Why I Removed All My Stories From Behind the Paywall
By: Rasheed Hooda
Tags: Innovation, Pay It Forward, Dreams And Visions, Miracles, Writing

When I decided to write on Medium, I had two goals.

To inspire people and to earn enough income to continue living a Freedom Lifestyle.

For almost twelve years before I started writing on Medium, I twisted balloons and gave them away. I learned that when I did that, others gave away money. It worked for me.

I focused on making people happy, and the Universe provided enough for me to live freely and happily.

I define the Freedom lifestyle as doing what you need to do what you want.

I have been a nomad, living in my Mobile Domicile since 2011. I have visited all of the Lower 48 United States and done some amazing things, such as climbing the tallest peak in Texas, being vulnerable on a stage with Brene’ Brown, walking from Chicago to Santa Monica in six months, and speaking in front of a thousand people.

I was enjoying the Freedom Lifestyle. Yet, something was missing. Twisting balloons did not set my soul on fire. Telling stories of my travels and living a Freedom Lifestyle did.

I had tried blogging a few times without much success. (Read: made no money). When I learned about Medium’s Partner Program, where you get paid based on people reading your stories, it made perfect sense. It was like twisting balloons and giving them away. Some people gave away money.

Little did I know when I started publishing on Medium that my balloon twisting days will be over in a few months. However, money kept flowing into my life, regardless. I have always believed that money is never an issue; the Universe kept validating it.

As I approached my first anniversary of writing on Medium, the Universe gifted me with a sizable reward that had nothing to do with writing, yet enough to continue living the Freedom Lifestyle for some time to come.

When I analyzed my ROI for my efforts on Medium, it turned out to be 90 cents per story. Hardly worth the effort. I wrote about it the other day and received quite a response.

And, when I laid my head down on my pillow that evening, I knew what I needed to do. Just as I gave away balloons and the Universe took care of my needs, I will give away my writing. The Universe is already taking care of me.

God pays the highest interest on your goodly loan, says the Qur’an.

Who am I to argue with that.

What I learned from that one story.

Honestly, I was surprised and delighted by the response I received to that one story. We all know that stories about writing on Medium do well on Medium, so that wasn’t a surprise.

What surprised me was the overwhelmingly abundant love I received from my readers, validating once again that I was o the right path. As I said earlier, I decided to publish on Medium to inspire others and make money.

It had become evident that I wasn’t going to make money on Medium. Writing about writing on Medium and churning out listicles is not what I want to do, and I am not capable of writing 4,000 stories in two years, as Julia E Hubbel is. Even she is struggling to make a decent buck any more.

A quick analysis of my story.

Stories with most fans according to my stats. Screenshot by the author.

In just four days, that story was amongst the top five in the categories that matter to us as writers. It has the most fans, and it is the second top earner. It has as many reads as my top-earning story that was triple-curated back in January. (My last curated story).

Of the top five stories with most fans, three stories are about myself that I’ve been rotating at the bottom of my stories for months. The previous story with most fans has been pinned on my profile as the featured story since June. The one at the bottom of the screenshot above is my highest earning story, and it was curated by Medium.

For me, more important than the number of fans is the number of people who engaged through comments. That is the true measure of effectiveness and impact. When people take time to engage with you to let you know what they liked or didn’t in your story, it makes it all worth it. I have 26 comments on the story. The closest one is the one that’s pinned to my profile for six months with 20.

Member reading time determines your income. My top earning story has made a grand total of $9.93 and has a member reading time of six hours and 45 minutes. This story has four hours and 55 minutes as of this writing and has earned about $7.00 (the only story I am leaving behind the paywall to see how it does in one week. Then I’ll remove it).

What does it all mean?

Most of the comments I received validated that My writing was inspirational and making an impact on people.

Of the two goals that I had when I started publishing on Medium, one was unlikely to happen. I wasn’t going to make the kind of money I wanted. The Universe told me not to worry about that in a clear statement when I unexpectedly recieved the substantial gift.

The other was already happening. I was inspiring people as I intended to do. The Universe is telling me to stay on course while I establish myself on the path that is more in tune with my passions.

I may not write another 400 stories in the next twelve months, but it doesn’t matter since I won’t be depnding on them to earn me anything significant. My needs are being taken care of and I will be posting all my stories so that everyone can access them, not just those who are paying members.

One thing that I will continue to write about soon is my reflection on Route 66 trip from four years ago. Doing that has enabled me to see many of the blessings in my life that I had missed or taken for granted since I finished the walk. I am about 10 days behind on it, and I will attempt to make up for it.

Where do I go from here?

It has been a long and tedious process of removing 400+ stories from behind the payw all and make them public. As I went through the process, doubt and concerns kept creeping in. I was concerned about trying to explain my unconventional approach to friends and family, until I realized that it was just all in my head. As long as I believed in myself, I can move forward with confidence.

The Universe is guiding me all along. I am in the middle of a spiritual metamorphosis. Imagine what a caterpillar must go through while in the coccoon. That is the equivalant of what we call the dark night of the soul. The outside world has no idea of the changes going on within while the caterpillar is being torn apart and reassembled into a beautiful butterfly, trusting the Universe all the while to do it’s work.

As I go through the internal changes of shredding off the old ideas and beliefs and internalizing the new thoughts and paradigms, the Universe is keeping me assured by showing what I need to see to move forward with confidence. Conversations with friends, stories and essays on Medium, comments by readers on my old stories prompting to read what I had written, and my nocturnal dreams, all seem to encourage and reassure me and show me the vision of the butterfly that is ready to emerge at the end of process.

Yesterday, I awakened from a dream with a quote from Rumi ringing in my mind. “That which you seek is seeking you.” As I reflected on my dream, I was looking for Eddie, and suddenly Eddie found me and offered me a job to start on the spot. It was a job as a waiter and he helped me with it, plus the compensation was higher than the norm in the field.

I know that when I dream of being a waiter — and it happens often — it means to be of service. I am invited to serve. It’s a reccurring theme. Eddie that I saw in my dream is a recognized leader amongst the Toastmasters. I know what the dream is telling me.

In our society, we are told to go after what we want, to chase our dreams. My dream is about a paradigm shift. Instead of going after it, allow it to come to you, because the drea wants you as much as you want the dream.

That which you seek is seeking you. ~ Rumi

Several years ago, a lady who is a professional finget tips reader, akin to palmistry, told me that my life purpose will lead me to be a High Profile Innovator. I have always been an innovator, that’s how I labeled myself as Mister Weirdo. Being high-profile is going to take some getting used to. And, oh, your life lesson is to master self-love, she said. I can see how the two are interconnected.

“There are only two ways to look at the universe. Either everythig is a miracle, or nothing is. ~ Albert Einstein

An Update:

I was inspired to return when I learned about the short-form content on Medium. Using that I am highlighting some of my older stories that have a personal meaning to me. As I do that I am putting them behind the paywall, but sharing the friend’s link. This way, it is still available for everyone to read, but I also get paid when a paying member reads it.

As we say back home, I am killing the snake without breaking the stick.

As always, thank you for reading and responding. I hope it was time well-spent.

If you’re so inclined, you could buy me some chai.

Graphic created using Canva

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