Editor’s Letter: 30Seconds Is a Google “Featured Publisher” & Why There’s No Such Thing As “Overnight Success" by Elisa Schmitz

I am thrilled to share that Google has selected 30Seconds as a featured publisher. The team at Google noticed the quality of work we’ve been producing over the years, and they reached out to us in order to recognize it. Google is sharing our story on its website and social media channels. We are so honored, and we are so grateful.

Small business owners are busy. For serial entrepreneur @ElisaTalk, that’s partnering with over 1,000 contributors or “passionistas” to highlight the best content on @30Seconds. pic.twitter.com/AtjVAGXWxL

— Google AdSense (@AdSense) September 13, 2021

This recognition by Google is gratifying, because it means that every single thing we’ve been doing, day by day and overnight by overnight, made a difference. All the big and all the little things we did along our journey – it all mattered.

That’s why I’m sharing a story about the myth of “overnight” success.

You know how when you work really hard at something, you hope that it will be a huge  success? And then when it doesn’t happen right away, you’re disappointed. Especially when you look at some people who seem to “have it all,” and appear to be “overnight success” stories.

The reality is, there’s no such thing as overnight success, and no one truly has it all. What appears to be quick success or huge success is most often preceded by years of hard work, trial and error, and iteration by people with a passion – people who just wouldn’t give up.

Success means different things to different people. For one founder, success could mean running a business that pays the bills. For another, success could mean a unicorn-like exit.

When I started 30Seconds, I had a simple goal to make life better through content and community, 30 seconds at a time. Using that simple metric, I succeeded fairly quickly. We grew our inspirational content, article by article. We grew our powerful community, interaction by interaction. We grew our loyal tribe, meetup by meetup. (The photos in this article show some of our amazing team and tribe members at meetups all over the world – from across the United States to across the ocean).

But success defined by business metrics did not happen that quickly. In fact, the only overnight successes were the long days and nights spent hard at work testing different business models, and expanding the mission, platform and reach – in order to make a bigger impact.

When you’re truly passionate about your purpose, it’s OK if big success doesn’t happen right away. Mission-driven people who believe they’re making a difference, and who believe in what they’re doing, will find a way forward – one overnight at a time.

Then over time, you start to realize that you’re making more of an impact. People may tell you that something you wrote about, or something you shared from someone else, really resonated with them. That it made their life better in some way. And then the business metrics start to align.

Shout out to small businesses like @30seconds, for always being passionate about supporting their community💫 https://t.co/6fSDuZ0TMZ

— Google Small Business (@GoogleSmallBiz) September 13, 2021

So you work even harder, because you see the effect you’re starting to have. That your mission actually may be moving the needle. And still, you wonder if all that hard work and all those overnights will eventually result in a breakthrough.

Then more people start to notice what you’re doing. You start to get feedback not only from readers, but also from amazing organizations that want to partner with or promote you. The business community notices, and things start to happen that can really help propel your efforts and your brand.

Here at 30Seconds, that’s where we find ourselves. We are grateful to be continuing to grow and serve our community – especially during these most challenging times, when connection is needed more than ever.

We’re giving a huge thank you to Google for seeing us for who we are, and for what we’re trying to accomplish. Being recognized by this amazing company is not only good for the business, but also for the community. It lets us know we’re on the right track, and hopefully it will help us continue to expand our mission and inspire even more people. Especially because the world needs inspiration now more than ever before.

But the biggest thank you goes to our growing audience, our thriving community, and our loyal tribe of contributors and “passionistas.” We are so grateful for your support throughout the years. You recognized and appreciated us long before anyone else did, and we will never forget that. We do what we do with you, because of you, for you – and we love you.

Here’s to more “overnight” success, 30 seconds – and one overnight – at a time.

Want to Contribute?

If you have some inspiration you'd like to share, we invite you to join our tribe and become a 30Seconds contributor. On 30Seconds, we realize that time is your most precious resource, and we’ll help you make the most of it. We look forward to having you join our thriving community.

You can learn more about me at ElisaSchmitz.com, and get my inspiration for achieving career and life success at BecomeTheFire.com.

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We work with companies we feel good about. To learn more, get in touch with us at info@30seconds.com.

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