Mike Winkelmann was first introduced to NFTs in Oct 2020.

By Mar 2021, he sold an NFT for $69 million.

But it wasn’t an overnight success.

Consistent work over the years and a quick reaction to new trends gave Mike the opportunity.

Here are 5 lessons from his success.?

1/ CONSISTENCY

Winkelmann started to make a piece of art every day on May 1, 2007. 

So he worked on his craft for 13+ years before his mind-blowing success.

He completed his art even when it was inconvenient, like on his wedding day and the day of his children’s births.

2/ DID IT TO GET BETTER, NOT FOR MONEY

Tom Judd, who did a drawing every day for a year, inspired him to make art every day. 

Winkelmann thought it would help him sharpen his drawing skills.

Had he done it for money, he won’t have continued for so long.

3/ INTENTIONAL EFFORT

He focused on improving one skill or medium per year.

Like in 2012, he focused on Adobe Illustrator. 

He dedicated 2015 to getting good at Cinema 4D.

4/ MARKET AWARENESS

He was aware that NFTs are becoming a trend and was quick to latch on to it as soon as he figured it out.

5/ LADDER OF SUCCESS

Thanks to the consistent and good work he was creating, he had seen small successes before his record-breaking sale.

He continued to build on those.

Even with NFTs, he had successfully sold one for $66,666.66 in Oct 2020. This same NFT was resold for $6.7 million in February 2021.

So, he had built his ladder of success before seeing this big success.

Your mileage may vary, but if you apply these lessons in your life, you are bound to see some growth.