And all of that has helped. It really has. But there came a point when I saw another e-mail for yet another thing that would absolutely guarantee me to get tons of response and throngs of new buyers, and I realized that nobody knows the secret to viral content.
Despair.com has some great things to say too. I hope it's not sacrilegious to have both the Bible and demotivational posters in the same context.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11
Sometimes you can't predict the future. (Um, actually never.)
He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
- Ecclesiastes 11:4
Sometimes you've got to try a bunch of things first.
In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6
For those who aren't metaphorically minded, here's the translation: Come up with a handful of ideas, implement them all, and see what works the best. Then go with that.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
- James 4:13-16