Episode 110 The Numbers That Aren’t the Point
Numbers can tell you what happened, but they don't always tell you what something is worth.
In this episode of The Books By Josh Audio Immersion, I talk about numbers, the way we obsess over them, and how easy it is to let a dashboard decide whether we feel like we're succeeding or failing. After talking about community in the last episode, I wanted to pull the curtain back a little more and share some of the actual numbers behind this podcast and my writing instead of pretending everything is constantly moving upward.
The truth is, the numbers for this podcast are small. The last episode had seven downloads when I recorded this, and from June through August the show had 73 downloads even though I barely released anything during that time. Those aren't numbers that are going to impress anybody on the internet, but there are still actual people behind them. If seven people listened to something I made, that matters to me. If even one of those people got something useful out of me sitting down, pressing record, and talking honestly for a few minutes, then the number doesn't tell the entire story.
I also talk about how easy it would be to start changing everything I do just to chase better numbers. I could look at whatever book genres are popular right now and keep writing versions of those. I could research what podcasts in my supposed niche are doing and try to copy the topics that get the most attention. I could start treating every creative decision like an optimization problem. But eventually I wouldn't be creating the things I actually want to create anymore. I would just be trying to make a number on a screen go up.
That became even more real for me with my writing. I had been averaging somewhere around $10 to $13 a day in book revenue, which isn't life-changing money, but after years of writing and putting things out there, it was real progress. Then I had several bad days back to back, including a day where I made less than two dollars. It's discouraging when you've finally started seeing momentum and suddenly the numbers move in the other direction. Part of you immediately wants to figure out what went wrong, change something, run ads, or convince yourself that everything you've been doing stopped working overnight.
But I've worked in sales and retention long enough to know that you don't have great days every day. Sometimes you have an amazing day, sometimes you barely get anything, and sometimes you have several rough days in a row. That doesn't mean the next day has to be the same. The same thing applies to writing, podcasting, business, fitness, or almost anything else where we measure progress. We have a habit of taking today's number and turning it into a prediction about tomorrow.
Whether you're creating something, building a business, trying to make money online, working toward a personal goal, or just trying to improve your life, this episode is about remembering that the numbers are information. They're useful. They can tell you when something might need attention. But they shouldn't be the only reason you continue, and they shouldn't be the thing that decides whether what you're doing has value.
Some days the numbers are going to make you feel great, and other days they're going to make you want to stop. You just can't let either one decide who you are tomorrow.