah Rex's avatar

Thank you for reminding me that no one else can replicate what I bring to the table. No one else has my perspective. Having the most subscribers doesn't make someone happy or fulfilled. Yes, others have written about some of the same topics before but not one has my voice.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

Well said! Your voice is everything.

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Hajee Sun's avatar

Remembering our uniqueness is one of those things that can be easily ignored. When we find what makes us unique, creating becomes a much more fun thing to do.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

So true!

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Sophie S.'s avatar

Great advice. Reminds me of a quote I saw somewhere but can't remember who said it, it was something along the lines of "if you compare yourself to someone else, you have to be willing to take all of them" , you have to be aware of another person's circumstances. Maybe someone has more subscribers than me but they're working ten hours a day and losing sleep to make it happen. I can't expect to have the same growth if I'm not in those same circumstances.

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Chris Anselmo's avatar

This is a FANTASTIC point. I've heard something along these lines before, but I can't remember who said it either. But this is so true!

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