This is a powerful story about how a struggling blogger transformed himself into a successful online marketer — and how you can do the same.
If you are stuck and if you are not taking the action that you know you need to take, it is my hope that the valuable lessons in this story will help you get “MOVING” so you can start creating the business and the life you so greatly desire.
Here’s the story.
I recently read a very compelling article about a one of the “top bloggers” on the web. In the article this very successful blogger spoke openly about his struggles when he first started building his blog.
Like tens of thousands of other aspiring web entrepreneurs and bloggers, this individual had great dreams of transforming himself into a professional blogger and living the lifestyle of the internet entrepreneur.
During his first year as a blogger he frequently talked about his blogging dreams with his friends and family. He made a few dollars here and there, but in reality he did not make any real progress. For more than a year he talked about his grand blogging plans and for more than a year his blog made very little progress.
Then one day everything changed. One day this struggling blogger experienced a “Mindset Shift” that completely changed both his blogging career and his life. His mindset and his “way of thinking” changed because he was issued a challenge. And it was no ordinary challenge because it came from the most important person in his life.
He was challenged by his wife.
This struggling blogger’s wife told him that if he was ever going to become a professional blogger, if he was ever going to live his blogging dreams, he had to start treating his blog like a “Business.” In other words, she told him that he needed to stop screwing around and he needed to GET SERIOUS!
The very successful blogger I am talking about is Darren Rowse, the man behind Problogger.net — one of the most popular blogs on the web.
Darren recently wrote a post at Problogger where he went into detail about his early struggles and how this challenge from his wife changed his mindset and put him on a completely different path. It is a terrific post and one of the best blog posts that I have read in a very long time.
The title of the post is “How To Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True.”
If you are a struggling blogger or online business builder who is having a difficult time taking those very important first few steps, I can’t recommend this post enough. It’s a terrific post in that Darren reveals exactly what he did to get “unstuck” — and he gives you a template that you can use to do the exact same thing if you are currently in the same situation.
In his excellent post Darren talks about how he was stuck in “Dream Phase.” This is the phase that a great number of bloggers and web marketers go through when they are starting their first online business. They constantly dream about their venture and the incredible lifestyle their business is going to give them, but they can’t seem to take those first few steps that will get their business moving in the right direction.
This is a major problem that many aspiring online business builders deal with every day. They spend all day dreaming about their online business, but they are unable to fight through the resistance that is keeping them from taking those first few steps. The sad reality is that they can end up staying is this “dream phase” for weeks and months, and sometimes even years.
Darren Rowse states that over the years he has met numerous bloggers who are stuck in this phase and they just can’t get moving. After speaking to many of these frustrated bloggers, Darren believes that the two primary reasons for this inability to get moving can be attributed to the following:
- New bloggers believe there is too much to do.
- They want their blog to be perfect.
For years I have said that “perfection is the enemy of success.” After reading Darren’s post I am even more convinced that this desire to be perfect is one of the primary barriers that keeps a high percentage of bloggers and online marketers from realizing their business dreams.
This great desire to be perfect held Darren back when he first started building one of his most successful online projects, Digital-Photography-School.com. For two years Darren thought about launching this project, but he kept coming up with excuses and reasons to put it off. In his post How To Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True Darren Rowse states:
I had every excuse in the book not to start Digital Photography School. I already had too much to do. I didn’t have the money to invest into a custom designed site. I doubted my own ability to write content on the topic. I couldn’t find the right brand/domain name…..
The list went on.
However, I had the dream and one day I realized that if I didn’t actually start the blog then I’d never have any chance of arriving at that dream. So I started small.
What Darren did next with his Digital Photography School project is powerful. And it’s valuable lesson that you need to remember and use as a template whenever you are stuck or struggling to move forward with a project.
Darren stopped waiting for things to be “perfect” and he “got started.”
The first thing Darren decided to do was purchase a domain name. It was not perfect domain name, but it allowed him to get started.
Next, he started his photography blog with a free template. He would have preferred to start with a custom designed theme, but the free template allowed him to get started.
He then launched his blog with GoDaddy hosting. Again, it was not the best option, but it allowed him to start.
Ideally, Darren wanted to launch his blog with a significant amount of content in the archives of his blog. He decided it was better to launch “NOW” with very little content on the site than to wait for some unknown date in the future when his site possessed more content.
After launching his Digital Photography site Darren stated that he looked at his new project with mixed emotions. He was dissatisfied because he knew there were several things he could have done to make it better. But he was also very proud of the fact that he took an idea from his head and he created something from it. He was proud of the fact that he took action.
Darren got moving. He started small, he focused on one thing (i.e. he consistently added content to his blog) and the did not wait for things to be perfect.
Folks, that’s the template.
The most important thing is that you have to get moving and you have to get your project into momentum. It all starts with taking those first few steps and getting into motion.
One of the most valuable life lessons I have ever learned is that magical things happen when you get into motion. Things in motion tend to stay in motion and the world moves of the way of people and things that are in motion.
That is the key. Start small, focus on one thing and get moving. And don’t wait for everything to be perfect. Get started and then make improvements as you move forward.
To close this post I want to share with you a comment that I made on Darren’s blog after reading his post, How To Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True:
In his excellent book The War of Art, author Steven Pressfield says that . . . “writing is not the hard part. It’s the sitting down to write that is the hard part.”
In other words, it’s getting started that is the hard part.
And how do you get started. It’s actually pretty simple. Just do follow Darren Rowses’ example: “Start small, start with one thing and start where you are today — then make improvements as you move forward. And don’t wait for things to be perfect . . . . . because in business perfection is the enemy of success.”
All the best,
Jon Poland
P.S. If you are a struggling blogger or online marketer who is “stuck”, it is my hope that this post along with Darren’s excellent post will help you get started so you can get your blog and online business into momentum. If you want more help on how to start a blog and then take it to that next level and beyond, there are two guides I recommend.
The first one is Problogger’s guide to Your First Week of Blogging. In Your First Week of Blogging Darren Rowse details the lessons he has learned from launching more than 30 new blogs during the past 8 years. Darren has developed a model that he uses for every new blog he starts. In Your First Week of Blogging Darren reveals this proven success formula that he has used time and time again. Click here to get Your First Week of Blogging.
The second guide I want to recommend is Blogging With John Chow. John Chow is one of the most successful bloggers on the planet and in Blogging With John Chow you will gain access to the “Blueprint” that John Chow has used to build his million dollar blog (JohnChow.com). I am currently going through this course and I am discovering several killer strategies that I will be using to grow WebBusinessResearch.com. Price at just $37, this course is an absolute bargain. Anyone who is serious about building a successful blog should study this course. It’s excellent. Click here to get Blogging With John Chow.
