I’ve been creating content online (for myself and clients) since 2004. This fall will mark my 20th year being a part of the “creator” community.

People who’ve been doing this for as long as me have called ourselves something different for many years. In 2004 when I started, I called myself a blogger. Somewhere down the line, I called myself a social media expert. Then in the past few years the term Creator has become popularized and seems to have some staying power.

Early on the goal was to write content as frequently as possible and gain as many subscribers to your blog via tools like Feedburner.

Social media marketing wasn’t really a thing in the way we think about it now. In fact, I remember my friend Jeff Goins and I messaging each other on Twitter, asking each other to share each other’s blog posts on sites like Stumbleupon, Digg and Reddit.

There would be days where those posts on those sites would drive hundreds of thousands of views to blog posts I had written about random ideas.

It really felt like the wild west. But it wasn’t as easy to make money online as it is now.

Many of us were fighting to figure out how we could make money (let alone a living) doing this work on the internet.

Then in 2009 one of my internet heroes, Chris Guillebeau, wrote an ebook called 279 Days to Overnight Success. I remember printing it off, putting it into a folder and reading it at one of my favorite coffee shop writing spots.

In the book Chris showed us all how he was able to build his blog into a full time job. He was teaching us to be a “pro blogger.”

I remember reading it thinking that there was nothing more I wanted for my career than to spend the rest of it building content online.

Now, several companies founded and co-founded, millions of dollars of annual revenue, and 50+ employees later, things are different but exactly the same.

In some ways it still feels like there is that 24-year-old inside of me hoping to make this all work.

As I was reflecting this week on my journey there was an idea that stuck out as true.

It’s that the people who are still here (and found lots of success) 20 years later are the ones who just refused to quit.

For every one of my friends who is still here there are 20 that have quit.

Almost none of my friends who are still around look the same as they did 5 years ago, 10 years ago, and especially 20 years ago. But they are still here.

I think about my friend Jeff, who I mentioned above. For many years, Jeff was a writer and a social media manager for a non-profit. Then he made enough money as a blogger and author to do it on his own. Then he built a small team to sell online courses. Then he transitioned from selling courses to high ticket services. But that guy is still here. Different but still the same.

I think about my friend Nathan. Who was a blogger and author. Then started selling courses. Then built a software tool to help himself sell more courses, and now that is used by hundreds of thousands of creators. Different but still the same.

I think about a new friend Matt. He started as a personal finance blogger. Now employs a team of 15+ working on one of the leading independent financial media companies. Different but still the same.

I think about myself. I started writing a daily blog. Then started supporting others who had a daily blog. And now I partner with high level creators to build businesses that are growing larger than their personal brands. With School of Traditional Skills, Homestead Living and HeyCreator, things are different, but still the same.

What I mean by that is that it’s a different chapter in the same story.

None of the people I mentioned closed the story. We kept going.

Even though things got hard, the industry changed, and we failed, the story progressed.

It reminds me of a story of a friend I grew up with.

At the time I wasn’t able to see it, but looking back he was the product of a very traumatic childhood which caused him to be in trouble at school, in special education classes, and on a pretty bleak path.

We lost touch after high school.

But a few years ago, I saw him suggested on social media and took a look at his profile. Expecting to see something completely different, I was surprised to see a screenshot of his checking account (with 7 figures of cash), a picture of a yacht and a picture of a luxury car that I definitely could not afford.

He was reflecting on all the people who tried to define him as troubled, and how he refused to believe that story about himself.

I immediately sent him a message. I couldn’t help but ask what had happened. How did his trajectory change so drastically?

In a message I will never forget, he told me that he became aware that his story wasn’t over unless he stopped writing it.

“The story is only over if you quit. You can always write the next chapter.”

I was floored. And that message has stuck with me ever since.

It’s very rare to see someone make such a drastic shift in their life, but that story continues to serve as a reminder.

If things aren’t going well… If it feels like everything is lost… If you’ve made a huge mistake… If you’ve wasted years of your life… If you don’t know what the next step is…

The story isn’t over unless you stop writing it. Just close the chapter and keep going.

When things get hard, I’ve noticed that it almost always feels easier to quit than to keep going.

And every time I get to that position, I remind myself of my friend and remember that the story isn’t over until you stop writing it.

Stories without struggle, difficulty, or turmoil are boring anyway.

The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career. I’m stepping into a season of intense growth, where some of my weaknesses are on full display to the people around me.

Many, many times it’s felt easier to fantasize about going backward or quitting and starting over, but I have forced myself to keep thinking about my friend.

And his words echo in between my ears…

“The story is only over if you quit. You can always write the next chapter.”

Now I am addicted to seeing what’s on the other side of this hard part.

To seeing what the next chapter brings…

It’s part of how guys like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have been able to make such a massive impact on their own wealth. It’s not always been about things going exactly as they planned but about the sheer time they’ve been playing the game. Telling the same story, chapter after chapter.

They are having compounding returns by being in the arena for such a long time.

You can do the same. Compound your learning. Compound your experience. Compound your relationships. And keep going. Keep writing the story. But whatever you do, don’t quit.

I’ll be here for another 20 years. See you there.