I have spent months living on the beaches of Fiji. Or I should say, right by the beaches of Fiji. It was a glorious place. Picture paradise on earth. Ditto for living in places like Costa Rica, Thailand, and Bali for months at a time. Living a really neat life through blogging gives me the confidence and clarity to let you know that two words never had anything to do with experiencing this type of life. Unfortunately, when I check questions on Quora, most bloggers use these two words quite a bit. People want the easy, fast way to succeed online so they can live their dreams quickly. This is not going to happen.
Removing the words “easy” and “fast” from your blogging vocabulary grounds you in reality. Don’t get it twisted because you can succeed and live your wildest dreams. I am not telling you that it’s impossible to blog from paradise. Quite to the contrary. You can and will blog from paradise but need to know the truth about what it takes to retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging. Nothing is flat-out easy. Nothing happens flat out quickly, as far as success. Impress these two ideas onto your subconscious mind. Remove these two words from your blogging vocabulary immediately. Prepare yourself for a fun, fascinating, and sometimes uncomfortable Journey as you live your dreams through blogging.
1: Easy
Think of this for just one second. If blogging were easy, every blogger would be a millionaire overnight. If there were an easy way to become a professional blogger, millions of people would have figured it out and we would all succeed without doing much work at all. If blogging were easy, everybody would quit their 9 to 5 jobs and become professional bloggers with no real effort. Of course, you often see that the opposite is true. Blogging is fun and freeing but highly uncomfortable sometimes because you need to face your fears persistently to live your dreams. I have blogged for months from places like Costa Rica and Thailand. But the journey was not easy. Blogging became easier after I did freeing, fun but sometimes scary things for many thousands of hours. That’s just the way it shakes out. You do fun but uncomfortable things and success follow eventually.
Never use the word “easy” in your ad copy unless you feel one hundred percent clear on the word usage. For example, I may say right now writing this 1200 word post in 20 minutes feels easy to me but only because I have written millions of words during the past fifteen thousand hours of my life. Most people become dizzy when I start tossing around those numbers. I bet you that your head feels like it’s going to explode, right? You see what it takes for blogging to become incredibly easy? 15000 hours of your life – which is not easy at all – and sometimes this journey feels quite maddening and uncomfortable. Stop trying to look for the easy way because it does not exist. Blogging is fun, freeing and fulfilling but it takes venturing out of your comfort zone to live your dreams. We all know that leaving your comfort zone never feels easy.
2: Fast
Overnight blogging success is impossible. Nothing happens fast in blogging. Never use this word and never try to fool yourself into believing anything in terms of success happens quickly. Impossible. Think of it this way; if shortcuts existed, the first bloggers would have discovered the shortcuts 20 plus years ago. We would all know the shortcuts, take the shortcuts, and experienced fast success. Anybody who tells you the fast or easy way to succeed flat-out lies to you. Do not trust these people because their fear of loss goads them to manipulate you with your fears into making stupid decisions based on your greed or Desperation.
Success is slow and steady for diligent, generous, patient and persistent bloggers who trust in the press. Nothing happens overnight. Nothing happens quickly. But if you see the journey through, blogging does become a little bit easier and success will come together more quickly. Of course, this is only over the long haul. No reputable blogger would tell a newbie blogger that easy, quick success is possible. We all know that blogging is a long-term business solution. Again, you can and will live your dreams through blogging but only if you take a long-term, patient approach to this gig. Nobody succeeds over night and nobody succeeds with ease because facing, feeling and releasing your deepest fears takes time and quite a bit of uncomfortable exploration.
Reality Check
Now that you’ve removed the “easy” and “fast” words from your blogging vocabulary you can experience a big old reality check that points you on the blogging straight and narrow. Blogging is a skill that requires thousands of hours for its mastery. No human being in their right mind would consider 5,000 or 10,000 hours as being a fast, easy Journey because we know based on the average human lifespan both of those numbers are quite long and sometimes challenging. That’s okay. Being honest with people helps you keep your integrity. Plus you will become hyper-successful in a world of less than honest bloggers who use hype to manipulate desperate or greedy people.
Never quit following your dreams because this journey is not fast and easy. On the contrary, if you plan to be around for a while and don’t mind facing some fears, becoming a professional blogger is a fabulous way to free yourself. I am already planning possible trips a little before international travel opens up because my wife and I are pro bloggers who can circle the globe whenever we want. Being able to do this is a fun way to live but you only reap rewards when you follow a disciplined, truthful blogging campaign for years. I know that you are up to it but you need to check yourself up and be truthful about what it takes to succeed online. Then you need to do it over many years of your life.
Surround yourself with professional bloggers. Listen to their advice. Every single one reminds you overnight success is impossible. Pros tell you to be patient and persistent. Professionals influence you to be generous, trusting, and detached in all you do with your blog. Allow these full-time bloggers to inspire you and to influence you to blog the right way.
eBook
Do you need blogging success lessons with a hint of inspiration? How about successful blogging tips combined with entertaining travel stories? I have circled the globe for 9 years as a professional blogger. I have a few successful blogging lessons and fun travel stories to share with you. Buy my eBook here:
How My Wildest Travel Experiences Can Help You Become a Successful Blogger