I am writing this guest post in the middle of the night
I have been at this blogging bit for a decade. Goodness knows, I have experienced tough blogging times during my 15,000 hours online. Blogging gets tough. But you are tougher than blogging. Guaranteed.
Times are not super tough for me now. But I feel a little bit uncomfortable, for sure. My neck hurts. My back hurts. I keep blogging because blogging helps both me and you. We both win. All the sweet freedom sits just a little bit outside of my blogging comfort zone. I experienced this effect many times. Edging a tiny bit beyond what seems possible and feels comfortable opens me up to blessed experiences.
I am human. I feel fear. I experience pain. Mailing it in – by this, I mean quitting – when blogging times gets tough feels like the logical, sensible thing to do. Quit if things do not seem to be working out. But like Steve Jobs said, you need to be passionate about what you do because logical people quit when times get tough but passionate people keep going.
Imagine not making one penny after blogging generously for 3 months. Logical bloggers quit because based on not making money, what you do blogging wise does not appear to work. Passionate people keep blogging because passion, not profits, drives passionate people. Passion makes you do things you leave your comfort zone, to do. It is that simple.
Blogging feels fun and the work – aka what we call “blogging” – is the reward so why in the heck would you ever quit blogging? No one quits blogging when times feel a little tough if blogging feels fun because the only time blogging becomes overwhelmingly depressing is if you motivate yourself based on numbers.
Bloggers feel depressed, deflated and defeated because bloggers look at numbers on a screen. Traffic appears to be low. Profits appear to be low. Judging these numbers on a screen through the prism of fear feels terrible to you. Why torture yourself? Quit. Quit because numbers on a screen feel too low for you. But if you think about numbers on a screen, for just a second, why throw it all away because of numbers, on a screen?
However, passionate bloggers blog for fun and freedom, not numbers on a screen. Numbers on a screen can flash 0 for years, and passionate bloggers could care less because numbers seem meaningless to them. I observed a 7 figure blogger speak. He professed how even if he made 0 dollars over his long blogging career how he’d still be blogging now because he never did it for the money. Of course, this type of detached, passionate, fun-loving attitude is the specific reason why he’s a prospering pro blogger. This is common among the big time blogger set.
Never quit. Do not give in when blogging feels tough, as tough as nails. Feel the frustration. Sit with your fears. Be with your pain. Release it all. Let it all go. Do not suffer. Be with your low energy feelings. Feel these energies, however unpleasant the emotions seem to be. Proceed with creating and connecting generously while opening multiple streams of income to become a professional blogger, down the road.
Blogging gets easier if you nudge through tough times. Resist urges to quit when times get tough. Eventually, you will outdistance all bloggers in your niche because most quit at the drop of a hat. But you will see the journey through.
Every pro blogger blogs through tough times. Every pro faces deep fears during amateur days. Facing, feeling and releasing fear seems to be part and parcel with paying your professional blogging tuition. Feel the tough times through, then keep going. I know you’re up to it.
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