Danna from Texas asks, “What is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced?”
I’m sitting here, bawling like a baby, so incredibly thankful to all of you.
When I first started blogging, my motivation was simple…I just wanted to save time answering friends questions in one place instead of emailing them all the same answers separately. After a little while, I saw the potential of making money with blogging. I felt I could make $1,000/month blogging and replace my income I, at the time, generated by sales on eBay.
That’s all I ever wanted. I remember complaining to a good blogging friend day after day after day, how I just wanted to get off eBay. While it supported my family well, I didn’t feel like it served anyone. It didn’t change the world. It didn’t help anyone or change lives. It just simply sold a toy, which is fine, but not what I wanted.
I wanted more. I wanted to be used for more.
Blogging gave me a chance to help people and all I wanted was a way to replace my eBay income so that I COULD keep blogging full time. Getting paid for helping people, in my mind, was the most awesome “job” ever….tears.
You Are More Than You Realize
Within my first year blogging, I was making $10,000/month. What I set out to do, I not only accomplished it, but increased it by 10 times over what I wanted.
At that time, it was a simple lifestyle blog. A place I could get out my feelings and process life. A place I could answer my friends questions on how to save money and how to make money from home.
That’s all it was. That’s all I ever asked God for! Just use me to change people’s lives and help me to make enough money from it, that I don’t have to get a job outside my home in order to serve people on this blog. That’s it. It wasn’t about money or stats. It wasn’t about traffic or chasing shiny stuff.
I’ve been blogging barely three years now and boy has my world changed. I never imagined that blogging could bring me such joy.
Around year two of my blogging journey, I was doing very well to teach blogging to others. But I got inside my head. I started thinking, “WHO AM I to teach blogging?! I’m only two years old. I’m not good enough.”
Have you ever felt like that? Not good enough for something?
In my heart, I wanted so bad to teach blogging, but I didn’t feel good enough. Even though, at that point, I was making $23,000/month and had 1.7 million pageviews in traffic per month (at my highest point). None of that mattered. Because inside, I felt…not good enough. I saw myself starting to get prideful. My advice is always so different from everyone around me, and my audience responds to it and sees the value in it. Blogging advice from someone who has made it. But I didn’t feel worthy to teach you. And so in my own insecurities and pride, I sabotaged myself.
It took me more than a year to recover. While that wasn’t the only thing going on in my life at the time, it WAS a major one.
I just felt…inadequate. Unworthy. Not good enough.
So I stopped.
Tears…I did a poll on my audience a little while back, as I try to do every year to gauge interest and see how I can truly serve your needs.
Most of you were asking me to teach blogging and I was floored. I wasn’t prepared (tears) for that answer, you guys. Because I didn’t think I was worthy or good enough.
Suddenly, I saw that…YOU thought I was.
My whole world changed. I realized that…I don’t HAVE TO BE the BEST, I just have to BE ME! That’s it. And I can do that! I can be ME!
You want me to teach you blogging. It’s something that I’m (tears) SOOO passionate about.
Blogging has CHANGED MY ENTIRE LIFE, from beginning to where I am now. It’s not about stats or money. It’s about YOU. YOU have changed my life forever. And there is nothing I can ever do to repay you.
Thank you!
Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for encouraging me to teach something that I’m SO passionate about. Something that has changed my life.
There are a lot of scams out there for sure, when it comes to blogging, but I would also say that there is a lot of good in blogging too, and if you haven’t started your own blog, you truly should. You have no idea how much blogging can change your life! It’s changed mine forever, and I am eternally grateful to all of you.
You’ve stuck by me through everything. The ups and downs. You’ve been there. You see in me, potential. You believe in me. You think I’m good enough. You all mean SO much to me, tears. You don’t realize HOW MUCH!
I want to teach you how blogging can change your life. I don’t want to teach you a bunch of magic tricks. I want to teach you how to be SUCCESSFUL in WHATEVER you do, whether it’s blogging or something else.
Three years ago, I was just a scared little girl, much like you might be feeling right now. Unsure of the path that lies before you. But I promise you, it is worth-while. It is life-changing and it’s NOT about the money. It’s about serving others and learning more about YOURSELF along the way. It’s about the journey. It’s not about the end result or what you have or don’t have.
If you are a blogger now and you see you only have 2,000 pageviews a month and are feeling bad because you feel like it’s not GOOD ENOUGH, let me remind you that you HAVE 2,000 people coming to see YOU every month!
How many friends do you have in person? I guarantee it’s not 2,000. I guarantee you that 2,000 people aren’t lined up at your door right now, waiting to hear what you have to say. But online, those 2,000 people ARE there. Instead of focusing and comparing yourself with someone else, realize what a beautiful GIFT you ALREADY have!
Whether a little or a lot, you are making a difference in the world. You are doing something that many others are too afraid to do. And by that ALONE, you deserve all the props in the world. You are going after your dreams. You may not know what the future holds or how big your dreams will become. I surely never thought I’d be where I am today, but here I am. Standing in front of you, a completely different woman than I was three years ago, a much better woman than I was before, and I have YOU to thank for that….and you have your pageviews to thank as well. Because they are NOT JUST pageviews…they are people! Real, live people. Real, live hearts and souls.
Don’t lose sight of why you do what you do. You are an amazing person with valuable things to say. Get out there and share it. The world NEEDS to hear from YOU…something only you can share and if you think you’re not good enough….let me return the favor (tears) and say…YOU ARE! <3
You are good enough. You are loved. You are enough. You were put here on this Earth for more than you realize.
Danna, the biggest obstacle I’ve ever faced in blogging…is simply getting in my OWN way!!!
